This study will examine the experiences of care leavers who became parents and the intergenerational impact on their children’s outcomes. The care leavers in this study are parents of cohort members.

Using information from the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) and the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), the aims of the study are to examine:

• the socioeconomic resources available to care-experienced parents;
• outcomes of their children from the very early years to post-16 transitions and into early adulthood (BCS70 only); and,
• potential protective factors and processes supporting effective functioning among care-experienced parents and their children.

The project team will examine the adjustment of these children across a range of domains, including cognitive and behavioural development, experiences at school and physical and emotional wellbeing. We will evidence a wide range of socioeconomic and wellbeing markers for care-experienced parents, including their access to health care.

Prior research has revealed a link between care-experience and poorer outcomes later in life. The 2013 Care Leaver Strategy, published by the UK Government, identified key areas where care leavers needed more robust support: education, employment, finance, health, housing, justice system and on-going support.

The research will identify opportunities to support care-experienced parents and inform policies to support future care leavers to become independent, and to improve their life chances and those of their children.

Project poster

This poster serves as an introduction to this care leavers project and also shows how care leavers and their children experienced the COVID-19 pandemic.