Catch22 designs and delivers services to support people of all ages. As such, we may well be working with a young person through their teenage years and into adulthood through our Colleges, Gangs Services, Employability and Apprenticeship Services, Community hubs or our Exploitation Services.

There is a significant and widely documented ‘cliff edge’ when a young person turns 18, when they become ineligible for support they have previously received and when there can be a wholesale change of practitioners involved in their support. It goes without saying that this is unhelpful. Trusted relationships are disrupted, and people find themselves having to explain their situation all over again to complete strangers.

It isn’t just continuity of relationships that is lost, either. The culture in Adult Services is very different from that of Children’s Services, and whilst young people may not qualify for some of the support they previously received, they can also fail to access support which they do qualify for because they don’t realise that it is now up to them to seek or request the support.

All too often, we have seen young people whom we have supported become increasingly vulnerable as they move into semi-independent accommodation or reach their 18th birthday and key protective figures in their life fall away. We are particularly aware that the welcome provision of return home interviews after a child goes missing ceases overnight on a person’s 18th birthday. Sadly however, this may be the only thing that ceases, as exploitation risks, grooming and coercion can continue unabated.

And all of this can be happening against the backdrop of trauma, isolation, anxiety about the future and where the adolescent brain is still developing and maturing.

In this context, Catch22 welcomes the publication of the knowledge briefing: ‘Bridging the gap: Transitional Safeguarding and the role of social work with adults’. We particularly welcome the emphasis on personalisation of safeguarding to develop holistic, practical and appropriate support tailored to a young person’s needs that doesn’t simply evaporate at an arbitrary point. Adopting transitional safeguarding gives professionals flexibility to respect the autonomy of the individual whilst providing support where necessary, working ‘fluidly across developmental stages…[building} on the best available evidence, [and learning] from both children’s and adult safeguarding practice which prepares young people for their adult lives.’

The case studies provide practical examples of what transitional safeguarding can look like and the key messages at the start of this Knowledge Briefing are important and helpful. If every practitioner working with young people aged 16+ were to read them over their cornflakes each morning, we would probably all do a much better job for those we support.

The document can be downloaded from NWG resources (search Bridging the Gap)