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Teenager was accommodated 60 miles away from school
A teenager with Autism and ADHD was less than a week away from being made homeless because Devon County Council had not decided where he should live when he became 18.
The teenager had been living in a children’s home where he could remain beyond his eighteenth birthday. But with the council not agreeing to continue funding this, its lack of planning left the young man just days away from being made homeless until it finally decided where he should live.
When the council eventually found him accommodation, it was 40 miles away from his mother, who did not drive, and 60 miles away from his education placement. The teenager was expected – as a person with significant needs – to make his own way to school, unsupported, despite limited public transport options being available.
This lack of support meant the teenager missed half a term of education while the council sorted out his travel arrangements. This had a major impact on his mental health and well-being, and the lack of certainty about his situation and instability led him to be at significant risk of self-harm.
Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, Ms Amerdeep Somal said:
“This young man had been on the council’s radar for years, so it is unfathomable why it took so long to begin planning for how he would transition from children’s to adult services when he turned 18.
This inertia by the council, and the lack of joined-up working between departments, led to a young man – who needs stability, security and routine – having his world rocked by the uncertainty of where he would be living in future.
I am dismayed that senior officers at the council, who made the decision about where the teenager should live, decided this course of action was acceptable.
It appears this uncertainty was triggered primarily by the council’s adult services department’s reluctance to pay for the accommodation, at which he was settled near to his school, and its decision not to allow him to remain there was purely financially driven, taking no account of the significant effect this would have on his needs.”
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman remedies injustice and shares learning from investigations to help improve public, and adult social care, services. In this case the council has agreed to apologise to the teenager and make a symbolic payment of £1,000 to recognise the distress caused. It will also make a symbolic payment to his mother of £250, and arrange a meeting with her and his education provider to consider whether there is any additional tuition or support that can be provided to help make up for the lost provision.
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Source: Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, UK
