Voices from Care Cymru (VFCC) is issuing its second press release calling for urgent action on the premature and potentially preventable deaths of care leavers.
The renewed call follows the Department for Education’s report, “‘You really are on your own’: a study of the early deaths of young people who were in care.” Published on 25 August 2026, the English review examined 112 deaths of care leavers aged 18–24 notified during 2025.
VFCC asks: What is the equivalent picture in Wales, and what action is being taken to prevent further deaths?
As the national independent voice for care-experienced children and young people in Wales, VFCC hears daily about the challenges they face. It is currently seeking information and data about how care leaver deaths are recorded, reviewed and used to inform prevention.
Alongside these enquiries, VFCC is discussing shared concerns with its UK partners through the Five Nations network, who have also identified common issues. This work will inform the national campaign VFCC is currently planning, with children’s rights and human rights as its central pillars.
Deborah Jones, Chief Executive of Voices from Care Cymru, said:
“For us, this is deeply personal. We have known young people whose lives have been lost, and we hear every day about isolation, insecure housing, barriers to mental health support and the loss of trusted relationships.
“If this were your child, you would want answers. You would want to know what happened, whether opportunities to help were missed and what would change. Care-experienced young people deserve the same concern, determination and accountability from their corporate parents.
“Based on our enquiries and the responses received, we do not believe Welsh Government has yet provided sufficient clarity about the national picture or how learning is protecting young people. In our view, the response has not matched the urgency of our concerns.
“Children’s rights and human rights must translate into practical protection, meaningful support and effective ways to challenge failures. When a care leaver dies, learning must lead to action.”
VFCC is calling on Welsh Government to:
- Establish the national picture of care leaver deaths and identify gaps in the evidence.
- Ensure transparent reviews, including consideration of potential service failures and contributions from families.
- Set out clear accountability for acting on findings and monitoring change.
- Strengthen prevention, shaped by care-experienced young people’s views and needs.
The Cross-Party Group on Care-Experienced Children and Young People will discuss the report’s findings and their potential implications for Wales. VFCC provides the Secretariat to the Cross-Party Group.
Care-experienced children and young people will help shape the planned campaign’s priorities, messages and calls for change.
ENDS
Notes to editors
VFCC is an independent children’s rights organisation whose work is shaped by care-experienced children and young people and informed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The 112 deaths relate to notifications in England, not Wales. The figure does not establish that every death was preventable.
Media enquiries: krit.misuk@vfcc.org.uk
