Connection Matters: What We Can Learn from a Review of Care Leaver Deaths

A recent national review into the deaths of young people who have left care has highlighted the devastating impact that isolation and a lack of support can have on people’s lives. The review examined the deaths of 112 care leavers aged 18 to 24 during 2025 and found that young people leaving care were dying at rates significantly higher than those of their peers. It identified loneliness, loss of trusted relationships and a sudden reduction in support when young people reach adulthood as key contributing factors.

You can read the full report here: Review of early deaths of care leavers – GOV.UK

The importance of connection

One of the strongest messages from the review is that people need more than services. They need relationships. Many of the young people who died had experienced a significant drop in support when they turned 18, often losing contact with trusted professionals and networks at a time when they were facing major life changes.

For adults with care and support needs, the risks associated with loneliness, social isolation and exclusion are well recognised. Isolation can increase vulnerability to self-neglect, mental ill-health, exploitation, abuse and neglect. It can also mean that concerns go unnoticed until they reach crisis point.

Prevention starts with relationships

Safeguarding is not just about responding to harm. It is about preventing harm from happening in the first place.

The Care Act places a strong emphasis on wellbeing, prevention and promoting people’s independence. Helping people maintain supportive relationships, stay connected to their communities and access timely support can reduce the risk of safeguarding concerns developing or escalating.

This also links closely to one of the North Yorkshire Safeguarding Adults Board’s priorities around transitions. Times of transition can bring increased risk, particularly where support changes, relationships are disrupted, or people move between services, settings or stages of life. The Board’s Prevention Group is currently looking at this area of work, with a focus on how partners can better understand and respond to risks during transition points, and how early support, joined-up working and strong relationships can help to keep people safe.

A reminder for all of us

The national review has prompted calls for a greater focus on better transitions across services and how these should address connection, belonging and long-term support.

As organisations and communities, we all have a role to play in helping people stay connected. A simple conversation, a welfare check, an invitation to join a community activity or taking the time to build trust can have a profound impact on someone’s wellbeing and safety.