What is Lifelong Links?
Lifelong Links is for children and young people in care where there is no plan to return home. Lifelong Links can also support care leavers.
Lifelong Links can help to bring people together who care about you to provide you with supportive and stable relationships throughout your journey through care and beyond. This could be people you know well, have not seen for a long time, or people you may not have met yet. The people you identify to be part of your network will be brought together in a meeting called a Family Group Conference (celebration event) and a Lifelong Links plan will be made that will become part of your pathway plan and care plan.
How can Lifelong Links Help me?
Lifelong Links can help to reconnect you with important people in your life who you may have lost contact with, in a safe way. This could be a family member, previous carer, teacher, or anyone who has had a positive influence on your life.
The aim is to bring everyone together who you want to continue to have in your life, who you could turn to for support as you grow older.
You could also learn more about your family history and identity.
What Happens Next?
If you would like to explore your Lifelong Links journey, please speak to your social worker, leaving care advisor, foster carer or Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) who will refer you to the service.
A Lifelong Links co-ordinator will work with you throughout your Lifelong Links journey. They are independent and do not make decisions about your future.
They will:
- Talk to you about who you would like to be in contact with
- Support you to complete activities such as a family tree, understanding where you have lived and which schools you have been to. This will help to gain a better understanding about your background.
- Try to find the people you have identified as being important to you
- Speak to your social worker / Leaving care advisor, carer and IRO about whether the people you have identified would be allowed to attend the Lifelong Links Family Group Conference;
- Work with the people who have been found to ensure that they understand your wishes and to gather their views too.
- Organise your Lifelong Links Family Group conference and write up your Lifelong Links plan.
- Make a record of your Lifelong Links Journey for you to keep in the form of a journey book or letter which is personalised to you.
- Ensure that your allocated worker and IRO agree with your Lifelong Links Plan as this will be reviewed by them with you at your care plan reviews.
What happens at the Family Group Conference?
- You will talk about what you want to happen.
- Your family and friends will help to plan how they can support you.
- Your social worker will be involved in agreeing your Lifelong Links plan.
The co-ordinator will work with you at a pace that suits you and you can ask to stop at any time. They will keep you, your carer and social worker or leaving care advisor updated on the progress they are making throughout your Lifelong Links journey.
For more information, you can access the Family Rights Group website
or contact the Lifelong Links lead on:
020 8270 6968
For information regarding how we may access and use your personal data, please visit our privacy page.
Lifelong Links flyer (PDF, 418.61 KB)
Lifelong Links flyer - Support Network (PDF, 506.88 KB)
