Care leavers who were given a one-off, no strings attached £2,000 grant were less likely to become homeless or spend time in hospital or prison, according to a new study.

Leaving care, without a family safety net, has consistently been found to be associated with higher levels of homelessness, unemployment and crime.

One participant, Aeryn Hill, said the £2,000 had made "a big improvement" in her life as "we don't get the opportunity to do things that other people do".

They had all spent time under the care of nine different local authorities in England, who recommended them.

All were initially asked to fill in an online survey before 100 were randomly chosen to receive the £2,000 grant, from June 2023.

Researchers followed up with both groups, six and 12 months later, to see how they had got on.

Young people who received the cash transfer consistently reported that they spent 12% less on alcohol, tobacco or drugs than they had previously.

Some of the impacts were higher at the six month-point mark; others at the one year point but all were positive overall.

"The findings from the trial are encouraging, with consistent positive effects on participants' housing stability, wellbeing, social connectedness, contact with health services and other outcomes we measured," said Prof Michael Sanders, director of the Policy Institute, King's College.

"These results highlight the potential benefits of conditional cash transfers, which are not only easier and cheaper to administer than other types of interventions, but also allow recipients more agency and dignity, recognising they themselves are usually best placed to make decisions about their lives. "

Hill says she was "speechless for a good 10 minutes" after finding out that she had been chosen to receive the money.

The 22-year-old from the West Midlands spent two years in care as a teenager, living with foster parents, which she describes as a "very mentally taxing experience".

She says she has autism and "other issues" which weren't appreciated or supported at the time. "It just felt like the only person I had was myself, which really sucks. "

Hill used the money to buy a PC for her studies and to take her partner on holiday, for a week to Liverpool.

"I was working on a laptop that was slow and it kept crashing.

I'd been saving for a new PC but when I got the money, it meant I could finally get the thing I really needed to help with uni," she says. A third become homeless within two years of leaving care, while about a quarter of the prison population have spent time in care

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