‘Immense drop-off’ in support contributing to care leaver deaths in England, review says

Death rate three to four times higher than among general population blamed on isolation of those leaving care

• ‘He was left on his own’: the care-leaver lives lost to a system that abandons them at 18

Profound isolation contributed to the deaths of more than 100 care leavers in England in a year, with a dramatic drop-off in support from social services at 18 leading to catastrophic consequences, a review has found.

A government-commissioned report into the early deaths of young people who left care described the problem as a national tragedy and said many were left on their own “at the height of vulnerability” before they died.