Children in Care Hurt Themselves More to Avoid Losing Help at 18

Children in England's care system are deliberately worsening self-harm and suicide attempts to stay in care past 18, when government support suddenly stops, according to psychotherapist Abi Booth's research reported August 27, 2026. A government review linked 112 deaths of young care-leavers aged 18–24 in 2025 to losing that support. Nearly 84,000 of 400,000 children in the system are in local authority care.