A Quasi-Experimental Evaluation of the Lifelong Links Intervention for Reducing Homelessness amongst Care Leavers

Abstract

Despite the fact that care leavers are at significantly higher risk of homelessness than their peers who have not experienced care, there is a paucity of information on evidence-based interventions to address this risk. Lifelong Links is a program developed and delivered by the Family Rights Group in England. The intervention aims to ensure that a child in care has a positive support network around them to help during their time in care and into adulthood. In this article, we analyse the outcomes of a quasi-experimental evaluation of the Lifelong Links program. Specifically, we make use of a combination of coarsened exact matching, and a triple-differences approach (or difference in difference in differences analysis). Results of our analyses show that Lifelong Links is associated with a reduction in the risk of becoming homeless for care leavers aged eighteen to twenty in the years following its implementation. Our most robust model showed a reduction of around 10 per cent in the risk of a young care leaver being deemed at risk of, or experiencing homelessness, suggesting that improving ties between young people in care and their birth families (and/or building other sources of support) could have beneficial impacts on housing outcomes into adulthood.