A national voice for care-experienced young people in Wales#
Voices From Care Cymru was set up as a registered charity in 2001, after the Waterhouse report on abuse in children's homes in North Wales, so that care-experienced children and young people in Wales would have their own national organisation. Its work is youth-led and grounded in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It runs the secretariat for a Senedd cross-party group on care-experienced children and young people, brings young people face to face with ministers, and published a manifesto for the 2026 Senedd elections. Its site is in English and Welsh.
What it does directly#
Its Get Help page, last updated in March 2026, separates what it does itself from where it points people. Directly, it offers:
- Wellbeing sessions and counselling: nearly 1,000 wellbeing sessions and 100 counselling sessions a year.
- Peer support cafes for students, parents, LGBTQ+ young people, neurodivergent young people and Welsh speakers.
- Advocacy and participation, including help to challenge decisions about your life.
- Help with housing and money, such as understanding your rights and speaking to your council on your behalf.
- Sky's the Limit, a programme for 8 to 14 year olds, and Warm Home Boxes for care-experienced 17 to 21 year olds living independently.
Contacting VFCC#
You can email, call in at its office on The Parade in Roath, Cardiff, with no appointment, or fill in the referral form at the foot of the Get Help page. The form can be used by a young person or a professional such as a personal advisor or social worker, and asks for consent before it makes contact. It also lists other Welsh services for housing, mental health, money and legal rights, including Shelter Cymru, Meic, TGP Cymru and the Children's Commissioner for Wales.
Care leavers' rights in Wales#
The page summarises rights under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014. Your council must provide a personal advisor up to 25 (from 21 on request), keep a pathway plan reviewed at least every six months, and tell you about your right to an independent advocate. It also lists council tax exemption for care leavers aged 18 to 24, the St David's Day Fund for 16 to 25 year olds through your leaving care team, the When I Am Ready scheme, and priority need for housing at 18 to 20.
Changing your name as a care-experienced young person#
Voices From Care Cymru publishes nothing on names. Wales follows the same Children Act rules on names as England:
- In care, a new surname needs everyone with parental responsibility, the council included, to agree in writing, or the court's permission.
- Leaving care: with no order in place, the decision is yours at 16 or 17, and always from 18. GOV.UK's deed poll guide gives wording you can use without paying anyone.
Changing your name as a care leaver explains each case, and notes that Wales has its own leaving care law, so ask your personal advisor what your council will help with; the St David's Day Fund, for example, is for things that help your independence. Changing your name in Wales covers Welsh names and records.
This page describes what Voices From Care Cymru publishes on its own website, read on 26 October 2026. Voices From Care Cymru has not reviewed it, and listing a charity here does not mean it recommends this handbook or any deed poll service.
