The average UK child moves home twice between the ages of 0-18. One in seven children in care moved home three times in 2001-2002 alone. Despite improvements in care, the result is that children suffer a lack of permanence, stability and emotional support; friendships are lost, education is derailed and support networks are broken.
The Who Cares? Trust, a national charity that aims to improve the lives of children in care, identified this need and developed CareZone, the world’s first secure online services for these vulnerable and under-resourced children, to help them achieve their potential. This next generation service combined virtual worlds, two factor authentication, smart agents and much else in new ways.
metaLAB were the lead advisers to the Trust from inception to pilot implementation.
Local authorities use online forum to improve support for vulnerable children (Computer Weekly)
Case Study: CareZone (Synthetix) (info)
About CareZone (info) (The Who Cares? Trust)
Carers Guide (info)(The Who Cares? Trust)
The CareZone Solution (info) (The Who Cares? Trust)
CareZone: Your World, Your Choice (info) (The Who Cares? Trust)
By Mary O'Hara, Wednesday October 11, 2006 The Guardian
"The week of the launch of the green paper on looked-after children is not the best time to announce the closure, after less than three years, of a groundbreaking and successful project aimed at helping just such vulnerable children.
CareZone was set up in early 2004 by the Who Cares? Trust, a charity. It was an online forum where, until July, young people in care could seek support and advice - from teachers, agony aunts and friends. Initial funding came from central government; later development cash came in the form of a loan from Futurebuilders, a government-backed finance scheme that offers loans to voluntary groups.
In its short history, the service - called CZ World by the young people who used it - was acknowledged by ministers, local government and Futurebuilders as trailblazing, ahead of its time, and popular. According to Susanna Cheal, chief executive of Who Cares? Trust, CareZone was a secure arena trusted by users, where children could make anonymous postings and outsiders could not hack into the site.
Prominent supporters, including the National Children's Bureau and Barnardo's, have voiced concern about the closure. So why was the plug pulled?
The trigger for the demise, according to the trust and Futurebuilders, was that the number of local authority subscribers - essential if the loan to Futurebuilders was to be repaid on time - fell short. That was not, they say, because of lack of interest or support, but because restructuring of children's services made authorities concentrate their efforts elsewhere.
Richard Gutch, chief executive at Futurebuilders England, says that the decision to withdraw investment was not made lightly. "Due to unforeseen changes in the local authority purchaser market, Who Cares? Trust was unable to secure sufficient contracts to sustain the life of the project," he says. Eventually, with the market still uncertain, Futurebuilders and Who Cares? Trust agreed "to withdraw the investment".
In short, the loan could not be paid back while councils had other priorities.
Futurebuilders described CareZone's "huge potential". Those reading the green paper should ask why the project has been unable to fulfil that promise".