Equalities, empowerment and the experience of care: An evaluation for the Life Changes Trust

This project provides an implementation evaluation of a series of projects intended to support care experienced young people who may also experience discrimination and marginalisation due to other factors. These might include having disabilities, being minoritised on the basis of sexuality,, race, religion, sex or another protected characteristic, have experience of the youth justice system, are looked after at home, have experience of long-term health issues, including mental health, or have experience of homelessness.

The project will have co-design at its heart, involving young people fully n every aspect of the research, - from identifying the issues and challenges which need to be addressed, exploring ideas, designing potential solutions and working all the way through to delivery, oversight and evaluation.

The evaluation will assess the impact of the Life Change's Trust's funding awards focused on equalities. In particular we will examine how projects have impacted: • confidence and skills • awareness of the needs/aspirations of young people • increasing opportunities for young people to exercise their rights and use their voice

The project will draw on appropriate service data (where necessary, subject to appropriate consents), qualitative and creative methods to assess the impact of this set of interventions.