Rather than a fixed and final discharge date, in some cases a more graded withdrawal is helpful.

Some teams will decide that a fixed and final cut-off is the most appropriate way to end, and if there is difficulty engaging in a new service, this might be the case, as continued contact with a trusted, well-connected old KeyWorker might undermine attempts to build a relationship with a new worker.

On the other hand, an abrupt "cut-off" may play into ideas about abandonment by trusted others in an unhelpful way, and some means of reinforcing the fact that "just because we are not working together directly and regularly doesn't mean that you disappear from my mind" can be helpful, too. So a "long tail" of closely-boundaried and gradually diminishing contact can also help to support new attachments - especially if such contact is via the "new" attachment that is being fostered and developed.

For instance there may be a series of joint meetings with the new keyworker, gradually more spaced out, with separate meetings between the young person and their new keyworker diaried in gradually more frequently. After a set number of months there may be a single conjoint meeting with the young person and both old and new keyworkers, as a review of the handover plans. Some teams use postcards/cards as a way of recording best intentions and good wishes for a young person - sent after an agreed period of time has elapsed since the handover of care.