Readiness for independent living of youth in residential childcare: A comparative study

Transition to adulthood is an accelerated and early process for care leavers that requires intensive preparation, training and support from child welfare services. This study aimed to explore the perceived readiness for independent living of a group of care-experienced young people preparing for leaving care in Spain and to compare it with the perceptions of their peers from the general population. A sample of 508 youth (50% women) aged 14–21 (M = 16.67; SD = 1.72) took part, of whom 279 were care experienced and 229 belonged to the general population in Spain. Participants' independent living skills, personal autonomy, self-efficacy and sociodemographic characteristics were assessed through an online survey using standardized instruments. Care-experienced young people displayed higher levels of life skills and autonomy in self-care, daily living at home and employment domains, but not related to making daily arrangements in their community. However, their educational level and self-efficacy levels were lower than in the comparison group. Work experience stood out as a significant predictor of care-experienced young people's life skills level. These findings support the importance of assessing life skills as an outcome of leaving care preparation services and providing care-experienced young people with real-life experiences to develop their life skills.     

Research Review: Independent living programmes: the influence on youth ageing out of care (YAO)

Independent living programmes (ILPs) aid in promoting productive outcomes for youth ageing out of care (YAO). This narrative review aimed to determine if sufficient evidence exists to substantiate statements regarding the effectiveness of ILPs based upon outcome studies published from January 2006 through December 2012. Are current ILPs effectively promoting independent living and productive outcomes among youth leaving foster care, relative to similar youth who do not participate in an ILP? Six studies published in English, in the USA and in peer‐reviewed journals included non‐experimental design (n = 1), quantitative designs (n = 2), mixed methods design (n = 2) and randomized design (n = 1). Five outcomes addressing education, employment, housing, mental health, and living skills emerged. Weak evidence that ILPs effectively aid YAO exists. Additionally, inconsistencies exist in methodology. Finally, differences in important components in the ILPs exist, making comparisons difficult.     

The effects of autonomy support and psychological capital on readiness for independent living through personal growth initiative among youth in out‐of‐home care

This study explored the effects of the factors on independent living readiness among youth under out‐of‐home care. Specifically, this study focused on the effects of caregivers' autonomy support and psychological capital on independent living readiness through personal growth initiative. A total of 215 youth who were expected to be discharged from caring institution within three years were gathered for the survey, and the final sample was 194 after excluding incomplete responses. Structural equation modeling with Mplus (version 7) was used to test research model and hypotheses in the study. Results showed that the research model was appropriated with several fit indices satisfied and that all the hypotheses were supported. Also, direct and indirect effects of independent variables were fully supported. However, the indirect effect of psychological capital was marginally significant. The results implicate that both caregiver's autonomy support and psychological capital are important for increasing personal growth initiative and that personal growth initiative served as a motivation to facilitating the readiness for independent living among children under institutional care.     

Early outcomes for young adults transitioning from out-of-home care in the USA

This paper describes the well‐being of participants in the Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth (n = 603), a study of youth leaving out‐of‐home care in the USA, at the point where they have been ‘young adults’ for about 1 year. Although some of these young adults are in stable situations and either moving forward with their education or employed in promising jobs, more of them are having significant difficulties during the early stages of the transition to adulthood. Too many are neither employed nor in school, have children that they are not able to parent, suffer from persistent mental illness or substance use disorders, find themselves without basic necessities, become homeless, or end up involved with the criminal justice system. They are doing worse than other young adults across a number of important dimensions. Most of these young adults continue to maintain relations with members of their family of origin, with many finding themselves living with family at age 19. Importantly, those young people who chose to remain under the care and supervision of the child welfare system experienced better outcomes than those who either chose to or were forced to leave care.     

Mentoring adolescent foster youth: promoting resilience during developmental transitions

The current exploratory study used quantitative and qualitative data from an evaluation of the ‘Advocates to Successful Transition to Independence’ programme, a mentoring programme designed to train mentors to assist older adolescent foster youth in acquiring skills and resources needed for successful transition out of foster care and into adulthood. The study was conducted in two phases over 2 years. Quantitative methods were used to describe characteristics of the older adolescent foster youth and advocates, and qualitative methods were used to describe the experiences of youth and advocates in the programme. Results suggest that the use of a mentoring programme for older adolescent foster youth represents a particularly beneficial prevention strategy that may help prevent negative outcomes as youth emancipate from the foster care system and transition into young adulthood. Implications and recommendations for developing mentoring programmes for transition‐aged youth are presented.     

Comparing Perceived Quality of Life in Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities

Abstract

Residents 65 years old and older living in nursing homes (NH) and assisted living facilities (ALFs) were matched on a scale of functional ability: The Sickness Impact Profile for Nursing Homes (SIP-NH). Of the 97 NH and 100 ALF residents who were evaluated using the SIP-NH, 43 pairs, matched by level of disability, were formed. Each member of the 43 pairs was administered two quality of life instruments: the Ferrans and Powers Quality of Life Index (QLI), as well as a single direct question regarding quality of life. Matched pair t-tests revealed no differences in quality of life scores, contrary to the hypothesis that the matched residents in nursing homes would have perceptions of a lower quality of life than residents of assisted living facilities.     

Achieving permanency for youth in foster care: assessing and strengthening emotional security

For some youth in foster care, the closest family or family‐like relationships are with the foster parents with whom they have lived for extended periods of time. Nonetheless, child welfare agencies often do not explore these relationships and the potential they may hold for youth for legal permanence through adoption or guardianship. Recognizing that social workers often lack resources to help them initiate permanency conversations, Casey Family Services, a direct service child welfare agency in the USA, developed a tool that social workers can use to explore youth's sense of emotional security with their foster parents and foster parents' sense of claiming and attachment with youth in their care. The research literature that suggests that emotional security is a critical component of successful permanence provided the foundation for the development of the Belonging and Emotional Security Tool (BEST). When used with youth and foster parents, the BEST was found to advance meaningful permanency conversations. The authors provide case examples of its use and discuss future directions for using the BEST and broadening its application.     

Post‐secondary transitions of youth emancipated from foster care

This study investigated the extent to which KnowHow2Go (KH2Go), a national college access campaign developed for first‐generation students in the USA, would resonate with youth who had aged out of foster care. Interviews were conducted with 27 youth who were enrolled in a post‐secondary programme following emancipation from foster care. We found KH2Go to have a close fit with the experiences of youth who had been in foster care. Four topics emerged as particularly important for youth in our study: money management, work, parenting and transportation. Finally, the study identified attributes these youth demonstrated that contributed to their resilience during the transition process. This study and the data presented pertain to youth living in the south‐eastern USA.     

Impression management in the market for residential care for children and youth in Sweden

In what has become quite a turbulent quasi‐market for residential care for children and youth, providers now compete for public contracts. To create visibility and attract customers, many providers use marketing activities to project the desired impression of themselves to maintain or strengthen their market position. In this article, we analyse how companies that provide residential care for children manage the impressions they project on their websites and in advertisements. The results reveal that residential care providers use a range of impression management strategies to enhance their organizational image and to respond to potentially damaging or threatening images. The information providers choose to disclose leaves customers—in this case, the social workers responsible for choosing and purchasing care on behalf of clients—with rather limited opportunities to evaluate the quality of care. This is a significant problem considering other, more reliable, sources of information are difficult to access.     

Parental empowerment and child behavioural problems during youth care involvement

The aim of this study was to examine changes in parental empowerment and child behavioural problems during a period of youth care and how changes are related to the kind of services provided. We compared a preservation service that was family‐centred (FCS) with out‐of‐home services that were primarily child‐centred (CCS). The sample consisted of 621 families who were supported by FCS (n = 434) or CCS (n = 137). Information about parental empowerment and child behavioural problems was gathered at the start and end of youth care. Significant changes during treatment were identified with t tests and effect sizes. Significant improvements emerged on all empowerment scales for FCS but only on the behavioural control subscale for CCS. Moreover, significant improvements emerged on all child behavioural scales for both FCS as CCS. Cross‐lagged analysis showed that the kind of service, in favour of FCS, predicted parental empowerment but not child behavioural problems. Parental empowerment and child behavioural problems were negatively related. This paper discusses the potential for parental empowerment and FCS elements in CCS out‐of‐home care and the need for follow‐up research on this subject.     

The dynamic,complex and diverse living and care arrangements of young New Zealanders: implications for policy

The living arrangements of young people in New Zealand are diverse and often complex. In this article we report the range of care and living arrangements of 209 15-year-old New Zealanders, 47 of whom identified as Māori. These young people were participants in the second generation of a cohort study. Data were collected from their parents via a life history calendar and analysed for variety and consistency of care arrangements, household membership and transitions. Few participants had a consistent pattern of parental care arrangements and most had experienced multiple changes in household composition and frequent changes of address. We conclude that the whānau/family lives of many young New Zealanders are complex and dynamic. These observations contrast with the conventional notions of family life that form the basis for New Zealand’s family policies. We argue that social policies and services impacting on young people need to reflect the lived reality of young people if they are to meet young people’s needs.     

Quality of experience in residential care programmes: Retrospective perspectives of former youth participants

This exploratory study examined perceptions of care quality within parent‐pay youth treatment programmes such as therapeutic boarding schools, residential treatment centres, wilderness therapy programmes, and intensive outpatient programmes. Reflecting on their personal experiences as youths, 214 adults reported on a total of 75 different treatment settings. Two indices developed for this study measured participants' perceptions of quality of experience and the totalistic programme characteristics of their care settings. Regression analyses and ANOVA tests of means indicated a negative relationship between totalistic programme characteristics and quality of experience index scores. Significant relationships were not found between quality of experience and forcible transport, intake decade, or the amount of time in treatment.     

Instability and caregiving in the lives of street‐involved youth from foster care

A large proportion of youth who become street‐involved have experience in foster care, and our sample of 92 street‐involved youth, aged 14–18 years, all had foster care experience. We report on (i) instability of guardians and home from birth to street involvement; (ii) the connection between perceptions about foster care and measures of well‐being; and (iii) the implications of these findings for understanding street‐involved youth and the role of foster care in their life. The average number of transitions per youth from birth to mid‐teens was nine. Youth with experience in permanent care first lived away from biological parents at age 8.5 years, and for those with temporary care experience, it was age 10 years. Foster care was one of many living situations and one of several sources of caregivers. If participants were satisfied with foster care, they were more likely to be currently hopeful and happy. Participants who experienced positive influences from at least one long‐term caregiver tended to have other positive caregiver experiences, and those with negative influences were more likely to also have a positive relationship with a female caregiver. Foster care was one of several ‘way stations’ in their lives, one whose meaning needs further study.     

The contribution of mentoring to the life skills of youth leaving care in Israel

The goal of this study was to examine the contribution of natural mentoring to the improvement of life skills among youth in care in core areas of education, employment, and avoidance of risk behaviours while controlling for personal characteristics and placement history. The sample includes 174 adolescents in residential care in Israel. Results showed that mentoring duration and mentoring functions including mentor as “role model,” “parental figure,” and “independence promoter” significantly contributed to the prediction of the three life skills above and beyond control variables. This study highlights both the array of meaningful roles mentors play in youth's development of life skills and identifies important practice implications regarding the mechanism by which mentoring relationships contribute to the resilience of adolescents.     

Exploring strategies for re-engaging children and young people in learning while living in out-of-home care in the Northern Territory,Australia

The education of children living in out-of-home care (OOHC) has been a long-standing concern for children and their carers, policy-makers and researchers who have long highlighted the issue of low educational attainment and disengagement among children in care. This study investigates the strategies and practices used within a pilot programme based in the Northern Territory, Australia, that aims to re-engage children living in OOHC with education and training. Drawing on qualitative interviews with programme stakeholders, including educators, carers, child and family welfare workers, as well as an analysis of programme and client documentation, this study explores the programme's strategies to achieve re-engagement. The findings highlight the role of agile child-centred practice responding to the learning needs of participants, a focus on the ‘educational futures’ of students, as well as liaison and advocacy with schools and stakeholders on behalf of children in supporting re-engagement in education settings. Barriers to successful re-engagement include limited consideration of the cultural needs of children across education and OOHC systems, in particular the disruptive impact of OOHC placement changes, as well as programme discontinuity.     

Multi-system factors impacting youth justice involvement of children in residential out-of-home care

Children placed in residential care are significantly over-represented in youth justice systems. Drawing on interviews and focus groups with service providers, this exploratory study examines practice factors that impact on the criminalization of this group of children across multiple services and systems, including in the residential care environment, police, lawyers, courts and youth justice systems, as well as multi-systems practice with this group in one Australian state. Positive outcomes were observed for children in residential care where well-functioning care teams existed, as well as for children in therapeutic residential care settings. However, clear limitations were identified across all phases of children's youth justice system involvement, including placement with offending peers, the criminalization of behaviours of concern, greater use of remand and detention, limited support to navigate legal and youth justice processes, challenges to service collaboration, and limited applicability of sentencing considerations. The findings indicate a pervasive level of systemic disadvantage for this group of children, and imply that a holistic strategy underpinned by affirmative action across several systems will be necessary to address the ongoing criminalization of children in residential care.     

Care Leavers in Israel: What Contributes to Better Adjustment to Life After Care?

ABSTRACT

The present study examines the adjustment of youth leaving residential treatment in Israel in three core areas: military service, accommodation, and financial status. A sample of 277 adolescents (aged 17–18 years old) in educational and welfare residential placements were interviewed a few months before leaving care, and 236 of them were interviewed 1 year after. It was hypothesized that optimism, higher perceived sense of readiness to leave care, and higher social support of family, friends, and staff are associated with better outcomes in adjustment to military service, accommodations, and economic status. Findings show that 70% of care leavers were drafted to the (compulsory) military service, a sign of good adjustment in Israel. Yet, they have significant difficulties in the areas of accommodations and financial status. Optimism and perceived readiness for independent living while still in care were positively correlated with adjustment to the military service. Mother's support was positively correlated with care leavers’ economic status and stability in accommodations. These findings highlight the importance of designing programs that include specific attention to needs and challenges while youth are in care and immediately after they leave. Follow-up and longitudinal studies are suggested.     

Driving outcomes: learning to drive,resilience and young people living in residential care

There are continuing concerns about the experiences offered to older adolescents being looked after (‘in care’) in the UK and, especially, to care leavers. Questions are asked about the limitations of State care compared with normal family life. This paper reports on an initiative to provide driving lessons to a group of six young men living in residential homes in one city. It links with resilience theory – how individuals can have relatively good outcomes despite early adversity. A qualitative study was undertaken to explore the effects of the initiative, including individual interviews with young men, heads of homes in which they lived and children's services managers. The overall results indicated that the initiative was very worthwhile. The lessons were a significant part of young people's lives. Possible effects on young people were divided into personal, instrumental and social. Benefits were reported from all parties concerning young people's self‐esteem and self‐confidence, as well as in forging close relationships with supportive adults. Driving would not be seen as a panacea for complex personal histories and structural problems, yet this small experiment suggests that driving lessons could be of disproportionate benefit and there is a moral obligation to provide them in any case.     

Exploring spirituality among youth in foster care: findings from the Casey Field Office Mental Health Study

This study examined spiritual coping mechanisms, beliefs about spirituality and participation in spiritual activities and in other positive activities among adolescents in foster care. A multidimensional measure of spirituality was developed for face-to-face interviews with 188 youth (ages 14–17) from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds in the United States. Findings revealed 95% of youth believe in God, over 70% believe God is 'creator' and God is 'love', and 79% considered prayer a spiritual practice. Most youth said love and forgiveness help them heal. Two-thirds (67%) reported responding to 'bad or tragic things happening' by spending time alone, and over half responded by praying (59%) or sharing the problem with someone else (56%). Youth's top three spiritual goals were to follow God's plan for them, become a better person, and know their purpose in life. Based on the value youth ascribed to spiritual coping mechanisms, recommendations for policy and practice focus on the integration of spirituality into practice and caregiving for youth in foster care.