Procedures when young people leave care — Views of 111 Swedish social services managers

In western societies, there is a general tendency towards a protracted transition to adulthood for young people, who thereby may become increasingly dependent on support from family. Young people leaving a placement in out-of-home care often lack such support, and will thus have a disadvantageous position compared to their peers. With the purpose of looking into the procedures when young people leave a placement in out-of-home care, telephone interviews were performed with 111 managers of social service units in two Swedish regions (West Sweden, and Stockholm Region), using a structured interview schedule. Answering rate was 99.1%.Only 6% of the managers had information of the young people's whereabouts once they had left care. 86-88% had general support programmes for all young people concerning housing, employment etc. but only 2-4% had specific programmes for young people leaving care. A majority of the managers were attentive of the difficulties the young people leaving care may encounter, but displayed little awareness of the consequences of a prolonged transition to adulthood, and the need for continued support after leaving care. Several managers referred to the general support of the Swedish welfare state, meaning that young people leaving care had the same access to support as all other young people in Sweden. Consequently, young people leaving care are at risk of being invisible in the welfare system and facing a compressed transition to adulthood.     

Preparation and transition planning for unaccompanied asylum-seeking and refugee young people: A review of evidence in England

Most unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people arrive in the UK in their mid teen years. Preparation and planning for transition to adulthood should therefore be at the forefront of the minds of care-givers and social workers. This paper reviews current research evidence on the response of social work services to this group of young people in England, with a particular focus on what is known about the circumstances in which young people may be best prepared for adult life, how they fare in comparison to other young people in public care, and on the challenges presented for pathway planning that arise at the intersection between social work and the asylum determination process. The evidence for England is situated, wherever possible, against evidence drawn from international literature in this field and the need for a broader research agenda (incorporating more longitudinal work on care and leaving care pathways) is highlighted in order to strengthen the evidence base to support policy and practice in this field.     

Transition secured? A follow-up study of adolescents who have left secure residential care

Many adolescents who make the transition to adulthood experience problems after their departure from secure residential care. Research suggests that these young people are often in need of support after they have left secure care. Little is known about the experiences and perceptions of adolescents during and after this transition. The aim of this article is to assess these experiences for a group of 24 adolescents in the Netherlands that have left secure residential care. The results show, in line with previous studies, that many adolescents experience problems during their transition from secure care, especially with regard to finances, school and employment, and living arrangements. In contrast to other studies, a majority of the adolescents reports to have received support in the year following their departure. Relatively few adolescents move to independence after their departure, which suggests that many adolescents are not ready for making a true transition into adulthood yet.     

What does being an adult mean? Comparing young people’s and adults’ representations of adulthood

This article aims at exploring the representations young people and adults attribute to the concept of adulthood in order to analyse the effects these ideas have on their reciprocal perception and recognition. In so doing, it draws upon data collected through a grounded theory study, which has been conducted in Italy involving young people and adults in semi-structured qualitative interviews. Data show that an outdated traditional model is still used by both the samples to determine who is an adult and when the adult status is acquired without discussing its validity in front of a changed social scenario. An evaluative function is added to traditional transitional markers of adulthood, which are used by both young people and adults to accuse each other of being ‘not mature enough’. A discrepancy between the shared ideal representations of adulthood and the actual possibility the two generations have to meet those social expectations in their lives emerge. The implications of these results for youth transitions to adulthood are discussed in the light of the high level of intergenerational inequality characterising the Italian context.     

Emerging adulthood features and criteria for adulthood: Variable- and person-centered approaches

Reaching adulthood is the aim of the transition to adulthood; however, emerging adults differently define both adulthood and the transitional period they are living. Variable-centered and person-centered approaches were integrated in the present paper to investigate if the criteria used to define adulthood are linked to how emerging adults perceive the transitional phase they are going through. Participants were 1513 emerging adults (53.60% female; 807 university students and 706 young workers), aged from 19 to 30 years. Participants completed self-report measures about dimensions of emerging adulthood and criteria for adulthood. Main results revealed that, according to the variable-centered approach, criteria of adulthood and dimensions of emerging adulthood are only slightly associated, while the person-centered approach revealed that people who have a composite view of adulthood are also less probably perceiving their emerging adulthood as a period characterized by a lack of possibilities. Implications and future lines of research are discussed.     

Male care-leavers' transfer of social skills from care into independent living in South Africa

Residential child and youth care centres typically provide programmes to develop the social and life skills of the children in care, on the assumption that these skills will equip them for adult life. However, there is little research to show whether and how these skills are transferred from the child care setting to young adulthood. This qualitative study investigates how a sample of male care-leavers from Girls and Boys Town South Africa transferred these social skills into independent living. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten young men who had left care 2–5 years previously. Content analysis of the data was conducted. Findings indicate that participants could recall the skills they had learned in care and reflect on how they have applied these skills in their adult lives. In many cases, skills that were lost or abandoned were later recovered during times of crisis; and many participants adapted the skills to be more applicable in their adult world contexts. Teaching social and life skills, using rigorous and structured methods, appears to be a useful intervention with long-term benefits to young people after leaving care. However, the flexible and context-specific use of these skills should also be emphasised.     

Leaving Care with “Cultural Baggage”: The Development of an Identity within a Transnational Space

Abstract

The transition from care is a critical phase for care leavers in general, and even more complex for those who have arrived in Sweden as unaccompanied minors and belong to an ethnic minority group. The aim of this article is to examine unaccompanied minors' experiences of leaving care, and to explore the experience in relation to perceptions about ethnicity and culture within a transnational space. Interviews were completed with 11 care leavers who had been received in Sweden as unaccompanied minors. The results show that these young people have to deal with multiple adjustments. Conquering obstacles as care leavers involves not only resolving general issues such as reintegration into society, but also adjustment to perceived and created views of how to become Swedish. From the young people's point of view, this seems to be necessary to make a successful transition from care into adulthood.     

‘I couldn’t just entirely be her sister’: the relational and social policy implications of care between young adult siblings with and without disabilities

Research has commonly explored siblings of people with disabilities’ roles in care for their brothers or sisters with disabilities. Social policy has also commonly framed young adult siblings of people with disabilities as ‘young carers’. However, there has been less consideration of the implications of care for the relationship shared between young adult siblings with and without disabilities and of what this may mean for social policy. What do different types of care mean for sibling relationships? What are the relational and social policy implications of care between siblings? Drawing on a qualitative study of 25 siblings with disabilities and 21 siblings without disabilities aged 15–29, this article explores how young adult siblings perceive, talk and act with regard to the different types of care enacted between them. The article identifies how, during young adulthood, some types of care can endanger siblings’ capacity to feel like siblings and discusses ways that young adult siblings talk and act in order to – as best they can – keep their role within the bounds of a normative sibling relationship. The findings are discussed in light of implications for social policy, particularly with regard to seeing siblings of people with disabilities as ‘young carers’.     

Personal resilience and identity capital among young people leaving care: enhancing identity formation and life chances through involvement in volunteering and social action

This study explored identity capital and personal resilience among care leavers and young people in care engaging in social activities through volunteering. Care leavers and young people in care are disadvantaged developmentally by lack of identity resources and an accelerated transition to independence. This study analysed material from semi-structured interviews to explore the Identity Capital Model and theories of individualisation, agentic identity development and resilience in explaining the identity resources of young people transitioning out of care. The analysis identified links between the exploration opportunities of volunteering with the development of agentic individualisation and enhanced identity capital. The findings indicate that developmental processes may be enhanced through supported and personalised volunteering opportunities to aid vulnerable young people transitioning out of care. Young people leaving care can make substantial gains particularly in social capital, personal resilience and identity capital. This study indicates that volunteering opportunities for this group of vulnerable young people may assist in compensating for the lack of resources often experienced by care leavers when transitioning to adulthood.     

Learning basic employability competence: a challenge for the active labour insertion of adolescents in residential care in their transition to adulthood

The teaching of basic employability competence from a very early age is of preventive value in the transition of young people in residential care to adulthood. The present research relates employability competence (finding and holding down a job and gaining promotion in the labour market) with positive career outcomes and employment opportunities. In this study, conceptual methods for understanding employability are analysed and some existing international studies of employability skills are reviewed, although all of these are deemed partial approaches to the needs of children and young people in residential care. Our proposal, the IARS (Infancia y Adolescencia en Riesgo Social [Children and Young People at Social Risk]) Employability Competence Framework, developed by means of a collaborative and integrated approach with experts, provides a complete picture of how employability competences are important for preparing young people in residential care not only for active labour insertion but also in terms of their comprehensive development. A selection of a cluster of eight employability competences (self-organisation, decision-making and problem-solving, teamwork, communication, perseverance, professional project development, flexibility and responsibility) and their components are presented, as well as its educational implications within children's homes.     

Keyworking in residential child care: Lessons from research

Developing quality relationships is recognised as an active ingredient for effective interventions with young people in care. Essentially, care staff has the opportunity and capacity to positively influence the young person's experiences in care, through the positive relationships they form. This paper presents selectively on the findings of two separate but related qualitative Irish studies exploring relationship-based approaches in residential child care practice, from the perspectives of both residential child care workers and young care leavers. Thirty-two professionals and four care leavers participated in either focus group or individual interviews. The findings are integrated in this paper with the wider literature on young people leaving care, with the aim of identifying core knowledge that is needed by service providers who are tasked with the support of young people making the transition out of care and towards independent living. In this paper we attempt to identify the knowledge base on relationship-building which is needed by care staff in order to carry out their role. It is argued that an explicit knowledge base is overdue now that the complex needs of young people in care are increasingly visible through advances in research and more recently the emerging literature concerning the personal testimonies of care graduates.     

SAME‐SEX EXPERIENCE AND MENTAL HEALTH DURING THE TRANSITION BETWEEN ADOLESCENCE AND YOUNG ADULTHOOD

Previous research has demonstrated that people who report same‐sex experience tend to have poorer mental health than heterosexual people in adolescence and adulthood. Yet, little is known about how same‐sex experience is associated with changes in mental health between the two life stages. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n = 12,056), this study assesses patterns of same‐sex experience between adolescence and young adulthood and their consequences for changes in depressive symptoms, binge drinking, and drug use. Compared to people with no same‐sex experience, those who report such experience only in adolescence show greater levels of mental health problems in adolescence, but they do not show any worse mental health changes during the transition into young adulthood. People who develop their first same‐sex experience in young adulthood, however, tend to show worse changes, consistent with the argument that entry into a stigmatized role is psychologically harmful. Among females, those who report same‐sex experience in both life stages also show worse mental health changes, indicating that the continuity in minority status contributes to their cumulative disadvantage. However, these differences are modest, and substantial amounts of variations in mental health changes are observed within each group. Findings are used to address the dynamic aspect of mental health disparity linked to sexuality.     

Institutional care in India: Investigating processes for social reintegration

Globally investigations show that the social reintegration of young people transitioning out of institutional care is burdened with difficulties. This study aims to unravel the social reintegration policies and legislations of the different organisations (government and private) in India, catering to these children and youth. It has built case studies of twenty child-care and after-care homes operating in the metropolitan cities of Mumbai and Kolkata assessing their diversities in the models of care, processes of admission, availability of basic services, provisions for transition and nature of after-care support. Based on the findings, the researcher has developed a standardised social reintegration framework for intervention.     

New Voices in Iceland. Parents and Adult Children: juggling supports and choices in time and space

This paper deals with parents' perspectives and experiences of bringing up children with a variety of impairments in Iceland, and how they impact the young disabled adults' approach to the status of adulthood. The paper is based on a qualitative study that explored perspectives and experiences of 36 young disabled adults (16-24 years old), their parents, friends and teachers. The purpose of this paper is to share themes related to patterns of parents' reactions and choices when coming to terms with parenting a disabled child, the support they found from their social network and professionals, and their sons or daughters' subsequent views of themselves and their prospects as young adults. The paper includes different perspectives on adulthood and the extent to which the young disabled people expect to reach that status or remain as 'eternal youth' enmeshed in segregated services. Findings show that the type and nature of early support for parents of disabled children is critical for the young adults' approaching adulthood in regular society or expecting to remain in the limbo of 'eternal youth' within segregated settings. Early 'betrayals' may, however, be revisited at each subsequent transition point. Furthermore, parents and their disabled children who struggled for social inclusion could obtain full active membership in society, even against social and physical barriers, and medically defined disability labels.     

Making sense of leaving care: The contribution of Bridges model of transition to understanding the psycho-social process

This paper is based on research into the transition of young people leaving public care in Romania. Using this specific country example, the paper aims to contribute to present understandings of the psycho-social transition of young people from care to independent living by introducing the use of Bridges (2002) to build on existing theories and literature. The research discussed involved mixed methods design and was implemented in three phases: semi-structured interviews with 34 care leavers, focus groups with 32 professionals, and a professional-service user working group. The overall findings confirmed that young people experience two different, but interconnected transitions - social and psychological - which take place at different paces. A number of theoretical perspectives are explored to make sense of this transition including attachment theory, focal theory and identity. In addition, a new model for understanding the complex process of transitions was adapted from Bridges (2002) to capture the clear complexity of transition which the findings demonstrated in terms of their psycho-social transition. The paper concludes with messages for leaving and after care services with an emphasis on managing the psycho-social transition from care to independent living.     

From dependence to interdependence: towards better outcomes for young people leaving state care

Young people leaving out of home care are arguably one of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in society. Compared to most young people, they face particular difficulties in accessing educational, employment, housing and other developmental and transitional opportunities. Care leavers have been found to experience significant health, social and educational deficits including homelessness, involvement in juvenile crime and prostitution, mental and physical health problems, poor educational and employment outcomes, inadequate social support systems and early parenthood. These poor outcomes reflect a number of factors including ongoing emotional trauma resulting from experiences of abuse and neglect prior to care, inadequate support while in care, accelerated transitions to adulthood and lack of guaranteed ongoing financial and other assistance to help facilitate this transition. Young people leaving care do not currently receive the ongoing support that a good parent would be expected to provide for their children. Using relevant literature from the USA, UK and Australia, this paper examines the factors that contribute to these poor outcomes and potential policy and practice reforms that may lead to better outcomes for care leavers. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Emerging adulthood among former system youth: The ideal versus the real

Recent research has indicated that emerging adulthood, the late teen years and early twenties, is a distinct developmental period, which occurs gradually and is often filled with exploration, stress, uncertainty and a lack of a distinct role in life. Few studies, however, have examined how emerging adulthood tenets are experienced by young people involved with social service systems. With this in mind, fifty-nine young adults, ages 18 to 25, participated in in-depth interviews regarding their perspectives on transitioning to adulthood and adulthood. Participants were struggling with emotional difficulties, and shared a childhood history, which included a mood disorder diagnosis and utilization of public mental health and social services (e.g., child welfare, juvenile justice, and/or public welfare). The study sought to understand whether or not young adults with mental health and social service histories experience similar (or different) dimensions of mainstream emerging adulthood developmental theory during the late teens and early twenties. Theoretical thematic analysis indicated support not only for the theory of emerging adulthood, but also aspects unique to this sub-population. Implications for practice, policy and research are discussed.     

Experiences of youth who transition to adulthood out of care: Developing a theoretical framework

Adverse adulthood outcomes are well documented among youth who age out of foster care. However, not all youth who age out of care experience deleterious adult outcomes, despite struggling with similar challenges during the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Childhood maltreatment, which places youth at greater risk for later maladaptive functioning and psychopathology, may partially explain poor adjustment outcomes in adulthood. Similarly, a history of unstable placements and residing in institutional congregate care settings may also contribute to hardship during this time. However, none of these factors help to explain how some young people aging out of care manage to achieve stability while transitioning into adulthood. This article reviews the literature through the lens of the identity capital framework, and discusses the applicability of this framework to the experiences of youth aging out of foster care.     

Social Work Practices for Young People with Complex Needs: An Integrative Review

The aim of this integrative review is to investigate research of social work practices for adolescents and young adults with complex needs. The research questions are: What are the major themes in studies of practices for young people with complex needs? How do studies suggest that complex needs can be met in ways that are beneficial for young people? A young person with complex needs is in this review defined as an adolescent or young adult who, due to mental ill-health in combination with different types of social vulnerabilities, is receiving assistance from multiple welfare services. Searches were conducted in seven databases. These searches resulted in a sample of 1677 records, published 2007–2016, which in the screening process were reduced to 24 publications, all peer-reviewed articles. The participants in the studies in the articles consisted of young people, parents and professionals from mainly Anglo-Saxon countries. The articles were analyzed with qualitative summative content analysis. Three empirically generated themes were found in studies of work practices targeting young people with complex needs: collaboration-, relationship- and empowerment-oriented practices. In conclusion, the practices contain a wide variety of features, but with the joint aim of acknowledging young people’s needs. The results can be used by practitioners and policymakers to further the development of services for youth with mental ill-health and social vulnerabilities, who use multiple welfare services.