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Research shows that youth who leave foster care to live independently are often at risk of homelessness, less education, unemployment/poverty, and mental health issues. There are a number of reasons for this increased risk. A variety of aftercare services for youth leaving foster care are designed to help address these risks.
The purpose of this study was to examine trends in participation and understand the experiences of youth transitioning from foster care who were involved in the Iowa Aftercare Services Program. The authors examine trends in participation, services received,…
Young adults with histories of out-of-home care (OOHC) have poor early adult outcomes. Transitioning to adulthood takes preparation, coupled with support and resources. Few studies have examined these young adults’ perceptions of what helped them prepare for adulthood and how prepared they perceived they were to make the developmental transition to adulthood. This convergent mixed methods study builds knowledge surrounding preparedness among a sample of young adults with histories in OOHC (N = 204).
The study progressed in three phases. First, quantitative measures of preparedness…
This book sets out the case for Transitional Safeguarding, a new approach to protection and safeguarding designed to address the needs and behaviours of young people aged 15-24 who are falling between gaps in current global systems, with often devastating results.
While the book addressed the gaps in the current system in the UK, the lessons have global application and the authors outlines how the specific needs of young people can be met through this approach. Written by leading experts in this area with strong practice networks, it presents up-to-date evidence for its effectiveness, and…
Leaving a familiar environment can be daunting. Although previous studies investigated the experiences of youths who left care centres, few considered those who left during the COVID-19 pandemic. For this exploratory qualitative research study, the authors purposively recruited 12 African youths aged between 18 and 23, with at least two years’ experience of life in the care centres of Ekurhuleni Metro Municipality to investigate their experiences when they left such centres during the pandemic.
The data were collected through individual semistructured interviews, analysed according to…
Transition-age youth with foster care involvement (TAY) face significant risks for food insecurity and other hardships in early adulthood. Using representative survey data of youth transitioning out of foster care in California, the authors examine the prevalence and predictors of food insecurity. They find that about 30% of study participants were food insecure at ages 19, 21, and 23.
They also identify multiple risk and protective factors associated with being food insecure, such as TAY’s sexual identity and receipt of public benefits. The results of their study offer life-stage-specific…
There is a lack of research investigating the role of caregivers in the development and prevention of mental health issues and substance use among youth living in care. The goal of this study is to examine the relationship between caregiver characteristics, caregiver attachment and placement type on two dimensions of mental health and substance use among a sample of older youth living in care.
The data used for this study were collected as part of the Ontario Looking After Children project, which was developed to assess the needs and developmental progress of children and young people who…
Abstract
Background
Newcomer families with child welfare involvement face complex COVID-19 related challenges that are still less understood within the Canadian context.
Objective
This study explored views on the changes in child safety reporting and interventions with newcomer families during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods
Using cross tabulations with Fisher exact tests, the analysis draws on survey data from the second wave of the pandemic to test for significance of differences in areas of child safety reporting, interventions with newcomer families, and available…
Abstract
Summary
Many young orphans in Zimbabwe grow up in residential care facilities, but according to governmental policies and literature in this field, these children should be transitioned to extended families to ensure optimal development. Thus, semi-structured interviews was conducted with a social worker, two residential care administrators and five extended families; whereas the participating orphans were asked to draw and narrate their lives in RCC and their extended families. This article provides empirically derived insights to the inner experiences of the…
Abstract
Background
Researchers have examined sub-groups that may exist among young people transitioning from out-of-home care (OHC) using various theoretical models. However, this population group has not been examined for trajectories of homelessness risk.
Objectives
To examine whether different subtypes of homelessness risk exist among young people transitioning from care and whether these trajectories of homelessness are associated with …
Orphans are at higher risk of HIV infection and several important HIV risk factors than non-orphans; however, this may be due to a combination of related social, psychological, and economic factors, as well as care environment, rather than orphan status alone. Understanding these complex relationships may aid policy makers in supporting evidence-based, cost-effective programming for this vulnerable population.
This longitudinal study uses a causal effect model to examine, through decomposition, the relationship between care environment and HIV risk factors in orphaned and separated…