Young people transitioning from out-of-home care

Young people transitioning from care are universally a vulnerable group. But there are vast differences in their experiences of out-of-home care and transitions from care, and their shorter and longer-term outcomes. Equally, there are significant differences between jurisdictions in terms of the legislative, policy and practice supports and opportunities made available to them.
This is the first text to challenge and revise existing ways of thinking about leaving care policy, practice and research at regional, national and international levels.
42 contributors from 15 countries cover a range of topical policy and practice themes and issues presented within national or international or comparative contexts including: the experiences of particularly vulnerable groups of care leavers such as those with a disability and those involved in the youth justice system; pathways to educational success; and the impact of vastly different care systems and varied socio-economic and cultural contexts on care leaver opportunities and aspirations.
Globally, there appears to be limited and inadequate support for care leavers. Governments and other authorities have taken on the moral and legal obligations associated with a formal loco parentis role, but have too often failed to devote sufficient resources to ensure that the outcomes for those children are better than if they had remained with their family of origin. Policy makers have not displayed the same duty of care they would demand for their own children in terms of ensuring their access to core social, community and economic opportunities and connections.

Our findings highlight the importance of action to lift the visibility of care leavers, to give them a louder voice in defining their needs at a practice and policy level, and to address the systemic and structural inequities that deny them the same life chances as their non-care peers.