Care leavers in early adulthood: How do they fare in Britain, Finland and Germany?

Cameron, Claire; Hollingworth, Katie; Schoon, Ingrid; Santen, Eric van; Schröer, Wolfgang; Ristikari, Tiina; Heino, Tarja; Pekkarinen, Elina

doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.02.031

Cited by 71 publications

(82 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…However, higher levels of education are related to higher earnings, and therefore supporting care leavers in higher education is another potentially useful approach (Naccarto et al 2010). Overall, care leavers experience remarkable difficulties in achieving a high school degree (Cameron et al 2018;Gypen et al 2017;Kääriälä and Hiilamo 2017), and according to this review care leavers themselves are fully aware of these challenges. Supportive programs for education and case management (Everson-Hock et al 2011;Lawler et al 2014;Murray and Goddard 2014) have succeeded in increasing participation in higher education and working life.…”

Section: Consideration Of Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Care leavers' transition to adult life is a multidimensional phase of their personal development and is shaped by their past experiences of vulnerability, their personal strengths, the levels of support they have received, possible problematic outcomes and the challenges they face in becoming self-sufficient (Courtney et al 2012;Keller et al 2007). Recent systematic reviews (Cameron et al 2018;Gypen et al 2017;Kääriälä and Hiilamo 2017) describing the well-being and health of former youth in foster care correspond closely to the results of previous reviews and studies (Berlin et al 2011;Dumaret et al 2011;Havlicek et al 2013). In spite of differences in welfare systems of different countries, internationally it is the case that care leavers' outcomes are poorer in education, employment, income, housing and teenage parenthood than their counterparts' outcomes in the general population.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Poor outcomes tend to accumulate in the lives of these young people, and their vulnerability in adult life is high. The common conclusions of the reviews (Cameron et al 2018;Gypen et al 2017;Kääriälä and Hiilamo 2017) are that foster care based both on the child protection and family services approach should be further developed to better meet care leavers' complex support needs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The reviews and synthesis of research knowledge are needed to provide evidence-based recommendations to inform policy makers, services and future research. To understand more deeply the development needs of foster care services (Cameron et al 2018;Gypen et al 2017;Kääriälä and Hiilamo 2017), it is important to provide up-to-date and comprehensive information how contemporary young people have experienced their transition to adult life after foster care.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Young People’s Preparedness for Adult Life and Coping After Foster Care: A Systematic Review of Perceptions and Experiences in the Transition Period

Häggman‐Laitila

Salokekkilä²,

Karki

2019

Child Youth Care Forum

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Background The transition to adult life for those leaving foster care is a multidimensional phase of their personal development. Care leavers' life outcomes are poorer in education, employment, income, housing and parenthood compared with their peers from the general population. They suffer more than other youngsters from mental health and behavioral problems, substance abuse and involvement with criminality. Objective This study aims to gather, assess and synthesize the current empirical evidence about subjective perceptions and experiences of former youth in foster care regarding their independent living during the transition to adulthood. Method A systematic review was conducted of studies drawn from six databases and included quantitative studies from 2010 to 2017. Of the 37 eligible studies identified, 13 were selected for final review. Data was analyzed using a narrative method. Results Foster care leavers identified themselves as adult and were quite confident about their future and potential for independent living. They had different coping strategies and profiles, but often faced the same challenges in finding employment, education and having a person whom they could rely on. Among the factors that supported the transition to independent living were care leavers' personal characteristics, certain care-specific features, good education, sufficient prerequisites for a safe life and social support. Conclusions This review looked at various descriptive studies based on different conceptual perspectives, cultural contexts and methodologies. The evidence, however, still remains relatively insubstantial. Further studies are needed to provide more reliable evidence-based recommendations to inform service development, staff education and additional research activities.

show abstract

Section: Consideration Of Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Young People’s Preparedness for Adult Life and Coping After Foster Care: A Systematic Review of Perceptions and Experiences in the Transition Period

Häggman‐Laitila

Salokekkilä²,

Karki

2019

Child Youth Care Forum

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“…An international comparison data of care leavers in three European countries suggests that the youth with a history of child welfare involvement is characterized by higher rates of teenage pregnancies, and earlier family formation. Authors interpret this finding as an attempt for care leavers to compensate for the lack of affection in their own childhood (Cameron et al., 2018). The vulnerability to early unplanned pregnancy in the youth with a history of IC can also be explained by a limited sexual education and an insecure attachment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mothers with a History of Child Welfare Involvement: A Brief Literature Review of Cross Generational Impact of Maternal Trauma

Zhukova

2020

New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development

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A number of studies to this day have examined the role of maternal childhood trauma in parenting styles, mental health, and child attachment patterns; however, there are limited data on parenting of mothers who were raised in institutional care (IC) and involved in the child welfare system. The current review focuses on maternal history of institutionalization and foster care placement and its impact on parenting and child development. Studies show that the history of maternal trauma such as maltreatment, which is often linked to an orphan status, can be transferred to children through maladaptive parenting strategies, evoking a cycle of cross‐generational maltreatment. Mothers raised in institutions show an early sexual debut that is often resulting in unplanned pregnancies, and are lacking competence in taking care of their own children. Directions for future research involving mothers with a history of IC are discussed.

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Intergenerational transmission of educational disadvantage: Education progression of children of care leavers compared to a general population sample

Parsons

Fitzsimons

Schoon

2023

British Educational Res J

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There is persistent evidence showing that care leavers tend to have lower educational outcomes compared to their peers. There is, however, less knowledge of whether this educational disadvantage transfers to the second generation. This study adopts a developmental contextual life‐course approach to examine: (a) the extent of educational inequality of children of care leavers from school entry to public examinations at age 16; (b) the relative role of different psychosocial family resources as predictors of educational attainment; and (c) the role of early school readiness assessments as predictors of later educational attainment. Drawing on data collected from families living in England at the first sweep of the nationally representative UK Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) (n = 11,514), the findings suggest intergenerational transmission of educational disadvantage among children of care leavers (n = 287), which is manifest in a direct assessment of school readiness (age 3), at the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) (age 5) and in General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) attainment (age 16). However, once inequalities in family socio‐economic background or area deprivation and housing are controlled for, children of care leavers perform comparably in their educational progression to those whose mothers had no experience of being in care (n = 11,227). Moreover, the findings highlight the significance of early school readiness assessments in predicting later educational attainment for the whole sample. Findings are discussed regarding their implications for policy, in particular the need to address educational inequality for children in care, area allocation and housing that is offered to care leavers, and the general importance of early interventions.

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Care leavers in early adulthood: How do they fare in Britain, Finland and Germany?

Cited by 71 publications

References 25 publications

Young People’s Preparedness for Adult Life and Coping After Foster Care: A Systematic Review of Perceptions and Experiences in the Transition Period

Young People’s Preparedness for Adult Life and Coping After Foster Care: A Systematic Review of Perceptions and Experiences in the Transition Period

Mothers with a History of Child Welfare Involvement: A Brief Literature Review of Cross Generational Impact of Maternal Trauma

Intergenerational transmission of educational disadvantage: Education progression of children of care leavers compared to a general population sample

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