Care Leavers’ Perspectives on the Family in the Transition From Out-of-Home Care to Independent Living

Abstract

Findings from youth research have shown that, due to the development of the transitional phase of “emerging adulthood”, the family has become increasingly significant for young adults as a source of support and as a safety net. In contrast, care leavers are confronted with a relatively abrupt transition to independent living. However, international studies have shown that the family also plays a significant role during the status passage of leaving care — as an arena of concrete social relationships, as a normative model and ideal, as a biographical experience and memory, as a connection to family traditions and practices, and as an important contextual factor for resilience and identity formation. The first section of this paper describes the various links between care leavers and their families based on a literature review. In the second section, the biographical relevance of the family is highlighted based on the example of a qualitative interview study about the educational pathways of 20- to 27-year-old care leavers. The study shows the various influences of family links on the educational careers of young people during and after out-of-home care. From the findings, we derive some consequences for professional work with families in out-of-home care and for professional support and guidance during the status passage of leaving care.

The Experiences of Youths Who Left Child and Youth Care Centres of the Ekurhuleni Metro Municipality During the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…This relationship-building opportunity was particularly enhanced by, among other factors, Covid-19 restrictions that compelled people to remain together indoors. This corroborated Sting and Groinig's (2020) findings that youths who exit care feel positively about improving their relationships with family members. The participants' experiences were mapped through all the three stages of the Bridges Transition Model, with the ending stage being evident through the emotional experiences they felt when leaving the familiar behind, which left some wondering about their future and in this way reflected the neutral zone of the model (Glynn, 2021;Leybourne, 2016).…”

“…Earlier literature confirms these participants' experiences in that reconnecting with parents or extended families after leaving care can potentially be used as an opportunity to renegotiate past relationships and reconcile differences (Baker, 2017). In support of Baker's (2017) affirmation, Sting and Groinig (2020) state that the future linkage to their birth family may be translated as being a promise of support when youth leave care centres, and it is also associated with the hope that the relationship with their family can improve. Participant 9, who did not have an opportunity to bond with her brother because they were raised in different households, began to do so because of the Covid-19 restrictions.…”

Independent Living Coordinators’ Effects on Intangible Domains in an Independent Living Program

“…Havlicek (2021) noted a need to better support foster youths in understanding the strengths, weaknesses, and risks of maintaining relationships with their birth parents. In Austria, ILCs needed to support the level of relationships they developed with birth families (Sting & Groinig, 2020). They also needed to process past and present conflicts with birth family members (Sting & Groinig, 2020).…”

“…In Austria, ILCs needed to support the level of relationships they developed with birth families (Sting & Groinig, 2020). They also needed to process past and present conflicts with birth family members (Sting & Groinig, 2020).…”

Social Work in Austria

“…In St. Pölten, the theoretical stances adopted by Ilse von Arlt are being systematically reappraised and a connection made to current theoretical debates such as that on the capability approach (see Maiss, 2016). In Klagenfurt, a line of basic research has become established on the topic of leaving care (Groinig et al, 2019;Sting & Groinig, 2020). In Graz, a focus has emerged in the field of participatory research that covers topics such as participation in social organisations, digital literacy in Social Work and political participatory theatre work (Anastasiadis, 2019;Klinger & Mayr, 2020;Wrentschur, 2019).…”