Paper
The transition to adulthood for young people leaving public care: developing an international research group and the challenges of comparative work
- issue: Issue 3 / 2008
- authors: Mike Stein, Emily Munro
- keywords: United Kingdom, comparative research, leaving care
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abstract
Background. Prior to the first meeting of the international research group, held in Brussels in 2003, a growing body of international research findings had revealed the poor outcomes for looked after children, in comparison to children who had not been in care, especially in relation to their education, health and wellbeing. These findings had also shown the high risk of social exclusion of young people making the transition from care to adulthood. They were far more likely than young people who had not been in care to have poorer educational qualifications, be younger parents, be homeless, and have higher levels of unemployment, offending behaviour and mental health problems. The Brussels seminar brought together, for the first time, researchers from Europe, the Middle East, Canada and the United States, to begin to explore in depth the issues underpinning these research findings.
Purpose. This paper describes the roots and development of this international research group, with members from 16 countries, from its origins in 2003 to 2008. This will provide the context for a more substantive exploration of the work of the group in preparing the first comparative publication in this field, drawing upon 16 international case studies and four thematic chapters: comparing welfare regimes; legal and policy frameworks; using secondary data to understand the experiences of young people leaving care; and messages from research.
Key findings and implications
Research in context. Young people's transitions from care to adulthood in different countries, including the legal and policy framework, the type and range of services they receive, and the collection of data, are shaped by a set of complex processes. There are no simple transferable international solutions. Differences in legal and policy frameworks may reflect different views about how countries see the balance between individuals, the family, the role of the welfare state and the labour market, which in turn may be underpinned by differences in countries welfare regimes, as well as the opportunities and risks associated with economic, social and legal global influences.
The role of the Corporate Parent. For young people leaving care and moving to adulthood, these diverse and complex influences may become embodied in the role of the 'corporate parent.' The evidence from the international case studies suggests that in practice this role will depend on a number of factors including:
- first, the balance between universal services for all young people and specialist services for care leavers. The latter may be exemplified by income support, youth services and accommodation, the former by additional leaving care financial support linked to education, employment and training, supported accommodation and specialist projects providing a range of services for young people leaving care;
- second, legislation that is a framed as a 'duty' or as 'permissive', the former leading to an enforceable legal framework for service development and the latter without legal enforcement, and therefore the potential absence of services;
- third, how services are accessed by young people leaving care - whether as a 'right', or 'discretionary'. The former meaning that the status of 'care leaver' is by itself a passport to all services, where as the latter will depend on the specific circumstances of the care leaver, for example, if they are 'seeking employment' then they will be entitled to additional support;
- finally, levels of funding for services; inspection and quality control mechanisms; and training and workforce planning. The determinants of these very significant resource issues are influenced by a number of factors including the professional and political priority attached to the needs of this highly vulnerable group of young people. There is evidence that identifying the social and economic costs of failing to meet their needs may contribute to improvements in the areas identified above.
Secondary Data and Research. Secondary data can provide information on a range of key adult outcomes, including education, health and wellbeing, social integration and use of public services, as well as allowing for comparisons to be made with the outcomes for other groups of young people. However, we found that very little use is made of secondary data by the 16 countries. This may be as a consequence of the decentralisation of services, attitudes to the privacy of care leavers, and the 'limited political capital' of care leavers as a group.
In terms of research, some of the implications arising from our work include: the potential of more cohort studies, based on large representative samples, in providing a more sophisticated understanding of 'risk' and 'protective' factors over time; more evaluative research on the effect of specific interventions, using experimental and quasi-experimental designs; and more ethnographic research would also add to qualitative knowledge.
The Comparative challenge: next steps. The adopted conceptual framework for cross-country comparison identifies three domains: micro or local; mezzo or national; and macro or global. The paper will summarise the focus of the work within these domains, existing gaps and potential areas for development.
Key references
Munro, E. R., Stein, M., & Ward, H. (2005). Comparing how different social, political and legal frameworks support or inhibit transitions from public care to independence in Europe, Israel, Canada and the United States. International Journal of Child and Family Welfare, 8(4), 191- 201.
Stein, M. (2006). Young People Aging Out of Care: the poverty of theory. Children and Youth Services Review, 28, 422-435.
Stein, M., & Munro, E. (Eds). (2008). Young People's Transitions from Care to Adulthood: International Research and Practice. JKP.
Contacts: Mike Stein, Social Policy Research Unit, University of York, University of York, B Block, Alcuin College, York YO10 5DD, England, E-mail: ms34@york.ac.uk, Phone 01904 321296.