Paper
Preparation and transition planning for unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people: a review of existing evidence in England
- issue: Issue 3 / 2009
- authors: Jim Wade
- keywords: England
- views: 3556
- downloaded: 1
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abstract
Background
Most unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people come to the UK in their mid-teen years, around three quarters aged 14-17 years. Preparation and planning for transition to adulthood should therefore be a central feature of social work practice with these young people from the point of arrival. Timescales for doing this are often relatively short. Planning for the future is also crowded by the practical and emotional demands of the present; the need for young people to resettle their lives in an unfamiliar social landscape - to find peace and stability, to resume education or training and to construct new networks of social support. As wider research on leaving care has shown, these are also important features of preparation for adulthood and for successful transition at a later stage.
Leaving care practice with unaccompanied young people is a challenging area of work, one that is also profoundly influenced by the asylum process. In the context of a harsh political climate towards asylum seekers, the approach of adulthood frequently creates anxiety for young people. Unaccompanied young people rarely obtain refugee status (6% in 2006) and are generally granted 'discretionary leave' to remain, most often to their 18th birthday (70% in 2006). Current signals from government will do little to allay these fears; they point to a future hardening of the stance on returning unaccompanied young people at 18 (or before if adequate reception arrangements exist) and suggest, on receipt of a final negative asylum decision, that social services responsibilities may end.
This presentation will draw on recent work undertaken by the presenter and colleagues to review existing evidence on the ways that social services in England have responded to the needs of unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people and on how services have varied for different sub-groups of the population. In particular, the presentation will focus on the ways that practitioners assist young people to prepare for adult life and on the challenges presented for pathway planning that arise at the intersection between social work and the asylum determination process.
Key issues
Once an unaccompanied asylum-seeking child is accepted as a minor (under the age of 18), local authorities have clear duties under the Children Act 1989 to assess and meet their needs as a lone child.
Until recently, most older teenagers (aged 15-17 at referral) have been assisted through the community support provisions of the Children Act 1989 (s17) and have not been formally looked after (s20). Being looked after conferred advantages. In comparison to those living in more independent settings, young people placed in care or with kin tended to have a more continuous engagement with education and developed stronger networks of social support
The statutory requirements linked to being looked after were also influential, since (compared to those supported under s17) these young people were more likely to have allocated social work support, regular social work contact and more comprehensive packages of support linked to formal care planning and review. Unlike those supported under s17, they were also eligible to receive leaving care services beyond age eighteen. These factors tended to provide a more solid foundation for preparation and planning.
Local authorities have a duty to prepare looked after children for adult life through 'care' and 'pathway' planning. However, planning for this group of young people was highly variable. The duty to provide written pathway plans was rarely exercised, even for those who were looked after, and planning for transition was often truncated, in some cases taking the form of an 'exit plan' as young people approached eighteen.
The intersection of childcare and immigration systems at the approach to adulthood makes multi-dimensional planning necessary. Many young people have not received a final asylum decision at this stage, immigration status creates different rights and entitlements (to work and study, to housing and financial support) and increasing numbers face the prospect of return to their countries of origin. Planning therefore needs to be flexible and realistic, taking account of the likely scenario for each young person.
Planning drift was most common in relation to the prospect of return. Most young people resisted contemplating this outcome and social workers found it a difficult subject to raise. However, preparation and planning for the future has to recognise this eventuality, while at the same time arranging good legal representation, providing advocacy and monitoring the progress of young people's asylum claims.
Most of those supported under s17 had no recourse to social work support on turning 18, although there was considerable evidence of continuing need in relation to housing, education and training and social support.
Further changes to the shape of services for this group are now envisaged. The Home Office will in the future exercise greater control over the care pathways of these young people and the implications of these proposals for the support of unaccompanied young people will be outlined.
References
Wade J., Mitchell, F. and Baylis, G. (2005) Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children: The Response of Social Work Services. London: BAAF.
Dixon, J. and Wade, J. (2007) 'Leaving care? Transition planning and support for unaccompanied young people.' In R. Kohli, and F. Mitchell (eds) Working with Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children: Issues for Policy and Practice. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan.
Contact details
Jim Wade, Senior Research Fellow, Social Policy Research Unit, University of York, B Block, Alcuin College, University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD, UK.
Tel: +44 (0)1904 321297
Email: jw35@york.ac.uk