Paper
Building a future together: issues and outcomes for transition aged youth
- issue: Issue 2 / 2010
- authors: Carrie Reid and Peter Dudding
- keywords: youth transitions, child welfare
- views: 4176
- downloaded: 0
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abstract
The purpose of this paper is to explore why youth aging out of the Canadian child welfare system do not fare as well as their peers. The answer isn't simple. There is no one formula that determines which children will excel and which ones will fall short. A multitude of factors impact on youth and combine to shape their life, for better or worse. These factors are often identified independently, occasionally together, but rarely is more discussed that the current dismal outcomes for youth. There is a move towards identifying how the various areas in which a youth can succeed or fail are interrelated. In an effort to not only identify what a youth needs to be successful but also why, this paper brings together the current research, experience of the authors and the voices of youth themselves, to provide a solid knowledge base that can help build stronger policies and practices for youth exiting child welfare systems across Canada.
This paper uses eight key areas as pillars and a foundation to create the bridge from life in care to adulthood. Education, housing, relationships, life skills, identity, youth engagement and emotional healing are the seven pillars of necessary support with financial support as the foundation to enable the recommended supports to be predictable and sustainable. The concept of pillars and a foundation is particularly apt because none of these areas are autonomous and each contributes to the success in other areas. Without each pillar working together to create a solid structure, cracks can form and a youth can very easily fall through them.
The framework of pillars is not unique to this paper. The Casey Family Programs document, entitled It's My Life (Casey Family Programs, 2001) outlines seven practice domains that provided the basis for our structure. However, the domains are not all the same and reflect the unique realities in Canada.
A stated goal of the child welfare system is for youth to exit care and live "independently". However, the term "independence" is misleading. It's My Life chooses to use the term "interdependency". It views the goal of living successfully on one's own not as "independence", but as a result of "interdependent" relationships. This reflects the belief that relationships cultivated throughout life are not independent of one another but are connected or interdependent (Casey Family Programs 2001). This paper adopts this definition as it reflects our view that people are not independent. While we are all individuals, we rely on others and they rely on us. This system of interconnectedness is the ideal state to be achieved.
There is a strong desire to improve the opportunities and outcomes for young people leaving the child welfare system. Being a ward of the state brings with it its own challenges and hardships that can cause impediments to successful adulthood. These obstacles start long before the transition phase of life in care and they must be addressed sooner rather than later. Starting to plan for life after care should start early on with the development of life skills and remediation. Further, all possible measures should be taken to help a youth transition smoothly over the course of time, not with arbitrary expulsion dates.
The barriers to successful transition out of care are not problems with individual youth; they are systemic issues that impact on each and every youth in care to varying degrees of severity. Many child welfare organizations have recognized that it is essential to create a well-designed and resourced program that is specifically for youth preparing to leave care. These programs must be comprehensive and flexible to ensure that they meet the complex needs of the youth they are serving.
Examples from across Canada and internationally show how innovative programs and ideas are being tried. Youth leaving care need someone to act on their behalf and help them act for themselves. The needs are identified and solutions outlined; all that's left is for Canadian governments at all levels to work together and implement the necessary changes and improvements to ensure that all children leaving the state home do so as prepared for the future as they can be.
It is an indication of their maturity and understanding that many young people recognize the need for ongoing assistance and support to make a successful transition. Many young people ask "why we would expect them to be any different from our own children in needing an ongoing and interdependent relationship?" It is a good question.
Contact details
Peter M. Dudding, MM, MSW, RSW, Child Welfare League of Canada.
Email: info@cwlc.ca