Forced to become adults? Transitions to autonomy of young care-leavers

Journal title SICUREZZA E SCIENZE SOCIALI
Author/s Antonello Scialdone
Publishing Year 2019 Issue 2019/1
Language Italian Pages 14 P. 139-152 File size 205 KB
DOI 10.3280/SISS2019-001013
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

This paper deals with the problems of children and young people in out-of-home care, which have to leave care, even if aren’t autonomous at all. So being legally an adult at 18-years-old can imply high risks of cumulative instabilities and social exclusion. A new law in Italy is aimed to give to young care-leavers chances for extension of social protection and financial support. The text analyzes main features of the situation in our country, comparing the most relevant topics of international literature about this peculiar target.

Keywords: Children/young people in out-of-home care; care-leavers; age limits; transitions into adulthood.

  1. Adley N. and Jupp Kina V. (2017). Getting behind the closed door of care leavers: Understanding the role of emotional support for young people leaving care. Child and Family Social Work, 22/1: 97-105.
  2. Akister J., Owens M. and Goodyer I. (2010). Leaving care and mental health: outcomes for children in out-of-home care during the transition to adulthood. Health Research Policy and Systems, 8/10: 1-9.
  3. Almquist Y., Jackisch J., Forsman H., Gauffin K., Vinnerljung B., Hjern A. and Brannstrom L. (2018). A decade lost: does educational success mitigate the increased risks of premature death among children with experience of out-of-home care? Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 72/11: 997-1002.
  4. Arnau-Sabatés L. and Gilligan R. (2015). What helps young care leavers to enter the world of work? Possible lessons learned from an exploratory study in Ireland and Catalonia. Children and Youth Services Review, 53: 185-191.
  5. Autorità Garante per l’Infanzia e l’Adolescenza (2018). La tutela dei minorenni in comunità. Roma: Marchesi Grafiche Editoriali.
  6. Bengtsson M., Sjöblom Y. and Öberg, P. (2018). ‘Well, it’s up to me now’ - young care leavers’ strategies for handling adversities when leaving out-of-home care in Sweden. Nordic Social Work Research, 8(S1): 8-18.
  7. Bond S. and Van Breda A. (2018). Interaction between possible selves and the resilience of care-leavers in South Africa. Children and Youth Services Review, 94: 88-95.
  8. Campo M. and Commerford J. (2016). Supporting young people leaving out-of-home care. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.
  9. Clark-Kazak C. (2009). Towards a working definition and application of social age in international development studies. Journal of Development Studies, 45(8): 1307-1324.
  10. Collins M.E. and Ward R.L. (2011). Services and outcomes for transition-age foster care youth: Youths’ perspectives. Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, 6(2): 157-165.
  11. Dima G. and Bucuta M.D. (2015). The Process of Transition from Public Care to Independent Living: A Resilience-Based Approach. Revista de Cercetare si Interventie Sociala, 50: 53-65.
  12. Dinisman T. (2016). Life satisfaction in the transition from care to adulthood: the contribution of the readiness to leave care and social support. Child and Family Social Work, 21/4: 401-411.
  13. Fry C.E., Langley K. and Shelton K. (2017). A systematic review of cognitive functioning among young people who have experienced homelessness, foster care, or poverty. Child Neuropsychology, 23/8: 907-934.
  14. Galimberti A., Ferrari M. and Formenti L. (2017). Transitions to adulthood and processes of social inclusion: a biographical research on careleavers’ experiences. In: Kong G., Boeren E., eds., Adult Education for Inclusion and Diversity. Edinburgh: CREID-SCUTREA: 127-132.
  15. Gilligan R. (2018). Age limits and eligibility conditions for care, extended care and leaving care support for young people in care and care leavers: the case for cross-national analysis. Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care, 17/2: 1-16.
  16. Harder A.T., Köngeter S., Zeller M., Knorth E. and Knot-Dickscheit J. (2011). Instruments for research on transition: Applied methods and approaches for exploring the transition of young care leavers to adulthood. Children and Youth Services Review, 33/12: 2431-2441.
  17. Hayden C. (2010). Offending Behaviour in Care: is children’s residential care a ‘criminogenic’ environment? Child and Family Social Work, 13/4: 461-472.
  18. Hayes J. (2013). An exploratory study into care leavers transition into adulthood. Critical Social Thinking, 5: 132-149.
  19. Heerde J.A., Hemphille S. and Scholes-Balog K. (2018). The impact of transitional programmes on post-tranistion outcomes for youth leaving out-of-home care: a meta-analysis. Health and Social care in the community, 26/1: 15-30.
  20. Höjer I. and Sjöblom Y. (2014). What Makes a Difference? Turning Points for Young People in the Process of Leaving Placements in Public Care. Social Work & Society, 12(1): 1-12.
  21. Hung I. and Appleton P. (2016). To plan or not to plan: the internal conversation of young people leaving care. Qualitative Social Work, 15/1: 35-54.
  22. Hyde J. and Kammerer N. (2009). Adolescents’ perspectives on placement moves and congregate settings: complex and cumulative instabilities in out-of-home care. Children and Youth Services Review, 31/2: 265-273.
  23. Johnson G., Natalier K., Mendes P., Liddiard M., Thoresen S., Hollows A. and Bailey N. (2010). Pathways from out-of-home care. Melbourne: Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute.
  24. Johnson G. and Mendes P. (2014). Taking Control and ‘Moving On’: How Young People Turn around Problematic Transitions from Out-of-Home Care. Social Work and Society, 12/1: 1-7.
  25. Kääriälä A. and Hiilamo H. (2017). Children in out-of-home care as young adults: a systematic review of outcomes in the Nordic countries. Children and Youth Services Review, 79: 107-114.
  26. Katz C.C. and Courtney M. (2015). Evaluating the self-expressed unmet needs of emancipated foster youth over time. Children and Youth Services Review, 57: 9-18.
  27. Lechner G., Craß N., Kraleva D., Scharer V., Iwański J. and Giraud S. (2018). Financial Education for Child and Youth Care Practitioners. Journal of Accounting, Business and Finance Research, 2/2: 55-63.
  28. Lee C. and Berrick J.D. (2014). Experiences of youth who transition to adulthood out of care: Developing a theoretical framework. Children and Youth Services Review, 46: 78-84.
  29. Luyten I., Nuytens A., Christiaens J. and Dumortier E. (2018). Voicing young and adult care-leavers in Belgium. How the experience of being in care shapes narratives of the self. Longitudinal and Life Course Studies, 9/1: 80-100.
  30. Malvaso C. and Delfabbro P. (2016). Young people with complex needs leaving out-of-home care: Service issues and the need to enhance practice and policy. Children Australia, 41/1: 1-11.
  31. Mann-Feder V.R. (2018). (You Gotta Have) Friends: Care Leaving, Friendships and Agency Intervention. International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies, 9/1: 154-167.
  32. Mendes P. (2009). Young people transitioning from state out-of-home care: Jumping hoops to access employment. Australian Institute of Family Studies, 83: 32-38.
  33. Mhongera P.B. and Lombard A. (2018). Promoting successful transitions beyond institutional care: A programme-based service delivery model linked to a case management system. Social Work, 54(1): 53-68.
  34. Morrison R. and Shepherd M. (2015). Exploring factors contributing to the outcomes of Looked After Children. Communicare, 1/21: 1-11.
  35. Nì Raghallaigh M. and Thornton L. (2017). Vulnerable childhood, vulnerable adulthood. Direct provision as aftercare for aged-out separated children seeking asylum in Ireland. Critical Social Policy, 37/3: 386-404.
  36. Novara C., Serio C. and Moscato G. (2016). Unaccompanied Foreign Minors In The Italian Context: From Legal Order To Networking In Educational Services. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, December-Special Issue: 1229-1235.
  37. Pinkerton J. and Rooney C. (2014). Care Leavers’ Experiences of Transition and Turning Points: Findings from a Biographical Narrative Study. Social Work and Society, 12/1: 1-12.
  38. Refaeli, T., Mangold K., Zeira A., and Köngeter S. (2016). Continuity and Discontinuity in the Transition from Care to Adulthood. British Journal of Social Work, 47/2: 325-342.
  39. Roberts H.M., Bradby H., Ingold A., Manzotti G., Reeves D. and Liabo K. (2017). Moving on: Multiple transitions of unaccompanied child migrants leaving care in England and Sweden. International Journal of Social Science Studies, 5/9: 25-34.
  40. Samuels G.M. and Pryce J. (2008). “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”: Survivalist self-reliance as resilience and risk among young adults aging out of foster care. Children and Youth Services Review, 30/10: 1198-1210.
  41. Stein M. (2005). Resilience and young people leaving care: Overcoming the odds. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
  42. Sulimani-Aidan Y. (2016). Future Expectations as a Source of Resilience among Young People Leaving Care. British Journal of Social Work, 47/4: 1111-1127.
  43. Surian A., Comini L., Menini A. e Pietropolli A. (2018). Diciotto anni: e dopo? In: Segatto B., Di Masi D., Surian A., a cura di, L’ingiusta distanza. I percorsi dei minori stranieri non accompagnati dall’accoglienza alla cittadinanza. Milano: FrancoAngeli: 127-136.
  44. UNHCR (2014). Unaccompanied and Separated Asylum-seeking and Refugee Children Turning Eighteen: What to Celebrate? Strasbourg: UNHCR-COE.
  45. Van Breda A.D. (2015). Journey towards independent living: A grounded theory investigation of leaving the care of Girls & Boys Town South Africa. Journal of Youth Studies, 18/3: 322-337.
  46. Wade J. and Dixon J. (2006). Making a home, finding a job: investigating early housing and employment outcomes for young people leaving care. Child & Family Social Work, 11/3: 199-208.
  47. Welch V., Fowler N., Ross E., Withington R. and McGhee K. (2018). In and Beyond the Care Setting: Relationships Between Young People and Care Workers: A Literature Review. Glasgow: University of Strathclyde-CELCIS.
  48. Zullo F. (2015). Le relazioni che fortificano: la rete affettiva dei ragazzi fuori dalla famiglia di origine. Cittadini in Crescita, 1: 26-31.

Antonello Scialdone, Adulti per forza? Transizioni dei ragazzi ‘fuori famiglia’ verso l’autonomia e uscita dalle comunità di accoglienza in "SICUREZZA E SCIENZE SOCIALI" 1/2019, pp 139-152, DOI: 10.3280/SISS2019-001013