I denna studie är syftet att skapa en förståelse kring vad som utmärker socialsekreterarnas eftervårdsarbete med ungdomar placerade på särskilda ungdomshem. Studien använder sig av semistrukturerade intervjuer som datasamlingsmetod där socialsekreterarna delat med sig av sina erfarenheter och kunskaper. Utifrån intervjuerna har det i analysen gått att urskilja tre teman som beskriver vad som utmärker socialsekreterares eftervårdsarbete. Dessa teman är: Bibehålla ungdomarnas utveckling, Motstånd i eftervården och Förväntningar på ungdomarnas framtid. De olika insatserna som socialsekreterarna lämnar samt de framgångar och motgångar de har erfarenheter av i eftervården har tolkats utifrån resilience och gräsrotsbyråkrati. Med stöd av dessa teoretiska utgångspunkter framkommer områdena boende, sysselsättning, behandling och socialt nätverk, som socialsekreterarna anser främjar ungdomarnas chans att klara sig efter avslutad placering. I studien framkommer även att socialsekreterarna upplever motstånd från ungdomarna och på vilket sätt de bemöter detta. Studien belyser även att socialsekreterarna arbetar med att integrera ungdomarna i det övriga samhället och vilka förväntningar de uppfattar de kan ställa på dessa ungdomar. / In this study the aim is to create an understanding of what characterizes social workers measures in leaving care for young people in secure units. The study uses semi-structured interviews as a qualitative data collection method where social workers shared their experiences of working with leaving care for young people in secure units. Based on the interviews, our analysis found three themes that describe what characterize social workers’ work. The themes are: Maintain young people’s achievements, Resistance in leaving care and Expectations for young people’s future. What kind of measures the social workers provided along with what they experienced benefited or hindered their work has been analyzed on the basis of resilience and street-level bureaucracy. With the support of these theoretical perspectives housing, employment, treatment and social network was found to be a part of the social workers’ measures to promote young people’s chances for an independent living. It was also found that social workers experiences resistance from young people and how they worked with these setbacks. The study also highlights how the social workers’ strived to integrate young people back into society.

Residential childcare has had an image which, at the very least, is not a positive one. It has been blamed for weakening family links and leading to poor educational and health outcomes for children (Biehal et al. 1995; Mendes and Moslehuddin 2004; Stein 2002). However, children and young people enter residential care institutions for a variety of reasons, and by examining the experiences of children and young people in Bangladesh, we can see that residential childcare has the potential to offer a positive option for many disadvantaged children and young people. UNICEF estimates that there are more than 49,000 children in residential care in Bangladesh (UNICEF 2008), but this figure fails to include thousands of children who live in madrasahs. There is neither a uniform childcare policy nor formal aftercare support provision in Bangladesh; instead, the government, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and madrasahs all have their own approaches and methods and there has been no research conducted on young people in and after care. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of residential care from the perspectives of a group of young people who had lived in residential childcare institutions in Bangladesh with a view to making improvements in residential childcare in the future. Qualitative methods were employed for data collection, using in-depth semi-structured interviews with 33 young people (aged between 12 and 26) who had left the care system and observation of the four institutions where they had lived: one run by an NGO, two run by the government and one madrasah run by the religious community. All of the fieldwork was conducted and transcribed in Bangla. The findings of this study show that young people had mixed feelings about their lives in care, preparation for leaving care, and aftercare support; moreover, their experiences were diverse. Overall, most said that they had benefited from being in care and the institution had had a largely positive impact on their lives. However, the experience for those who had been evicted was much less favourable; these young people suffered a range of hardships after leaving care. The findings also show that there was a connection between the in-care experience and the success of a young person in the outside world. The type of institution, its culture, systems and practices, the amount of care received and socio-cultural-religious influences all played a part. The research further indicated that although some young people developed a measure of resilience to face the problems of their everyday lives, they were not fully able to overcome them due to societal discrimination. Those who did best where those who had developed positive attachments with at least one trusted adult, who acted as a mentor and strengthened their commitment and self-motivation. The findings demonstrate that aftercare support varied from institution to institution, but overall, was informal in nature. The study concludes by setting out implications for building better residential childcare policy and practice in Bangladesh. It identifies a number of avenues for further research, suggesting that lessons for the minority world may be learned from this study, namely the notion that the whole community should take responsibility for its children; and attention should be paid to faith and religious beliefs in children’s upbringing. The study has also demonstrated that improving financial resources may not necessarily lead to better outcomes from children and young people. Instead, building relationships with adults, peer groups, parents, and community offer the best chance for good outcomes.

This small-scale study explored plans for four young people leaving care and the perspectives of twelve key adults supporting them. Using Fairclough’s model of critical discourse analysis, the rationale for this research was concern about the difference in outcomes between care leavers and young people in general. Aims were to explore if contradictions in plans and ideas contributed to problems for the young people, and to examine explanations and justifications made by the adult participants. Data were collected by semi-structured interviews from an opportunistic sample. Findings indicated that the established problem of young people having to leave care too early persists in spite of initiatives to prevent this happening. Theories drawn from the psychology of child development influence the professionals’ constructions of the young people, thereby limiting the responses which adults can offer. It is proposed that neoliberal discourses of individual responsibility and continuous self-improvement constrain systems which encourage young people to leave care before they are ready. Two concepts of chop (abrupt change, such as end of school phase) and churn (disruption, such as staff turnover) are used to examine how frequent disturbance in the life of a looked after child is exacerbated by points of rupture which are caused by the structures of children’s services. This study adds to calls for increased stability for young people, and recommends earlier planning for the future of young people in care. Implications for educational practice are presented, including the need to ensure that leaving mainstream education for segregated provision is not an irreversible decision. It is suggested that educators should consider critically the labelling of looked after children as having Special Educational Needs, as this can lead to practices which encourage compliance by young people, and pathologise resistance which could instead be re-framed as self-reliance.

The aim of this study was to investigate the leaving care services provided to youth leaving residential care in Sweden. Through the use of qualitative research interviews residential care workers perception of what practical and emotional needs youth leaving care have, and whether current aftercare services meet these needs, were examined. The study further sought to compare the swedish and english leaving care services. The main findings of the study were that the residential care workers interviewed expressed that they had a good working relationship with the local social services and that they through the residential care services were able to provide some degree of aftercare. They further identified loneliness as the most prominent emotional need of youth had after leaving care. The most pressing practical need youth leaving care were described as help concerning apartment and job searching, how and when to pay bills as well as managing a budget. The residential care staff further conveyed a wish for a higher degree of regulation surrounding aftercare services. Their main reasoning was to assure that youth leaving care received aftercare regardless of the economic situation of the local municipalities.

This thesis follows a group of youths placed in secure unit care who have participated in a chain-of-care project aiming to better plan their discharge and aftercare. The overall aim of the thesis is to link a detailed description of these young people with an analysis of the project they participated in, and to undertake one- and two-year follow-up studies. Analytic focus is on the significance of gender, class and ethnicity. The study is mainly based on structured interviews performed at the secure units upon entry into care, discharge and at a one-year follow up. Data have also been used from criminal records and interviews with project staff. When entering care, these youths exhibited extensive problems in both family conditions and own behaviour. The major problem in boys was criminality while girls reported poor mental health. Professionals judge youth of foreign background as more criminal than youth of Swedish background despite a lack of difference in self-reported data. Some difference is also noticeable regarding class. Analysis of the project shows that out-of-home care was the most frequent intervention after leaving secure unit care, while other interventions were difficult to uphold over time. Few girls received help with their mental health problems. At the one-year follow up, the youths reported an overall better situation, although extensive problems still remained. Above all, girls’ mental health problems remained as before. At the 2-year follow up the study group was compared with a control group in order to investigate effects of the project regarding criminality and recommitment to secure unit care. The comparison shows that the project had no effect. This is discussed in relation to poor organization and the difficulty of adjusting a project like this to the target group, along with the substantial part played by gender, class and ethnicity in how the youth are construed and treated.

The theoretical part of the Thesis is aimed at explanation of certain terms of the sphere of institutional and protected upbringing. It also tries to map the situation among the young adults leaving institutional or protected upbringing. The work is aimedat assessment whether clients of children's homes are interested in halfway living and to elaborate a halfway house project for the town of Jinřichův Hradec. A model project of a halfway house specific for the town of Jindřichův Hradec was developed upon the data observed, in which the project risks are considered and exaples of good practice included.

Uppsatsens syfte är att genom familjehemsföräldrars berättelser få en ökad kunskap och fördjupad förståelse för hur eftervården tillämpas i praktiken gällande ungdomar i åldern 18 - 23 år som varit placerade i familjehem. För att uppnå studiens syfte har en kvalitativ forskningsansats använts och det empiriska materialet har framtagits genom kvalitativa intervjuer. Inom studien genomfördes sex semistrukturerade intervjuer med totalt åtta familjehemsföräldrar. Under intervjuerna var temaområden vägledande: familjehemsföräldrars bild av dagens "stöd och hjälp efter avslutad  placering”/ eftervård, familjehemsföräldrars upplevelse av ungdomarnas behov av eftervård, samt familjehemsföräldrars syn på sin funktion i eftervården. Utifrån Meads symboliska interaktionism samt Bowlbys anknytingsteori analyserades det empiriska materialet. Resultatet visar att familjehemsföräldrarna ser behovet av ett långvarigt stöd för denna målgrupp, men anser att det som idag finns inte kan kallas eftervård. Vår slutsats är att det finns stora brister i eftervården för ungdomar som har varit placerade i familjehem, samt att insatser som finns inte är funktionellt utformade för denna målgrupp. För att detta ska kunna förändras krävs att ungdomarnas och familjehemsföräldrarnas behov i eftervården blir synliga. Familjehemsföräldrars uppdrag i eftervården behöver även utvecklas och förstärkas. / The purpose of the essay is to gain an increased knowledge and in-depth understanding of the use of aftercare in the practice of adolescents aged 18 - 23, who have been placed in a family home, through foster parents stories. To achieve the aim of the study, a qualitative research approach has been used and the empirical material has been developed through qualitative interviews. The study was conducted by six semistructured interviews of eight foster parents in total. During the interviews, thematic areas were indicative: foster parents view of “support and help after leaving care” a.k.a. aftercare, foster parents perception of adolescent need for aftercare and the foster parents view of their function in the aftercare. The empirin was analyzed based on concepts within Mead´s symbolic interactionism and Bowly´s theory of attachment. The result shows that foster parents see the need for a long term support for this target group, but believes that the existing support after leaving care cannot be called aftercare. Our conclusion is that there are major shortcomings in the aftercare of adolescents who have been placed in foster families, and that efforts that are available are not functionally designed for this target group. In order for this to change, it is necessary that the adolescents and foster parents needs of the aftercare are highlighted. The foster parents assignments in the aftercare need also to be developed and strengthened.

In research, the transition from foster care to adult life has been pointed out as a significant and problematic period in young people´s lives. However, we know less about how this transition is handled professionally. Through qualitative interviews, this study examines social worker´s views and experiences of this transition process. The research questions focus on what needs social workers see in young people´s transition, how they describe their own work, and what strategies and tools that may promote the transition. The results are analyzed using the following theoretical concepts – discretion, emotional support, informative support,instrumental support and evaluative support. The study shows that young people need long-term relationships, certain practical skills and each type of support. Work with the transition is based on these needs. Here, social workers have an exploratory and coordination role thatconsists of many tasks. While they describe some specific strategies and tools, the results show that there are difficulties within this work. The roles of foster carers and social workers in young people´s transition to adulthood are discussed.

Abstract Background: There has been minimal research conducted on the unique experiences of Black youth who transition out of the child welfare system, and as well as the factors that contribute to their success or failure to accessing housing. Purpose: The purpose of study is to explore the needs and experiences of Black youth using Critical Race theory, BlackCrit and Social Capital theory to better understand their experience accessing safe, affordable housing within the Greater Toronto Area after transitioning out of child welfare. Methods: Five Black youth were recruited using site sampling and snow-ball sampling to participate in an arts-based and narrative study. The data was then analyzed in a constant comparative method. Findings: The findings from this study suggest the following things: The emotional roller coaster of being in care, the importance of community and sense of family, youth voices in decision-making process, unpreparedness for independent living, the unawareness of housing options, youth definition of good housing, more resources are needed prior to departure of child welfare. Implications and Recommendations for Change: In light of the findings in this study, a number of recommendations are proposed for improving outcomes for Black youth leaving care and their access to housing. Below is a summary of recommendations: A. To focus on building and providing genuine relationships through a caring adult and permanency for Black youth in care B. Centralize and value the voices of Black youth in care throughout their post-care planning, policy development and research C. To address and respond to the unique experiences that Black youth with disabilities face within the housing market when preparing them for independence outside of the CWS D. To apply a Housing first Youth approach It is my hope that this information will be used to support policy changes and program development in child welfare and the rental housing market that can result in more successful outcomes for Black youth. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

Les jeunes qui réalisent la transition à l’autonomie à partir d’un milieu de vie substitut rencontrent plusieurs difficultés au début de l’âge adulte. Afin d’encadrer et préparer ces jeunes en lien avec cette étape cruciale de leur vie, plusieurs pays ont développé des programmes de préparation à l’autonomie. Toutefois, l’efficacité de ces programmes demeure méconnue. Objectif : Afin de contribuer aux connaissances actuelles, la présente recherche a pour objectif de mesurer l’efficacité des programmes de préparation à l’autonomie pour les jeunes placés en milieu de vie substitut. Méthodologie : Des méta-analyses ont été réalisées afin de mesurer les tailles d’effet pondérées pour trois dimensions reliées au passage à la vie adulte soit l’emploi, le logement et le réseau social. Les tailles d’effet ont été calculées sous forme de différences de moyennes standardisées ou Hedge’s g. Le modèle à effet fixe a été utilisé dans les analyses. Résultats : La revue systématique a permis d’identifier k = 9 études totalisant n = 7127 participants avec des données suffisantes pour réaliser une méta-analyse. Les résultats indiquent que les programmes de préparation à l’autonomie ont un très faible effet favorisant le groupe traitement comparativement aux jeunes ayant reçu les services habituels pour les dimensions de l’emploi (k = 5, n = 5778) et du logement (k = 5, n = 2467). Ces résultats ont été constatés un an à quatre ans après le temps zéro. Aucun effet significatif n’a été observé pour la dimension du réseau social (k = 5, n = 1797). Discussion : Devant la complexité des trajectoires de vie et des besoins des jeunes qui transitent à l’autonomie à partir d’un milieu de vie substitut, il est impératif que les programmes actuels prennent davantage en considération la réalité actuelle du passage à la vie adulte ainsi que les besoins particuliers de ces jeunes. Il s’agit notamment d’offrir des services qui s’étendent jusqu’à 25 ans et de mettre de l’avant une vision interdépendante du passage à la vie adulte dans les interventions. / Youth in out-of-home care face an uncertain future and disproportionate difficulties when aging out of care and into independent life as an adult. The difficulties these youth face have prompted governments in several countries to develop programs in order to prepare these youth for this critical period in their life. However, the effectiveness of these programs remains unknown. Objective: The main objective of the present study is to fill this gap in knowledge by measuring the effectiveness of independent living programs to prepare young people aging out of care for adulthood. Methodology: A series of meta-analysis were performed in order to measure the weighed effect sizes on three outcomes related to adulthood: employment, housing, and social support. The effect sizes were calculated using standardized mean differences or Hedge’s g. A fixed effect size model was used to perform the analyses. Results: k = 9 studies including a total of n = 7127 participants met the inclusion criteria for the systematic review and had sufficient data to conduct a meta-analysis. The results of the meta-analysis for the employment outcome (k = 5, n = 5778) and for the housing outcome (k = 5, n = 2467) show a very small effect favoring the treatment group compared to services as usual for these two outcomes, 1 to 4 years post baseline. No significant effect was found for the social support outcome (k = 5, n = 1797). Discussion: Considering the complex trajectories and needs of youth in out-of-home care, it is imperative that independent living programs better reflect today’s socioeconomic realities to better prepare youth for adulthood, and take into consideration the particular needs of these youth. It is recommended to extend the services until 25 years old and to put forward an interdependent vision of autonomy in the interventions provided to these youth.