Leaving Alternative Care and Reintegration

It is important to support children who are preparing to leave care. This includes helping young people as they ‘age out’ of the care system and transition to independent living, as well as children planning to return home and reintegrate with their families. In either case, leaving care should be a gradual and supervised process that involves careful preparation and follow-up support to children and families.

The transition from alternative care to independent living can be challenging for young people. While some departures from care may be well planned, others may be sudden or unexpected, leaving young people emotionally and financially ill-equipped to cope with change. Without adequate preparation for leaving care and support during the aftercare phase, young people may face risks such as long-term unemployment, substance abuse, involvement in criminal activities and homelessness. Studies indicate that the biggest barriers to transitioning children out of care includes the absence of supportive relationships, educational challenges, housing instability and economic challenges (unemployment).

Reducing these risks involves working with children to plan for life after care and adulthood– including helping them to determine the most appropriate living environment, develop necessary life, financial management and job skills, and ensure that they have a reliable support system in place. Once children leave care, they should be encouraged to maintain contact with their previous care givers and friends, have access to basic services and quality housing with financial assistance, and be supported to follow educational, vocational and employment opportunities. Above all, evidence indicates that young people who benefit from gradual, extended and supported transitions from care have better outcomes than those who leave early and abruptly.

Girls and boys who leave care to return home can also benefit from a gradual process of reintegration with their families – both before and after the event. Initially this should involve a comprehensive assessment of whether the problems that led to family separation (such as poverty or social problems) have been adequately resolved, and whether a return home is in a child’s best interests. If so, the child, family and alternative caregivers should be supported to prepare and plan for reintegration – which may involve increasing the frequency and duration of children’s family visits before the final return, helping to build parenting skills, assessing families’ financial, practical and emotional support needs and developing a care plan to address them.

Once children are reunited with their families, ongoing support and supervision can play a critical role in ensuring that reintegration is lasting. For example social or community workers can provide counselling support, facilitate families’ access to social protection benefits and make sure that children have the academic support required to catch up at a new school. In some cases, children’s extended family and the broader community can also be encouraged to provide emotional or practical support.

This section contains literature on children leaving alternative care in non-emergency settings. This includes lessons learned and best practices regarding family reintegration, as well as guidance for supporting young people as they leave the care system and transition to independent living.

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Importance of Keeping Connections When a Child is in Care

Child Identity Protection, 27 Oct 2023

Tiegan Boyens, ATD Fourth World and Teen Advocacy

Importance of Keeping Connections When a Child is in Care

Child Identity Protection, 20 Oct 2023

Tiegan Boyens, of ATD Fourth World and Teen Advocacy, shares about the importance of staying connected to birth family as an adoptee as well as maintaining other connections such as friendships made throughout childhood.

Insights from Moldova: Role of Peer-to-Peer Support in Advocacy, Influence, and Fostering Independence

Changing the Way We Care, 15 Oct 2023

Caregivers are at the heart of family-centered care reform efforts. They are the critical link to ensuring that those who need care get it in a way that allows them to thrive. Changing the Way We Care Moldova’s partner, AudiViz, recognizes that caregivers have a wealth of experience that could be harnessed and shared among each other and the larger community.

Reflecții din Moldova: Rolul grupurilor de sprijin de la egal la egal în advocacy, promovarea și încurajarea traiului independent

Changing the Way We Care, 15 Oct 2023

În perioada ianuarie - iunie 2023, Asociația de Suport Familial de Recuperare Timpurie a Copiilor cu Deficiențe de Auz și Văz ”AudiViz” a realizat un studiu care a avut scopul de a analiza perceptia parintilor și a copiilor/tinerilor cu dizabilitate de auz privind calitatea vietii lor, a serviciilor oferite de autoritățile publice și dacă acestea răspund nevoilor lor sau contribuie la sprijinirea familiei, la reabilitarea şi integrarea socială, educațională.

Global Priority for the Care of Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children: Transcending Problem Definition Challenges

Yusra Ribhi Shawar, Jeremy Shiffman , 10 Oct 2023

This analysis investigates factors shaping the inadequate global prioritization of the care of vulnerable children.

Study on the Experience of Alternative Care Leavers in Chiang Mai & Chiang Rai, Thailand

World Childhood Foundation, Eriks Development Partner, 01 Oct 2023

The purpose of this study is to explore how growing up in private residential care in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces of Thailand has affected children’s well-being over time. The research provided an important opportunity for young people to describe and analyze their experience, as well as make their own conclusions and recommendations.

Practitioner Handbook for Alternative Family- and Community- Based Care

Changing the Way We Care, 29 Sep 2023

This handbook is a summarized, user-friendly version of the operating procedures for alternative family- and community-based care options. It provides an overview of each type of care, key considerations, and the process followed for placement. The handbook aims to provide an easy and quick reference to critical information and “how to” about alternative family- and community-based care placements.

Children’s Rights in Bulgaria Between Theory and Practice: The case of the deinstitutionalization reform

Gergana Nenova, Radostina Antonova, 16 Sep 2023

In this article, the authors aim to analyse how the process of deinstitutionalization in Bulgaria relates to the concept of child’s rights articulated in the CRC on which it is based. They focus on children without disabilities, specifically children raised in small home centres (SHC2) subject to so-called residential care.

First Nations Care Leavers: Supporting Better Transitions

Jacinta Walsh, Lena Turnbull, Phillip Mendes, Rachel Standfield, 10 Sep 2023

This resource is aimed at supporting front-line practitioners in Australia to have a working knowledge of the historical and contemporary context of social welfare policies and their impact on First Nations families and to use this knowledge as a starting point to build an awareness of how individual and systemic practices impact First Nations young people and families.

Perspective din Moldova: Rolul sprijinului economic pentru familii în reintegrarea copiilor

Changing the Way We Care, 05 Sep 2023

In septembrie 2022, Changing the Way We Care (CTWWC) a lansat o inițiativă pentru a oferi sprijin economic direct în procesul de reintegrare a copiilor în familii sau plasament în servicii de îngrijire de tip familial. În baza experiențelor anterioare de reintegrare, dar și din informațiile extrase din evaluările individuale ale copiilor și familiilor, echipa CTWWC a dezvoltat o abordare standardizată și echitabilă pentru a identifica tipul și valoarea sprijinului economic direct necesar.