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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The coping of young Finnish adults after out-of-home care and aftercare services: A document-based analysis

Arja Häggman-Laitila, Pirkko Salokekkilä, Mirja Satka, Katri Toivonen, Pekka Kekolahti, Olli-Pekka Ryynänen - Children and Youth Services Review, 11 May 2019

The aim of this study is to discover how the different factors documented at the time of the custody decision or the placement in out-of-home care are associated with the coping abilities of young adults once aftercare services come to an end.

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Reunification of Looked After Children with their Birth Parents in the United Kingdom: A Literature Review and Thematic Synthesis

Carlson, L, Melia, Yvonne and Priest, Helena - Child and Family Social Work, 09 May 2019

This review aimed to identify, appraise and synthesise published literature concerned with the reunification of looked after children with their birth parents in the UK.

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Supporting Youth Leaving Care: Current Aftercare Practices in Delhi

Udayan Care, Tata Trusts & UNICEF, 01 May 2019

“Current Aftercare Practices” (CAP) is a research study designed to look at the support and services received by Care Leavers (CLs) from the objective lens of an ‘Aftercare Quality Index’(AQI), calculated by using the scores within eight domains. This report covers a total of 55 CLs from Delhi, comprising of 30 males and 25 females, from both Government and NGO-run Child Care Institutions (CCIs). It also includes data from 10 stakeholders, which includes experts, practitioners and duty bearers, working in the field of child protection in Delhi.

Supporting Youth Leaving Care: Current Aftercare Practices in Gujarat

Udayan Care, Tata Trusts & UNICEF, 01 May 2019

“Current Aftercare Practices” (CAP) is a documentation exercise designed to look at the support and services received by Care Leavers (CLs) from the objective lens of an ‘Aftercare Quality Index’ (AQI), calculated using the scores within 8 domains. This report covers a total of 104 CLs from Gujarat, comprising of 63 males and 41 females, from both Government and NGO-run Child Care Institutions (CCIs).

Supporting Youth Leaving Care: Current Aftercare Practices in Karnataka

Udayan Care, Tata Trusts & UNICEF, 01 May 2019

“Current Aftercare Practices” (CAP) is a research study designed to look at the support and services received by Care Leavers (CLs) from the objective lens of an ‘Aftercare Quality Index,’(AQI), calculated using the scores obtained on 8 domains. This report covers a total of 108 CLs from Karnataka, comprising of 47 males and 61 females, from both Government and NGO-run Child Care Institutions (CCIs).

Supporting Youth Leaving Care: Current Aftercare Practices in Maharashtra

Udayan Care, Tata Trusts & UNICEF, 01 May 2019

“Current Aftercare Practices” (CAP) is a research study designed to look at the support and services received by Care Leavers (CLs) from the objective lens of an ‘Aftercare Quality Index’(AQI), calculated using the scores within 8 domains. This report covers a total of 107 CLs from Maharashtra, comprising of 74 males and 33 females, from both Government and Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) run Child Care Institutions (CCIs).

Approaches to realising the rights of young people leaving out of home care

Emily Munro - Leaving Care and the Transition to Adulthood, 25 Apr 2019

This chapter from the book Leaving Care and the Transition to Adulthood explores progress towards realizing the rights of young people in and leaving out of home care in Australia, Sweden and the UK.

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Lost and Found: Counter-Narratives of Dis/Located Children

Frank Golding & Jacqueline Z. Wilson - Children’s Voices from the Past, 24 Apr 2019

This chapter summarises a case that goes beyond traditional welfare archives to reveal a story of multi-generational welfare custody, exemplifying the historic ideology underpinning child welfare in Victoria, Australia.

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“There are carers, and then there are carers who actually care”; Conceptualizations of care among looked after children and care leavers, social workers and carers

Rebecca Brown, Hayley Alderson, Eileen Kaner, Ruth McGovern, Raghu Lingam - Child Abuse & Neglect, 19 Apr 2019

This study aims to explore how care is perceived and practiced among Looked after children and care leavers (LACCL) and those with a duty of care for them.

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‘You've come to children that are in care and given us the opportunity to get our voices heard’: The journey of looked after children and researchers in developing a Patient and Public Involvement group

Hayley Alderson, Rebecca Brown, Debbie Smart, Raghu Lingam, Gail Dovey‐Pearce - Health Expectations, 15 Apr 2019

This open access paper reports on experiences and reflections of a group of children and young people and academic researchers who developed a Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) group that was set up in the context of an ongoing health service intervention trial with Looked after children and care leavers (denoted as LAC).