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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Exploring the Nexus between Social Capital and Individual Biographies of “Care leavers” in Nairobi, Kenya: A Life Course Perspective

Stephen Ucembe, 2013

Employing a life course perspective and drawing upon care leavers' stories, along with focus group discussions and views from staff, this paper explores the concept of social capital and the ways in which this influences their lives before care, in care and after care.

Transitional Support: The experiences and challenges facing youth transitioning out of state care in the Western Cape

Mamelani Projects, 2013

In 2012, Mamelani began an assessment of the content and focus of its transitional support programme. The aim was to consolidate its existing practice as well as to discover and implement new ways of ensuring more participants in its programme make a successful transition out of care.

India: Annual Report of the Ministry of Women and Child Development

The Indian Ministry of Women and Child Development, 01 Dec 2012

In its Annual report (2011-2012), the Indian Ministry of Women and Child Development reports on progress in the implementation of the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS), a new policy and programmatic strategy that specifically articulates the need to move away in approach and services from over-reliance on institutional care and towards responses that support family based care.

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When Care Ends Lessons from Peer Research: Insights from Young People on Leaving Care in Albania, the Czech Republic, Finland, and Poland

SOS Children’s Villages International , 01 Oct 2012

This report presents the findings from a two-year peer research project which includes the testimony of more than 300 young people with care experience in Albania, the Czech Republic, Finland, and Poland. More than 40 care leavers from the four countries were selected and trained to play an active role in the all aspects of the projects. The interviews revealed widespread inadequacies regarding the process of leaving care, promoting the research team to draw up recommendations to address them.

Reintegration of child soldiers in Burundi: A Tracer study

Mark JD Jordans, Ivan H Komproe, Wietse A Tol, Aline Ndayisaba, Theodora Nisabwe and Brandon A Kohrt - BMC Public Health, 01 Oct 2012

This study assesses reintegration trajectories of child soldiers in Burundi several years after demobilization. It looks broadly at socioeconomic and mental health indicators of a large group of former child soldiers and never recruited peers, both of who participated in an economic support program.

Lecciones de una Investigación Entre Pares

Save the Children International, 01 Oct 2012

El meollo de este proyecto de investigación de dos años está en los testimonios de más de 300 jóvenes con experiencia en acogimiento en Albania, República Checa, Finlandia y Polonia. Su conciencia colectiva del proceso de finalización de la acogida nutrió directamente a los hallazgos y a las recomendaciones sobre políticas presentadas en este volumen.

Care Leavers in England Data Pack

Department for Education, 01 Oct 2012

This data pack, produced by the Department for Education, aims to summarize national data about children who leave care aged 16 and over and outcomes of care leavers at age 19. The pack was also developed to help local authorities to compare their performance with others and to investigate issues such as age of leaving care and placement stability on the outcomes of care leavers.

Project Lungisela: Supporting Young People Leaving State Care in South Africa

Carly Tanur - Child Care in Practice , 11 Sep 2012

This paper focuses on appropriate responses to the unique challenges faced by young people at risk who are transitioning out of state care in South Africa.

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Preparation for Young People Leaving Care: The Case of SOS Children's Village, Ghana

Kwabena A. Frimpong Manso - Child Care in Practice , 11 Sep 2012

The present study explories the preparation for adulthood experiences of young Ghanaian care-leavers with a particular focus on sources, needs and barriers to preparation for leaving care.

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Social and vocational integration of young people leaving residential care: Care-Leavers Integration Programme (CLIP) Ten years later

Radoslava Karabasheva - Swiss Foundation of the International Social Service & International Social Service Bulgaria, 01 Sep 2012

This paper evaluates a program started by International Social Service for social and professional realisation of young people leaving care (Care Leavers Integration Programme, CLIP), ten years after the program began.