Emerging adulthood is an exciting time, filled with possibilities while remaining supported. However, care leavers’ journeys into adulthood are compressed and lacking educational, financial, and social support. In South Africa, this is exacerbated by contextual factors and the absence of mandated services for care leavers. A qualitative study was conducted with four Child and Youth Care Centers in a town in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Focus groups were held with young people in care and their care workers. Discussions focused on preparation for leaving care and aftercare services and the evaluation of these by each group of participants. Care leaving preparation consisted of independent living skills programs. Aftercare services were provided on an ad hoc basis, and there was no policy with respect to services to care leavers. The findings suggest that ongoing experiential learning and implementation of in-house policies may better prepare care leavers for emerging adulthood.
Arnau-SabatésL.GilliganR. (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. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.03.027
2.
ArnettJ. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55, 469–480. doi:10.1037//0003-066x.55.5.469
3.
ArnettJ. J. (2007a). Afterword: Aging out of care—Toward realizing the possibilities of emerging adulthood. New Directions for Youth Development, Spring, 151–161. doi:10.1002/yd.207
4.
ArnettJ. J. (2007b). Emerging adulthood: What is it, and what is it good for?Child Development Perspectives, 1, 68–73.
5.
BarfordS. W.WheltonW. J. (2010). Understanding burnout in child and youth care workers. Child & Youth Care Forum, 39, 271–287. doi:10.1007/s10566-010-9104-8
6.
BerridgeD. (2012). Educating young people in care: What have we learned?Children and Youth Services Review, 34, 1171–1175. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.01.032
7.
BondS. J. (2018). Care leaving in South Africa: An international and social justice perspective. Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy, 34, 76–90. doi:10.1080/21699763.2017.1413994
8.
BraunV.ClarkeV. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77–101.
9.
BucknerJ. C.MezzacappaE.BeardsleeW. (2003). Characteristics of resilient youths living in poverty: The role of self regulatory processes. Development and Psychopathology, 15, 139–162.
10.
CohenP. (2011). Early life and the development of resilience. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 56, 445–446.
11.
CohenP.KasenS.ChenH.HartmarkC.GordonK. (2003). Variations in patterns of developmental transitions in the emerging adulthood period. Developmental Psychology, 39, 657–669. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.39.4.657
12.
CoyleD.PinkertonJ. (2012). Leaving care: The need to make connections. Child Care in Practice, 18, 297–308. doi:10.1080/13575279.2012.719343
13.
DainingC.DePanfilisD. (2007). Resilience of youth in transition from out-of-home care to adulthood. Children and Youth Services Review, 29, 1158–1178. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2007.04.006
14.
DawsonH. (2014). Youth politics: Waiting and envy in a South African informal settlement. Journal of Southern African Studies, 40, 861–882. doi:10.1080/03057070.2014.932981
15.
Department of Higher Education and Training. (2017). Fact sheet on “NEETs” (Persons who are not in employment, education or training). Pretoria, South Africa: Author.
16.
DickensL. (2016). The contribution of resilience to the 12-month transitional outcomes of care-leavers in South Africa(Doctor of literature and philosophy). University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.
17.
DickensL. F.van BredaA. D.MarxP. (2015). Growth beyond the town: A longitudinal study on youth leaving care: 30-month status report. Cape Town, South Africa: Girls & Boys Town; University of Johannesburg.
18.
FranceA. (2004). Young people. In FraserE.LewisV.DingS.KelletM.RobinsonC. (Eds.), Doing research with children and young people (pp. 175–190). London, England: Sage.
19.
Frimpong-MansoK. (2017). The social support networks of care leavers from a children’s village in Ghana: Formal and informal supports. Child & Family Social Work, 22, 195–202. doi:10.1111/cfs.12218
20.
Frimpong-MansoK. A. (2012). Preparation for young people leaving care: The case of SOS children’s village, Ghana. Child Care in Practice, 18, 341–356. doi:10.1080/13575279.2012.713850
21.
GeenenS.PowersL. E. (2007). “Tomorrow is another problem”: The experiences of youth in foster care during their transition into adulthood. Children and Youth Services Review, 29, 1085–1101. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2007.04.008
22.
GilliganR. (2008). Promoting resilience in young people in long term care—The relevance of roles and relationships in the domains of recreation and work. Journal of Social Work Practice, 22, 37–50. doi:10.1080/02650530701872330
23.
GiorgiA.GiorgiB. (2008). Phenomenology. In SmithJ. A. (Ed.), Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods (2nd ed., pp. 26–52). London, England: Sage.
24.
HöjerI.SjöblomY. (2009). Young people leaving care in Sweden. Child and Family Social Work, 15, 118–127.
25.
HöjerI.SjöblomY. (2014). Voices of 65 young people leaving care in Sweden: “There is so much I need to know!”Australian Social Work, 67, 71–87. doi:10.1080/0312407x.2013.863957
26.
LincolnY. S.GubaE. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. London, England: Sage.
27.
LlamputtongP. (2011). Focus group methodology: Principles and practice. London, England: Sage.
28.
MainwaringD.HallamS. (2010). “Possible selves” of young people in a mainstream secondary school and a pupil referral unit: A comparison. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 15, 153–169. doi:10.1080/13632752.2010.480889
29.
MaposaJ. F.Louw-PotgieterJ. (2012). An outcome evaluation of a youth development programme. Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 48, 170–189.
30.
MendesP.PinkertonJ.MunroE. R. (2014). Young people transitioning from out-of-home care: An issue of social justice. Australian Social Work, 67, 1–4. doi:10.1080/0312407x.2014.867471
31.
MunsonM. R.LeeB. R.MillerD.ColeA.NedelcuC. (2013). Emerging adulthood among former system youth: The ideal versus the real. Children and Youth Services Review, 35, 923–929. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2013.03.003
32.
NatalierK.JohnsonG. (2012). Housing pathways of young people who have left out-of-home state care. Housing, Theory and Society, 29, 75–91. doi:10.1080/14036096.2011.592215
33.
NesmithA.ChristophersenK. (2014). Smoothing the transition to adulthood: Creating ongoing supportive relationships among foster youth. Children and Youth Services Review, 37, 1–8. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2013.11.028
34.
PattonM. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
35.
RoeberE. (2011). A fair chance to life: Young careleavers in Kenya. Nairobi, Kenya: Kenya Network of Care Leavers.
36.
RogersR. (2011). “I remember thinking, why isn’t there someone to help me? Why isn’t there someone who can help me make sense of what I’m going through?”: “Instant adulthood” and the transition of young people out of state care. Journal of Sociology, 47, 411–426. doi:10.1177/1440783311420793
37.
RosenwaldM.McGheeT.NoftallR. (2013). Perspectives on independent living services among resilient youth. Journal of Family Social Work, 16, 148–163. doi:10.1080/10522158.2013.765816
38.
Republic of South Africa (RSA). (1997). White Paper for Social Welfare. Pretoria, South Africa: Government Printer.
39.
Republic of South Africa (RSA). (2005). Children’s Act 38 of 2005. Pretoria, South Africa: Government Printer.
40.
Statistics South Africa. (2015). National and provincial labour market: Youth. Pretoria, South Africa: Author.
41.
SteinM. (2006). Young people aging out of care: The poverty of theory. Children and Youth Services Review, 28, 422–434. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2005.05.005
42.
SteinM. (2008). Resilience and young people leaving care. Child Care in Practice, 14, 35–44. doi:10.1080/13575270701733682
43.
StottT. (2013). Transitioning youth: Policies and outcomes. Children and Youth Services Review, 35, 218–227. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.10.019
44.
Sulimani-AidanY. (2014). Care leavers’ challenges in transition to independent living. Children and Youth Services Review, 46, 38–46. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.07.022
45.
Sulimani-AidanY.BenbenishtyR.DinismanT.ZeiraA. (2013). Care leavers in Israel: What contributes to better adjustment to life after care?Journal of Social Service Research, 39, 704–718. doi:10.1080/01488376.2013.834283
46.
TanurC. (2012). Project Lungisela: Supporting young people leaving state care in South Africa. Child Care in Practice, 18, 325–340. doi:10.1080/13575279.2012.713851
47.
van BredaA. D. (2017). The first two years out of residential care in South Africa: A critical period for care-leaving services. Child Welfare, 95, 63–82.
48.
van BredaA. D.DickensL. (2015). Educational persistence and social exclusion in youth leaving residential care in South Africa. Nuances: Estudos sobre Educação, 26, 22–41.
49.
WadeJ.DixonJ. (2006). Making a home, finding a job: Investigating early housing and employment outcomes for young people leaving care. Child and Family Social Work, 11, 199–208.
50.
WheeldonJ.FaubertJ. (2009). Framing experience: Concept maps, mind maps and data collection in qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 8, 68–83.
