Informed by the qualitative method and the descriptive-interpretive design, this study, which was underscored by radical humanist goals of structural social work, reflects the voices of 16 youth who had transitioned out of care. The results show that emerging adults, transitioning out of care, are vulnerable and in need of support. This article discusses three main themes derived via an inductive approach: the influence of sociocultural networks, connecting with family, and the multiple risk factors associated with getting into and out of care that compromise youth’s quest for security. The neoliberal discourse on independent living needs to shift to interdependence and Ubuntu. It is interdependence, not independence, that gives a human face to care leavers as service providers respond to their past trauma, present vulnerability, and future risks, while promoting family preservation and resourceful, caring communities.
ArnettJ. J. (2007). Emerging adulthood: What is it and what is it good for?Child Development Perspectives, 1, 68–73.
2.
AveryJ. R. (2010). An examination of theory and promising practice for achieving permanency for teens before they age out of foster care. Child and Youth Services Review, 32, 399–408. doi:10.1016./j.childyouth.2009.10.011
3.
BondS. (2018). Care-leaving in South Africa: An international and social justice perspective, Journal of International and Comparative Policy, 34, 76–90, doi:10.1080/21699763.2017.1413994
4.
BraunV.ClarkV. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology3, 77–101.
5.
CameronC.HollingworthK.SchoonI.Van SantenE.SchoerW.RasitkariT.…PekkarinenE. (2018). Care leavers in early adulthood: How do they fare in Britain, Finland and Germany?Children and Youth Services Review, 87,163–172. doi:10.1016/jchildyouth.2018.02.031
6.
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 South Africa and University of Johannesburg.
7.
DixonJ. (2008). Young people leaving care: Health, wellbeing and outcomes. Child & Family Social Work, 13, 207–217. doi:10.1111/j1365-2206.2007.00538.x
8.
DuttaS. (2017). Experiences of young Indian girls transitioning out of residential care homes. Asian Social Work and Policy Review, 11, 16–29. doi:10.1111/aswp.12107
9.
Frimpong-MansoK. A. (2012). Preparation of young people leaving care: The case of SOS children’s village, Ghana. Child Care and Practice, 18, 341–356.
10.
FurlongA.CartmelF. (2007). Young people and social change: New perspectives (2nd ed.). McGraw Hill, England: Open University Press.
11.
FuschP. L.NessL. R. (2015). Are we there yet? Data saturation in qualitative research. The Qualitative Report, 2, 1408–1416. Retrieved fromhttps://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol20/iss9/3
12.
GoodkindS.SchelbeL. B.ShookJ. J. (2011). Why youth leave care: Understandings of adulthood and transition successes and challenges among youth ageing out of child welfare. Children and Youth Services Review, 33, 1039–1048. doi:10.1016/jchildyouth.2011.01.010
IslamT. (2016). Developing world Bangladesh residential. In IslamT.FulcherL. (Eds.), Child and youth care in residential child and youth care: Global perspectives (pp. 34–53). Claremont, Cape Town: Pretext.
15.
LevinasE. (1985). Ethics and infinity (CohenR. A. Trans.). Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University Press.
16.
MalatjieH.DubeN. (2017). Experiences and challenges related to residential care and the expression of cultural identity of adolescent boys at child and youth care centres. Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 53. doi:10.152070/52-2-59
17.
MendesP.JohnsonG.MosslehuddinB. (2011). Young people leaving state out-of-home care: A research study of Australian policy and practice Melbourne. Melbourne, Australia: Australian Scholarly Publishing Press.
18.
MhongeraP. M.LombardA. (2016). Poverty to more poverty: An evaluation of transition services provided to adolescent girls from two institutions in Zimbabwe. Children and Youth Services Review, 64, 145–154.
19.
MugumbatheJ.NyanguruA. (2013). Exploring African philosophy: The value of Ubuntu in social work. African Journal of Social Work, 3, 82–100.
20.
MunroE. R.PinkertonJ.MendesP.Hyde-DrydenG.HerczogM.BenbenishtyR. (2011). The contribution of the United Nations convention on the rights of the child to understanding and promoting the interests of young people making the transition from care to adulthood. Children and Youth Services Review, 33, 2417–2413. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2011.08.025
21.
MunsonM. R.StanhopeV.SmallL.AtterburyK. (2017). “At times I kinda felt I was in an Institution”: Supportive housing for transition age youth and young adults. Child and Youth Services Review, 73, 430–436. doi:10.1016/jchildyouth.2016.11.027
22.
PinkertonJ. (2011). Constructing a global understanding of the social ecology of leaving out of home care. Children and Youth Services Review, 33, 2412–2416. doi:10.1016/jchildyouth.2011.08.020
23.
RanigaT.SeepamoreB. (2017). Critical reflexivity beyond the classroom: Social work student perspectives of communities in KwaZulu-Natal. Social work Practitioner/Researcher, 29, 34–48. doi:10.25159/2415-5829/1913
24.
RanigaT.SimpsonB. (2010). Grandmothers bearing the brunt of HIV/AIDS in Bhambayi. KwaZulu-Natal. The Social Work Practitioner-Researcher, 22, 1–18.
25.
Republic of South Africa (RSA). (1997). White paper on social welfare. Pretoria, South Africa: Government Printer.
26.
Republic of South Africa (RSA). (2005). Children’s Act 38 of 2005. Pretoria, South Africa: Government Printer.
27.
Republic of South Africa (RSA). (2012). Information guide on the management of statutory services: In terms of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005. Pretoria, South Africa: Department of Social Development.
28.
Republic of South Africa (RSA). (2015). National transformation framework for Child and youth care centres (CYCCs), April 2014–March 2019. Pretoria, South Africa: Department of Social Development.
29.
Republic of South Africa (RSA). (2017). Annual report for citizens. KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: Department of Social Development. (Original work published 2016)
30.
RubinJ.RubinS. (2011). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
31.
SewpaulV. (2015a). Neoliberalism. International encyclopedia of the social and behavioral sciences (2nd ed., Vol. 16., pp. 462–468). doi:10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.28062-8
32.
SewpaulV. (2015b). Politics with soul: Social work and the legacy of Nelson Mandela. International Social Work, 1–12. doi:10.1177/0020872815594226
33.
Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). (2017). Statistical release: mid-year populations estimates. Pretoria: Statistics South Africa.
34.
SteinM. (2012). Young people leaving care: Supporting pathways to adulthood. London, England: Jessica Kingsley.
35.
SteinM.MorrisM. (2009). Increasing the number of care leavers in “Settled, Safe, Accommodation.” Research report. Research review, 3, centre of excellence and outcomes in children and young people’s services, C4EO university of York. Retrieved fromhttp:eprints:whiterose.ac.uk/73519/
36.
StorøJ. (2018). To manage on one’s own after leaving care? A discussion of the concepts independence versus interdependence. Nordic Social Work Research, 1–12. doi:10.1080/2156857X.2018.1463282
37.
Sulimani-AidanY.MelkmanE. (2018). Risk and resilience in the transition to adulthood from the point of view of care leavers and caseworkers. Children and Youth Services Review, 88, 135–140. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.03.012
38.
TanurC. (2012). Project Lungisela: Supporting young people leaving state care in South Africa. Child Care in Practice, 18, 325–340.
39.
TaylorS. J.BogdanM.De VaultM. (2016). Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook and resource (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.
40.
Van BredaA. D. (2018a). A critical review of resilience theory and its relevance for social work. Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 54, 1–18. doi:10.15270/54-1-611
41.
Van BredaA. D. (2018b). Research review: Aging out of residential care in South Africa. Child and Family Social Work, 23, 513–521. doi:10.1111/cfs12431
42.
Van BredaA. D.DickensL. F. (2016). Young people transitioning from residential care in South Africa: Welfare contexts, resilience, research and practice. In MendesP.SnowP. (Eds.), Young people transitioning from care: International research, policy and practice. (pp. 346–366). London, England: Palgrave.
43.
Van BredaA. D.DickensL. F. (2017). The contribution of resilience to one-year independent living outcomes of care-leavers in South Africa. Children and Youth Services Review, 83, 264–273.
44.
WadeJ. (2008). The ties that bind: Support from birth families and substitute families for young people leaving care. British Journal of Social Work, 38, 39–54.
45.
WilliamsC. A. (2011). Mentoring and social skills training: Ensuring better outcomes for youth in foster care. Child Welfare, 90, 59–74.
