Young Adults Transitioning from State Out of Home Care - Literature review Example

INVESTIGATING THE FACTORS FOR YOUNG ADULTS TRANSITIONING FROM STATE OUT OF HOME CARE IN AUSTRALIA Name: Course: Instructor: Institution: Location: Date: Investigating the Factors for Young Adults Transitioning From State Out Of Home Care in Australia Introduction Out of home care has been described as the accommodation provided for children under the age of 18 who are unable to live with their parents due to certain circumstances. Some of these out of home care include family foster care, treatment foster care, residential and group care, and kinship care (Mendez, 2012 and Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2005). These children are provided with financial support from the government. A significant proportion of these children are unable to transition successfully into independent adults. Some of the criteria that social workers utilize in order to place children in out of home care include the child’s specific needs, available resources such as funds and facilities, and the capabilities of the caretaker. All these capabilities are geared towards providing stability for a child. It is important for the government to provide care to the less privileged and vulnerable section of the society (Broad, 2002, pg 16). With the challenges encountered with young adults transitioning into a state of independence, it is imperative to take into considerations some of the key factors that lead to this phenomenon. The role that social workers, caregivers and the government sector play in providing support to out of home care children is significant during their transition process. The experiences of these group of young people sharply contrasts those of young people raised in a normal family setting. It is therefore important to take into account these experiences and their causes, in order to find out why their success rates into transition to independence are low. Discussion A report focused on the situations of the out of home care children along with their resulting outcomes was evaluated (Cashmore and Paxman, 2007, Pg 10). The report presented the results of a series of interviews conducted on young children who left an out of home care system. The study consisted of a longitudinal study where three interviews were conducted on 45 children who left ward ship in New South Wales. This was over a period of 12 months where the children were asked to share their transitioning experience. These questions included their perceptions towards life within that specific period of being independent. The purpose of the research was to find out how the young people tackled life’s situations as independent people. The report was also geared towards finding out whether there was a possibility of improving the lives of these children and if so, the specific steps that the stakeholders could take. The report was also interested in evaluating the steps the government could take in the sense of changing policies of out of home care systems. The reports indicated a consistency in difficulty experienced in children. This is due to the lack of adequate care provided to them during ward ship. Older teenagers and young adults often consider the ability to achieve independence as a significant goal in their lives. It is normal to experience emotional or financial hardships even for children who have grown up in a normal and supportive family setting. Young people living with their parents often feel a sense of security even after they leave home. This is because they know they are able to return to their home, where they are able to receive security, as well as physical and financial support from their parents or guardians. However, children leaving from out of home care rarely have the luxury of going back to their caregivers should they have trouble during the process of transition. According to the findings, the young people who left ward care were reported to be less likely than their peers to be employed or receive income support from the government. Many of the young interviewees were found to be employed in low skilled jobs that were also poorly paying. This was in sharp contrast to their peers who worked in occupations that are more professional. In addition, fewer of these out of home care children were able to cal to someone close to them in case they experienced any financial challenges in the process of transitioning. This meant that the relationships formed during their time in the out of hoe care systems were not long lasting. In addition, fewer of them (12 percent) maintained contact with their original parents or guardians (Cashmore and Paxman, 2007, Pg 67). Some were reported to be staying away from their parents or guardians intentionally as they saw the relationship as counterproductive to their lives. In a similar study, a longitudinal study was conducted on wards leaving care over a period of twelve months. The study involved four parts of interviews on 51 young people between the age of 16 and 18 who have left ward ship. The first part involved conducting a study immediately after they have been discharged. The second part involved a departmental study of the young people discharged after 12 months. The third part involved a study of these individuals discharged. They were grouped into two: those living at home and those living as refugees. The final part of the study involved studying the district officers that were involved with these individuals during their time of discharge. The interviews were partly open ended and conducted face to face whereby the answers were taped. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the main circumstances and difficulties the children were experiencing. The study was also aimed at recording their attitude towards their experience while under ward ship care. It was important to examine some of the needs of these in terms of care and to what extent these needs were met by the involved parties such as the government, departmental and care giving personnel (Cashmore and Paxman, 1996, pg. 53). There was also a need to find out whether there existed a direct correlation between characteristics of these groups of young people, family background, experience in ward ship and their overall outcome. Some of the difficulties the children experienced included the fact that the departmental personnel failed to inform the children why they were taken away from their home and turned into a state ward. According to Frost and Stein (2004), some of the interviewees reported that when being taken into ward ship for the first time, they were simply taken from their home, taken to court and before they knew it, they were in a house with other kids where they were told they would stay for a few weeks. This left them confused as to what was going on and how their future would be and if they would ever be able to live with their parents again. The results also indicated that the circumstances vary according to their stay in ward ship as well as the underlying reasons that brought about their stay in out of home care. These could be issues ranging from physical, emotional, or sexual abuse from their parents or guardians to incapacitation. In addition, the wards leaving care felt that the departmental personnel could have done more to make their stay and experience less difficult (Cashmore and Paxman, 1996, pg. 64). One of the children reported a lack of communication with the department, while another felt that they did not conduct a regular check in order to make sure their stay with their caregivers was comfortable. This would widely affect the relationships they would form in the future after leaving ward ship. On the issue of employment, only about five of the interviewees had a full time job, while the rest were pregnant, retrenched, back to school or unemployed (Cashmore and Paxman, 1996, pg 75). Those who exhibited optimism for life and the future were the ones in school or employed. In general, more nearly half of the young interviewees reported that the money they earned was not enough to meet their needs. They often ran out of money, and only about half of them were able to seek financial help from someone close to them such as friends, relatives and foster parents. The interviewees felt that they needed financial help and advice to put them in a better position to manage their money. The profile of young people that left out of home care was examined in a bid to find out their circumstances in terms of their ability to become successful in the future through an adequate transition plan. 77 young people were put under study after they were no longer in care. The groups were divided into three categories according to how well they fared after leaving care: those moving on, those surviving and those struggling with life. Those “moving on are the individuals who had developed a certain level of flexibility that allowed them to face difficulty with more ease than the other two groups. They also had a positive experience during their stay at the home. ‘Survivors’ are described as those who have experienced more instability in the homes such as movement from one home to another, and other forms of disruption. Survivors are more prone to unstable and low paying jobs, weak personal and professional relationships, and homelessness. ‘Strugglers’ are the individuals with the most difficulty after transitioning (Pinkerton and Mccrea, 2009 and Barrett, 2007). These young people have experienced traumatic situations even prior to joining out of home care systems. They have subsequently not received adequate psychological and financial assistance during their stay in these homes. They have not been able to form any meaningful relationships even with their caregivers. They are very likely to experience difficulties similar to the ‘survivors’ in addition to loneliness and mental health issues. Of the studied individuals, 64 percent were unable to establish a feasible plan for leaving care in terms of financial stability. An estimated 35 percent of them were homeless within the first 12 months of leaving care. Almost half of the proportion of male leavers was incorporated into the juvenile justice system. 28 percent of the leavers had children already while 29 percent were unemployed. The research conducted revealed the urgent need to develop a modified model of care after leaving the homes (Maunders, Liddell, Liddell, and Green, 1999 pg. 45). The study also concluded that there is need for these young people to develop a meaningful relationship with the caregivers in order to have an easier transition after leaving their care. In addition, the children require customized support in terms of their specific needs. These include particular challenges such as offering rehabilitation services for substance abuse individuals, physically and mentally challenged individuals (Maunders et al, 1999, pg. 68). It is important for the government to formulate policies that ensure the well-being of the less privileged section of the society (Raman, Inder, and Forbes, 2005, pg. 16 and Fitzpatrick, 2006). A report aimed at establishing an estimated cost of an integrated leaving care model for young people was conducted. The purpose of conducting the research was to enable the young people leaving care have better options during their time of transition. This includes giving young people the option of staying longer in the homes until the time they are more financially capable of having an easier time moving out. It also involved helping the young people develop a comprehensive framework for leaving care. The research also aimed at providing the young people with access to governmental services. After care services were described as the services that the government and non-governmental personnel give to the children and young adults with more urgent and high priority needs. These are mostly physical and mental health needs. The report indicated that the individuals who undergo an unsuccessful transition and were more likely to have their children taken away from them and brought into care. Nearly a third of the young women became pregnant between the period of leaving care and 12 months into transition (Beauchamp, 2014, pg. 19). This is a result of an inability or the lack of proper parenting skills, a model that the government could take into consideration while providing support after care Aside from providing support to young parents, the report indicated a need to increase investments for more capable staff and care givers in the out of care homes. A program could be integrated into the out of home care system that educates these individuals on the right procedures to follow when experiencing certain difficulties during and after their stay. Young people leaving out of home care have huge financial challenges to overcome, thus they have little ability to obtain housing (Raman, Inder, and Forbes, 2005, pg. 34). Due to the high rates of homelessness, there was also an urgent need for the government to invest in accommodation facilities for those young people leaving care. Most of the policies implemented under the government, in conjunction with the National Partnerships Agreement on Homelessness have not been paid strict attention to. Transitioning to a state of independence for young people leaving care has been categorized into a series of phases. This period is estimated to be between the ages of 15 to 25 years of these young people (Mendez, 2010, n.p). The research was geared towards establishing a framework designed to enhance support for young people leaving care. This was developed as a result of the poor social and financial outcomes exhibited by this particular group of people. Mendez (2010) maintains that there has been sufficient evidence about the key issues faced by young people leaving care and the effective strategies that could be employed to improve their status. However, there exists little report of any action taken by the government, non-government organizations, and the societal sphere in assisting these young people to have a more comfortable transition. The process of transition has been grouped into two: societal and economic transition. Societal transition relates to the ability to form meaningful relationships with relatives, friends or caregivers as well as the rest of the community. In addition, it has been described as the ability to develop a sense of well being which includes a healthy self-esteem and personal identity. Economic independence is the transition that allows proper education or training in a bid to obtain and maintain employment and thus support oneself (Mendez, 2010, np). In the study, 64 care leavers aged between 12 and 25 years participated in the process of consultations. The questions were geared towards establishing the intricacies of becoming independent. The results indicated that many of the care leavers did not possess the networks of social support such as friends and family. This deprived them of a safety net in which they could fall should they experience any trouble during the process of transitioning. Due to this, the process of establishing financial and social independence became more difficult, as they were isolated. More than half of the care leavers did not achieve the desired level of education to allow them to obtain permanent employment. Longitudinal Survey of Australian Youth (2009) reported that about 55.3 percent of young people aged 17 years were in grade 12. This led them to experience greater difficulty in achieving a source of income that enabled them to be economically stable. There is a significant issue on the ability of care leavers to cooperate with support services in a bid to obtain help (Dee, 2006 & Dima, 2012). This has been the issue on some of the young people especially due to their inability to trust. This is because they feel alienated and disadvantaged as a result of not receiving enough help to be successful. In rare cases, the care leaver may opt out of the system entirely because they felt they would be better off alone (Biehal, Clayden, Stein, and Wade, 1995). In addition, there is a huge difference between the policies pertinent to care leavers and implementations. In addition, there is insufficient capacity and support of caregivers to address their specific needs. These are some of the main issues reported regarding the inability of care leavers to experience a smooth societal transition. There has been an established relationship between care leavers and the increased likelihood of drifting into the juvenile justice system (New South Wales and Community Services Commission, 1996, pg 23 and Gough, 2011, pg 1). The research conducted was aimed at establishing the circumstances involved in the home care system that could affect the probability of the care leavers to end up as criminals. It also includes an evaluation of the strategies that can be employed to decrease the likelihood of falling into a life of crime. Co-ordination between departments of juvenile justice and community services was surveyed to find out whether enough was being done to support home leavers. The involvement of children with the juvenile justice system includes contact with the police, investigation of suspected offences, trial sessions, sentencing, and detention. Children and young adults who are connected to the welfare system are more likely to fall under those involved with the juvenile justice system (New South Wales and Community Services Commission, 1996, pg 47). Most of the crimes are non-violent and include breaking and entering, motor vehicle theft, and disruption of public order. Having a criminal record for a young person can have detrimental effects to their social well-being in the future. These include interrupted education, family dislocation and reduced opportunities for employment. According to the research, the high rates of detention were related to the type of care afforded to them during their out of home stay. In normal family homes, children who exhibited unacceptable and problematic behaviour were dealt with at home while in out of home care, these were mostly turned into criminal charges. In the event of breaking down in the placement of a child, the department of community services would issue a warrant for the child, thus resulting in their detention. In other cases, the home facilities placed strict and unpleasant regulations on the conduct of children that lived there (Waterson, 2002, pg 33). Failure to adhere to these rules, some of the staff would report the matter to the police who would then arrest the child. In the light of these underlying risk factors, there was need to approach the issue of troublesome behavior using better strategies. These include establishing the right conditions or behaviors that warrant the police to be called, specific personnel authorized to call the police, and adequate training of staff to enable them deal with problematic children. In addition, there is need for follow up of crime to reduce the risk of repeat offense, and the development of a feasible framework under which these behaviors could be improved after the offense has taken place. Other solutions include improving the quality of care provided to children exhibiting challenging behavior (Gough, 2012, pg, 7 and Bay, 2009). It is important to establish costs of alternative methods of the government of this specific group of people after leaving out of home care (Morgan Disney and Associates, 2006). The study was geared towards finding out whether alternative methods would be cheaper and more effective than the current policies and actions implemented. The study was therefore geared towards helping policy makers in the government sector provide alternatives for young people after leaving care. These choices would be of benefit to the economy through reducing the number of people leaving care who follow expensive pathways. The factors taken into consideration during the study included drug and substance abuse, employment, support from family, source of income, health status, housing status, justice support and issues concerning mental health. The cohort under study was 1150 young people who left the child protection system. The findings indicated over 2 billion dollars spent in providing protection services to these individuals from the government. This was a longitudinal report that covered their lives from the age of 16 to 60 years (Morgan Disney and Associates, 2006). The study also estimated that around 45 percent of these individuals used low cost services but still manage to make contributions to the economy eventually. On the other hand, around 55 percent of the cohort used high cost services such as justice and mental health services. These types of services mostly increased in cost over time. The findings also suggested that the government would undergo less expense if better support systems were developed for the young people leaving care. There was a need to address the research and models employed in tracking people leaving care and assisting them in their transition towards avoiding the use of high cost services. Using a feasible and comprehensive approach, the study drafted five economically sound pathways that reduce cost of service usage. Level 1: service usage was low in every service system except for employment Level 2: service system was higher in the cohort under study than the average person was. Level 3: there was an increased level of usage of service in drug, alcohol and justice system for the cohort. Level 4: hospital based service cost was higher in the cohort than the average person as a result of mental health issues and substance abuse. Level 5: Increase and frequency of number of services was exhibited in the cohort, with combined use of two or more services at a time, which was more expensive than the wide population. The study would not only help in providing g foundation for further research but also shed light to the actions that each section of service systems need to take in order to provide cost-effective methods of caring for young people leaving foster homes. A study aimed at examining outcomes of young people leaving care was conducted. The need to examine arose from the need to create new models of providing services for these young people. In particular, the research aimed at establishing a relationship between the cost of providing services for these individuals and the outcome. The study examined 106 young people aged between 16 and 19 years who left care. The longitudinal study was conducted for 6 months and method of study included interviews and obtaining data from secondary sources. Objectives were to measure the amount of funding that was required in order to provide support as well as identified other components that resulted in effective transition processes. Leaving care was described as a situation whereby young people moved from a home where they had permanent care to another where they were semi independent or entirely independent (Bansford, 2011, pg 23 and Wade, 2008). Leaving care also involved movement from the home care and into their families or staying in the home even after they have been formally discharged by the system. The study was focused on the specific characteristics of how they were taken care of in terms of service provision by authorities, government and caregivers, and their overall experiences. This enabled the researchers to pinpoint the key areas of service cost and correction. Some of the services that were considered to be costly were education, health, youth justice, and private sector services. About 17 percent of the individuals under study had a physical or learning disability (Stein, 2002, pg. 13 & Alexander and Labnd, 2000). This would ideally imply more health and costly health services for the individuals than the rest of the cohort. Lack of a permanent placement system resulted in the increased likelihood of the child to become emotionally and socially unstable in the future. This is a significant risk factor that affects overall poor outcomes for the child. Thus, stability has been described as one of the most important services required that promote successful transitions into independence (Dixon, Wade, Byford, Weatherly, & Lee, 2006, pg 26). Results indicated that there existed limited studies on what the proper procedures were for preparing children for transition and adult life. However, it was agreed that preparation brought about a significant difference on their outcomes (Wike et al, 2015 pg. 33). Caregivers need to pay attention to the skills developed during their stay in the homes. This include basic skills such as communication, inter-personal, educational, emotional and practical skills. Majority of people felt prepared for the life ahead, but this was before they actually had a chance to experience it. On the other hand, caregivers views on children’s preparation that only about half of the children leaving care had undergone basic training in preparation support. Conclusion Young people transitioning from out of home care systems face more difficulties than the average young person moving towards independence in Australia (Courtney, M., & Hughes, 2005 and Dixon, 2007). The special commission of inquiry into Child Protection Described these groups of young people as the most vulnerable people in the community. This includes their proneness to poverty, homelessness, social exclusion, substance abuse, unplanned parenting. A significant influence of how they have turned out is connected to experiences during their stay in these homes. Developed countries such as United States of America and United Kingdom have much more advanced systems of caring for young people leaving care (Beauchamp, 2014, pg 26). Extensive research has been undertaken that aimed to provide insight into the factors that affect successful transition. The research reports were mainly aimed at providing ways in which young people leaving care would become socially and economically independent. In addition, there has been need to provide cost-effective measures of providing services to these individuals (Rubie and Babbie, 2016). The main factors that affect transition include experience in their homes, experience in their out of care homes, criminal records, mental health status, governmental policies and level of education. It is imperative for the stakeholders to improve their respective areas of concern in order to provide adequate care for this disadvantaged group in communities (Green and Jones, 1999). Recommendations The recommendations are aimed at providing both feasible strategies for improving successful transitions in young people leaving care, which are both cost effective and efficient. Some of the effective steps to take include: giving high priority to these groups of children when it comes to housing and governmental services. The government could also devise systems that provide assistance with meeting costs of further education and training on the skills required for life and employment (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2010). Disability and health services are of great importance to young people with health issues as a result of substance abuse or physical disabilities. Young parents who have left the system are in need of support in order to prevent their children from ending up in the same system as their parents. Agencies related to providing care for these individuals should work in tandem with one another in a bid to provide consistency and stability for the young individuals. Adequate training of caregivers is required. This will enable them to handle children with behavioral problems with more effectiveness (Johnson, Natalier, Bailey, and Kunnen, 2009, pg 36). Educational programs related to providing practical and social skills should be implemented into the system prior to allowing the children to leave. More stable home environment is required in order to increase the likelihood of successful transition and outcomes. Bibliography Alexander, A., & Labnd, J. (2000). Mentoring schemes for young people handbook. London, National Children’s Bureau. http://site.ebrary.com/id/1057 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2008). 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