Life after Leaving Institutional Care: Independent Living Experience of Orphan Care Leavers of Mumbai, India

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ankit Kumar Keshri
Keyword(s):  
Independent Living ◽  
Institutional Care ◽  
Orphan Care ◽  
Care Leavers

Youth Transitioning Out of Residential Care in South Africa: Toward Ubuntu and Interdependent Living

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajeshree Moodley ◽  
Tanusha Raniga ◽  
Vishanthie Sewpaul
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Adults ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
Qualitative Method ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Family Preservation ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Multiple Risk Factors ◽  
Care Leavers ◽  
Caring Communities ◽  
Interpretive Design

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.

scholarly journals “I Need My Children to Know That I Will Always Be Here for Them”: Young Care Leavers’ Experiences With Their Own Motherhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina

SAGE Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824401881991
Author(s):  
Lucía Coler
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Family Support ◽  
Young Women ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Buenos Aires ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
Institutional Care ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Care Leavers ◽  
Ambivalent Relationship

For care leavers in Argentina, the transition to an autonomous lifestyle is a process that begins at 18 years old when they are no longer protected by Children’s Rights laws. This transition is particularly challenging without any family support, and studies have demonstrated that female care leavers are likely to have children within the first few years after leaving care. The aim of this research is to explore and analyze young women’s identities, experiences, and perceptions about their own motherhood and family relationships after leaving the institutional care system in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Throughout a qualitative, small-scale study using life-history interviews, an insight of how these young women’s life experiences have influenced their identities is obtained. In this respect, the findings suggest that female care leavers offer a different type of childhood to their own children than the childhood they experienced, thus providing security, health, education, and love for their children. Moreover, an ambivalent relationship with their birth families has encouraged these women to develop their autonomy with new, meaningful bonds. Finally, motherhood and community participation have empowered these young women and promoted their agency.

Trends in Care and Services for Elderly Individuals in Denmark and Sweden

1993 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 271-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman Cates
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Home ◽  
Home Care ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
Institutional Care ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Nursing Home Care ◽  
Care Hospital ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Elderly Individuals ◽  
Care Community

Both Denmark and Sweden have achieved a reduction in institutionalization of elderly individuals; 23 percent nursing home care in Denmark from 1980–89 and 34 percent overall institutionalization in Sweden from 1970–1985. This was accomplished by increasing home care and housing with services and adaptations. Further increases in growth of the elderly population combined with modest economic expansion will be the forces responsible for finding additional alternatives to costly institutional care. Community-based services and care have not been demonstrated at this time to be less costly than institutional care. An illustration of an innovative model of nursing home care in Denmark is described. The medical model of care was abandoned in favor of a self-care model for the purpose of fostering independent living and decision-making as long as possible. In Sweden, a reduction in demand for beds in a long-term care hospital has been achieved through a tightly coordinated system of care and services among the various health and social service professionals.

Experiences of Young People Early in the Transition From Residential Care in Lagos State, Nigeria

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-100
Author(s):  
Belema Sekibo
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Residential Care ◽  
Social Factors ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
Policy Research ◽  
Personal Factors ◽  
Qualitative Research Design ◽  
Lagos State ◽  
Care Leavers ◽  
Transitional Outcomes

This article examines the aftercare experiences of young people who have recently left a residential care institution in Lagos State, Nigeria. The study adopted a phenomenological qualitative research design with 20 care leavers, and data collected were analyzed using Attride-Stirling’s thematic networks analytical tool. The young care leavers’ aftercare experiences were marked by many challenges with employment, finances, living and surviving alone, accommodation, and social integration. These challenges were due to inadequate preparation for independent living, as well as their orphan and care backgrounds. However, care leavers were filled with resilient optimism, in terms of personal and social factors. Personal factors related to hope of a brighter future, persistence, fear of failing, and engagement in menial jobs and savings, while social factors included formal and informal support systems care leavers mobilized for improved transitional outcomes. Recommendations for policy, research, and practice are made in light of these findings.

scholarly journals THE IMPROVEMENT OF CHILDREN’S INDEPENDENT LIVING SKILLS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE RESTRUCTURING OF CHILDREN’S CARE HOMES

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 312
Author(s):  
Vida Gudzinskienė ◽  
Rita Raudeliūnaitė
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
Institutional Care ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Fund Raising ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
Independent Living Skills ◽  
Living Skills

The article analyses the improvement of children’s independent living skills in the context of the restructuring of children's care homes. The concept of the restructuring of institutional care is presented. A qualitative-empirical study has been conducted by using the method of a semi-structured interview. The study data were processed by using the method of content analysis. The results of the empirical study are based on the experience of 14 social workers, who work in care institutions, which participate in the restructuring, which consists of the changeover from institutional care to the services that are provided to children, who have become destitute of parental care, in a family and community. Three directions of the improvement of children’s independent living skills in the context of the restructuring of children's care homes have been highlighted: increasing independence in adolescents (the engagement of children in a practical activity and their reasoning by encouraging and stimulating them for an independent activity); the improvement of the organisation of educational process (the increase of practical exercises, the  reduction of the number of nurtures in a household, the increase of an individual communication with a child); the improvement of material basis (fund raising and the redistribution of the resources available).

scholarly journals CARE LEAVERS’ PERSPECTIVES ON THE FAMILY IN THE TRANSITION FROM OUT-OF-HOME CARE TO INDEPENDENT LIVING

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4.2) ◽  
pp. 140-159
Author(s):  
Stephan Sting ◽  
Maria Groinig
Keyword(s):  
Home Care ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Out Of Home Care ◽  
Qualitative Interview Study ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Status ◽  
Care Leavers ◽  
Status Passage

Findings from youth research have shown that, due to the development of the transitional phase of “emerging adulthood”, the family has become increasingly significant for young adults as a source of support and as a safety net. In contrast, care leavers are confronted with a relatively abrupt transition to independent living. However, international studies have shown that the family also plays a significant role during the status passage of leaving care — as an arena of concrete social relationships, as a normative model and ideal, as a biographical experience and memory, as a connection to family traditions and practices, and as an important contextual factor for resilience and identity formation. The first section of this paper describes the various links between care leavers and their families based on a literature review. In the second section, the biographical relevance of the family is highlighted based on the example of a qualitative interview study about the educational pathways of 20- to 27-year-old care leavers. The study shows the various influences of family links on the educational careers of young people during and after out-of-home care. From the findings, we derive some consequences for professional work with families in out-of-home care and for professional support and guidance during the status passage of leaving care.

scholarly journals The Experiences of Social Workers while Preparing Children for Independent Living in the Community Foster Care Homes

Pedagogika ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 125 (1) ◽  
pp. 158-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vida Gudžinskienė ◽  
Rita Raudeliūnaitė ◽  
Rokas Uscila
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Foster Care ◽  
Parental Care ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Institutional Care ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
The Family ◽  
Independent Life

The order of the Minister Social Security and Labour of December 18, 2013 adopted The Action Plan for the Transition from Institutional Care to the Family and Community Based Services to the Children with Disabilities and the Children who Have Lost Parental Care for 2014–2020. The purpose of the transition of residential institutions for children from institutional care to family and community-based provision of the services to the children, who have lost parental care, is to ensure a harmonious environment and conditions to the children, who have lost parental care, to grow in the family or household of guardians or adoptive parents and receive assistance in the community. It is important for a child to grow in a family environment which stimulates children’s independence, full and complete participation in the community and social inclusion. When restructuring children’s care homes, it is foreseen to create new and expand the existing community services which are alternative to institutional care: communal children’s care homes of up to 8 children when they are given residence in flats, houses. One of the priorities of the restructuring of children care is to prepare a child for an independent life. While the process of restructuring is underway' no studies', which analyze the improvement of the preparation of children, who reside in the community foster care homes, have been conducted. Therefore, it is relevant to conduct studies on the improvement of the development of independent life skills of children in the context of the restructuring of care homes. The purpose of the study is to reveal the experiences of social workers while educating children for independent living in the community foster care homes. The study questions: 1) What independent living skills children lack while living in the community foster care homes? 2) What difficulties are encountered by social workers while developing the independence of the children of the community foster care homes? 3) How social workers overcome arising difficulties? Qualitative research type was chosen for the study. In the study, the method of a semi-structured interview, which enables to come close to the understanding of human experiences, designation of meanings, the definition of meanings and the construction (explanation) of reality, was used. The obtained data were analyzed by the content analysis method. Qualitative content analysis was carried out in accordance with the inductive, study data based and categories composed logic. According to J. W. Creswell (2009), content analysis is a technique which, having examined the specificities of the text, allows, objectively and systematically, draw reliable conclusions. The qualitative content analysis was performed regarding the following sequence (Creswell, 2009): repeated reading of the content of transcript interview texts, distinction of meaning elements in the text analysed, grouping of the distinguished meaning elements into categories and sub-categories, integration of the categories/sub-categories into the context of the phenomenon analysed and description of their analysis. Criteria-based sample was used in the study. The informants were chosen according to the following criteria: 1) social workers who have a degree in social work, 2) social workers who work in the community foster care homes for children. The study was conducted in the September-October of 2016 in the community foster care homes for children. 10 social workers participated in the study. The study revealed that while preparing the children of the community foster care homes for independent living social workers experience the difficulties in (self-) developing domestic skills (food cooking, shopping, paying bills), social skills (communication and cooperation, organizational) and personal skills (the lack of adequate self-evaluation, self-control skills and self-confidence skills). Social workers, who work in the community foster care homes for children, develop independence skills in children by using verbal methods (individual and group conversations), assigning individual and group practical tasks, drawing on the team of the community foster care homes for children and cooperating with the specialists of other institutions. Social workers hope that the restructuring of institutional care and the changes related to it like creation of domestic environment and the possibilities for household management create better prerequisites for the preparation of children for independent living.

An Exploration of Complex Longitudinal Relationships Between Care Factors and Post-Care Outcomes in South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 152-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian D. van Breda
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
Aging Out ◽  
Care Programme ◽  
Research Results ◽  
Outcomes Of Care ◽  
Care Leavers ◽  
Care Outcomes ◽  
The Many ◽  
Longitudinal Relationships

Research on young people transitioning out of the childcare system and into young adulthood is inevitably reductionist in that it is unable to take into account the many complex forces that play a role in the development of a child from birth, into and through the care system and on to adulthood. Consequently, studies on the outcomes of care-leavers need to be interpreted with care and thought. This paper serves to illustrate these challenges in research and the various ways that research results can be interpreted by drawing on data from a study being conducted in a residential care programme in South Africa. Demographic, pre-care and in-care variables of a sample of care-leavers are compared with a set of independent living outcome variables a year after aging out of care. Unanticipated results are contrasted with those that were anticipated, and multiple interpretations of the same results are provided. Because of this, the author calls for judicious and humble use of research results when making judgements about the outcomes of care-leavers and the effectiveness of child welfare interventions.

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