LEAVING HOME, LEAVING CARE:Contributions to practice with

youth leaving care

This research was made possible by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

Varda Mann-Feder , ProfessorConcordia University, Montreal

Where I started• Consultant at a large Anglophone agency• Resource person for independent living

services• Worked hard to create relevant programs but

youth were not engaging, significant proportion of youth were running away

• We could not predict who would succeed• Program of qualitative research that began in

1995

What I have learned

• Our programs of preparation are misguided• Our expectations are unrealistic: moving out is a

crisis for all young people• Launching demands a permissive approach

where youth can experiment and express difficult feelings

• Peers have a critical role in the transition to living on one’s own and can compensate for a lack of parental support

Major findings 1995-2005• Most efforts in Child Welfare are directed at returning

youth home. Independent living is an afterthought• Staff and youth have little say about timing, resources • Youth express a need for relationships, not programs• Youth stress the need for self reliance and do not

anticipate age related pleasures, especially in relation to peers

• Youth express anger at staff while denying and trivializing issues with family

• Youth express different feelings as they move through the process: anxiety…anger…disappointment. Greatest crisis is during the transition, not after they leave

Why I turned to thinking about home leaving

-our programs are expensive but have no theoretical or empirical basis

-launching young people into adulthood is a normative transition

-while the lack of family support is something we can never compensate for, there may be other protective mechanisms or turning points that operate in this transition

Newest findings: Methodology• Interviews with volunteers• Normative study: Home Leavers, Non-Home

Leavers, Care Leavers N=43• Follow up study on current practices: Youth from

care (11), staff in transition programs (3)• Analysis using Consensual Qualitative

Research* which tracks themes and sub-themes across cases using a team approach

* Hill, C., Thompson, B., & Williams, E. (1997). A guide to conducting consensual qualitative research. The Counseling Psychologist, 25, 517-572

Stab

ilize

rsD

esta

biliz

ers

Catalyst

Motivation

External Support

Internal Assets

Previous

ExperienceResearch and

Planning

Lack of

Support

Sadness

Loneliness

Overwhelmed

Ambivalence Self Doubt Chaos

Mastery Clarity Emotional Stability Insight

Challenges

Safety Net

Transition Adaptation

Lessons learned from home leavers

• Leaving home is a process of transition and adaptation

• It is preceded by a period of uncertainty and irritability

• This process is fueled by a motivation rather than readiness

• The process is accompanied by challenges and de-stabilizers that are normative ,unavoidable, and emotionally unsettling

• most significant stabilizers : a safety net, parental expressions of confidence, opportunities to “rehearse” and peer modeling and support

Findings with Youth from Care

Similarities:

Motivated and excited to leave despite lack of choice

Look forward to having their own space Same worries about being on their own Some , but not all, turn to peers for support

Differences:• Less ambivalent, more angry and resentful• Pre-occupied with being a burden• Exaggerated sense of responsibility and refusal to turn to staff• More preparation but less practice

Findings in relation to friendships in care

• Peer relationships tend to be discouraged• Youth in care may have uneven access to

technology and social media• Friendship patterns may reflect placement

history• Friendships with other youth in care do not

last• Friendships with youth from outside care are

difficult if not impossible to establish

Peer Centred Practice• Use peer mentors in programs for youth

exiting care• Encourage the identification of room mates

and support networks that will persist after leaving

• Support the formation of peer networks in care through group facilitation and cohort programming

• Challenge: To rethink our policies and procedures. What obstacles are we creating?

References

• , J• Arnett,J.J. (2007)Aging out of care: Toward realizing the possibilities of emerging

adulthood. In Mann-Feder, V. (Ed.)Transition or Eviction? Youth exiting care for independent living. New Directions in Youth Development, 113, 151-161.

• Gordy-Levine,,T. (1990) Time to mourn again. In Maluccio, ,A.N., Krieger, R. & Pines, B.A. (Eds.) Preparing adolescents for life after foster care. Washington, D.C.: Child Welfare League of America.

• Mann-Feder, V., Eades, A., Sobel,E. & Destefano, J. (forthcoming) Leaving home: A • Qualitative study. Canadian Journal of Youth and Families.• Mann-Feder, V. (2011) Intervening with youth in the transition from care to

independent living. Journal of Child and Youth Care Work, 23,8-13.• Mann-Feder,V. & White.T. (2004). Facilitating the transition to independent living:

Reflections on a program of research. International Journal of Child and Family Welfare, 6(4), 204-210.

• Overton, S.S. (2006) The forgotten intervention; How to design environments that foster friendship. CYC-Online, Issue 93, available at http://www.cyc-net.org?cycol-0610-overton.html.