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LEAVING HOME, LEAVING CARE: Contributions to practice with youth leaving care Varda Mann-Feder , Professor Concordia University, Montreal This research was made possible by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada 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 Destabilizers Challenges Catalyst Ambivalence Self Doubt Chaos Adaptation Transition Mastery Clarity Emotional Stability Insight Stabilizers Motivation Safety Net 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 destabilizers 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?cycol0610-overton.html. • • • • • •