Leaving care in Quebec: The EDJeP Longitudinal Study

Abstract

Abstract
 This article reports results from the first longitudinal and representative study of a cohort of youth leaving care in Quebec (EDJeP study). Focusing on education and residential stability, we show that youths from youth protection services accumulate important vulnerabilities that make their transition out of youth protection services very challenging. In particular, compared to their peers in the general population, youth leaving care have significant educational delays that complicate their integration into the labor market. Our data suggest that a system that better encourages school perseverance and success would limit these academic delays and promote graduation. We also find that nearly half of the youths from the protection system experienced residential instability in the months following their release from placement and that 20% of them experienced at least one episode of homelessness. These last elements clearly show the extent of the vulnerability of youth leaving the protection system. We suggest some areas of reflection to improve this situation.

Understanding how young people transitioning from out-of-home care acquire and develop independent living skills and knowledge: A systematic review of longitudinal studies

“…Of the included studies, eleven [ 45 , 60 , 63 , 68 , 70 , 72 , 76 – 78 , 82 , 83 ] adopted mixed-methodology, ten [ 35 , 59 , 62 , 66 , 67 , 71 , 73 – 75 , 81 ] used qualitative approaches, and six [ 61 , 64 , 65 , 69 , 79 , 80 ] used quantitative approaches. A total of five [ 35 , 59 , 61 , 75 , 82 ] studies conducted comparisons with general populations involving cross-national or control groups.…”

“…A total of five [ 35 , 59 , 61 , 75 , 82 ] studies conducted comparisons with general populations involving cross-national or control groups. Six [ 63 , 72 , 74 – 76 , 82 ] of the included studies accessed administrative data for their analysis.…”

“…All studies focused on ILS as an overarching theme for post-care outcomes. The included studies covered a range of primary themes covering specific needs, which would sit underneath the ILS umbrella, for example, mental health [ 59 , 70 ], disability [ 35 ], housing [ 65 , 67 , 75 , 76 , 78 ], and education [ 63 – 65 , 72 , 76 , 81 , 82 ]. Over half (14/27) of the included studies focussed on individuals functioning, processing, and adjustment to life after care and provided a broad analysis which reflected on different ILS domains [ 45 , 60 – 62 , 64 , 66 , 68 , 69 , 71 , 74 , 79 , 80 , 82 , 83 ].…”

“…Several studies highlighted that if young people develop individual personal growth characteristics such as having agency, taking responsibility, forward-planning, practising decision-making, enhancing self-concept, having a sense of purpose and empowerment, developing openness, self-determination, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and having aspirations, then they can be more likely to access support and services [ 35 , 45 , 59 , 62 , 76 , 77 , 80 ]. Work experience opportunities were found to build human capital [ 71 ].…”

Report From the Field

“…However, it is highly likely that this unofficial national figure underestimates the number of youth who exit care given that many provinces and territories do not publicly report this data and that there is no national database tracking this information (Doucet & Mann-Feder, 2021). These legislated age-based service cut-offs do not represent youth's sense of readiness for the transition to adulthood, and have been shown to lead to negative outcomes, including disproportionate risks of homelessness, unemployment, poverty, undereducation, mental health and addiction issues, involvement in the criminal justice system, and early parenthood (Beaupré & Flynn, 2014;Doucet, 2020b;Gaetz et al, 2016;Goyette & Blanchet, 2022;Schaffer et al, 2016).…”