One‐year outcomes of youth exiting a residential care facility in South Africa

Abstract

This article describes the 1‐year outcomes of youth transitioning out of a residential care facility in South Africa. Those outcomes are compared with both national data on youth in the general population and care leavers from the United Kingdom. Analysis of the outcomes of 52 care leavers showed that they had fairly secure accommodation, low levels of homelessness, and low levels of criminal involvement and substance abuse. However, care leavers were particularly vulnerable in their educational attainment and employment outcomes and ran the risk of being not in employment, education or training. This has economic and psychological consequences for youth, who are then forced to rely on others for their livelihood and it can increase their feelings of depression, isolation, and despondency. Results from this study provide insight into the challenges and needs of young people transitioning out of residential care, which provides guidance on what to prioritize for practice. This research has implications not only for improving the understanding of care leaving in South Africa and Africa, but also for the existing knowledge based on research internationally.

Psychological Well-Being and Youth Autonomy: Comparative Analysis of Spain and Colombia

“…On the other hand, there is a widespread consensus in the literature on the inequality of opportunities for people to achieve autonomy; these difference is related to one’s social group or gender, among other factors ( Inguglia et al, 2015 ; Van der Kaap-Deeder et al, 2017 ; Dickens, 2018 ; Pinkerton and McCrea, 2018 ). These factors will influence with greater or lesser intensity depending on the environment studied, which could explain the differences observed in the level of autonomy between Spanish and Colombian youth, in addition to interacting with individual barriers that reduce the subject’s ability to access autonomy within of the same analysis scenario ( Brim et al, 2019 ).…”

“… Sulimani-Aidan (2016) considers that social adjustment is conditioned by one’s future expectations in life and perceived self-efficacy, which facilitate the assumption that one’s behaviors will have an effect on subsequent success; therefore, young people who have positive beliefs about their academic and employment outlook adopt behaviors that favor self-fulfillment. These traits become protective and motivating factors that support people’s drive toward achievement and increase their psychological well-being in the future ( Glynn et al, 2016 ; Crous, 2017 ; Dickens, 2018 ). Kaya et al (2019) highlighted the influence of gender roles and the individual’s willingness to assume them as conditioning factors to their ability to adjust to their environment.…”

NEET as an Outcome for Care Leavers in South Africa: The Case of Girls and Boys Town

“…Where these youth have slower and more extended transitions, SA youth are forced out of care, with little support, at a young age and into difficult circumstances. Despite these challenges, some care leavers have shown to do well (Dickens, 2017) and show resilience (van Breda & Dickens, 2017) because of their ability to network and build both formal and informal relationships.…”

Care-leaving in South Africa: an international and social justice perspective

“…The economic climate has resulted in an unemployment rate of 27.7%, and unemployment among youth under the age of 25 is as high as 50% (Dawson, 2014;Statistics South Africa, 2017). The NEET rate among young people between the ages of 15 and 24 is 30.1% (Statistics South Africa, 2017), a figure that (Dickens, 2017 in press) states is reflected in the population of care leavers. It is in this climate that young people, including care leavers, are frequently expected to provide, not only for themselves, but for their extended families as well (Dawson, 2014;Reuben, 2017).…”