The Impact of COVID-19 on Care Leavers

Abstract

The survey of the COVID-19 outbreak focused on studying the impact and long-term consequences on care leavers, especially residential care leavers who are living independently. Employment, education, physical health, hygienic practices, psychosocial and emotional health, and coping strategies adopted by care leavers were studied. Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (1979 ) was used to study the impact of COVID-19 on care leavers at every system level in Sri Lanka. The methodology adopted was mixed method. The data collection was mainly a quantitative survey. Focused group discussion and semi-structured interviews were used to elicit qualitative aspects of survey findings. The findings highlight that care leavers were primarily female (69%) and young adults between the ages of 16 and 28 (61%); the majority of care leavers (80%) lived with their families and only 20% lived alone. Care leavers were well adapted to precautionary measures to prevent COVID-19. This study on care leavers has shed light on various social and economic issues, including care-leaving debt, lack of access to digital learning, food insecurity and homelessness, as well as lack of access to a continuum of care and mental health services. The impact was more severe care leavers’ employment and educational opportunities, which led to long-term consequences on their life cycle. The absence of income maintenance or social protection nets could further affect care leavers’ long-term consequences. The research recommends a range of interventions to support youth leaving alternative care settings and to promote their independence and dignity.