'Leaving Care and the Transition to Adulthood' advances the current literature on the situation of young people growing up in substitute care who age out at the age of majority.

The transition from care into adulthood is a difficult step for any young person, but young people leaving care have a high risk of social exclusion, both in terms of material disadvantage and marginalisation. In Young People's Transitions from Care to Adulthood leading academics gather together the latest international research relating to the transition of young people leaving care, outlining and comparing the range of legal and policy frameworks, welfare regimes and innovative practice across 16 countries. The book also highlights the variations that exist between different groups leaving care. Featuring key messages for policy and practice, this book will give academics, practitioners and policymakers valuable insights into how to encourage resilience and improve outcomes for care leavers.

The transition to adulthood is a longer and more complex process than it was just a few decades ago, and a growing number of youth and young adults experience significant challenges in the establishment of an autonomous and independent lifestyle when compared to previous generations. Successful high school graduation followed by employment is no longer the inevitable trajectory for young people, especially in the current socio-economic context where jobs are less accessible and more demanding in terms of specialized skills and higher academic qualifications. Unable to rely on family for emotional and financial support, vulnerable youth, who grow up in substitute care, are especially effected by the lengthening of this transition to adulthood. The dismal outcomes for youth growing up in care are by now well-documented, and more recently, a range of models have been proposed to help advance our understanding of these outcomes and how to forestall them. However, the literature on leaving care has long suffered from the absence of theory that could guide meaningful intervention. In response to this gap, Leaving Care and the Transition to Adulthood offers a comprehensive overview of the newest contributions to this area in relation to theory, in addition to the Theory of Emerging Adulthood, while also featuring cutting-edge research and best practices that support adjustment across a range of domains for this population. International in scope, this book focuses on bringing together major advances that span the literature on transitioning to adulthood within the care system, offering a unique and important contribution to the field.

An authoritative text highlighting the key issues affecting young people taking the step from leaving care to adulthood. Covers relevant research, policy and practice, and advises on how best to understand, prepare and support young people.

This book challenges and revises existing ways of thinking about leaving care policy, practice and research at regional, national and international levels. Bringing together contributors from fifteen countries, it covers a range of topical policy and practice issues within national, international or comparative contexts. These include youth justice, disability, access to higher education, the role of advocacy groups, ethical challenges and cultural factors. In doing so it demonstrates that, whilst young people are universally a vulnerable group, there are vast differences in their experiences of out-of-home care and transitions from care, and their shorter and longer-term outcomes. Equally, there are significant variations between jurisdictions in terms of the legislative, policy and practice supports and opportunities made available to them. This significant edited collection is essential reading for all those who work with young people from care, including social workers, counsellors, and youth and community practitioners, as well as for students and scholars of child welfare.

This book places changes in leaving and returning home in the context of the major events of 20th century America. The authors examine the reasons children ultimately leave home to live on their own and how the pattern has changed throughout the 20th century. Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households, Goldscheider and Goldscheider have constructed these patterns for when children leave home and what the most important criteria for doing so are to different groups in America, including men, women, Blacks, Hispanics, Whites, and different religious groups and social classes.

In the decade after high school, young people continue to rely on their families in many ways-sometimes for financial support, sometimes for help with childcare, and sometimes for continued shelter. But what about those young people who confront special difficulties during this period, many of whom can count on little help from their families? On Your Own Without a Net documents the special challenges facing seven vulnerable populations during the transition to adulthood: former foster care youth, youth formerly involved in the juvenile justice system, youth in the criminal justice system, runaway and homeless youth, former special education students, young people in the mental health system, and youth with physical disabilities. During adolescence, government programs have been a major part of their lives, yet eligibility for most programs typically ends between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one. This critical volume shows the unfortunate repercussions of this termination of support and points out the issues that must be addressed to improve these young people's chances of becoming successful adults.