French care leavers overcoming the odds

French care leavers overcoming the odds

13 January 2012

A long-term follow-up study of adults raised in a particular type of foster care known as SOS children’s villages reveals some interesting trends in typical pathways for young people after leaving care in the largest country in Western Europe - France.

SOS children’s villages operate internationally and currently serve 600 children and adolescents in France alone. Children’s villages comprise a community of caregivers known as ‘SOS mothers’ who foster children and sibling groups. They provide long-term placements in family units and work closely with family helpers, case workers and psychologists. SOS also provide a host of other care services including job training, informal housing and job support, transitional apartments and residential accomodation.

The research study, involving 123 adults who had spent at least three years in a children’s village placement, revealed that the majority transitioned out of care and into independence without major difficulties, many of them by their mid-twenties.

Independence is described as ‘self-sufficiency on a financial and material level (stable job for six months and independing housing), and being independent of any institutional support’. Traditionally, within the French and International research literature, independence is viewed as a significant challenge for care leavers who typically have difficulties securing employment, work unskilled jobs, have limited social networks and generally lack the skills and preparation for independent living.

Unsurprisingly young people leaving care are considered to be at great risk of social exclusion and marginalisation, but in this new study published in Children and Society, the large majority of care leavers achieved independence with few problems despite the considerable disadvantages they had experienced.

There were however a smaller proportion - over a third of the young people studied - who did experience great difficulties in the transition (n=40). These care leavers, many of them now well into their 30s and 40s reported experiencing violent episodes, behavioural problems and dependence upon alcohol and drugs. Though in many cases these setbacks were temporary and individuals did eventually achieve independence.

By far the greatest obstacle to independent living was the presence of severe mental health difficulties. Those with serious emotional and behavioural disorders were less likely to attain educational or vocational diplomas, more likely to leave care early and return home to their families, their reunifications often failed and they were either placed elsewhere or received other intensive child welfare services.

By way of illustration, the researchers reveal that of those who adults who experienced great difficulties in the transition to independent living, one in three had a psychiatric disorder. Of the 13 adults in the study who have never achieved independence, ten have a psychiatric problem.

Annick-Camille Dumaret and her co-authors suggest that the study results reveal “a vital need to implement appropriate therapeutic care during placement and to develop care leaver support well beyond the age of 18, in order to help them [care leavers] personally and academically and to ensure their successful transition to adulthood”.

Whilst these results are interesting they should be interpreted with some caution. As Dumaret points out the data was obtained from casefiles and interviews with the care leavers themselves but no standardised measures of emotions, behaviour and psychiatric difficulties were administered.

In addition, the care leavers in this study experienced a particular type of placement and the reported experiences of this particular group of care leavers cannot be easily generalised to children receiving other types of care in other contexts.

Nevertheless, long-term follow-up studies of looked after children are relatively scarce and this study goes some way at addressing the lack of research on the outcomes of French care services and progress of care leavers.

Reference:

Annick-Camille Dumaret, Pascale Donati and Monique Crost (2011) After a long-term placement: investigating educational achievement, behaviour and transition to independent living. Children and Society, 25, p.215-227.

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