The project addresses the challenges that young people leaving residential care face and it is based on the observation and real needs (as reflected in their daily practice) in the field of youth care and residential youth care of the partner organisations.
Generally the transition from dependent to independent life is a process which may take several years. Young adults living with their biological families who are past the age of maturity can (and do) ask for additional support from their family members when facing difficulties. However, young people from residential care do not have this support; they are obliged to leave institutional care when they reach the age of maturity or at the age when they finish their education (in average at the age 24-26 depending form country to country). Leaving institutional care becomes the biggest challenge for them due to shortage of professional aftercare services. On the other hand institutional care centers do not focus enough on the development of life skills and certain formal restrictions (imposed by other authorities, like health inspection and other authorities) do not permit care centers to facilitate everyday life skills of young people (eg. They cannot take part in cooking, they do not have access to a “household budget”, etc.) In most cases without proper social and life skills, topped by unsolved personal problems, they are extremely vulnerable to social and financial challenges. Therefore it is extremely important that the process of leaving care is systematically planned and prepared well before the child leaves the residential care, and the present project proposes such a complex learning plan.
Preparation for independent life and social inclusion is also essential for unaccompanied minor migrants as they lack some important socially and culturally defined knowledge for their adaptation and inclusion to the host community.
Generally the transition from dependent to independent life is a process which may take several years. Young adults living with their biological families who are past the age of maturity can (and do) ask for additional support from their family members when facing difficulties. However, young people from residential care do not have this support; they are obliged to leave institutional care when they reach the age of maturity or at the age when they finish their education (in average at the age 24-26 depending form country to country). Leaving institutional care becomes the biggest challenge for them due to shortage of professional aftercare services. On the other hand institutional care centers do not focus enough on the development of life skills and certain formal restrictions (imposed by other authorities, like health inspection and other authorities) do not permit care centers to facilitate everyday life skills of young people (eg. They cannot take part in cooking, they do not have access to a “household budget”, etc.) In most cases without proper social and life skills, topped by unsolved personal problems, they are extremely vulnerable to social and financial challenges. Therefore it is extremely important that the process of leaving care is systematically planned and prepared well before the child leaves the residential care, and the present project proposes such a complex learning plan.
Preparation for independent life and social inclusion is also essential for unaccompanied minor migrants as they lack some important socially and culturally defined knowledge for their adaptation and inclusion to the host community.
