Tracking Care Leavers as They Move to Independence

• Start date: 01 August 2002
• End date: 30 June 2003

Although over the last decade there have been advancements in understanding the way young people are making the transition to adulthood, there remains a gap in our knowledge on the way more disadvantaged and vulnerable young people are making this transition. This study is tracking a cohort of 30 young people who are in th e process of leaving ‘care’ to live independently. The study is a continuation study, whereby a group of young care leavers who have previously been followed-up six months after their first interview contact are being re-contacted again 12 and 18 months. In-depth qualitative interviews are being used to examine how they manage and cope with the transition to independent living and the factors that are presented to them in doing so. Officially young people leave care to live independently between the ages of 16 and 18, in which case the young age at which they are coping with independence is a focus of the study. The obstacles they face along the way as with the type of things that facilitate smooth transitions are also being explored. In addition, the methodological dimensions of employing tracking as a research technique are being tested.