Publisher's Synopsis
The transition from care to independent living has become a recentfocus for research given the poor outcomes that have beendocumented to date. This issue will present multiple perspectiveson this problematic issue, examining outcomes and offering acritique of traditional approaches while at the same time outliningpromising developments in programming both in the United States andinternationally. Practices that build competence will behighlighted, given the need to prepare these youth for successfultransitions into independent living.
It has been well established that significant numbers of youthwho age out of foster homes, group homes, and residentialfacilities and leave to live on their own are overrepresented inadult psychiatric facilities, prisons, and among the homeless. Inaddition, most suffer from poor health, do not finish school, andhave difficulty securing gainful employment. Most problematic isthat little is understood about how to intervene with thisdisadvantaged population in its transition to adulthood. It isclear that attaining age of majority has little to do withmaturity, yet the reality remains that the care system mustgraduate these young people, many of whom have nowhere to go but ontheir own. This volume represents a valuable step forward inacknowledging the current situation and offering effective ways tomeet the challenges of the future.
This is the 113th volume of the Jossey-Bass quarterly reportseries New Directions for Youth Development.
