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Presentation to the Association of Children's Welfare Agencies Conference August 2014

The influence of informal social support on the lives of young people leaving state out-of-home care

Jacinta Waugh (PhD Candidate) Faculty of Medicine, Monash University

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Accelerated and compressed transitions

• The focal model of adolescence contends that most adolescents pass through this potentially stressful stage with relative stability by addressing one issue at a time (Coleman 1989)

• Care leavers have accelerated and compressed transitions where they need to manage issues simultaneously, rather than sequentially (Mendes et al 2011; Stein 2008; 2012; Ward 2008: 261)

• They often do not have a home in which to feel secure, go out and explore and return to when things do not work out

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Stein’s Typology

Moving on Group

Strugglers Group

Survivors Group

• Stable placements

• Secure attachments

• Solid support networks

• More resilient

(Stein 2012)

• Significant instability

• Helpful or problematic relationships with family and friends

• Strong sense of self reliance and may not seek help when needed

• Most negative pre-care trauma

• Significant social and emotional deficits

• Most frequent placements

• Tend to alienate their support if they have it

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The significance of social capital

SurvivorsSignificant instability and can have helpful or problematic

relationships

Strong sense of self reliance and may not seek help when

needed

Strugglers

Most negative pre care trauma and most frequent placements

Significant social and emotional deficits and the they tend to

alienate any support

Social capital contributes to the fulfillment of developmental and environmental needs

The reality for many care leavers is that they lack positive social capital

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Rationale: Building care leavers informal social capital

Strugglers

Survivors

Moving on

The rationale of this study is to improve the informal support for those in the ‘survivor’ and ‘struggler’ groups

• How do care leavers utilise informal, positive relationships to promote their resilience?

• How do we encourage appropriate help-seeking behaviour of care leavers?

• How can we develop the social skills of care leavers to utilise positive informal supports?

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The role of social capital

• Some care leavers have strong and positive social support networks

• Others have very low positive social capital or negative social capital– main factors which escalate involvement in

crime seem to be exposure to deviant peers (Ryan et al 2008; Taylor 2006)

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What may be useful? Increasing bridging social capital

• Bridging social capital occurs when people who have different backgrounds come together usually for a specific purpose (Kenny 2011; Putman

2000) - it can open the care leaver to new information and new experiences

• Van Breda’s (2014) emerging care leaving theory suggests the importance of bridging social capital due to the finding that care leavers ‘network people for goal attainment’

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The gap in the research

Research has focused on care leavers’ relationships with professionals, biological

parents, other carers and formal mentors… (Biehal, Clayden, Stein & Wade 1995; Cashmore & Paxman 2007; Cathcart 2002;

Coyle & Pinkerton 2012; Dixon, Wade, Byford, Weatherley & Lee 2006; Hiles et al 2013; Raman, Inder, & Forbes 2005; Stein 2012; St Luke’s Anglicare

and Whitelion 2008; Trethowan 2008; Wade 2008)

…howeverwe lack detail about who their

informal supports are and how they use these when they

formally leave state care.

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Significance of studying informal social capital

• Knowing more about these connections is likely to help the worker to assess the utility of these connections to help meet the care leaver’s needs

• Informal social support is a more sustainable resource

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The research question

How do significant non-professional supports influence transitions for young people leaving out-of-home care programmes in terms of meeting both developmental and environmental needs?

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Aims of the research

• To examine the character, the quality and the pattern of interaction of their relationship with a significant other

• To find out how to increase the positive social capital for care leavers, especially for those in the ‘survivors’ and ‘struggler’ groups

• To facilitate the care leavers’ movement through Stein’s typology from ‘struggler’ to survivor and from ‘survivor’ to moving on

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Methodology: research design, who, why and how

The research uses an exploratory, primarily, qualitative design using:

• face-to-face semi-structured interviews of care leavers and their nominated significant person in their life

• semi-structured interviews and focus groups with practitioners

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Methodology: where and recruitment

• Research will be undertaken in the jurisdiction of Victoria, Australia

• There is access to participants.

• Recruitment: Utilise practitioners in the field to obtain access to a sample– Obtain informed consent with the young person and

their nominated significant other

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Methodology: identifying the sample

To identify as diverse a sample as possible, the following information is sought from the practitioner in relation to the young person:• The extent of the pre-care trauma • The age the young person entered care• The frequency of their placement• What was the type of placement the young

person had before being discharged from public care

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Methodology: identifying the sample

• If the young person has encountered juvenile justice or been in trouble with the law

• The level of difficulty they have had with securing an income (income support), housing, education and training and employment

• If they have had any health issues (including substance dependency and mental illness)

• If they have had a disability

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Methodology: care leavers

• Does the care leaver find and maintain a relationship with a significant other?

• If so, how do they do this?

• With whom?

• How and where did they meet?

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Methodology: care leavers

• When do they see them and how often?

• How long do these relationships last?

• Where and what do they do together?

• What support is given?

• What is considered to be support?

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Methodology: significant other

• In the main the significant other will be asked similar questions that are asked of the care leaver

• What do they think is the support that they provide?

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Methodology: practitioners

The main information that will be gathered from the practitioners will be:

• To consider the value of care leavers’ relationships with members of their broader network

• What are the ways to increase care leavers’ positive social capital?

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Methodology: ‘Looking After Children’ framework

Developmental Needs Environmental Needs

• Education (and training)

• Emotional and behavioural development

• Identity

• Family and social relationships

• Social presentation

• Self-care skills

• Health

• Employment

• Housing

• Income

(Department of Human Services 2012)

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Methodology: Analysis

• Data will be coded using the LAC framework

• Comparing information looking for themes, similarities and contrasts

• Nvivo (QSR International) will be used for data analysis

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Ethical considerations

• Research will be conducted in line with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research

• Planning, data collection, writing, reporting and follow-up stages can all impact on the young people being researched.

• Ultimately young people are the experts on their lives

• .

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Possible significance of the findings

• Policy implications– Do we need to streamline or make processes

invisible to the young person in care so they can participate in the informal social experience like their counterparts in the wider population?

• Practice implications– Do we need to examine the pros and cons of

routinely considering the young person’s relationships with members of their broader milieu such as relatives, peers and other adults.

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Acknowledgements

• I would like to thank Associate Professor Philip Mendes and Dr Catherine Flynn