Paper
Improving transitions to adulthood of young people leaving care in Romania
- issue: Issue 2 / 2010
- authors: Gabriela Dima, Dr. Caroline Skehill
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abstract
This paper provides an insight into the process of young people's transition from residential care to independent living in Romania, emphasising the transition point reached one to three years after leaving care.
In order to capture the complex interplay of psychological and sociological factors affecting young people leaving care, the ecological model was chosen as the broad theoretical research framework. The research strategy and process was based on an action-research model, chosen for its potential to give an active voice to young people who had recently left care themselves and to the professionals charged with developing and implementing services for them.
The paper provides recommendations for service providers on how to improve young people's transition to adulthood and how to design services to meet care leavers needs effectively. The paper concludes with a commentary on implications of the findings for the Romanian and international context.
Contact details
Gabriela Dima, PhD student Queen's University Belfast
Email: gdima01@qub.ac.uk
Dr. Caroline Skehill, Queen's University Belfast.