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Paper

Transition to adulthood: the Equip program

abstract

Background

Data in Quebec reveals that each year, approximately 500 youth who leave the child welfare system are at risk to become homeless and to experiment serious difficulties after their transition. The image of the youth leaving with all of his belongings in a garbage bag is shared by numerous people.

Researchers in Québec generally agree that we know little about youth when they leave care (Pauzé et al. 2004). Yet, we know that youth generally have precarious jobs, they experiment unemployment, they have more chances to become homeless, to be dependent to drugs, to be arrested or to go to prison (Pauzé et al. 2004, Courtney et al. 2001).

Purpose and aims

The Association of Youth Centers in Quebec (AYCQ) was aware of this reality and decided to implement a program between 2002 to 2006, with a grant from Government of Canada's National Crime Prevention Strategy. This is how the Equip program was born. This program aims at preventing youth's marginalization. The conceptual framework of the program is based on three objectives: 1) to prepare and supervise the transition from youth to adulthood by increasing the level of autonomy; 2) to insert 75% of participants into the job market or provide job training as of when they reach 18 years old; 3) to develop support networks within the community and the family when possible. The Equip program is innovative as it focuses on life transition over a long period of time (age 16 to 19). So youths would build a relationship characterized by intensity, durability and adaptability with their worker.

Four different regions were chosen to implement Equip. In each region, two educators were selected to be Equip workers. For three years, they would have a caseload of 10 youths and they would prepare them intensively for their transition out of the youth center. Each youth was chosen by the educator but had to prove that he was interested in taking part in the Equip program. Youth who participated are especially at risk of experiencing difficulties as they leave their youth center or their foster parents at 18 years old. Their profile is described as severe by the workers who select them.

Methods

Since the beginning of the implementation, an evaluation process was included in the project. The conceptual framework of the evaluation rests upon the three program objectives. We met two times with almost every youth (n=61) who participated in the project, at the first year and the second year of implementation. The interview was designed to assess the 3 axes of Equip, by integrating a biographical calendar, a questionnaire about their social network and a life history interview. Three other tools, filled by the Equip educator and the youth were used : the Ansell-Casey Life Skills Assessments, a grid of assessment about the severity profile and a grid of assessment about personal dispositions. Moreover, each worker talked with almost ever youth (n=80) to ensure triangulation and to get data about the change process and the assessment of the Equip contribution to this process. Finally, two interviews were conducted with each Equip educator to document the process of adaptation in each region.

Key findings

Results show a strong correlation between social network ad trajectories: youth in a "constructive trajectory" generally have a supportive network, whereas youth in a "vulnerabilizing trajectory" are involved in an inhibiting network. Further results demonstrate that more youth are part of a "constructive trajectory" (56%) at the end of the pilot project, compared to those which are part of a "vulnerabilizing trajectory" (44%).

Gender comparisons indicated that more boys were supported by their families, although more girls showed a pattern of vulnerabilizing dependency through a network containing more boys. Results also show that the actor who supports most of the teenagers is the Equip worker, who assumes 75% of the total support provided to the youth. Further results show that youth's autonomy increases overtime as well as their personal dispositions, although their severity profile decreases. This means that Equip seemed to have a positive effect on youth's trajectory.

Implications for policy and practice

These results indicate the importance of a program like Equip. Its positive impact on the participants' trajectory reasserts the need to implement the program nationwide. Equip is an excellent model of intervention decompartmentalization, where the worker is oriented towards the community and works in it. Obviously, more research is necessary to study long term effects of a program like Equip, of course on youth, but also on youth center practices.

Key references 

Goyette, M., Chénier, G., Royer, M.N., and Noel, V. (2007) Évaluation du projet d'intervention intensive en vue de préparer le passage à la vie autonome et d'assurer la qualification des jeunes des centres jeunesse du Québec. Rapport final.

Goyette, M, Chénier, G., Royer, M.N., and Noel, V. (2007) 'Le soutien au passage à la vie adulte des jeunes recevant des services des centres jeunesse. Éducation et francophonie.' Revue scientifique virtuelle 35, 1, thématique 2007.

Goyette, M. (2007). 'Promoting autonomous functioning among youth in care: A program evaluation.' New Directions for Youth Development (ÉTATS-UNIS) 113, 89-105.

Contact details

Véronique Noël, Association des Centre Jeunesse du Quebec, Canada. Email: Noel.veronique@gmail.com

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