The Contradictory Challenges of Relationships and Independence for Youth Aging out of Child Welfare

Background and Purpose: Youth “aging out” of the child welfare system face multiple hardships in different domains of their lives including health, housing, education, and employment (Courtney & Dworsky, 2006; Daining & DePanfilis, 2007; Pecora et al., 2006). Such challenges are well documented in the literature; yet less is known about how youth aging out conceptualize hardship and what they see as most challenging about the transition out of the system and into adulthood. Further, while researchers frequently focus on hardships, youth are less often asked about their successes. This study aims to explore youths' perspectives to guide service providers in attempts to better support youth aging out of care.

Methods: Twenty-nine youth aged 18-23 in the process of transitioning out of child welfare were questioned about their challenges and successes. Youth were recruited from independent living meetings hosted by the Department of Human Services, a local agency providing drop-in educational and workforce assistance to transitioning youth, and through local contacts to ensure the inclusion of youth disengaged from services. Participants included 17 young men and 12 young women; 21 were African American, 3 White, 3 bi-racial, and 2 Hispanic. The semi-structured interviews were conducted individually and in small groups. Data analysis was an iterative process involving coding, memoing, and discussions among research team members.

Results: While youth in this study had experienced many of the hardships frequently cited in the literature (e.g., unemployment, homelessness, justice system involvement), youths' discussions of challenges were focused in two largely different areas – relationships and independence. Specifically, they cited difficulties in current and former romantic relationships, in some cases with the other parent of their children, as well as with family members. They also mentioned challenges in their attempts to be independent – particularly with regard to making it “on their own.” The most frequent success cited by youth was simply surviving, with successful assumption of “adult” responsibilities (getting one's own place, paying bills, becoming a parent) a close second. Thus, our findings echo those of Samuels and Pryce (2008) who found that youth aging out espoused a notion of survivalist self-reliance as a source of great pride. Yet, like them, we also discovered how these efforts to be independent worked against youth in developing supportive relationships. Our findings add to the discussion by revealing that many youth view relationships as their greatest challenge, but fail to recognize how their attempts to be independent often impede them in this area.

Conclusions and Implications: This study suggests that youths' perceptions of challenges lie outside the domains that scholars have typically explored. It supports emerging scholarship (e.g., Propp et al., 2003) emphasizing the goal of interdependence, as an alternative to independence, for youth aging out of care and the need for greater attention to their relational needs and skills. Child welfare service providers may consider these perspectives and focus upon relationships while designing and implementing programs for youth aging out.