This book challenges and revises existing ways of thinking about leaving care policy, practice and research at regional, national and international levels. Bringing together contributors from fifteen countries, it covers a range of topical policy and practice issues within national, international or comparative contexts. These include youth justice, disability, access to higher education, the role of advocacy groups, ethical challenges and cultural factors. In doing so it demonstrates that, whilst young people are universally a vulnerable group, there are vast differences in their experiences of out-of-home care and transitions from care, and their shorter and longer-term outcomes. Equally, there are significant variations between jurisdictions in terms of the legislative, policy and practice supports and opportunities made available to them. This significant edited collection is essential reading for all those who work with young people from care, including social workers, counsellors, and youth and community practitioners, as well as for students and scholars of child welfare.

An intimate account of the personal and socioeconomic circumstances that affect state care leavers, this book voices the distinct yet interconnected experience of these young people to reinforce the increasingly prevalent Irish model.

For children who grow up being cared for by the state, rather than their families, in China, the past twenty years has seen a shift: China has gone away from keeping those children in institutions and towards alternative approaches that attempt to honor children's rights to an inclusive childhood and adulthood. This book reviews the changes in policy and practice that underlie this shift, and, through interviews with young people involved with state care in the period, presents a clear view of how the change in approach has affected individual lives. As this is an issue that all countries struggle with, the lessons on offer here will be of value not just to those working in and studying China but to a broader range of practitioners in child welfare and development.

The journey to adulthood is a big step for all young people. However, for young people leaving care it may be far more difficult, coping with major changes in their lives and at a younger age, especially if they lack preparation and support. Young People Leaving Care explores the journey from care to adulthood through the main challenges these young people face: in being in settled accommodation, in fulfilling their potential in education, employment or training, and in achieving and maintaining good health and a positive sense of wellbeing. For each of these pathways, the book provides a comprehensive review of relevant research, how young people might be best supported, and how the services they receive have the potential to increase resilience and boost their chances of enjoying a fulfilled life as a young adult. This is an essential book for all those who work with young people from care, including social workers, personal advisers, counsellors, teachers, policy makers, researchers and students in the field of child welfare.

EPDF and EPUB are available open access under CC BY NC ND licence. This publication was supported by University of Essex's open access fund. Peter Appleton builds on research interviews with care-experienced young adults, and on cross-disciplinary theories of planning and of emotions, to develop a model of planning for young people leaving care.

This ground-breaking book examines inequalities experienced by LGBT people and considers the role of social work in addressing them. The book is organised in three parts: the first provides a policy context in four countries, the second examines social work practice in tackling health inequalities, and part three considers research and pedagogic developments. The book’s distinctive approach includes international contributions, practice vignettes and key theoretical perspectives in health inequalities, including social determinants of health, minority stress, ecological approaches and human rights. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans health inequalities is relevant to social work educators, practitioners and students, alongside an interdisciplinary audience interested in LGBT health inequalities.

This volume explores how children's rights has influenced research with children and how research can in turn shape policies and practices to enhance children's rights. The book examines the impact children's rights and Childhood Studies has had on how children are constructed and regulated internationally.