Abstract
This report presents findings from a one-year evaluation which explored practitioners and care leavers experiences of the continuing care service situated in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.
Care leavers can experience stigmatisation and criminalisation as leaving care can be a complex transitional process with many challenges (Stein, 2008). The purpose of continuing care in South Lanarkshire is to support young people in the South Lanarkshire community with care experience into a successful transition into independent living.
The evaluation explored:
• The relationships between professionals and young people,
• Young people’s opinions and experiences on the journey from care to independence.
• Barriers and catalysts to achieving independent living from both a practitioner and young person point of view.
Qualitative data was collected in which focus groups with art-based methods were used. There were three focus groups in total: two with young people (n9) and one with the workers of the service (n8). This was followed by individual interviews with five practitioners exploring how they dealt with vicarious trauma in the service. Creative arts-based methods were applied alongside individual interviews.
Six themes emerged throughout the study. Two were linked with data from the young people who participated in the evaluation: Independent Living and Emotional and Interpersonal Support. Two themes were linked directly with the practitioner’s data: Promoting Resilience over Self-Care and Barriers and Belonging with unaccompanied minors. The two final themes were from both the young people and the practitioner’s data sets: Service Improvements and Importance of Relationships. Eight findings and seven recommendations were developed from these themes.
The overall finding of the service was that they meet the needs of a young person transitioning from care to independent living. Further findings were related to levels of supports for both young people and practitioners, developing cultural competencies and the types of service improvements that young people and practitioners would like within the service.
The recommendations were related to the findings and the themes and involved practical and strategic solutions to help improve the service although it should be recognised that the service, and the practitioners within it worked diligently to meet the needs of the young people attending its service.
Care leavers can experience stigmatisation and criminalisation as leaving care can be a complex transitional process with many challenges (Stein, 2008). The purpose of continuing care in South Lanarkshire is to support young people in the South Lanarkshire community with care experience into a successful transition into independent living.
The evaluation explored:
• The relationships between professionals and young people,
• Young people’s opinions and experiences on the journey from care to independence.
• Barriers and catalysts to achieving independent living from both a practitioner and young person point of view.
Qualitative data was collected in which focus groups with art-based methods were used. There were three focus groups in total: two with young people (n9) and one with the workers of the service (n8). This was followed by individual interviews with five practitioners exploring how they dealt with vicarious trauma in the service. Creative arts-based methods were applied alongside individual interviews.
Six themes emerged throughout the study. Two were linked with data from the young people who participated in the evaluation: Independent Living and Emotional and Interpersonal Support. Two themes were linked directly with the practitioner’s data: Promoting Resilience over Self-Care and Barriers and Belonging with unaccompanied minors. The two final themes were from both the young people and the practitioner’s data sets: Service Improvements and Importance of Relationships. Eight findings and seven recommendations were developed from these themes.
The overall finding of the service was that they meet the needs of a young person transitioning from care to independent living. Further findings were related to levels of supports for both young people and practitioners, developing cultural competencies and the types of service improvements that young people and practitioners would like within the service.
The recommendations were related to the findings and the themes and involved practical and strategic solutions to help improve the service although it should be recognised that the service, and the practitioners within it worked diligently to meet the needs of the young people attending its service.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publisher | University of the West of Scotland |
| Commissioning body | South Lanarkshire Council |
| Number of pages | 37 |
| Publication status | Published - 10 Dec 2024 |