The Chelsea Foyer at the Christopher at Five Years: Lessons in Developing Stable Housing and Self-Sufficiency For Homeless Youth and Youth Exiting Foster Care

The Chelsea Foyer at the Christopher is a transitional housing program for youth aging out of foster care and youth who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Launched in 2004 as partnership between Common Ground Community and Good Shepherd Services, the Chelsea Foyer at the Christopher has served 165 young people between the ages of 18-25, providing up to two years of transitional housing in conjunction with a rigorous, developmentally-appropriate program designed to prepare young people for self-sufficiency upon discharge.When the Chelsea Foyer at the Christopher was launched in 2004 the needs of this population were beginning to be recognized. Now, the 18-to-25-year range is increasingly understood as an important developmental stage in which young people who have experienced great challenges can be positioned for lifetime employment and self-sufficiency instead of reliance of public assistance and chronic risk of homelessness. Programs across the country are exploring new housing models and best practices to address the problem of youth homelessness. However, this national conversation requires Federal participation and a national policy on youth is needed to elevate public understanding of this issue and underscore the benefits and cost savings of addressing the needs of these young people so they can lead productive, independent lives.This report aims to provide perspectives to facilitate this conversation. A general overview of lessons learned is offered in the final section -- Section V. The history of the development of the Chelsea Foyer at the Christopher, financing of the building and lessons on use of space and partnership development can be found in Section I. The program and practice lessons on working with this population are described in Section II. Funding and costs for the program are outlined in Section III. A review of current data is presented in section IV

The experiences of youth foster care leavers in Makanda town, Eastern Cape, South Africa

This study sought to explore the experiences of foster care youth who had exited the system within a period of three years in Makhanda Town, Eastern Cape. The coping mechanisms employed by foster care youth after exiting the system, and the policies, legislations and support services available were explored. The study adopted a qualitative research method. Non-probability sampling was employed to recruit 23 foster care youth who had exited the system within three years in Makhanda Town. In addition, 6 professionals dealing with statutory cases, three (3) foster parents and one (1) key informant were selected. Data was collected through the use of face-to-face semistructured individual interviews with foster care youth who had exited the system. The focus group discussion was held with professionals dealing with statutory cases and the ward councillor. The researcher analysed the data thematically. The study findings revealed that long term and comprehensive planning was important so as to provide a consistent and all round support to the fostered youth during the pre and post foster care phases. It was established that for most foster care children, the lack of a complete plan affects their transition from their biological home through the foster care system. Consequently, they come out more vulnerable than when there were initially placed in foster care. The study highlighted the serious need for training and job placement for the youths, a structure that is currently non-existent. The study recommended that the Department of Social Development (DSD) should make it compulsory for statutory social workers within the foster care domain to come up with individualized and personalized plans that outline the needs and deliverables for each child placed in the foster care system. Importantly, DSD must create a framework that is endorsed and accepted by all stakeholders so as to achieve the best interest of the child in all situations. Furthermore, the study recommends that DSD should employ more social workers to address the current human resources shortages in foster care units. Lastly, the study recommends restructuring of placement system to be less paper-work for effective and efficient, integrity, and quality of the service provision.Thesis (MSW) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 202

The Role of the Family on Adolescent’s Bullying Involvement

This thesis presents a mixed method exploration of different family factors and interpersonal relationships in relation to children’s bullying involvement at school, online, and within the home. Five studies are presented. The first is a scoping review on between-sibling bullying, offering an insight into a lesser-known type of bullying, with some consideration of how this may relate to peer bullying. Three studies utilise the Health and Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey, offering large-scale cross-national datasets: the first of these investigates the role of family structure and interpersonal relationships on peer bullying, and highlights a risk for children living in social care only; the second looks into sibling characteristics for peer bullying, but the effects of these negligible; the third focuses deeper into the vulnerability for children living in social care. The fifth and final study adopts a qualitative approach and explores bullying involvement for children living in foster care specifically. The findings from this thesis challenge the claims that family structure and sibling characteristics are directly related to peer bullying, and instead reinforce the importance of interpersonal relationships. This is particularly relevant for those living in foster care, who until now have been unheard in the bullying literature. Subsequently, this thesis provides an insight into the experiences of children in foster care, and has the potential to change the way that we support children in care

The experiences of youth foster care leavers in Makanda town, Eastern Cape, South Africa

This study sought to explore the experiences of foster care youth who had exited the system within a period of three years in Makhanda Town, Eastern Cape. The coping mechanisms employed by foster care youth after exiting the system, and the policies, legislations and support services available were explored. The study adopted a qualitative research method. Non-probability sampling was employed to recruit 23 foster care youth who had exited the system within three years in Makhanda Town. In addition, 6 professionals dealing with statutory cases, three (3) foster parents and one (1) key informant were selected. Data was collected through the use of face-to-face semistructured individual interviews with foster care youth who had exited the system. The focus group discussion was held with professionals dealing with statutory cases and the ward councillor. The researcher analysed the data thematically. The study findings revealed that long term and comprehensive planning was important so as to provide a consistent and all round support to the fostered youth during the pre and post foster care phases. It was established that for most foster care children, the lack of a complete plan affects their transition from their biological home through the foster care system. Consequently, they come out more vulnerable than when there were initially placed in foster care. The study highlighted the serious need for training and job placement for the youths, a structure that is currently non-existent. The study recommended that the Department of Social Development (DSD) should make it compulsory for statutory social workers within the foster care domain to come up with individualized and personalized plans that outline the needs and deliverables for each child placed in the foster care system. Importantly, DSD must create a framework that is endorsed and accepted by all stakeholders so as to achieve the best interest of the child in all situations. Furthermore, the study recommends that DSD should employ more social workers to address the current human resources shortages in foster care units. Lastly, the study recommends restructuring of placement system to be less paper-work for effective and efficient, integrity, and quality of the service provision.Thesis (MSW) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 202

Chitosan/Ag-hydroxyapatite nanocomposite beads as a potential adsorbent for the efficient removal of toxic aquatic pollutants

© 2018 Elsevier B.V. In the present study, the potential of synthesized chitosan/Ag-substituted hydroxyapatite nanocomposite beads to remove basic dye, heavy metal and microbes from aqueous solutions was investigated. Beads were prepared in different ratios via embedding of Ag-hydroxyapatite (Ag-HA) into chitosan (CS) solution. The beads were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) in order to get an insight of the functional groups and morphology. Batch adsorption studies were conducted with copper ions (Cu (II)) and rhodamine B (RhB) dye by changing several parameters such as Ag-HA to Cs ratio, contact time, solution pH and initial concentration of pollutants. The antibacterial efficiency of beads was tested under dynamic contact conditions against commonly found bacteria in water, Escherichia coli. The adsorption isotherm data were best fitted with Langmuir model. The maximum Langmuir adsorption capabilities for Cu (II) ions and rhodamine B were found to be 40.11 mg/g and 127.61 mg/g, respectively. The adsorption process could be best described by pseudo-second-order kinetic model for both rhodamine B and Cu(II). The percentage removal efficiency of Cu (II) and rhodamine B from tap water and untreated river water ranged from 86.7 to 94.4% along with 99.99% of decontamination of microbial load

Experiences of young people preparing to transition out of cluster foster care in South Africa

Abstract: Purpose. Research on young people transitioning out of care due to reaching the age of majority (referred to as care-leaving or aging out of care) is still emerging in South Africa. To date, almost all research on leaving care has focused on the transition out of residential care, with little attention to the transition out of foster care, including cluster foster care (roughly equivalent to group homes in other countries). This paper aims to describe the experiences of youth preparing to age out of cluster foster care in South Africa. Methods. Individual interviews were conducted with nine youth preparing to leave a cluster foster organization called Home from Home. In addition, a semi-structured focus group was run with six of their foster mothers. Findings. Thematic analysis generated four themes: the desire for independence; the centrality of meeting material and physical needs at the time of transition; the continuity of emotional care during the transition; and the supported development of the capacity for self-determination. Discussion. Self-determination theory, ambiguous loss and ubuntu (or interdependence) were found to be useful theories to interpret the findings. Recommendations are proposed to better prepare foster children for leaving care and for creating a social environment that is receptive to and conducive for foster care-leavers

On the verge of leaving the care system: assessment of life skills and needs of adolescents in care

"The present study examines professional workers' perceptions about life skills and the needs of adolescents in (educational) youth villages, (welfare) residential treatment and family foster care in the final two years of their stay in care. The study further examines the extent to which they can expect family support when they leave care. The sample in the study included 178 adolescents in foster care, 291 in residential care and 1257 in youth villages. Structured questionnaires were completed by staff members working with the adolescents in care. The findings indicate that adolescents in youth villages may expect more familial support when they leave the system compared with youths in other types of placements, whereas the families of adolescents in residential care exert on them many more negative pressures. Workers identified several areas in which adolescents lacked life skills, among them education and the ability to complete meaningful (compulsory) military service. Many needs were identified and were especially evident in the areas of future education and employment. The findings imply a clear need to engage in individual assessment and plan for youths while they are still in care. Furthermore, the importance of developing programs to prepare youths while in care is discussed, as well as services for care leavers in the transition period." (author's abstract)"Die vorliegende Studie beschäftigt sich mit der Wahrnehmung der Lebenskompetenzen und der Bedarfe von Jugendlichen während ihrer letzten zwei Jahre in (pädagogisch betreuten) Jugenddörfern, Einrichtungen der stationären Jugendhilfe sowie Pflegefamilien durch Fachkräfte. Es wird zudem danach gefragt, in welchem Ausmaß die Jugendlichen Unterstützung durch ihre Familien erwarten können, wenn sie die Betreuungsmaßnahmen verlassen. Insgesamt wurden 178 Jugendliche in Pflegefamilien, 291 in der stationären Jugendhilfe und 1257 in Jugenddörfern untersucht. Die strukturierten Fragebögen wurden von Fachkräften ausgefüllt, die mit den Jugendlichen zusammenarbeiten. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Jugendliche, die in Jugenddörfern betreut werden, nach dem Ende der Betreuung mehr familiäre Unterstützung erwarten können als Jugendliche in anderen Betreuungsformen. Familien von Jugendlichen in der stationären Jugendhilfe üben erheblich mehr negativen Druck aus. Die Fachkräfte identifizieren zahlreiche Bedarfe, vor allem in Bezug auf Bildung und Beschäftigung sowie die Fähigkeit, angemessen den Wehrdienst zu verrichten. Die Ergebnisse verweisen auf die Notwendigkeit einer individuellen Einschätzung und Zukunftsplanung für die Jugendlichen noch während ihrer Betreuung. Weiterhin werden die Bedeutung der Entwicklung von Programmen und der Einrichtung sozialer Dienste diskutiert, die Jugendliche auf die Übergangsphase vorbereiten und sie dabei begleiten." (Autorenreferat

The ethnic identity of transracially placed foster children with an ethnic minority background:A systematic literature review

BackgroundEthnic minority foster children are frequently placed in families with ethnic majority backgrounds. In the international literature these placements are most commonly called transracial placements.AimsWith this study, we aim to obtain an encompassing view of the empirical scientific literature on how transracial placements may affect the ethnic identity of foster children.Materials and methodsTo gain insight into the ethnic identity of transracially placed foster children and the way they are ethnically socialized, we conducted a systematic literature review. We thereby followed the guidelines of the PRISMA statement.ResultsTransracially placed foster children may experience higher fluctuations in their racial/ ethnic identity over time than adolescents with a minority background in the general population. They also seem to be prone to experience disconnection from, or on the contrary, connection with the birth network; and some transracially placed foster children struggle with societal messages they receive about minority ethnicity and race. They may have an increased awareness of their minority ethnic background because of different physical appearances between themselves and the foster family. Foster parents can play a pivotal role in these processes, since culturally competent foster parents may guide foster children in their ethnic identity development by being open towards children’s cultural minority background as well as being self‐reflective regarding their own cultural values and beliefs.DiscussionThe ethnic development of transracially placed foster children seems to be influenced by intersecting mechanisms of being in foster care and having a minority ethnicity. Although the selected articles assume that foster parents impact the ethnic identities of their ethnic minority foster children, none of them measured the impact of foster parents’ skills and knowledge on foster children’ s ethnic identity development directly.ConclusionBeing transracially placed impacts the ethnic identity of foster children. Foster parents need to be cultural competent to encourage their foster children’s ethnic identity development