Relationships matter: examining the pathways to long-term supportive relationships for youth 'aging out' of care

In Canada, youth in government care who have not found a permanent placement are expected to transition to adulthood quite rapidly at the age of 18 or 19. This contrasts with the experience of their peers, who tend to stay at home up until age 29 and remain interdependent on their support networks throughout their adult lives. Due to the cut-off of services, youth exiting care tend to have limited support networks, and most of their connections are formal and short-term. These policies and practices hinder the ability of youth exiting care to build social and human capital to support them during transition to adulthood, despite research indicating that supportive long-term relationships can act as a bridge and buffer during this transition. Research also illustrates that the status quo is not working: most young people are at high risk of experiencing difficulties after ’aging out’ such as homelessness, under-education, unemployment or underemployment, economic hardships, mental health issues, PTSD, substance abuse and early pregnancy or parenthood. There is a lack of understanding on the perspectives of youth who have ’aged out’ of care on long-term supportive relationships during the transition to adulthood, in addition to how to establish and maintain those relationships.This collaborative Participatory Action Research (PAR) photovoice project focused on elevating the voices of eight former youth in care between the ages of 19 and 29 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The research aimed to take a closer look, through the power of images and accompanying captions, at the relationships that matter to youth from care, and how those relationships can be developed and nurtured over time. Photography training and facilitated weekly group discussions were held over the course of 12 weeks. Thematic analysis of the photographs was conducted as a group during the last 3 weeks of the project, and the lead researcher executed additional analysis following the data collection phase. Forty-one key sub-themes emerged from the photographs captured and selected by the youth co-researchers as part of the photo contextualization and analysis process. These sub-themes are divided across three thematic categories: (1) relationships that matter to youth exiting care; (2) barriers to establishing long-term supportive relationships; (3) strengthening factors in establishing long-term supportive relationships. In addition, 34 concrete recommendations for change to child welfare policy and practice were developed by the youth co-researchers, identified across 12 overarching themes. Key findings showcase the need for broadening the definition of family relationships to include parent-like mentors and animal companions​. Connections to spirituality, culture and the land were also identified as important, especially for racialized and Indigenous youth. Most expressed a need for preserving and maintaining sibling relationships while in care, as siblings often get separated and the relationship becomes damaged over time. A lack of trauma-informed practices was identified as a main barrier in establishing supportive long-term relationships with caregivers and front line workers. Findings highlight the importance of including the relationships that matter to youth in care within child welfare decision-making and planning processes, and a need for systemic investment in long-term nurturing of those relationships. This requires an exiting care paradigm shift from one that is focused on independent living to one of interdependent living. Connections that are outside of the traditional social capital framework for young people in care, such as non-human relationships, also need to be valued. By including those key relationships in decision-making and planning processes, youth exiting care have a better chance at building a social support network they can rely on during their transition to adulthood

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