Looked after Children’s Transition to Adulthood

Informed by research, since the 1980s the thrust of policy and legislation has been increasingly to recognize the vulnerability of young care leavers and to seek to regulate, as far as is possible, for a successful transition to adulthood. The recent social context being the decline in the youth labour market, the growth of education and training, the shortage of affordable housing for young people and a welfare benefits system which discourages young people from leaving home. As a result ‘[pathways to adulthood for most young people have become more differentiated and challenging over recent decades’ (Wade and Dixon, 2006:199).