Experience of young adult care leavers discharge from residential child care facilities. A case of Mushawevana Children's Home.
- Author
- Maina Munda
- Title
- Experience of young adult care leavers discharge from residential child care facilities. A case of Mushawevana Children's Home.
- Abstract
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ABSTRACT
The aim of the study was to explore the experiences of young adult care leavers after discharge from residential child care facilities, a case of Mushawevana home in Marondera. The objectives of the research were to explore the socio-economic experiences of adult care leavers after discharge, the coping strategies of care leavers after being discharged and strategies to improve the welfare of young adult care leavers after discharge from residential child care facilities. For this academic study, the researcher used the resilience theory. A qualitative research approach was used together with a phenomenological research design. The target population for the study were care leavers discharged from Mushawevana Children’s Home in Marondera and a key informant from the Department of Social Development. Purposive sampling was used to select both the care leavers and key informant. In terms of data collection, the researcher utilized qualitative in-depth interviews to collect data from participants and key informants. The data was analyzed using interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) were themes were generated from the data. Socio-economic experiences of care leavers explored included their access to accommodation, employment, social support, social interactions, education and training after discharge from residential child care facilities. The coping strategies of care leavers after discharge comprise of support from government and residential child care facility, self-reliance, utilization of social skills and family support. In light of these findings, the study proffered transitional housing for discharged care leavers with life skills training, financial assistance through cash transfers for a period of time, individualized transitional planning with interventions targeted to address specific needs of each individual and continued post discharge counselling. The study also recommends for the development of a comprehensive policy that address the needs of care leavers after discharge, partnership of government and non-governmental organizations to ensure continued educational support for care leavers, psychosocial support from social workers and creation of Care Leavers’ Network in each town and city that represents other care leavers through advocacy of improved service delivery.
- Date
- JUNE 2024
- Publisher
- BUSE
- Keywords
- Key Words: Care leavers, discharge, experiences.
- Supervisor
- NIL
- Item sets
- Department of Social Work
- Media
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MAINA MUNDA