Needs and availability of support among care-leavers: A mixed-methods study

Data are scarce on the long-term needs of care-leavers and on the support resources that are available for them in the years after leaving care. This mixed-methods study presents data on the needs and availability of support of 222 Israeli care-leavers, suggesting that the most urgent needs of care-leavers are a lasting need for a stable and available support figure and assistance with educational issues. For some care-leavers, these needs are fulfilled by their mentors. Parents and other familial figures were found to be the most common support resource for care-leavers, which highlights the need for the intervention of social workers to improve relationships within families while the children are still in care. Due to high rate of young people who have no support resources and a low rate of services utilization, social services should provide a platform to support this group, using mentors and other supporters. The longitudinal data of up to 4 years after leaving care indicated that the availability of various types of informal support improved over the years, and the reports on difficulties in relationships of the care-leavers with their parents were significantly fewer 4 years after leaving care than on the verge of leaving care.