Leaving care: Thinking systemically, thinking globally

Abstract

Thanks to the greatly increased interest in the experiences of young people leaving state care, there is now a much better understanding of how vulnerable this group is when making the transition to adulthood. It is also now clear that there must be interrelated formal and informal support provided to young people when leaving and after leaving care if their life chances are to be significantly improved. This article extends the logic of that systemic thinking to embrace the challenge of globalisation as a necessary aspect of contemporary thinking about care leaving. It recognises the difficulties in developing an international perspective but suggests a model for promoting cross national exchange. An agenda is suggested around which global networking could be built in order to ensure that advances being made for care leavers in any one country are both secured against the negative impact of globalisation and become part of a global resource.