On 05.12.2023, a symposium on leaving care took place at the Faculty of Social Sciences. Current research results from the research project "Care leavers* - needs and requirements in the transition to adult life" were presented and discussed. The project was carried out in 2022/23 at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences under the direction of Prof. Dr. Torsten Linke(https://f-s.hszg.de/fakultaet/forschung/care-leaver).
Leaving care is a term used to describe the process of transitioning from a support system to an independent life. As a rule, this refers to adolescents and young adults who live in residential youth welfare facilities and foster families instead of their families of origin and then move on to independent living. The aim of the symposium was to raise awareness of the topic and the needs of young people and to discuss the need for and possibilities of action, for example with regard to the appropriate participation of young people and the development of social networks. The research results reveal gaps in practice here. For this reason, the event was primarily aimed at social work students who are about to graduate and, as future professionals, can support a timely and direct transfer of the results into practice.
"The workshops in particular provided a deeper insight into the topic of leaving care and encouraged reflection." (Feedback from a participant)
In the spirit of applied science and a theory-practice dialog, the student symposium, like the research project, focused on a practice-oriented perspective. Julia Baumgarten, a social worker from the youth welfare service in Dresden, and Sarah Preusker, an employee at the Careleaver Center Dresden and a graduate of the Bachelor's degree course in Social Work at the HSZG, were invited as speakers from the field and organized the day together with Prof. Torsten Linke.
The following publication on the project appeared shortly before the symposium:
Barth, Nicola/Baumgarten, Julia/Preusker, Sarah/Linke, Torsten/Enke, Paul: Care Leaver* - Bedarfe und Erfordernisse beim Übergang in das Erwachsenenleben. Focus: Experiences with participation in youth welfare, Discourse Childhood and Adolescence Research / Discourse. Journal of Childhood and Adolescence Research, 3-2023, pp. 407-412. https://doi.org/10.3224/diskurs.v18i3.10
