Bond (2017) said youth transitioning out of CYCCs were “still fresh” on hopes and aspirations (p. 212). This aligns with them being “born frees,” born in the democratic era which supposedly should provide them greater opportunity for advancement to contribute to the growth and development of South Africa. Van Breda’s (2012) describes the youth who transitioned out of care as doing something and taking action towards achieving their goals such as completing their education, securing stable accommodation, employment and finances for positive outcomes, perceived for the foreseeable future, consistent with the youth participants in this study. Although born politically free, the policies of apartheid had still left structural constraints such as poverty and barriers for care-leavers as with their counterparts in the community that hinder their progress This is evident from the discussion on their accommodation, EET, health and wellbeing as present circumstances of youth who transitioned out of care. The challenges are so vast that Dickens (2016) assumes that at times, youth transitioning out of care did better than youth in the community, unlike in other countries. However, youth transitioning out of care, without much exposure to the “real world” have to work hard, have more to learn to be able to cope in the world and are, therefore, more disadvantaged.
6.1.1 ACCOMMODATIONWITHFAMILYAND‘UNRELATED’CAREGIVERS
Jay and JB Fan as reflected in Table 2, 1 were residing with their biological family and Sandile and Betty who were interviewed before their transition, were already in their siblings’ care by the time of the caregiver’s interview. Sandile’s concern before his transition was that he would not be able to contribute towards accommodation, but none of the youth was contributing towards rent. In contrast, Van Breda’s (2015) longitudinal study found a quarter of the youth paid their way for accommodation after two years of transitioning out of Boys and Girls Town.
Alisha and Jay’s parents inherited homes, but home ownership did not guarantee the youths’
happiness, stability, security or a conducive environment. Jay’s father wants to “rake up my money and get my lights on,” recognizes Jay’s unhappiness at home and wants to resolve Jay’s daily visit and late nights at his uncle’s home, “because they have lights…watch TV and listen to music”. Alisha mother’s home has a plastic sheet that covers the missing front door of their unkempt home. Alisha had lived with her periodically in between boyfriends and since she was secretive of her accommodation, her mother was concerned and almost lodged a “missing person’s report”. The KI DSD said,
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“The young person can’t go to Human Settlement and yet the social worker can write to Human Settlement and say this has been the background, this has been the progress, and this is where we are now and this is what is required to progress and this is the support that we require in align with legislation and Human Settlement, for instance, has a certain social responsibility.
They don’t realize that they can make efforts to assist the child”.
However, support should start with caregivers for youth to be happy to return home. Shantel said,
Yes, but for now she [current host parent] is not stable and the place that she is staying is not a grand place. I am not fussy but, it is just that the condition and having to be in a shack in Umlazi and all that. So, for me, coming from the children’s home and going back to an environment like that was not on.
Whilst Federicks (2018) found youth actively engaged in seeking accommodation in the transitional period to prevent homelessness, the youth also tried to seek out the ‘best’ possible accommodation options. The temporary accommodation arrangement that Shantel initiated with a stranger (which her RSWK clarified was also her boyfriend’s aunt) to prevent her return to her mother in the “shack,” kept her away from family. An FG CWS social worker said, “In our area, they [families] rent only one room so there is overcrowding”. Betty submitted to their social workers to return to overcrowded accommodation of her biological families and Nicola felt a similar fate awaited her since they have no alternative option. During the member check, a day before her transition, Betty was in her private room at the CYCC, decorated to her personal choice by donors, was reluctant to return home and share a room with six others.
Themba did not consider his father’s place as a viable option. His father shared a rented room with his wife (remarried) within a communal home with all facilities shared amongst the tenants. In the FG, the NRSWs indicated that some families did not have access to facilities such as toilets, which Portia attested from her experience prior to her entry into care. The FG and a joint interview discovered youth considered their return home “as some kind of failure…friends will laugh because when they were at the CYCC they were attending Indian schools, better schools… lived in better places, given clothes and can speak English”. This relates to Van Breda and Dickens (2014) argument that children at CYCCs are more privileged for the higher standard of living, including accommodation and education, as compared to the masses in the community who live in poverty in South Africa. In this study, 18.8% of the youth participants were to return or have returned to poorly resourced and poverty stricken informal settlements after their transition from care. This should be encouraging since the majority were
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to transition or had transitioned into formal accommodation. However, Louw and Potgieter (2012) found that after 1-7 years of transitioning out of care, one-third of the care-leavers in their sample were living in informal dwellings. Although 13 youth (85.7%) had plans or transitioned into formal dwellings, their accommodation was risky and unstable within the two years of their transition. Lion downgraded from her host’s suburban home to a one-room shack occupied by her sister, sister’s partner and their baby by the time of the member check within a month of her transition. Accommodation impacts on all aspects of the youths’ lives and ultimately how well they adjust to their transition (Dickens, 2016). JB Fan moved, with her sister, from her grandmother’s place into their mother’s home, which was left abandoned after the councillor threatened to take away the land. JB Fan was preparing for her third move in two years and this time to a transitioning home arranged by her sponsor “for better opportunities”.
Although youth preferred being accommodated at transitioning homes, service providers said there were not enough of these facilities to meet the demand. The youth, caregivers and service providers drew on accommodation as the base from which the youth start engaging in education and training, consistent with the research (Kilkenny, 2012). There were five (37.5%) who lived or were living at transitioning homes, with several having plans to transition into one.
Whilst the youth noted the gap of contingency plans when their accommodation plans did not work out for them to transition out of care, the KICWSA stated that “sometimes that placement may not work out and then you are under pressure to look for another placement” An FG NRSWK said,
They cannot just go on the street like that so I am trying to get them accepted at Sizabantu (shelter for the homeless) and I am still exploring other places that they could transition into without just being left in the lurch.
The service providers talked about being ‘under pressure’ as resources to secure stable accommodation and support for youth after care were limited, and like the youth, they tried to find somewhere or someone to provide accommodation for the youth to transition into. The lack of permanency contributed to youth who weaved in and out as accommodation options became available within the two years of transitioning out of care. The monitoring of accommodation after youth transitioned was practised according to the KI CYC manager.
However, only Jay said a visit was conducted and by an NRSWK whose purpose was to investigate the allegation of the negligence of his sister’s baby.
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None of the youth was without accommodation, but participants were aware of homeless care- leavers who were living in parks, on the street or on the beach. This study confirms Dickens (2016) view that the low rate of homelessness was more related to the sample rather than the actual status of care-leavers. South Africa does not have a tracking system for care-leavers which contributes partially for them going undetected and the other reason, according to CYCWs is shame attached to asking for help when unsuccessful. Naledi’s caregiver as a CYCW said, “… not all our stories are success stories,” referring to homeless care-leavers she observed begging on the beach.
6.1.2 HEALTHANDWELLBEING
All youth perceived their physical health to be sound at the time of the interview. The CYCWs in the joint interviews (JIs) indicated common reasons that youth take medication is for ADHD, bedwetting and ARVs for those living with HIV. However, all service providers expressed concern, as articulated by of one of them, “after they leave us, some of them, their health will deteriorate…are defaulting treatment or there is not enough food at home”. Agere (2014) found social workers play a significant role to address health and wellbeing needs of youth in care, but the concern is for youth after they transition from care. The concern about the lack of something as essential as food on transitioning out was shared by the youth.
The youth’s expressions of negative feelings, anxiety and depression at the time of transition are consistent with the findings of Van Breda (2015), particularly the females remained isolated from others after transitioning out. However, Hlungwani and Van Breda (2020) found females form deep connections of support to cope with transitioning out of care. The female youth participants in this study attributed their self-exclusion and self-isolation to their experience of a closed and protective in-care environment which they found difficult to overcome after transitioning to the community. The male care-leavers contact with peers included constructive activities such as sports and recreation and destructive behaviour such as misuse of substances.
Some chose to remain on their own to avoid peer pressure. Of note, loneliness and isolation were common amongst care-leavers in other studies that saw the benefit in the youth becoming involved in community peer networks to promote the goal achievement of education and employment (Sulimani-Aiden & Melkman, 2018; Groinig & Sting, 2019).
Pretorius (2011) found that 10 out of 12 adolescents interviewed at four CYCCs in Pretoria engaged in activities such as suicidal attempts, cutting themselves, drawing blood and breaking their bones, but this is rarely discussed in the literature. Naledi and Portia, both of whom lost
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their mothers, recalled 3 and 7 suicide attempts respectively. Naledi’s caregiver noticed her
“zoning out and erratic mood swings makes the whole family uncomfortable”. Although Naledi acknowledged anxiety attacks, she was resistant to seek psychological assistance. Portia, in consultation with the RSWK, psychologist and psychiatrist stopped her medication, as it was
“not helping,” but the stigma and labelling was evident, “kids thought I was crazy”. The RSWK and CYCW, unaware of her shame, said, “… we talked about her responsibility when she leaves the facility that we are not going to be there on her back to say take your medication”.
The social worker was convinced that Portia was coping and was unaware of Portia’s confession of no longer disclosing her suicidal thoughts to avoid hospitalization, where “… all they [hospital] do is give medication and I sleep”. Blackie (2014) argued that in the context of child abandonment, there is a tendency to medicalise non-medical problems in the effort to control children. Portia experienced medicalization as an ineffective “quick fix” solution that did not sort out her concerns about being in-care and about transitioning corroborates with Prosser (2015) in the context of ADHD, but relevant to the youth is beyond labels and psycho- medical and drug treatment to understand the sociological and structural influence. Bantjes, Swartz and Cembi (2018) found traditional healers to perceive re-establishing interpersonal connections and reconnection with families and ancestors and rituals that renew cultural identities necessary since suicide is a symptom of disconnection and cultural discontinuity.
The mental health issues are complex and at times outside the scope and expertise of social workers to manage the situation.
Whilst CYCCs associated substance use with behaviour, studies confirmed that it can develop into chronic illness, dependency and may be genetically linked. Naledi, Spunky, Jay and Zinhle confessed to using illicit drugs at some point after their transition to “fit in” or “be cool.”
Dickens (2016) mentioned that watching the consequences on peers may influence youth to quit. Mighty-One, for example, sold cigarettes at school with his peer but stopped after his friend failed.
However, Jay’s father and Sandile spoke of their frequent use of alcohol. Jay’s father said, “I am not happy too but, he is my son and I have to accept him”. He, too, has been struggling with substance use. Sandile recalled that his father used to also drink excessively and recognized his excessive misuse of alcohol and other drugs. Themba’s father, Shantel’s mother, Portia’s father and mother, Lion’s aunt and uncle and Betty’s mother also experienced challenges with alcohol and/or other illicit drugs. Some youth had not used any alcohol or drugs, and some admitted to the occasional use of alcohol.
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The KI DSD said, “The shortfall in our system is that there is insufficient substance abuse awareness and rehabilitation programmes. So, a social worker will place and child and deliberately omit to mention that the child has a substance abuse problem. Hence the need for proper assessment and treatment where necessary”.
However, none of the youth presented with substance use disorder when they entered care.
Service providers and caregivers found treatment for rehabilitation expensive and inaccessible.
Nicola understanding that “when life is hard, you’ll notice and see that people like who take drugs”. links to the National Drug Master Plan (2019-2024) that poverty, inequality and unemployment are the main contributory factors for drug use and substance use disorders and adds further that South African’s punitive, stigmatizing people with substance use disorders contributes to resistance of and often exclusion from treatment interventions (RSA, RP106/2019). Stein (2019) argues that teaching resilience just before transition contributes to high levels of mental and health problems when pre-care and in-care trauma combine with transition demands which should have been dealt with throughout their life course. This makes sense as accelerated transitions without the opportunity or time to work through issues slowly becomes a barrier to physical and mental wellbeing (Dickens, 2016).