Whereas youth who age out from out-of-home care systems undergo a lot of difficulties economically, psychologically, and socially, the difficulties are preventable when the youth are well-prepared for independent living. However, there has been little study that examined how much youth in out-of-home care are prepared for independent living and how out-of- home care systems help them live independently. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate out-of-home care youth’s readiness for independence, experiences with receiving support and resources for independence, and demand for support for independent living. The study results reveals that there are significant differences in youth’s readiness for independence and experiences with independent living support and resources across types of out-of-home care: institutional care, group home, and foster care. Based on the study findings, this study has made some suggestions to improve independent living support system and the quality of independent living services.
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Ⅰ. Introduction 1 Ⅱ. Literature Review 7 A. Research on the Independent Living of Transition-Age Youth in Out-of-Home Care 9 B. Preparation for Independent Living among Youth in Out-of-Home Care 11 Ⅲ. Transition-Age Youth and Independent Living Support System 15 A. Transition-Age Youth 17 B. Independent Living Support System 19 Ⅳ. Research on the Readiness for Independent Living among Transition-Age Youths 23 A. Study Method 25 B. Readiness for Independent Living: Comparison of Different Types of Out-of-Home Care 28 Ⅴ. Conclusions and Policy Implications 37 A. Improving the Independent Living Support System 39 B. Improving the Quality of Independent Living Services 42 References 45
