Aspirations, expectations and challenges of youth that have aged out of foster care in Bonteheuwel, Western Cape

Abstract

Foster care is perceived to be the best and most widely applied form of alternative care for children apart from their maternal home, because it most often occurs within the family context and is intended to offer safety and protection to children. Children placed in foster care often remain in foster care until they turn 18 years of age. However, all too frequently, they age out of foster care without any support services. Some of the foster care youth who have aged out of foster care often fall prone to negative influences and circumstances in the community such as toxic relationships with their biological family, unemployment, living on the streets, or fall prone to gangsterism.