Corporate parenting in a pandemic: Considering the delivery and receipt of support to care leavers in Wales during Covid-19

Roberts, Louise ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6154-3549, Rees, Alyson ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2363-4965, Mannay, Dawn ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7368-4111, Bayfield, Hannah ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9589-5120, Corliss, Cindy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0990-8798, Diaz, Clive ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5681-9056 and Vaughan, Rachael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6951-8647 2021. Corporate parenting in a pandemic: Considering the delivery and receipt of support to care leavers in Wales during Covid-19. Children and Youth Services Review 128 , 106155. 10.1016/j.childyouth.2021.106155

PDF - Accepted Post-Print Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (308kB)

Abstract

This paper considers the support available to care leavers during the Covid-19 pandemic from their corporate parents. The paper contributes to a developing evidence base concerned with social work efforts to adapt and maintain support provision during the unprecedented circumstances, and provides insight into how such support was perceived and experienced. A qualitative, mixed method study was conducted which included a survey of Welsh Local Authority professionals (n=22) and interviews with Welsh care-experienced young people aged 17-24 (n=17). The findings of this paper show the propensity of corporate parents to provide protection against the adversities of the pandemic, or to compound difficulties. While some young people reported being both practically and emotionally supported, for others corporate parenting support was perceived as unavailable, unhelpful and / or uncaring. The Covid-19 pandemic provides a unique lens to consider the strengths, flaws and future opportunities for corporate parenting. The findings emphasise the need for parity of support for young people leaving care and consideration of national, local and individual responses is included. Yet consistent with findings pre-dating the pandemic, the findings reaffirm the enduring importance of both relationships and resources in ensuring good support for care leavers.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education) Children’s Social Care Research and Development Centre (CASCADE)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HM Sociology L Education > L Education (General)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Care, care leavers, children and young people looked after, corporate parents, COVID-19, foster care, pandemic.
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0190-7409
Funders:	Voices from Care Cymru
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	8 July 2021
Date of Acceptance:	2 July 2021
Last Modified:	16 Jan 2024 17:27
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/142495

Citation Data

Cited 1 time in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item