Social Support for Residential Care Leavers in Ghana: The Perspectives and Experiences of Social Workers and Residential Care Youth Workers

In many African countries, including Ghana, many young people transition to adulthood from residential care. Many care leavers face challenges, such as securing employment, housing, higher education, and facing stigma. A significant contributing factor to these challenges is insufficient social support. While social support for care leavers is increasing, there is limited evidence from residential care youth workers and social workers in Ghana. This study fills this gap by interviewing 20 practitioners in Ghana and analyzing the data thematically using the framework method. The findings indicate that care leavers mostly receive informational and instrumental support during their transition out of care. Care leavers’ support was primarily based on institutional resources, neglecting their needs during and aftercare, such as housing and employment assistance. Practitioners reported strategies to enhance social support, including providing a sponsorship program and fostering connections to family and community networks. They face challenges in providing support to care leavers due to the limited resources available to perform their work and young people's nonengagement with services. Practice and policy implications include the need for the development of innovative strategies that seamlessly enhance care leaver engagement with available support.