The Transition towards an Independent Life of Private Social Services Beneficiaries

Abstract

This article is designed to examine the transition of children and young people who come from the private protection system to independent living, both from a theoretical and practical perspective. The work is the result of 13 semi-structured interviews. The aim of the study is to identify how beneficiaries acquire and apply independent living skills during institutionalization and after the protection measure is lifted. The primary target group consists of 8 children and young people (female), aged between 12 and 22, who are under special protection in the "St. Joseph" Family House - a program of the Caritas Iasi Diocesan Center Association. The primary target group also includes two secondary target groups: three specialists and two former beneficiaries. Obtaining the results involved analyzing four essential life skills: social skills, emotional skills, assertiveness skills, and housekeeping skills. The results of the micro-research demonstrate that young people and children who are part of the private protection system acquire independent living skills during institutionalization, but they will experience a smoother transition to self-sufficiency if they have a less challenging family background.