Finding independence: how former Youth-In-Care and the Ministry for Children and Families work together while completing SPY agreements

This exploratory study was completed as part of my practicum requirements for the Master of Social Work degree. Questionnaires and short focused interviews were employed as the major methods of inquiry for the study. The study examined some of the issues that former continuing care youth (FCCY) face when they are finding independence and accessing the Services for Former Permanent Youth in Care (SPY) program. Some children who live in foster care in the province of British Columbia become continuing care wards and remain permanent wards until they reach the age of 19. These youth may, after turning 19 and before their 24 birthday, apply for the SPY program at the Ministry for Children and Families (MCF). The SPY program is also known as the Post Majority Services program. During the period studied, the number of FCCY in the Capital Region and who received the support of the SPY program, was provincially low (5.26 percent). This study examined how the guardianship social worker and the eligible youth negotiate a SPY agreement. This study further explored how the current participants of the SPY program were assisted in their transition from foster care to independence and how they used the SPY program to facilitate this. Some of the identified barriers for youth leaving the care of the MCF, were a lack in drug and alcohol services, education, finances, housing, mental health services, rehabilitation, and supportive relationships. The findings demonstrated that these former continuing care youth required further child welfare support after they leave foster care.