ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes that the empowerment of young people in residential care should be the central focus of the residential child care task. It considers the wider social, political and economic climate which influences the lives of children and young people generally in society as young people in residential care do not live in a vacuum. Young people in the United Kingdom face a fragmented and uncertain future with regard to employment, housing, and economic sustainability as they experience the transition period between the dependency of childhood and the shift to adulthood. The rights of the young people are therefore more complex than individual claims to particular rights. The chapter also considers the concept of empowerment and how this translates into practice for young people in residential child care settings. It examines the practical strategies for empowering young people particularly in relation to their race, ethnicity, gender, disability and sexuality.
