ABSTRACT
Chapter 9 builds on the previous chapter about children in family homes by focusing on state supported interventions aimed at assisting young people to transition into further education and employment. It discusses a multidisciplinary research project that gathered the perspectives of young people and their teachers about the challenges they faced in attending an educational opportunity. Taking the argument beyond home being affected by abuse and violence experienced in the domestic space as discussed in previous chapters, this chapter focuses on how the responses of social welfare institutions can contribute to young people’s ‘state of mind’, affecting their sense of social inclusion, home and belonging. This chapter focuses on young people’s perceived relationships with their employment case managers, whose responses are shaped by mutual obligation policies. Social workers and human service workers play an important role in negotiating smoother transitions for young people into education and employment because how services are delivered influence young people’s collective sense of home and community belonging.
