ABSTRACT
The last chapter introduced the concept of citizenship and discussed how it helped our understanding of the rights, needs and interests of young people. It was argued that what made young people’s rights, needs and interests distinctive was a concern for the main youth transitions described in Chapter 1. A social policy agenda informed by this approach is concerned, therefore, with the creation of a welfare environment in which young people can, at an appropriate point in their life, move from education to the labour market, be less dependent upon their families, and live independently of them. It was further argued in the last chapter that it was useful to distinguish between needs, rights and interests. The identification of needs involves establishing conditions under which serious welfare harm will result should needs not be met. So, for instance, it can be claimed that young people need to be brought up under conditions which will minimize their risk of being unemployed, socially isolated or homeless-the serious welfare harm which results from failed youth transitions. Furthermore, meeting such needs implies not merely ensuring that young people live in appropriate social, material and emotional circumstances, but fostering and developing their ability to make informed and wise decisions about their future career development. In this sense, young people have a need for their autonomy to be enhanced as they approach the transitions of youth.
