Assisting youth leaving care : understanding Udayan care's aftercare programme through the prism of ecological systems theory

Udayan Care's aftercare programme for youth is designed to support the transition of young adults leaving the umbrella of the Udayan Care Ghars (Sunshine Homes) to independent and self-reliant living. The objective of this research is to understand the aftercare programme by applying the ecological systems theory of human development formulated by Bronfenbrenner (1979). The study focuses on eight analytical domains that are important for transition of youth namely education and employment, financial management, mental and physical health, legal rights and responsibilities, housing, goals and aspirations, safety and emergency skills, and resilience. It covered 60 youth who are either presently covered under aftercare programme or are Udayan Care alumni who have already availed the organisation’s aftercare support. The life experiences of youth have been presented through five ecological systems namely microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem and chronosystem. The analysis highlights the contributions of multiple stakeholders to the efficacy of the ecological systems. While the success of aftercare programme of Udayan Care is evident in many domains, there are challenges that still exist in regard to building resilience.