Use of aftercare in Denmark

ABSTRACT

Out-of-home care in Denmark is an intervention that is available by law to a young person only up to the age of 18. At 18 he or she either starts an independent adult life or new arrangements are made. One such arrangement is aftercare. The benefits (or lack of benefits) of aftercare have been described in the literature, but little is known about the prevalence of aftercare. In Denmark, aftercare is provided to those who age out of care at age 18 and who show the prospect of positive development during aftercare. However, not all eligible young people receive aftercare. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of aftercare as well as to analyse the characteristics of its recipients in Denmark, based on administrative register data on young people born in 1995. Only about half of all young people ageing out of care (56%) receive aftercare. Those who age out of foster care or own dwelling are more likely to receive aftercare than those ageing out of residential care. Beyond this, analyses of the likelihood of receiving aftercare have shown remarkably few significant effects; only the number of placements and attending a special school at primary or lower secondary level have been shown to contribute positively to the probability of receiving aftercare, whereas duration of care contributes negatively. Vulnerabilities, such as mental health or delinquency, or resilience, such as being enrolled in an educational institution or being employed, do not impact the likelihood of receiving aftercare.

KEYWORDS:

• Aftercare
• ageing out of care
• transition from care to adulthood

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The exceptions from the ‘can-use-section’ are that the municipality must assign a contact person to a young person who is in care without parental consent, unless other kinds of aftercare are given. The municipality must also offer aftercare via a contact person to a young person living in his or her own dwelling until the age of 19, unless other kinds of aftercare are given.

2. The same section of the legislation covers prolonging the assignment of a contact person for young people who had one before turning 18, but were not in out-of-home care. A contact person is an adult assigned to the young person or family, who assists in dealing with the challenges at hand, such as meetings with authorities, advising on how to handle financial problems, maintaining and expanding social relations, and staying in education or treatment for substance abuse. The contact person’s work changes over time in line with the young person’s needs. The amount of assistance varies from a few hours weekly to intensive help in acute situations. These young people are not discussed in this paper.