The young person’s plan

The practical process of planning can be flexible and informal, as the young person is not required to plan in a procedural way or adhere to timeframes. The young person may make limited reference to the plan as a document but will remember and refer to the process and relationships. Creating a clear and comprehensive document is important, however of equal importance is ensuring that the young person has participated and felt empowered by the planning process.

The planning process is a partnership that can lead to the formal recording of a transition to adulthood plan as part of the case plan. It should also lead to ongoing open communication between the CSO and young person about putting the plan into action. (Refer to Tools for practitioners.)

Individualised planning

What a young person is interested in when they are 15 might not be the same as their interests as an 18-year-old. The dynamic nature of transition to adulthood planning should allow them to try a variety of options in their journey to adulthood. For example, they may start an educational course in one area of interest, but their interest may change over time as it does with many young people. The plan should be adaptable enough to cater for this.

Plan with high ambition (move beyond what the young person needs for their survival) and research different opportunities with them. Each young person’s transition to adulthood plan will be unique and should enable them to thrive in their young adult years. 

The young person is likely to experience significant life events through their transition journey. Their plan should reflect the concerns and ideas that they exhibit at different points in time. The plan will then not only involve practical tasks but also the emotional journey of the young person. Reflecting on past plans with the young person can ensure that the case planning process creates a story to help them to measure progress and celebrate success.

If there is a change of practitioner during the transition experience, a detailed handover is essential. The process of establishing a relationship will be the responsibility of the new worker; however, the young person shouldn’t have to start their plan from the beginning due to system issues.

One of the aims of effective transition to adulthood planning is to ensure a sense of predictability and stability for the young person as part of their care experience and beyond. Each young person will have individual needs in relation to what stability feels like for them, and this should be explored through the planning process.

This resource from the CREATE Foundation is designed to help young people in care reflect on and articulate their understanding of stability in their lives. 

Planning as a therapeutic process

The needs and circumstances of each young person must be considered at each stage of transition, and it is important to monitor how they are coping with change. Attempts to involve young people must be active and persistent, and they should be made for as long as it takes.

Young people who do not actively participate in case planning processes may require multiple efforts over time before they are able to participate and take the opportunities offered. Service providers must have tenacity, persistence, patience and genuine concern.

Engage in effective planning with the young person by:

• building relationships
• having constructive conversations
• considering your own strengths and weaknesses in promoting the participation of the young person and seeking support when required.
• developing a story of the young person’s life.

I’m going to be honest and say the biggest challenge with tranistioning from carer is being alone. You feel like no one is there to hold your back and it's so hard not having someone there. 

Aaron, 22 years, (CREATE (a))

Therapeutic life story work

Therapeutic life story work is an approach that enables young people who have experienced the trauma of child abuse and neglect to reflect on their past, develop compassion for themselves and move on to achieve their full potential.

Therapeutic life story work can be a useful part of preparing young people for adulthood, as it helps them to develop their identity.

I hadn’t much of a clue as to where I came from and none about where I was going (CREATE (b)).

This innovative approach is based on the model developed by Rose, which explores how to support a child in making significant changes, by developing a far deeper understanding and awareness of how their history has been negatively impacting on their present. 

Within a challenging home environment, where children need to focus on protecting themselves from harm, the opportunity to develop and explore their sense of self can be limited.

Therapeutic Life Story Work must be carried out sensitively, within the support network of the child, the life story worker and the carer. Children might go to great lengths to avoid facing difficult and painful memories and emotions, not allowing themselves to process these feelings and experiences and move forward. This approach works to gently counteract this avoidance, enabling the child to process their memories and feelings and build healthy positive strategies for the future (Rose (b)).