Leaving care in the Nordic countries - young people's experiences during transition to adulthood

States have a responsibility to care for children when their parents are unable, unwilling, or unsuited to do so. Removing a child from his or her family is often viewed as the “last option”, and in the Nordic countries, states have a range of support measures they may try to implement prior to removing the child and placing him or her in out-of-home care. In the Nordic countries, foster care is the most common out-of-home care arrangement, but group homes and other residential care arrangements are also used. The transition from out-of-home care, when the young person either “ages out of care” or is reunited with his or her family, represents a critical period in the lives of care-experienced young people. In recognition of the potential vulnerability during this transitional phase, governments are increasingly providing aftercare in the transition from out-of-home care to independence as a support measure for young people. This special issue explores this transition in the context of Nordic welfare states, bringing together recent empirical studies and policy analyses that provide novel insights into barriers, facilitators, outcomes, and the role of welfare services during this pivotal life phase.