Disability counts: How well do countries address disability in their care-leaving population?

Abstract

Disabled youth are over-represented among care-leavers transitioning into adulthood. However, the experiences and needs of disabled care-leavers are not well understood—largely due to inconsistencies in definition and data collection practices. Applying the lens of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD, 2007), this paper examines the strengths and limitations of existing definitions and data collection practices regarding disabled care-leavers in four countries: Norway, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States. While each country has made progress toward meeting the needs of disabled care-leavers, careful identification of this group has been overlooked to varying degrees within their policy frameworks, limiting evaluation and planning efforts within and across countries. Implications of current definition and data approaches are considered, and recommendations to improve and better coordinate data collection efforts are offered to promote advocacy for the well-being of disabled care-leavers internationally.