About the Programme
About the Programme
Udayan Care has been a pioneer in collectivising Care Leavers through facilitating and enabling their youth support group, titled “Care Leavers Alumni Network (CLAN)” in Delhi. Care leavers from any childcare institution can join this resource group to provide support through shared experiences. Now Udayan Care is supporting such networks in other parts of India too.
This experience gave rise a desire to support other children and youth who are living in other CCIs and Aftercare homes. But this required an in-depth study of the situation of youth exiting CCIs (Care Leavers) for evidence building. This led to the first of its kind study on Aftercare in India, “Beyond 18”, to understand the situation of Care Leavers in India and how they can be supported.
The Aftercare Outreach Programme (AOP) is a logical spin-off of the “Beyond 18” research study on Aftercare, conducted by Udayan Care with support from UNICEF, Tata Trusts and a host of partners.
AOP is designed to address the unaddressed issues in the transition phase, while a child is still in a Child Care Institution (CCI) and later, in Aftercare, based on the ‘Sphere of Aftercare’; a theoretical framework proposed in the research study, a framework that outlines 8 domains of support needed: Housing, Physical health, Independent living skills, Education and vocational skills, Social support and interpersonal skills, Emotional Wellbeing, Identity and legal awareness, financial independence and career.
The programme is currently being implemented in the State of Bihar, National Capital Territory of Delhi and is in pipeline for other states such as Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.