Making the invisible visible: a scoping review of research on disability and care-leaving

While literature on care-leaving traditionally has ignored disability issues, there is now a growing body of research taking interest in the needs of disabled youth leaving care. The purpose of this scoping review was to assess and synthesise existing knowledge about disabled care-leavers and to identify gaps in research. Arksey and O’Malley’s (2005) framework guided the approach to reviewing the literature on empirical studies addressing the population of disabled care-leavers. The search resulted in the identification of 44 articles reporting on 40 different studies in 10 different countries. The core themes emerging from the analysis included: the over-representation of disabled youth in the care-leaver population; post-care living arrangements and engagement in education, training and employment; formal and informal support for disabled care-leavers; and participation and advocacy. The review also identified the broad theoretical frameworks informing research on disability and care-leaving and emerging, under-researched areas relating to sexuality, parenting, and criminal justice. The implications of these findings will be discussed in relation to the development of policy and practice and advancement of future care-leaver research.