Unaccompanied minors transitioning from residential care to independent living : perspectives from those working in the field

Abstract

Asylum seekers have been trying to make their way to Europe for the past 20 years; a significant number of these asylum seekers are young unaccompanied minors. In an ideal humane approach, these young people would fall under the rights of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the law for children in alternative care. However, the findings of this study suggest that Maltese authorities tend to treat these young people as a burden, providing little to no support. This research uses semi-structured, qualitative interviews; interviewing six participants from all levels of ground work within the sector, ranging from security, social workers, assistant psychologist and management. The Commissioner for Children and her secretary have also been interviewed. The latter two participants come from the main office responsible for defending these young people's rights and their work should hold the government accountable. On paper, the situation appears to be satisfactory, however, results indicate a relinquishment of responsibilities, which leads to inequalities.