The CLS study (Social Participation in the Life Course of Young Adults) is the first long-term study in Germany on the so-called ‘leaving care’ of young adults. This study examines the transition of young people between life in a foster family or group home/other assisted living arrangements and adult life over a period of several years. A large number of different aspects of life are surveyed so that a detailed picture of the young people’s life situation can ultimately be formed. For example, it deals with questions such as: How do young people in transition live, learn and work? How do they organize their everyday lives? What are their goals and wishes?
To this end, around 1,500 young people aged 16 and over will be interviewed in person (CAPI) or by telephone (CATI). Up to seven survey waves are planned.
The client is the German Youth Institute (DJI) in Munich, partners are the Gesellschaft für innovative Sozialforschung und Sozialplanung (GISS), Bremen, the Internationale Gesellschaft für erzieherische Hilfen (IGfH), Frankfurt, and the Institut für Sozial- und Organisationspädagogik der Universität Hildesheim.