Abstract
Research on young people transitioning out of the child care system and into young adulthood is
inevitably reductionist, in that it is unable to take into account the many complex forces that play a
role in the development of a child from birth, into and through the care system and on to adulthood.
Consequently, studies on the outcomes of care-leaves need to be interpreted with care and thought.
This paper serves to illustrate these challenges in research and the various ways that research results
can be interpreted, by drawing on data from a study being conducted in a residential care programme
in South Africa. Demographic, pre-care and in-care variables of a sample of care-leavers are
compared with a set of independent living outcome variables a year after aging out of care.
Unanticipated results are contrasted with those that were anticipated, and multiple interpretations of
the same results are provided. Through this, the author calls for judicious and humble use of research
results when making judgements about the outcomes of care-leavers and the effectiveness of child
welfare interventions.