The digital divide| The impact on the rights of care leavers in Scotland
Topic: Throughcare and aftercare, Voices of young people
Author: Dr Autumn Roesch-Marsh, Kenny McGhee and Dr Fern Gillon
This report shares the findings of a focused piece of research carried out in Scotland by CELCIS and partners at the University of Edinburgh. The aim of the research was to understand care leavers' experiences of digital exclusion before and during the COVID-19 restrictions in Scotland in 2020 and builds on earlier work which explored this issue by looking at the experience and provision across 17 local authority areas in Scotland by surveying those working within local authority services.
This research found that the experience and issues which underpin digital exclusion within the care experienced community had been exacerbated by the pandemic and its subsequent social restrictions. Challenges around ensuring digital access during the pandemic included: a lack of hardware; a lack of access to stable broadband or Wi-Fi; and for some, gaps in digital confidence and literacy.
Bridging the digital divide for care experienced young people in Scotland: If not now, when?
This earlier report from 2020 investigates how Scotland's care leavers have been affected by digital exclusion during the COVID-19 health crisis and how local authorities have responded to these specific needs.