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What happens when a child raised by the state turns 18? In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the transition from state care to adulthood is rarely a step forward. For many young people leaving foster families and children’s homes, it is a sudden fall into uncertainty marked by homelessness, unemployment, and isolation.

Each year, dozens of young people age out of the child protection system. Overnight, state support ends, and independence begins without preparation, safety nets, or guidance. While Bosnia has committed to protecting children without parental care, it largely fails them at the very moment they need support the most.

This investigation examines the realities faced by youth leaving state care in Bosnia and Herzegovina, highlights local initiatives offering hope, and explores European and regional models that could provide a clear blueprint for reform.



Turning 18: When Protection Ends Overnight

For most young adults, turning 18 signals freedom and opportunity. For those raised in Bosnia’s state care system—foster families or residential institutions known as Dom—it marks the abrupt end of protection.

According to Catholic Relief Services (CRS), more than 1,300 children and young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina currently live without parental care under state protection. Every year, dozens reach adulthood and must leave the system. In the Zenica-Doboj Canton alone, 155 children were in care during 2024, yet local experts estimate that only three to five young adults successfully transition to independent living annually.

“The biggest challenge is housing,” explains Halil Arnaut, Director of the Dom Porodica in Zenica. “These young people have no family homes, no property, and no savings. When they leave the system, they face immediate housing insecurity and the real risk of homelessness.”

Housing instability quickly triggers a chain reaction. Without a stable address, finding employment becomes difficult. Without income, education plans collapse. Many care leavers also lack basic life skills—budgeting, cooking, navigating institutions—that young people in family environments acquire gradually. Perhaps most damaging is the emotional shock: the sudden loss of the only support system they have ever known.

One young care leaver captured this fear in a simple question quoted in a local report: “What if I make a mistake out there and have nowhere to go back to?”



Islands of Hope: Local Projects Making a Difference

Despite systemic shortcomings, several local initiatives demonstrate that successful transitions from state care are possible with the right support.

One of the most promising examples is the House for Youth pilot project in Zenica. The program focuses on two pillars: employment and housing. By partnering with local businesses, it creates apprenticeships for young people still in care, offering work experience and a pathway to stable employment. At the same time, the project provides direct assistance in securing housing.

Its impact is best illustrated by the story of Hilmo Osmancevic, a 21-year-old who grew up in the Zenica Dom. Through the program, Hilmo secured an apprenticeship with a local metalworking company. His dedication led to a full-time job, and with help securing an apartment, he transitioned into independent living. Today, he works as a welder on international projects in Germany.

“For us children from the Dom, support means everything,” Hilmo says. “It gives you hope that you can succeed and pushes you to become better.”

Yet such initiatives remain fragile. Their reach is limited, funding uncertain, and success dependent on individual commitment rather than guaranteed rights. They prove what can work—but also highlight what is missing at the national level.



What Europe Gets Right: Proven Aftercare Models

Bosnia and Herzegovina does not need to invent solutions. Across Europe, structured aftercare systems support young people beyond the age of 18 as a legal right, not a charitable option.

In the United Kingdom and Ireland, aftercare legislation guarantees support until at least age 25. Care leavers receive personal advisors, housing assistance, and financial support through legally binding “pathway plans.”

Germany applies a supervised housing model (Betreutes Jugendwohnen), allowing young adults to live independently while receiving regular guidance from social workers. Finland prioritizes housing first, ensuring a stable home before addressing employment or education.

These systems share a key principle: state responsibility does not end at adulthood. Instead, it evolves to support a gradual, realistic transition.



Regional Lessons from the Western Balkans

Closer to home, neighboring countries offer adaptable examples.

Croatia’s Social Welfare Act recognizes care leavers as a vulnerable group and prioritizes them for social housing. Serbia complements material support with mentorship programs, pairing young people with volunteer “second families.” Slovenia integrates care leavers into broader youth policies, extending support to age 26 for those in education.

Compared to these approaches, Bosnia’s system remains fragmented and reactive rather than preventive.



A Systemic Gap—and a Path Forward

Advocates argue that Bosnia’s failure is not one of resources alone, but of political will.

“We are not asking for sympathy,” says youth rights advocate Bilal Kovacevic. “We are asking decision-makers to understand that these young people need structured support, not one-time assistance.”

Halil Arnaut proposes a comprehensive national framework for independent living support, combining best practices from Europe and the region. Such a framework would guarantee transitional housing, access to education and employment programs, continuous psychosocial support, and legally binding individual plans until at least age 21—or 26 for students.

International organizations such as CRS are already laying groundwork. Through initiatives like the KORAK project, multisectoral working groups across all ten cantons of the Federation bring together ministries, social work centers, institutions, and NGOs. The platform exists. What remains is political commitment.



From Cliff Edge to Bridge

The transition from state care to adulthood is one of the clearest tests of a society’s values. Bosnia and Herzegovina now has the evidence, the local success stories, and the international blueprints to pass that test.

Without reform, young people leaving care will continue to face homelessness, unemployment, and isolation—at enormous social and economic cost. With reform, they can become resilient, skilled citizens who contribute to society rather than struggle at its margins.

The choice is clear. Bosnia can allow young people to fall off a cliff at 18—or it can build a bridge toward independence, dignity, and opportunity. The time to build that bridge is now.



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