Amy Dworsky - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Amy Dworsky

Children and Youth Services Review, Feb 1, 2010

Children and Youth Services Review, Jul 1, 2023

Children and Youth Services Review, 2017

Despite the high rate of early parenthood among youths in foster care, relatively little is known... more Despite the high rate of early parenthood among youths in foster care, relatively little is known about the employment outcomes of young parents after they age out of the child welfare system. This study analyzed administrative data for 1943 recently emancipated youths who were the parent of at least one child. Like prior studies of former foster youths, this study finds that only half of the parents were employed at any point during the first four quarters after exiting care, most of those who worked were not consistently employed, and the earnings of parents who were employed were very low. Several demographic and placement history characteristics were associated with an increase or decrease in the odds of being employed and/or with total earnings among the parents who worked. The implications of these findings for policy and practice are discussed.

Children and Youth Services Review, Oct 1, 2005

This study uses administrative data to examine the self-sufficiency of 8511 former foster youth w... more This study uses administrative data to examine the self-sufficiency of 8511 former foster youth who were discharged from Wisconsin's out-of-home care system between 1992 and 1998 and were at least 16 years old at the time they were discharged. Three indicators of self-sufficiency were measured: employment, earnings and public assistance receipt. The youth were followed from the quarter in which they were discharged through the fourth quarter of 2000. Most were employed in at least one of the first eight quarters after their discharge, but relatively few had earnings in all eight. Quarterly earnings increased over time, but remained very low. Earnings were still below the poverty threshold even eight years post-discharge. Nearly one fifth of the youth received AFDC/TANF cash assistance in at least one of their first eight quarters after their discharge, and nearly one third received food stamps. Implementation of welfare reform was associated with a reduction in public assistance receipt, although other economic factors are also likely to have contributed to this downward trend. Relationships between these outcome measures and both the demographic characteristics and out-of-home care experiences of these former foster youth were examined using multivariate statistical techniques. The policy and practice implications of the findings are discussed.

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Mar 15, 2013

This document presents a research-based framework for efforts to increase the likelihood that you... more This document presents a research-based framework for efforts to increase the likelihood that youth at greater risk of negative outcomes will enter a career trajectory and prepare to become wellfunctioning, self-sufficient adults. Self-sufficiency is defined here as the ability in adulthood to economically support oneself and one's dependents without long-term dependence on public assistance. The framework is particularly relevant for youth who are or could be served by ACF programs-especially homeless youth, youth in the foster care system, and teen parents-but it may also apply to programs sponsored by other agencies serving similar populations.

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, May 30, 2014

States are required to use the 22 survey questions listed in Appendix B of the Final Rule (45 CFR... more States are required to use the 22 survey questions listed in Appendix B of the Final Rule (45 CFR, Part 1356) that was issued by the Administration for Children and Families on February 26, 2008. However, they have discretion with respect to how and by whom the survey is administered. 2 One baseline survey question (Have you ever been homeless?) and one follow-up survey question (In the past two years, were you homeless at any time?) ask about homelessness. 3 All 50 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico collected and reported NYTD outcome survey data for the most recent reporting period (April 2, 2011-September 30, 2010).

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, May 30, 2014

In addition to these programs, HUD's Family Unification Program (FUP) provides housing choice vou... more In addition to these programs, HUD's Family Unification Program (FUP) provides housing choice vouchers to former foster youth, ages 18 to 21, whose housing is inadequate and who were at least age 16 when they exited foster care. 2 The program is typically administered by a state or local public housing agency (PHA) in partnership with a state or local public child welfare agency (PCWA). More than 90 PHAs

Child & Family Social Work

Early childbirth is common among young women ageing out of foster care and may impede their educa... more Early childbirth is common among young women ageing out of foster care and may impede their educational progress. However, few studies have explored access to postsecondary education among young mothers who have been in foster care. The present study used data from a large, national sample of young people in foster care (National Youth in Transition Database, NYTD) to examine the link between early childbirth and young women's access to postsecondary education between ages 19 and 21, controlling for an array of covariates. The study sample included 2,207 young women who had completed a high school diploma or GED by age 19 and who participated in three NYTD interviews at ages 17, 19 and 21. Childbirth between ages 19 and 21 was linked to decreased access to postsecondary education. However, no relationship was found between access to postsecondary education and childbirth by age 17 or childbirth between ages 17 and 19. Implications for policy, practice and research are discussed.

Social Service Review

This article presents findings from an implementation study of a pilot project that connected pre... more This article presents findings from an implementation study of a pilot project that connected pregnant and parenting youth in care with home visiting services. It draws primarily on semistructured interviews conducted with the practitioners who delivered those services and the parents who received them. We find that home visiting services can be delivered successfully to pregnant and parenting youth in care and that both practitioners and parents reported that parents benefit from those services. We also find that engaging and delivering services to pregnant and parenting youth in care presents substantial challenges and that home visiting programs sometimes deviated from their standard practices in response. The study has implications for future efforts to provide home visiting services to pregnant and parenting youth in care or to other families involved in the child welfare system.

Findings from the Midwest

also wish to thank Kerryann DiLoreto, Jeremy Kraft and the many interviewers

Research in Higher Education Journal, 2013

Prior research has document significant disparities in post-secondary educational attainment betw... more Prior research has document significant disparities in post-secondary educational attainment between young adults who had been in foster care and their peers in the general population. This study uses survival analysis to compare the four-year college graduation rate of students who had been in foster care to the graduation rate of first generation, low-income students at the same university. Estimates from discrete time hazard models indicate that former foster care students graduated at a slower rate than their non-foster care peers even after controlling for gender and race. In addition, although students in poor academic standing (cumulative GPA below 2.0) graduated at the same rate regardless of whether they had been in foster care, having been in foster care had a negative effect on the graduation rate of students in good academic standing (cumulative GPA’s at or above 2.0). The implications of these findings for increasing post-secondary educational attainment among college s...

AbstractNearly a decade after the start of the Chicago Housing Authority's (CHA's) Plan f... more AbstractNearly a decade after the start of the Chicago Housing Authority's (CHA's) Plan for Transformation, more than 16,000 households have been relocated into a variety of housing contexts, including new mixed-income developments, private rental housing subsidized with vouchers, scattered-site public housing units, and rehabilitated 100-percent public housing developments. Using administrative data from the CHA and a number of state agencies, we compare the characteristics of residents who ended up in the different housing contexts and examine differences in their cunent well-being. Counter to expectations, our analysis reveals no evidence of any sorting of higher functioning households into new mixed-income developments or into the private market with housing choice vouchers, or of more challenged households being left behind in traditional public housing developments. On the contrary, we find that the households that ended up taking vouchers were relatively more challeng...

Children and Youth Services Review, Feb 1, 2010

Children and Youth Services Review, Jul 1, 2023

Children and Youth Services Review, 2017

Despite the high rate of early parenthood among youths in foster care, relatively little is known... more Despite the high rate of early parenthood among youths in foster care, relatively little is known about the employment outcomes of young parents after they age out of the child welfare system. This study analyzed administrative data for 1943 recently emancipated youths who were the parent of at least one child. Like prior studies of former foster youths, this study finds that only half of the parents were employed at any point during the first four quarters after exiting care, most of those who worked were not consistently employed, and the earnings of parents who were employed were very low. Several demographic and placement history characteristics were associated with an increase or decrease in the odds of being employed and/or with total earnings among the parents who worked. The implications of these findings for policy and practice are discussed.

Children and Youth Services Review, Oct 1, 2005

This study uses administrative data to examine the self-sufficiency of 8511 former foster youth w... more This study uses administrative data to examine the self-sufficiency of 8511 former foster youth who were discharged from Wisconsin's out-of-home care system between 1992 and 1998 and were at least 16 years old at the time they were discharged. Three indicators of self-sufficiency were measured: employment, earnings and public assistance receipt. The youth were followed from the quarter in which they were discharged through the fourth quarter of 2000. Most were employed in at least one of the first eight quarters after their discharge, but relatively few had earnings in all eight. Quarterly earnings increased over time, but remained very low. Earnings were still below the poverty threshold even eight years post-discharge. Nearly one fifth of the youth received AFDC/TANF cash assistance in at least one of their first eight quarters after their discharge, and nearly one third received food stamps. Implementation of welfare reform was associated with a reduction in public assistance receipt, although other economic factors are also likely to have contributed to this downward trend. Relationships between these outcome measures and both the demographic characteristics and out-of-home care experiences of these former foster youth were examined using multivariate statistical techniques. The policy and practice implications of the findings are discussed.

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Mar 15, 2013

This document presents a research-based framework for efforts to increase the likelihood that you... more This document presents a research-based framework for efforts to increase the likelihood that youth at greater risk of negative outcomes will enter a career trajectory and prepare to become wellfunctioning, self-sufficient adults. Self-sufficiency is defined here as the ability in adulthood to economically support oneself and one's dependents without long-term dependence on public assistance. The framework is particularly relevant for youth who are or could be served by ACF programs-especially homeless youth, youth in the foster care system, and teen parents-but it may also apply to programs sponsored by other agencies serving similar populations.

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, May 30, 2014

States are required to use the 22 survey questions listed in Appendix B of the Final Rule (45 CFR... more States are required to use the 22 survey questions listed in Appendix B of the Final Rule (45 CFR, Part 1356) that was issued by the Administration for Children and Families on February 26, 2008. However, they have discretion with respect to how and by whom the survey is administered. 2 One baseline survey question (Have you ever been homeless?) and one follow-up survey question (In the past two years, were you homeless at any time?) ask about homelessness. 3 All 50 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico collected and reported NYTD outcome survey data for the most recent reporting period (April 2, 2011-September 30, 2010).

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, May 30, 2014

In addition to these programs, HUD's Family Unification Program (FUP) provides housing choice vou... more In addition to these programs, HUD's Family Unification Program (FUP) provides housing choice vouchers to former foster youth, ages 18 to 21, whose housing is inadequate and who were at least age 16 when they exited foster care. 2 The program is typically administered by a state or local public housing agency (PHA) in partnership with a state or local public child welfare agency (PCWA). More than 90 PHAs

Child & Family Social Work

Early childbirth is common among young women ageing out of foster care and may impede their educa... more Early childbirth is common among young women ageing out of foster care and may impede their educational progress. However, few studies have explored access to postsecondary education among young mothers who have been in foster care. The present study used data from a large, national sample of young people in foster care (National Youth in Transition Database, NYTD) to examine the link between early childbirth and young women's access to postsecondary education between ages 19 and 21, controlling for an array of covariates. The study sample included 2,207 young women who had completed a high school diploma or GED by age 19 and who participated in three NYTD interviews at ages 17, 19 and 21. Childbirth between ages 19 and 21 was linked to decreased access to postsecondary education. However, no relationship was found between access to postsecondary education and childbirth by age 17 or childbirth between ages 17 and 19. Implications for policy, practice and research are discussed.

Social Service Review

This article presents findings from an implementation study of a pilot project that connected pre... more This article presents findings from an implementation study of a pilot project that connected pregnant and parenting youth in care with home visiting services. It draws primarily on semistructured interviews conducted with the practitioners who delivered those services and the parents who received them. We find that home visiting services can be delivered successfully to pregnant and parenting youth in care and that both practitioners and parents reported that parents benefit from those services. We also find that engaging and delivering services to pregnant and parenting youth in care presents substantial challenges and that home visiting programs sometimes deviated from their standard practices in response. The study has implications for future efforts to provide home visiting services to pregnant and parenting youth in care or to other families involved in the child welfare system.

Findings from the Midwest

also wish to thank Kerryann DiLoreto, Jeremy Kraft and the many interviewers

Research in Higher Education Journal, 2013

Prior research has document significant disparities in post-secondary educational attainment betw... more Prior research has document significant disparities in post-secondary educational attainment between young adults who had been in foster care and their peers in the general population. This study uses survival analysis to compare the four-year college graduation rate of students who had been in foster care to the graduation rate of first generation, low-income students at the same university. Estimates from discrete time hazard models indicate that former foster care students graduated at a slower rate than their non-foster care peers even after controlling for gender and race. In addition, although students in poor academic standing (cumulative GPA below 2.0) graduated at the same rate regardless of whether they had been in foster care, having been in foster care had a negative effect on the graduation rate of students in good academic standing (cumulative GPA’s at or above 2.0). The implications of these findings for increasing post-secondary educational attainment among college s...

AbstractNearly a decade after the start of the Chicago Housing Authority's (CHA's) Plan f... more AbstractNearly a decade after the start of the Chicago Housing Authority's (CHA's) Plan for Transformation, more than 16,000 households have been relocated into a variety of housing contexts, including new mixed-income developments, private rental housing subsidized with vouchers, scattered-site public housing units, and rehabilitated 100-percent public housing developments. Using administrative data from the CHA and a number of state agencies, we compare the characteristics of residents who ended up in the different housing contexts and examine differences in their cunent well-being. Counter to expectations, our analysis reveals no evidence of any sorting of higher functioning households into new mixed-income developments or into the private market with housing choice vouchers, or of more challenged households being left behind in traditional public housing developments. On the contrary, we find that the households that ended up taking vouchers were relatively more challeng...