The Importance of Social Support for Newly Emancipated Foster Youth (original) (raw)
Foster Youth and Social Support
2015
Objective: Conduct secondary data analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of Massachusetts’ Adolescent Outreach Program for Youths in Intensive Foster Care (Outreach) for increasing social support (SS) among enrolled youth. Participants: 194 youth in intensive foster care under the guardianship of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families with a goal of independent living (IL) or long-term substitute care, and born between August 1985 and December 1990 (67% female, 66% White, 27% Hispanic) participated in the study between September 2004 and March 2009. Method: We hypothesized that Outreach compared to services as usual (SAU; control group) would increase participants’ SS and that there would be racial/ethnic disparities in SS as a function of the Outreach. Treatment effects were tested using mixed-effect models. Results: Outreach did not increase foster youth’s SS, compared to SAU. No racial/ethnic disparities in program effect were detected. Discussion and Applications ...
Challenges of Emerging Adulthood among Youth out of Foster Care
Youth out of foster care can face various problems related to finding a housing, unemployment, low educational attainment or lack of interpersonal relationships. The aim of the research was to study the problems of youth out of foster care in Georgia. Within the qualitative study semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted. The findings indicated that youth out of foster care felt unprepared for life and face some financial, social and psychological challenges which make the transition to adulthood more problematic. They have a problem of unstable housing, employment and community integration. In this critical period of transition, social workers are responsible for supporting adolescence. The study identified very low involvement of the social worker during preparation to age out of foster care. Social workers must continue to work with young people, help them build relationships and positive support network. It's recommended to expand foster care services to the youth with the aims of growing learning and accommodation stability, and employment services. Policy makers should consider housing opportunities for youth out of foster care. Youngsters out of foster care require protective preparation and planning, which will help adolescents make this transition into adulthood more flexible.
Children and Youth Services Review, 2017
Research has identified the benefits of having non-parental adults for older youth in foster care, but less is known about the characteristics of these relationships, as well as the processes that support the foster youth as they transition from care to independence. The present study included a diverse group of 99 young adults, who recently emancipated from care in a major U.S. city. These young adults reported having a very important non-parental adult (VIP) and 63 of these VIPs were also included in this study. The youth participated in a two-hour in-person interview followed by a survey, and the VIPs underwent a phone interview; all of these interviews were later transcribed and qualitatively coded using thematic analysis. Overall, this study aimed to: 1) identify the characteristics of these VIPs, and 2) elucidate how the VIPs support youth during the transition from care. Prominent characteristics of the youth and VIP relationship identified in this study include the relationship being "parentlike", respectful, and reciprocal with regards to communication. Moreover, it was found that both the youth and the VIPs viewed these relationships to be important in reducing negative outcomes for the youth. These results call for the foster care system to take steps in helping foster care youth find and build relationships with the non-parental adults in their lives-VIPs can serve as important sources of support to aid foster youth in their adaptation to young adulthood.
A cost–benefit analysis of transitional services for emancipating foster youth
Children and Youth Services Review, 2008
Over 24,000 youth "aged out" of the nation's foster care system in FY 2005. While independent living programs and other services are available to foster youth, and almost all states allow dependency courts to retain jurisdiction of foster youth beyond age 18, outcomes for former foster youth are disturbing. This paper describes a program to address these challenges by providing extended foster care benefits and support to former foster youth from their 18th to 23rd birthdays. A detailed cost-benefit methodology documents expected costs and key benefits of the program. According to this cost-benefit analysis, a program providing funding and guardian support for former foster youth is projected to result in net benefits to the State of California over the 40-year careers of participating former foster youth. The program, if successful for all youth, would increase lifetime earnings and taxes paid due to increased education and would lower use of TANF and prison, resulting in a benefit-cost ratio of 1.5 to 1, using discounted present value dollars. Even at 75% success, the ratio is 1.2 to 1, showing a net benefit to society. This methodology can also be used to assess the costs and benefits of similar programs.
Adapting to aging out: Profiles of risk and resilience among emancipated foster youth
Development and Psychopathology, 2012
This investigation employed latent profile analysis to identify distinct patterns of multiform competence among 164 emancipated foster youth (M age ¼ 19.67 years, SD ¼ 1.12; 64% female). Fit indices and conceptual interpretation converged on a four-profile solution. A subset of emancipated youth evidenced a maladaptive profile (16.5%; n ¼ 27), which was characterized by low educational competence, low occupational competence, low civic engagement, problematic interpersonal relationships, low self-esteem, and high depressive symptoms. However, the largest group of emancipated youth exhibited a resilient profile in which they were faring reasonably well in all domains despite marked adversity (47%; n ¼ 77). Two additional groups evidenced discordant adjustment patterns wherein they exhibited high levels of psychological competence despite behavioral difficulties (i.e., internally resilient; 30%; n ¼ 49) or significant emotional difficulties despite manifest competence (i.e., externally resilient; 6.5%; n ¼ 11). The obtained profiles were validated against independent measures of behavioral and socioemotional adjustment. Exploratory analyses examined etiological differences across profiles with respect to child welfare variables, such as age at entry into care, placement disruption, reason for placement, and severity of child maltreatment. The findings highlight the need for multidimensional models of risk and resilience and illustrate the importance of heretofore underappreciated heterogeneity in the adaptive outcomes of emancipated foster youth.
Foster Youth and the Transition to Adulthood
Emerging Adulthood, 2013
The transition from adolescence to adulthood is considered a significant developmental stage in a young person’s growth. Most youth receive family support to help them weather the difficulties associated with this stage. When foster youth age out of the child welfare system, they confront the challenges associated with this developmental stage and are at risk of having to transition without family support. This article applies the life course perspective to describe the theoretical and contextual foundation that explains the hardships foster youth experience when they emancipate from the U.S. child welfare system. Next, the theoretical basis for natural mentoring among foster youth is explored using the resiliency perspective to frame the discussion. Then, current research on natural mentoring among foster youth is reviewed. The article concludes with implications for U.S. child welfare practice, policy, and research with respect to how to improve outcomes for youth who age out of f...
Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth: outcomes at age 19
2005
In addition to giving states a fiscal incentive to enhance their independent living programs, the Foster Care Independence Act requires states to provide the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with data on a variety of outcome measures (e.g., educational attainment, employment, avoidance of dependency, homelessness, non-marital childbirth, incarceration, and high-risk behaviors) and requires the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to conduct evaluations of innovative or potentially significant state efforts to prepare foster youth for independent living. 4 This is the second report from the Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth, a longitudinal study that is following foster youth in the states of Illinois, Iowa 3 States are now required to use at least some portion of their funds to provide follow-up services to former foster youth who already aged out, and are allowed to use up to 30 percent of their funds to pay for the room and board of 18-to 20-year-old former foster youth. The Foster Care Independence Act also increased the amount of assets that foster youth can accumulate and still be Title IV-E eligible from 1,000to1,000 to 1,000to10,000, gave states the option of extending Medicaid coverage to 18-to 20-year-old former foster youth, and eliminated the prohibition against contracting with private, for-profit independent living services providers using federal funds. 4 Because there have been so few methodologically sound evaluations of independent living programs (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1999; U.S. General Accounting Office, 1999), relatively little is known about their effects on the self-sufficiency of former foster youth. Several program evaluations, including prospective studies with random assignment, are currently in the field. and Wisconsin as they "age out" of the child welfare system and transition to adulthood. The study is a collaborative effort among the three state public child welfare agencies, Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago, and the University of Wisconsin Survey Center. Its purpose is to provide states with the first comprehensive view of how former foster youth are faring as they transition to adulthood since the John Chafee Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 became law. BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW OF STUDY Planning for this project began in early 2001 when the public child welfare agencies in Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin agreed to use some of their federal Chafee funds to study the outcomes for youth who age out of care. Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago assumed primary responsibility for overseeing the project, constructing the survey instruments, analyzing the data, and preparing reports for the participating states. Each state provided Chapin Hall with a list of all of the youth who met the study's eligibility criteria (see below) from which a sample could be selected, and the University of Wisconsin Survey Center was contracted to conduct in-person interviews with the selected youth Youth were eligible for inclusion in the study if they were in the care of the public child welfare agency, if the primary reason for their placement was abuse and/or neglect, if they were 17 years olds, and if they had entered care prior to their sixteenth birthday. Youth with developmental disabilities or severe mental illness, and youth who were incarcerated or in a psychiatric hospital were excluded from participation. Youth were also ineligible to participate in the study if they were on run or otherwise missing from care throughout the course of the 8 The three states provide a wide range of what are commonly referred to as "supervised independent living" and "transitional living" arrangements in which young people live in their own dwelling or together with other wards while being provided with varying degrees of supervision and support by a public and/or private child welfare agency. 9 Do to a problem with the wording of a question, those still in care were not asked about their current placement.
Independent Living: Qualifications of Emancipated Foster Youth Ages 18-21
The California Fostering Connection to Success Act of 2012 allows foster youth exiting foster care eligibility to receive state support through the foster care services program. Independent Living Skills Program (ILSP) sponsored by the Federal government provides support for the youth who continue to rely on comprehensive supportive services beyond the age of eighteen. Foster youth who participate in the new program are considered Non-Minor Dependent (NMD) and they are eligible to receive financed housing support, independent living skills services, and assistance from the program in transition to independent living until the age of twenty-one. This qualitative study explored housing challenges faced by former foster youth leaving foster care, the independent living skills program services they received and how the program helped them in their transition to independent living. The ILSP is a federally mandated program, which assisted with locating likely participants for the research study. Using secondary data analysis and structured interviews with former foster youth transitioning into adulthood, I investigated the qualifications of emancipation within the social welfare agency's Federal guidelines and regulations. This article summarizes five in-depth interviews that assessed the effectiveness of the ILSP services in assisting emancipated foster youth obtain access to secured, safe and stable housing. I argue that participation