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Approaching the transition to adulthood: distinctive profiles and adolescents aging out of the child welfare system
- Authors:
- KELLER Thomas E., CUSICK Gretchen Ruth, COURTNEY Mark E.
- Journal article citation:
- Social Service Review, 81(3), September 2007, pp.453-484.
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
The transition to adulthood is marked by new roles and responsibilities in such interrelated domains as education, employment, and family formation. This American study investigates the capacity of adolescents on the verge of emancipation from the child welfare system to navigate this transition. To explore heterogeneity in adolescents' preparation for independent living, person-oriented methods are applied to a large, representative sample of youth about to exit foster care. The analysis suggests four subpopulations defined by distinctive profiles on indicators reflecting multiple domains of life experience. Identifying the particular needs and challenges of subpopulations has implications for efforts to match adolescents aging out of the child welfare system with appropriate services.
The potential educational benefits of extending foster care to young adults: findings from a natural experiment
- Authors:
- COURTNEY Mark E., HOOK Jennifer L.
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 72, 2017, pp.124-132.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
Using data from a longitudinal study of youth (n = 732) who transitioned to adulthood from foster care in the United States, this study takes advantage of between-state policy variation in the age at which youth are required to leave care to assess the relationship between extended foster care and educational attainment at age 26. Distinguishing between not having obtained a high school diploma or GED, having only a high school diploma or GED, and having obtained at least one year of college, each additional year in care is associated with a 46% increase in the estimated odds that former foster youth will progress to the next level of educational attainment, controlling for a range of youth characteristics measured at ages 17–18. Background characteristics including youth's gender, race, employment, parenting, educational performance and aspirations, and indicators of behavioural health problems are also associated with educational attainment in early adulthood. (Edited publisher abstract)
Maltreatment histories of aging out foster youth: a comparison of official investigated reports and self-reports of maltreatment prior to and during out-of-home care
- Authors:
- HAVLICEK Judy, COURTNEY Mark E.
- Journal article citation:
- Child Abuse and Neglect, 52, 2016, pp.110-122.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
This study compared official investigated reports of child maltreatment with retrospective self-reports prior to and during out-of-home care for a sample of foster youth who reached the age of majority in out-of-home care in Illinois. Using matched administrative and self-reported data for 474 youth who completed a baseline interview in the Midwest Evaluation of Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth (i.e. the Midwest study) at ages 17-18, and 386 youth who completed a follow up interview at age 19, this study finds that official reports and self-reports of maltreatment prior to and during out-of-home care differ significantly. Findings from this study add insight into measurement discrepancies, and help to inform understanding of the extent of maltreatment experienced by this sub-sample of young people exiting out-of-home care in adulthood. Study findings have implications for independent living policy and practice in child welfare. (Publisher abstract)
Early outcomes for young adults transitioning from out-of-home care in the USA
- Authors:
- COURTNEY Mark E., DWORSKY Amy
- Journal article citation:
- Child and Family Social Work, 11(3), August 2006, pp.208-219.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This paper describes the well-being of participants in the Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth (n = 603), a study of youth leaving out-of-home care in the USA, at the point where they have been 'young adults' for about 1 year. Although some of these young adults are in stable situations and either moving forward with their education or employed in promising jobs, more of them are having significant difficulties during the early stages of the transition to adulthood. Too many are neither employed nor in school, have children that they are not able to parent, suffer from persistent mental illness or substance use disorders, find themselves without basic necessities, become homeless, or end up involved with the criminal justice system. They are doing worse than other young adults across a number of important dimensions. Most of these young adults continue to maintain relations with members of their family of origin, with many finding themselves living with family at age 19. Importantly, those young people who chose to remain under the care and supervision of the child welfare system experienced better outcomes than those who either chose to or were forced to leave care.
Emancipated foster youth and intimate partner violence: an exploration of risk and protective factors
- Authors:
- KATZ Colleen C., COURTNEY Mark E., SAPIRO Beth
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 35(23-24), 2020, pp.5469-5499.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Due to their high rates of parental maltreatment and violence exposure, youth in the foster care system are considered particularly vulnerable to experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) in adolescence and young adulthood. Those who have emancipated from foster care may be at a heightened risk, as they are significantly more likely to struggle in a variety of critical domains (i.e., mental health, substance use, and delinquency). This longitudinal study is the first to explore the impact of demographic, individual, family, and foster care system factors on IPV involvement for foster care alumni at age 23/24. Analyses were conducted on three waves of quantitative data from the Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth (the Midwest Study). The authors found that approximately 21% of the young adults in their sample were involved in some type of IPV at age 23/24, with bidirectional violence the most commonly reported form. Males were more likely than females to report IPV victimization, whereas females were more likely than males to report IPV perpetration and bidirectional violence. Young adults who reported parental IPV prior to foster care entry were more likely to be involved in bidirectionally violent partnerships than nonviolent partnerships in young adulthood, as were young adults who reported neglect by a foster caregiver and those who reported greater placement instability while in the foster care system. Anxiety at baseline increased the odds of IPV perpetration at age 23/24, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at baseline decreased the odds of IPV perpetration at age 23/24. Understanding the characteristics and experiences that place these young adults at risk for IPV will allow for more effective and targeted prevention efforts. (Edited publisher abstract)
Extended foster care support during the transition to adulthood: effect on the risk of arrest
- Authors:
- LEE Joann S., COURTNEY Mark E., TAJIMA Emiko
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 42, 2014, pp.34-42.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
Youth aging out of the foster care system are at high risk for adult arrests, but providing extended foster care support during the early years of their transition from adolescence to independent adulthood may reduce this risk. This study used survey data from the Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth (N = 732) matched with official arrest data to estimate the potential benefit of providing extended foster care support in reducing the risk of arrest in the early transition period. In addition, other factors related to the risk of arrest for these former foster youth were explored. Event history modeling techniques were used to estimate the impact of extended care on the risk of a first adult arrest. Models were estimated for men and women separately, and for all non-procedural arrests and violent arrests only. Extended care is associated with a lower risk of arrest in the first year, but appears to have a declining effect over time. (Publisher abstract)
Receipt of help acquiring life skills and predictors of help receipt among current and former foster youth
- Authors:
- COURTNEY Mark E., LEE JoAnn, PEREZ Alfred
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 33(12), December 2011, pp.2442-2451.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
US law has long recognised the need to help prepare foster youth for the transition to adulthood. However, little attention has been paid to whether foster youth in fact receive the services states are supposed to provide using federal funds. This study explored the kinds of help foster youth receive in making the transition to adulthood and the factors associated with help receipt. Data was drawn from the Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth and samples included 474 individuals from Illinois, 195 from Wisconsin, and 63 from Iowa. Foster youth in transition did not appear to be receiving many forms of help that are called for in federal legislation providing for funding of independent living services, with only a third receiving the help they needed. The authors concluded that efforts should be increased to provide foster youth with the assistance called for in federal law, provide support for the extension of foster care through age 21 in the interest of ensuring that such assistance is provided.
A guide through the knowledge base on children in out-of-home care
- Authors:
- THOBURN June, COURTNEY Mark E.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Children's Services, 6(4), 2011, pp.210-227.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Formal out-of-home care for children includes care provided, arranged and/or funded by statutory agencies. This paper reviews the historical, cultural and political contexts in which studies on children's out-of-home care have been conducted, and the English language descriptive and process research on the different placement options. It concentrates on research-based publications, policy and research syntheses, and conceptual analyses, aiming to provide an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the available research and care services themselves. The paper covers foster family care and formal kinship care, including short-term or task centred foster care and residential group care settings, and routes out of care, including reunification, adoption as a route out of care, and ageing out of care. It reports that there is an extensive knowledge base to inform decisions about out-of-home care, but that the findings show different outcomes for different groups of children receiving different placement services, and that policymakers and commissioners need to take care not to oversimplify the evidence about processes and outcomes.
Employment outcomes of foster youth: the results from the Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Foster Youth
- Authors:
- NACCARATO Toni, BROPHY Megan, COURTNEY Mark E.
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 32(4), April 2010, pp.551-559.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
In the United States legislation has been introduced, including the federal Independent Living Program, to assist young people leaving the foster care system who face greater challenges in finding employment and earning a living wage than non-foster children. This study, using data from the Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth, uses statistical analyses to test the relationship between multiple factors including demographics, human capital, independent living services, and yearly income for former foster children aged 21 years. The results indicate that race, level of education, history of drug and alcohol use, and history of mental illness significantly impact yearly earnings within the sampled population. Equally significant, self-reported acceptance of help related to securing employment did not impact yearly earnings. The authors conclude, however, that the limitations associated with using a non-experimental design and the challenges associated with the potential errors in the measurements of employment-related help suggest areas for future research on this topic.
Behavioral health needs and service use among those who've aged-out of foster care
- Authors:
- BROWN Adam, COURTNEY Mark E., McMILLEN J. Curtis
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 58, 2015, pp.163-169.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
This paper is the first study to use a multi-state sample to longitudinally explore the relationship between remaining in foster care beyond age 18, behavioural health needs, and receipt of behavioural healthcare services. The study began with a sample of 732 older youth in foster care in the US and followed them longitudinally for six years, after all had aged-out of care. Indicators of behavioural health and receipt of behavioural healthcare services were measured, as well as whether or not remaining in foster care after one's 18th birthday made a difference in receiving behavioural healthcare services. The study identified a high need for behavioural healthcare services in the years following their 18th birthdays and a significant drop-off in service use after exiting foster care. It also found a strong relationship between remaining in care after one's 18th birthday and receipt of behavioural healthcare services among those in need. Policy implications discussed highlight the possible role of Medicaid on young adults who have aged-out of foster care with behavioural healthcare service needs, and the potential impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Among the treatment implications are the need for highly effective behavioural healthcare services for older youths in foster care and the need for receipt of ongoing services upon exiting foster care. (Edited publisher abstract)