Foster Youth

Homeless young adults (HYA) with and without a history in foster care in the United States experience lower
high school graduation rates than young adults in the general population. Few studies examine the risk and
resilience factors that promote positive educational outcomes for these subpopulations. This study explores the factors that are associated with positive educational outcomes for HYA with and without a foster care history. This study uses data from a 3-city cross-sectional study of HYA, which included quantitative interviews of HYA between the ages of 18 and 24 (N = 601) in Austin, TX (n = 200), Los Angeles, CA (n = 200), and Denver, CO (n = 201). Positive educational outcomes consisted of HYAs being currently enrolled in or previously attaining a degree from a secondary, postsecondary or technical education program. This study uses two logistic regression models to identify the risk and resilience factors associated with positive educational outcomes for HYA with and without a history in foster care. For HYA with a history in foster care, city was a significant predictor of positive educational outcomes as well as being an older age, formal employment, not having an arrest record, having a lower score of emotional neglect, and having a higher score of physical abuse. For HYA without a history in foster care, significant predictors included not having an arrest record and having a higher score of emotional abuse. Findings highlight the need for an expansion of federal and state postsecondary education financial aid programs for HYA with and without a history in 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 goal of the survey is to study the problems of aging out of foster care. Within the qualitative research semi-structured 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 transitioning into adulthood even more difficult for them. They have a problem of unstable housing, employment and community integration. The study identified very low involvement of the social worker during preparation to age out of foster care. As youth age out of foster care, social workers are tasked to work collaboratively with them to develop a transition care strategy that meets their needs and helps to promotion them into independent living. It's recommended to expanded foster care services to the age of 21 years with the goals of increasing educational stability, housing stability, and employment services as youth transition to adulthood.

This study builds on previous research to understand longer term housing experiences in late adolescence and early adulthood for vulnerable college students. Using a biographical, qualitative method, we study high school and college housing and family circumstances for 27 students with homelessness or foster care experience enrolled in 4-year colleges in Georgia. We identified three different housing pathway types in high school—family homelessness, unaccompanied youth and foster care. Housing instability and frequent moves were common in high school among all housing pathway types. In college, students who were able to find low or no-cost housing and those who identified a foster care pathway in high school achieved greater housing stability. Others students experienced a continuation of housing instability that began in high school. Additional funding to cover the cost of on-campus housing would likely contribute to increased stability. Additional strategies, such as rental assistance programmes tailored for college students, may be needed to address housing instability for vulnerable college students. More research on the unmet housing needs and the consequences of housing instability during college for homeless and foster youth is needed to further a housing policy agenda that focuses on practical solutions.

"Compared to their peers, youth who leave the foster care system without permanency experience greater risks for adverse young adult outcomes, including homelessness, incarceration, substance abuse, and early child birth. Extant literature focuses on individual-level factors related to adversity. In this study, we estimated the impact of state and individual-level risk and protective factors on adverse 19-year-old outcomes among a cohort of U.S. transition age youth.
We used multilevel modeling to analyze prospective, longitudinal data from two waves of the National Youth in Transitions Database (N = 7449). These data were linked to the Adoption and Foster Care Reporting System, the Administration for Children and Families budget expenditures, and the American Community Survey for the period from 2011 to 2013."

Homelessness remains a societal problem. Compiled evidence of predictors for becoming homeless and exiting homelessness might be used to inform policy-makers and practitioners in their work to reduce homeless-related problems. We examined individual-level predictors for becoming homeless and exiting homelessness by searching PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and Web of Science up to January 2018. Becoming homeless and exiting homelessness were the outcomes. Observational studies with comparison groups from high-income countries were included. The Newcastle Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale was used for bias assessment. Random effects models were used to calculate pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We included 116 independent studies of risk factors for becoming homeless and 18 for exiting homelessness. We found evidence of adverse life events as risk factors for homelessness reduced the chances for exiting homelessness. In conclusion, sociodemographic factors, adverse life events, criminal behaviour, and psychiatric problems were individual-level predictors for becoming homeless and/or exiting homelessness. Focus on individual-level vulnerabilities and early intervention is needed.

Young adults experiencing homelessness (YAEH) have been found to have high rates of prior involvement with foster care and juvenile justice, but little is known about whether YAEH differ in their risk behaviors based on exposure to different systems. This study used a dataset of 1426 YAEH from 7 different US cities to examine the historical risk and resilience characteristics of those involved in foster care alone, juvenile justice alone, both systems (dual status), and no system involvement. Logistic regression was used to examine whether different types of childhood system involvement predicted risk behaviors in young adulthood including substance use, trade sex, suicide attempts, unplanned pregnancy, and involvement in the adult criminal justice system. Notably,57% of youth had been exposed to one of the systems – 20% foster care only (n = 291), 18% juvenile justice only (n = 254), and 18% dual status (n = 261). YAEH without a history of system involvement had significantly lower childhood trauma scores and lower rates of lifetime mental health diagnoses compared to all three system involved groups, with dual status youth having the highest rates of both. In relation to risk outcomes, youth with dual status histories had higher odds of trading sex and those with juvenile justice involvement, either alone or as dual status, had higher odds of being arrested after age 18 and of problematic substance use. Results suggest YAEH with prior involvement in child-serving systems have unique risk characteristics that vary by type of system involvement, with dual-system involved youth at particularly high risk. Findings highlight the need for foster care and juvenile justice systems to work collaboratively in providing preventive interventions prior to system exit.

Youth in foster care are at greater risk of incarceration and homelessness as they age out of care and transition to adulthood. Prior studies have shown that multiple placements, childhood trauma, race and ethnicity, and educational attainment are associated with these adverse outcomes. However, few studies have examined the prevalence and risk factors of incarceration and homelessness among youth in foster care with disabilities as they age out and transition into adulthood. Using data from the 2014 cohort of the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) and Adoption and Foster Care Analysis Reporting System (AFCARS), this study examines the prevalence of incarceration and homelessness by disability type at age 17, and how risk factors are related to incarceration and homelessness at ages 19 and 21. Findings show that youth in foster care with emotional disabilities are more likely to experience homelessness and incarceration, but this association was not robust in multivariate models. On the other hand, those with a physical or intellectual/developmental disability have lower odds of homelessness. Employment and school enrollment are associated with a lower risk of homelessness and incarceration, regardless of disability type. These results suggest that disaggregating youth in foster care by type of disability is necessary to provide specific recommendations to improve and target resources and supports for these vulnerable youth as they age out of foster care and transition to adulthood.

Transition-aged foster care youth have higher risks of adverse outcomes, notably in education and employment, than youth who do not spend time in foster care. For the purpose of assisting a successful transition of foster care youth to adulthood, states provide Independent Living Services (ILS) with federal funding support. This study aims to test ILS's effects on educational attainment and employment of foster care youth. We employ multi-state data sources: the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) Outcome survey, NYTD service files, and the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, collected from foster youth (N = 4206). The dependent variables are high school completion, post-secondary education, and full-time employment measured at age 21. The independent variable is any ILS use in the following areas during the ages of 17–18: academic support, career preparation, employment or vocational training, mentoring, or education financial assistance. Propensity Score Matching was used to adjust for potential selection bias and pre-existing differences in observation data between youth who received and did not receive ILS. The weighted logistic regression analyses show that foster youth using ILS are significantly more likely to complete high school education (Odds Ratio = 1.25, p = .03), have a post-secondary education (Odds Ratio = 1.20, p = .03), and work full-time (Odds Ratio = 1.24, p = .04) in emerging adulthood. We discuss the gaps and challenges in current research that estimates ILS effects. The findings suggest that it is critical to fully implement these services, explore approaches for providing more complete and equitable access, and continue work that further explicates key factors in receipt and effectiveness of ILS for transition-aged youth.

Homelessness is a chronic public health issue in the U.S. This paper reviews the endurance and evolution of individual, youth, and family homelessness over the past 40-plus years. Thematic findings detail research on predictors of homelessness among adolescents, runaway youth, veterans, older adults, sheltered families, and female-headed families. Results provide a summary of contributors to homelessness, including issues related to family instability, unemployment and poverty, mental illness, substance use, unstable living arrangements, child maltreatment, social support, crime, and violence. Findings highlight key and persistent predictors of homelessness found across decades, as well as more recently identified and nuanced precursors to individual or family displacement. The goal of this work was to summarize what is known about predictors of homelessness to inform targeted research, practice, and policies.

"An occupational therapy educational training group for young adults in permanent supported housing
was developed, implemented and evaluated with pre-post outcome measures including Goal Attainment
Scaling (GAS) and the Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10). This study explored stress levels and
employment-related goals of individuals who have aged out of the foster care system and may also have
had a history of chronic homelessness and trauma.
Results demonstrated a trend towards significance in perceived stress (Z = 1.689, p = 0.91) with 7 of 8
participants surpassing the expected outcome according to GAS. Limitations included a small
convenience sample (n = 8), inconsistent attendance and use of self-report measures."