Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth:Conditions of Youth Preparing to Leave State Care

Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth:
Conditions of Youth Preparing to Leave State Care
2004
Mark E. Courtney, Sherri Terao, Noel Bost

This report presents preliminary findings from the first wave of the
Midwest Evaluation of Adult Outcomes of Former Foster Youth study.
This longitudinal study examines the transition to adulthood for 749
youth in three states (Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin) who are “aging
out” of the child welfare system. The study is based on survey data
that will be collected at three points in time from a sample of youth
who were in foster care for at least one year prior to their 16th
birthday. The majority of these youth were placed in the care of the
state child welfare system due to abuse and neglect. The first wave of
data pertains to the experiences of youth who are 17 years old and
still under the jurisdiction of the state child welfare system. The
study found that many foster youth experience mental health and
substance abuse problems for which they receive psychological
treatment, at three times the rate of a comparable national sample.
Similarly, almost one-quarter of foster youth reported having been
tested or treated for sexually transmitted diseases, more than four
times the proportion reported by the national sample. In addition to
health and mental health problems, juvenile justice involvement is
also a concern. Nearly two thirds of the males and half of the females
had been arrested, convicted of a crime, or sent to a correctional
facility. The study also suggests that the odds of completing high
school are considerably lower for these foster youth than for a
comparable national sample with over half of the sample not yet
reading at the 7th grade level.
http://www.chapinhall.org/article_ab...5&L2=61&L3=131

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