Reprinted with permission.
There have been several studies done that focus on youth in foster care. One recent study by the
Voices for America’s Children, highlights the critical needs of children in foster care, as they are at increased risk for poor outcomes later on in life. These children need high quality programs to ensure their physical and emotional well-being.

Some promising approaches have been identified. Among these are the following strategies:

Enhancing the well-being of children while in care. This includes creating programs that ensure caregivers are well educated, informed and prepared; developing cultural competency and awareness in foster care; and helping children maintain connections with their communities of origin.

Helping children recuperate. This includes but is not limited to, helping to ensure initial, comprehensive and ongoing health assessments for children in foster care; ensuring access to health care services; supporting developmental and mental health services (see recent CA decision); and providing educational services.

Preparing children for a permanent home. Includes helping children to transition more smoothly to their original homes or to new homes.

A study by the Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago has released a second report based on the Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth (a longitudinal study), that examines youth aging out of foster care in Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois. The survey data were collected during follow-up interviews with 603 of the 736 youth from whom baseline data were collected.

The outcomes of the 282 young adults who were still in care at age 19 were compared to the outcomes of the 321 who had already been discharged. The sample was also compared with a nationally representative sample of 19 year olds from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.

The results suggest that youth making the transition from foster care to yound adulthood face more challenges than their same age peers, including educational deficits, mental health problems, early child-bearing, economic insecurity and victimization. They are also more likely to have been involved with the criminal justice system.

The results also suggest that allowing foster care youth to remain in care beyond their 18th birthday may have advantages during the transition to adulthood. Those still in care after 18 were more likely to have received services to prepare them for independent living, to be continuing their education, and to have access to mental health care services. They were also more likely to be working or in school than those no longer in care.