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Research shows that youth who leave foster care to live independently are often at risk of homelessness, less education, unemployment/poverty, and mental health issues. There are a number of reasons for this increased risk. A variety of aftercare services for youth leaving foster care are designed to help address these risks.
The purpose of this study was to examine trends in participation and understand the experiences of youth transitioning from foster care who were involved in the Iowa Aftercare Services Program. The authors examine trends in participation, services received,…
Young adults with histories of out-of-home care (OOHC) have poor early adult outcomes. Transitioning to adulthood takes preparation, coupled with support and resources. Few studies have examined these young adults’ perceptions of what helped them prepare for adulthood and how prepared they perceived they were to make the developmental transition to adulthood. This convergent mixed methods study builds knowledge surrounding preparedness among a sample of young adults with histories in OOHC (N = 204).
The study progressed in three phases. First, quantitative measures of preparedness…
Transition-age youth with foster care involvement (TAY) face significant risks for food insecurity and other hardships in early adulthood. Using representative survey data of youth transitioning out of foster care in California, the authors examine the prevalence and predictors of food insecurity. They find that about 30% of study participants were food insecure at ages 19, 21, and 23.
They also identify multiple risk and protective factors associated with being food insecure, such as TAY’s sexual identity and receipt of public benefits. The results of their study offer life-stage-specific…
There is a lack of research investigating the role of caregivers in the development and prevention of mental health issues and substance use among youth living in care. The goal of this study is to examine the relationship between caregiver characteristics, caregiver attachment and placement type on two dimensions of mental health and substance use among a sample of older youth living in care.
The data used for this study were collected as part of the Ontario Looking After Children project, which was developed to assess the needs and developmental progress of children and young people who…
Close attention should be given to the increased reliance on kinship care to provide out-of-home care for vulnerable children and youth because although these families have various strengths, they also frequently face financial instability and experience material hardship. Living in poverty and experiencing material hardship are linked to an array of negative outcomes, including physical and mental …
Background:
The care leaver population has been noted to have worse health outcomes than those who have not experienced state care. In order to address these differential health outcomes, it is essential that the causal factors underlying this inequality are understood.
Aim:
This systematic review has three primary research aims: (1) to identify the key predictors of care leavers’ health; (2) to understand how determinants of health are conceptualised within the literature; and (3) to understand what methods and data sources are used to understand the health outcomes…
This paper explores how the COVID-19 pandemic affected care leavers in Quebec, a social group already facing obstacles to social integration.
Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 48 participants and analysed through Castel's zones of vulnerability model.
Results suggest that youth who entered the pandemic with more vulnerabilities were more affected by it in all dimensions of their lives. However, results also suggest that the presence of a strong social support network protects even the most vulnerable ones from being overly afflicted, highlighting the importance…
Kinship care, both formal and informal, is a practice that has received more attention in the past two decades due to the benefits found for children paced with kin, rather than in foster care with strangers. Placements with kin are often facilitated by utilizing intensive family search and engagement programs to identify and engage relatives.
Methods:
Using a retrospective longitudinal quasi-experimental design the present study evaluates the effectiveness of BLINDED intervention, an intervention that utilizes family search and engagement practices to place…
Abstract
This study followed PRISMA guidelines to conduct a systematic review of literature published from 2002 to 2022 to assess the differences in outcomes of children and youth who were adopted out of foster care compared to children and youth in foster care (CYFC) who were in other permanency placements (reunified, aged out, long-term foster care). The search was carried out from May 27, 2022…
Bethan Carter, a research associate at Cardiff University, discusses the ReThink Project; a project run in collaboration with Adoption UK and Coram Voice to investigate what processes are linked to mental health and wellbeing of care-experienced young people and how they manage at two key transitions in life.
Find out more about the conference series 'On the Journey: Navigating Mental Health' here: https://www.exchangewales.org/on-the-journey-navigating-mental-health/