A Special Program for Foster Youth: Predictors of Long-Term Outcomes

• In Event: Poster Session 05
  In Poster Session: PS 05 Topic - Family Context & Processes

Abstract

In 2019, there were a total of 672,594 foster youth in the United States (Children’s Bureau, 2020). Despite the large number of children and adolescents in foster care and the challenges they face, foster youth remain an understudied population. Time in foster care is linked to a variety of negative outcomes, including higher rates of mental illness, lower rates of educational attainment, difficulty accessing health care, lower rates of steady employment, and higher rates of homelessness (e.g., Pecora et al., 2005).

Attempts have been made to prevent these adverse life outcomes. One such attempt is a special residential program (“the Academy”) for teenagers in foster care who struggled in more traditional placements. The Academy provides a safe, stable, and caring environment in which foster youth can enjoy secure relationships with peers and adults, obtain a high school diploma (a high school is on the Academy campus), prepare for college or a vocation, and work on independent living skills. By evaluating the unique histories and challenges foster youth bring with them into the Academy, and the specific programs and opportunities the Academy offers, we can better understand the specific needs of adolescent foster youth and the services that are most beneficial for improving their long-term outcomes.

To this end, data for two samples of Academy alumni were collected at two time points (N = 523). For both samples, members of the clinical staff were instructed to complete surveys on alumni based on Academy records. Sample 1 is comprised of all alumni who left the Academy between 2002 and 2012. Data for the second sample was collected in the first half of 2020, shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic began in California. For the second sample, Academy staff members were asked to provide data on a randomly selected subset of alumni who left the Academy between 2015 and 2019. The youth’s ages ranged from approximately 17 to 23 (M = 20.25 years, SD = 1.29) at the time of data collection.

Multiple linear regressions revealed, in preliminary analyses, that time at the Academy, program completion (staying at the Academy until age 18), and engagement in extracurricular activities while at the Academy were strong predictors of positive post-program outcomes, including safe housing, enrollment in post-secondary education, employment, access to health care, and number of significant positive relationships, βs = |.08| to |.33|, ps < .05; model Fs (11, 426) > 8.30, ps < .001. In short, youth who stayed at the Academy longer, who completed the Academy’s program, and who participated in more activities while at the Academy had better long-term outcomes. In addition to presenting these findings, we will discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on these outcome variables.

Overall, many foster youth experience negative life outcomes. However, attending the Academy mitigates some of these effects. We plan analyses to better understand the programs the Academy has in place that are most beneficial to its current residents and predict positive life outcomes for its alumni.

Authors

• Dana T. Hartman, University of California - Davis
  Presenting Author

• Jaxon Grandchamp, University of California - Davis
  Non-Presenting Author

• Daisy E. Vidales, University of California - Davis
  Non-Presenting Author

• Phillip R. Shaver, University of California, Davis
  Non-Presenting Author

• Michael J Lawler, University of South Dakota
  Non-Presenting Author

• Gail S. Goodman, University of California, Davis
  Non-Presenting Author