Effects of Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Involvement on Early Adult Outcomes : A Study of Cleveland ’ s Youth

INTRODUCTION The transition to adulthood can be challenging for many individuals, but youth that have been involved with various public systems face additional hurdles in completing their education, finding employment and managing their everyday lives. Using linked administrative data from multiple agencies, this policy brief looks at what is happening to Cleveland’s youth from 9 grade until age 21 and how involvement in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems affect their success. We find that system-involved youth are at elevated risk compared to their noninvolved peers for poor high school performance and attendance, unemployment, homelessness and incarceration in local jail. This study begins to quantify the various points at which Cleveland youth are touched by public systems along their paths toward adulthood. This type of information can be used to estimate potential savings in public spending and human suffering that might be achieved through targeted prevention programs with this population.

[1]  D. Osgood,et al.  Vulnerable Populations and the Transition to Adulthood , 2010, The Future of children.

[2]  Sheldon Danziger,et al.  Labor Market Outcomes and the Transition to Adulthood , 2010, The Future of children.

[3]  Joseph P. Ryan,et al.  Challenges facing crossover youth: An examination of juvenile-justice decision making and recidivism. , 2010 .

[4]  Thomas Brock,et al.  Young Adults and Higher Education: Barriers and Breakthroughs to Success , 2010, The Future of children.

[5]  Tina Maschi,et al.  Mapping the social service pathways of youth to and through the juvenile justice system: A comprehensive review , 2008 .

[6]  C. Swanson.  Cities in Crisis: A Special Analytic Report on High School Graduation. , 2008 .

[7]  M. Kushel,et al.  Homelessness and health care access after emancipation: results from the Midwest Evaluation of Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth. , 2007, Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine.

[8]  R. Kessler,et al.  Educational and employment outcomes of adults formerly placed in foster care: Results from the Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study , 2006 .

[9]  M. Courtney,et al.  Early outcomes for young adults transitioning from out-of-home care in the USA , 2006 .

[10]  S. Metraux,et al.  Childhood out-of-home placement and dynamics of public shelter utilization among young homeless adults , 2005 .

[11]  Thomas E. Keller,et al.  Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth: outcomes at age 19 , 2005 .

[12]  P. Pecora,et al.  Providing better opportunities for older children in the child welfare system. , 2004, The Future of children.

[13]  C. Brandford.  Foster Youth Transition to Independence Study , 2002 .

[14]  R. Barth,et al.  From placement to prison: The path to adolescent incarceration from child welfare supervised foster or group care , 2000 .

[15]  R. Barth,et al.  From maltreatment report to juvenile incarceration: the role of child welfare services. , 2000, Child abuse & neglect.

[16]  C. Widom.  The role of placement experiences in mediating the criminal consequences of early childhood victimization. , 1991, The American journal of orthopsychiatry.