Findings from the California Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study (CalYOUTH)
RESEARCH TEAM AND ALUMNI
Mark E. Courtney, Nathanael J. Okpych, Pajarita Charles, Kristin Dennis, Huiling Feng, Adrianna Torres García, Katherine Halsted, Justin Harty, Brittani Kindle, Dominique Mikell, Laura Napolitano, Kune Park, Samiya Sayed, and Brooke Stevenson.
LONGITUDINAL YOUTH STUDY
Longitudinal Youth Study – Youth Report (Age 17)
This report presents findings from the Baseline Youth Survey, providing the most comprehensive view to date of young people approaching the transition to adulthood from foster care in the wake of the federal Fostering Connections Act. Information gathered during interviews with 727 youths who were an average of 17 years old at the time, offers insight into the needs and aspirations of transition-age foster youth. Study findings can help inform efforts to improve policies and services for foster youths’ transitioning to adulthood.
Download the Findings from the California Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study (CalYOUTH): Conditions of Foster Youth at Age 17 by Mark E. Courtney, Pajarita Charles, Nathanael J. Okpych, Laura Napolitano, and Katherine Halsted.
Download the Executive Summary of the Findings from the California Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study (CalYOUTH): Executive Summary. Conditions of Foster Youth at Age 17 by Mark E. Courtney, Pajarita Charles, Nathanael J. Okpych, Laura Napolitano and Katherine Halsted.
Longitudinal Youth Study – Youth Report (Age 19)
The CalYOUTH Wave 2 Youth Survey, conducted when the young people participating in CalYOUTH were 19 years old, follows up on a survey of the same young people when they were approaching the age of majority in California’s foster care system. More than 80 percent of the youth who took part in the baseline interviews participated in the Wave 2 survey. The report provides the most comprehensive view to date of young adults making the transition to adulthood from foster care in California, highlighting differences between young people participating in extended foster care and young people who had left care. The report provides feedback for all parties interested in improving youth’s transitions from foster care to adulthood.
Download the Findings from the California Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study (CalYOUTH): Conditions of Foster Youth at Age 19 by Mark E. Courtney, Nathanael J. Okpych, Pajarita Charles, Dominique Mikell, Brooke Stevenson, Keunhye Park, Brittani Kindle, Justin Harty, and Huiling Feng.
Youth Report (Age 19): Los Angeles County
The CalYOUTH Wave 2 Los Angeles County Report presents findings from the CalYOUTH Wave 2 Youth Survey, focusing on just study participants in Los Angeles County. Of all of the counties in California, Los Angeles County has the greatest number of children in foster care. In January 2017, almost one-third of young people in foster care between the ages of 16 and 21 were under the supervision of child welfare services in Los Angeles County (Webster et al., 2017). Since child welfare services are administered at the county level in California, studying Los Angeles provides an important perspective on one of the largest foster care jurisdictions in the nation. This report provides feedback for all parties interested in improving youth’s transitions from foster care to adulthood.
Download the Findings from the California Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study (CalYOUTH): Conditions of Youth at Age 19: Los Angeles County Report by Mark E. Courtney, Justin Harty, Brittani Kindle, Kristin Dennis, Nathanael J. Okpych, and Adrianna Torres García.
CHILD WELFARE WORKER SURVEYS
First Child Welfare Worker Survey
This report presents findings from the Child Welfare Worker Survey, an on-line survey of 235 California child welfare workers and their perceptions of key characteristics of the service delivery context of extended foster care, including: the availability of transitional living services; coordination between the child welfare system and other service systems such as county courts; and youth attitudes toward extended care. This report provides a valuable snapshot of how youths’ caseworkers, central players in the implementation of extended foster care, perceive young people making the transition to adulthood out of care and the service context for that transition.
Download the California Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study (CalYOUTH): Early Findings from the Child Welfare Worker Survey by Mark E. Courtney, Pajarita Charles, Nathanael J. Okpych, and Katherine Halsted.
Second Child Welfare Worker Survey
This report presents the results of the CalYOUTH Survey of Young Adults’ Child Welfare Workers, a survey of case workers supervising youth in extended foster care who are participating in the CalYOUTH Youth Survey. The report shares the county child welfare workers’ views on how these young people are faring with the transition to adulthood, as well as their preparedness and service needs in a wide range of areas. The report also shares workers’ perceptions of the availability and helpfulness of services within their county, their perceptions of court personnel’s supportiveness of extended care, their satisfaction with collaboration with other systems of potential support for youth, and their views of challenges to effective implementation of extended foster care in California. The survey results highlight areas of progress and opportunities for continued improvement as California continues its development of foster care for young adults.
Download the CalYOUTH Survey of Young Adults’ Child Welfare Workers by Mark E. Courtney, Nathanael J. Okpych, Dominique Mikell, Brooke Stevenson, Keunhye Park, Justin Harty, Huiling Feng, and Brittani Kindle.
BRIEFS, SPECIAL REPORTS, AND STATE ADMINISTRATIVE DATA ANALYSES
Youth and Caseworker Perspectives on Youths’ Education Status and Services (Age 17/18)
This paper examines the educational status of and services available to older adolescents in foster care in California, both from the viewpoint of the young people themselves and from the viewpoint of caseworkers who work with foster youth. Three specific areas are examined in the paper: the educational history and status of older adolescents in care, the perception of how ready these youth are to pursue their educational goals, and the availability and helpfulness of education-related services. This paper provides a statewide picture of older adolescents in foster care and caseworkers who serve this population. The findings point to progress that youth have made in completing their education; gaps between youths’ aspirations, their current level of preparedness, and caseworkers’ perceptions of their readiness to continue their education; and the critical role extended foster care is perceived to play in the educational futures of foster youth.
Download the Youth and Caseworker Perspectives on Older Adolescents in California Foster Care: Youths’ Education Status and Services by Nathanael J. Okpych, Mark E. Courtney, and Pajarita Charles.
Mental Health and Substance Use Problems and Service Utilization by Transition-Age Foster Youth: Early Findings from CalYOUTH
This discussion paper examines mental health and substance use disorders, as well as related treatment services, among foster care youth participating in the CalYOUTH Study. The prevalence of and receipt of services for mental health and substance use disorders are described, as well as the use of psychotropic medications and youths’ experiences with those medications. We then examine factors associated with service receipt for mental health and substance use disorders. Results suggest that the need for treatment services is strongly associated with their use, as are other factors including gender, sexual orientation, and where youth live. These findings have implications for the delivery of mental and behavioral health services to transition-age foster care youth in California, as well as other states providing extended foster care services to young people involved in the foster care system.
Download the Mental Health and Substance Use Problems and Service Utilization by Transition-Age Foster Youth: Early Findings from CalYOUTH by Mark E. Courtney and Pajarita Charles.
Early Findings on Extended Foster Care and Legal Permanency
In light of recent concern raised about the potentially negative effect that the policy of extended care might have on older youths’ exits from care via legal permanency (i.e., family reunification, adoption, and guardianship), this memo provides an early look at the relationship between extended foster care in California and the ways that older adolescents exit care in the state. We compare foster care exits at two time points: exits in the years shortly before extended care was implemented in California versus exits in the years immediately after implementation. We find some evidence that, in the extended care era, fewer older adolescents are exiting care before their 18th birthday than before the law was implemented. However, rather than being the result of a reduction in exits to legal permanency, this shift has more to do with an increase in the likelihood that youth will remain in care rather than emancipate prior to age 18, run away from care, or experience other unwanted exits.
Download the Memo from CalYOUTH: Early Findings on Extended Foster Care and Legal Permanency Brief by Mark E. Courtney and Nathanael J. Okpych.
Youth (Age 17) and Caseworker Perspectives on Extended Foster Care in California
This paper examines the educational status of and services available to older adolescents in foster care in California, both from the viewpoint of the young people themselves and from the viewpoint of caseworkers who work with foster youth. Three specific areas are examined in the paper: the educational history and status of older adolescents in care, the perception of how ready these youth are to pursue their educational goals, and the availability and helpfulness of education-related services. This paper provides a statewide picture of older adolescents in foster care and caseworkers who serve this population. The findings point to progress that youth have made in completing their education; gaps between youths’ aspirations, their current level of preparedness, and caseworkers’ perceptions of their readiness to continue their education; and the critical role extended foster care is perceived to play in the educational futures of foster youth.
Download the Extended Foster Care in California: Youth and Caseworker Perspectives report by Laura Napolitano, Yafit Sulimani-Aidan, and Mark E. Courtney.
Early Findings on the Relationship between Extended Foster Care and Youths’ Outcomes at Age 19
This brief provides an early look at the relationship between extended foster care and selected outcomes for youth transitioning to adulthood from care in California. Examining outcomes observed when young people participating in the California Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study (CalYOUTH) were nineteen years old, the authors find evidence that remaining in extended care is associated with a number of benefits for young adults, particularly in the areas of education, economic well- being, and criminal justice system involvement. Importantly, the authors found no evidence that remaining in care increases the risk of poor outcomes for youth transitioning to adulthood from the foster care system.
Download the Memo from CalYOUTH: Early Findings on the Relationship between Extended Foster Care and Youths’ Outcomes at Age 19 by Mark E. Courtney and Nathanael J. Okpych.
Factors Associated With Youth Remaining in Foster Care as Young Adults
Leveraging youth survey data and administrative data, this memo investigates youth- and system-level factors associated with the length of time that foster youth in California remain in out-of-home care after their 18th birthday. Understanding factors associated with youths’ extended foster care (EFC) participation is important, not only for predicting future demands for the program, but also for identifying subgroups that may be excluded from extended care. We find that youth characteristics are associated with youths’ stays in care past their 18th birthday, but the change in state policy that occurred in 2012 and between-county variation in participation in EFC play much larger roles.
Download the Memo from CalYOUTH: Factors Associated with Youth Remaining in Foster Care as Young Adults by Mark E. Courtney, Sunggeun (Ethan) Park, and Nathanael J. Okpych.
Predictors of High School Completion and College Entry at Ages 19/20
This Memo builds on past studies by examining a wide range of factors that influence educational attainment of foster youth at age 19/20. We first investigate predictors of high school credential completion by age 19 among CalYOUTH participants who had not yet completed a high school credential at the time of their baseline interview. We then examine predictors of college entry among all CalYOUTH participants, drawing on college records that were obtained from the National Student Clearinghouse when youth were 20 years old. We find that past academic difficulties impede educational attainment, as do certain aspects of youths’ foster care histories, behavioral health problems, and early parenthood. Conversely, the amount of time youth spent in care past age 18 is positively associated with finishing high school and entering college, but these findings should be interpreted cautiously since making educational progress fulfills eligibility requirements of extended foster care.
Download the Memo from CalYOUTH: Predictors of High School Completion and College Entry at Ages 19/20 by Nathanael J. Okpych, Mark E. Courtney, and Kristin Dennis.
Use of Psychotropic Medications at Ages 17 and 19
In this memo, we explore the use of and experiences with psychotropic medications over time for California foster youth transitioning to adulthood. We also examine how psychotropic drug use differs for youth who have different types of behavioral health problems. This memo draws on information collected from two interview waves of the CalYOUTH study. Among CalYOUTH participants, 27 percent of 17-year-olds indicated that they had used medication for their emotions in the past year. When looking at prevalence rates by subgroups (gender, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation), sexual minority youths were more likely than their sexual majority counterparts to have behavioral health problems, to use psychotropic medications, and to receive psychological or emotional counseling. Our findings show notable changes in overall rates
of behavioral health problems and medication use from age 17 to age 19. Among all respondents, both prevalence rates of behavioral health problems and psychotropic medication use dropped from age 17 to age 19. Among youths with a behavioral health problem, the rate of medication use also declined significantly from age 17 to age 19. In terms of medication experiences, overall our findings suggest that most youths had favorable or neutral views about the effects of their psychotropic medications.
Download The Use of Psychotropic Medications over Time among Foster Youth Transitioning to Adulthood by Keunhye Park, Nathanael J. Okpych, and Mark E. Courtney.
LINKS TO REPORTS AND PUBLICATIONS
Legislative History Report
Implementation Report
Qualitative Study Report
Youth Report (Age 17)
Youth Report (Age 17): Executive Summary
Youth Report (Age 19)
Youth Report (Age 19): Los Angeles County
First Child Welfare Worker Survey
Second Child Welfare Worker Survey
Youth and Caseworker Perspectives on Youths’ Education Status and Services (Age 17/18)
Mental Health and Substance Use Problems and Service Utilization by Transition-Age Foster Youth (Age 17)
Early Findings on Extended Foster Care and Legal Permanency
Youth (Age 17) and Caseworker Perspectives on Extended Foster Care in California
Early Findings on the Relationship between Extended Foster Care and Youths’ Outcomes at Age 19
Factors Associated with Youth Remaining in Foster Care as Young Adults
Predictors of High School Completion and College Entry at Ages 19/20
Use of Psychotropic Medications at Ages 17 and 19