Death rates among California's foster care and former foster care populations

Abstract

Crude death rates are computed for 690 children who died while in foster care in California during 1988 to 1994. These death rates are compared to those for the general population of children in California, as well as for 321 former foster care children who were in care during the same time period and died after being released (and prior to age 19). While death rates of children in foster care during the study period were generally higher than those for the general population during the same period, breakdowns by age, race/ethnicity, cause of death, and type of care reveal important exceptions. Caucasian and Hispanic children in foster care have higher rates of death than their counterparts in the general population, whereas African American foster children experience comparable rates relative to African American children in the general population. Postneonates in foster care have higher rates of death relative to postneonates in the general population. Foster care children aged 1 through 9 years have higher rates of death regardless of race/ethnicity, while older children aged 10 through 18 have comparable rates of death relative to non-foster children. Regarding cause of death, foster children experience higher mortality rates (relative to the general population) due to natural causes, “ill-defined conditions” and SIDS, and violent deaths, while former foster children experience high rates of death from violent causes. African Americans in foster care have lower rates of death from preventable causes, while Hispanic and Caucasian children have comparable rates of death for these causes compared with the general population. Lastly, both current and former foster children entering care for reasons of neglect have higher mortality rates than the general population of children for preventable, congenital/perinatal, and natural deaths. Interpretation of the findings is complicated because children in foster care constitute a more fragile and impoverished population than the general population of children.