Extended foster care support during the transition to adulthood: Effect on the risk of arrest

Abstract

Youth aging out of the foster care system are at high risk for adult arrests, but providing extended foster care support during the early years of their transition from adolescence to independent adulthood may reduce this risk. This study used survey data from the Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth (N=732) matched with official arrest data to estimate the potential benefit of providing extended foster care support in reducing the risk of arrest in the early transition period. In addition, other factors related to the risk of arrest for these former foster youth were explored. Event history modeling techniques were used to estimate the impact of extended care on the risk of a first adult arrest. Models were estimated for men and women separately, and for all non-procedural arrests and violent arrests only. Extended care is associated with a lower risk of arrest in the first year, but appears to have a declining effect over time.