Felonious Arrests of Former Foster Care and TANF-Involved Youth

Abstract

Income assistance programs (e.g., Temporary Assistance to Needy Families; TANF) and child welfare service (CWS) programs have implicit intentions to prepare children for an adulthood that is free from serious criminal activity. This cross-sectional study compares the felonious arrests as adults of youth who were involved with TANF (n = 6,596) with those who were involved with CWS (n = 1316). In the CWS population, we compare youth who emancipated from foster care (n = 841), those who reunified (n =278), and those with other exits (n = 197). Outcomes of interest include the severity of the felony an individual was charged with as an adult as well as the hazard of being arrested after age 16 years. Findings show that as adults, TANF-involved youth are less likely than former foster youth to be charged with a felony; moreover, when former TANF youth are charged with felonies as adults, the felonies are less severe than felony charges incurred by former foster youth. Overall, as young adults, males and African American youth are not only more likely to be charged with felonies than other race youth or females but also are more likely to be charged with felonies of higher severity ratings than other race youth or females. Entering foster care as an adolescent and having multiple placements in care are associated with poorer outcomes in adulthood. However, youth who remain in foster care longer are less likely to be charged with a felony. The study confirms earlier work on adverse criminal justice-related outcomes for former foster youth and clarifies the need for specific interventions to reduce subsequent criminal involvement.