From care to education and employment: A meta-analysis

Abstract

This study aimed to review and analyze the pathways from care to education and employment, using meta-analysis. Ten meta-analyses were conducted, five to examine the association of placement stability, race, mentoring, gender and education with employment outcomes; and five to examine the association of placement stability, race, mentoring, gender and maltreatment with education outcomes. A systematic literature search in five data bases (PubMed, PsycINFO, ProQuest and Web of Science) identified 12 publications with employment outcomes for youth out of care (N = 9392) and 12 publications with education outcomes (N = 6781). Being a girl and having a high school diploma were found to be related to higher odds of employment. However, no significant overall effects for employment outcomes were found for placement stability, race and mentoring. As regards to education outcomes, meta-analytic results indicated that placement stability is linked with a higher probability of having a high school diploma. The other meta-analyses pointed out the nonexistence of significant differences of educational level considering the variables race, gender, mentoring and type of maltreatment. This study indicated that placement instability in might be where the problem of achieving improvements in care leavers' education and employability actually lies. Limitations, such as sample size and a bias regarding the origin of the studies included, should be considered in interpreting results. Research on factors influencing the trajectories of young people leaving care is still limited, therefore, it is important that more effective studies will be conducted to draw valid conclusions for different child welfare contexts and countries.