IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/cysrev/v31y2009i12p1298-1306.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Predictors of running away from out-of-home care

Author

Listed:
  • Courtney, Mark E.
  • Zinn, Andrew

Abstract

This study examines the frequency and predictors of youth running away from foster care in Illinois. Using data from the state's child welfare management information system and Medicaid paid claims data, study analyses focus on 14,282 children and youth who ran away from care at least once between 1993 and 2003. The likelihood that youths in care would run nearly doubled over the study period, driven largely by an increase over time in the likelihood that youths who had run once would run again. Child age, gender, race/ethnicity, disability, and diagnosed mental health and substance use disorders all predicted running from care. System-level factors including placement type, number of prior placements, prior runaway history, and administrative region were also found to predict running away. Implications of the study findings for child welfare policy and practice are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Courtney, Mark E. & Zinn, Andrew, 2009. "Predictors of running away from out-of-home care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(12), pages 1298-1306, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:31:y:2009:i:12:p:1298-1306
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190-7409(09)00155-8
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Herman, D.B. & Susser, E.S. & Struening, E.L., 1994. "Childhood out-of-home care and current depressive symptoms among homeless adults," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 84(11), pages 1849-1851.
    2. Fasulo, Samuel J. & Cross, Theodore P. & Mosley, Peggy & Leavey, Joseph, 2002. "Adolescent Runaway Behavior in Specialized Foster Care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(8), pages 623-640, August.
    3. Courtney, Mark E. & Yin-Ling Irene Wong, 1996. "Comparing the timing of exits from substitute care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(4-5), pages 307-334.
    4. Koegel, P. & Melamid, E. & Burnam, M.A., 1995. "Childhood risk factors for homelessness among homeless adults," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 85(12), pages 1642-1649.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bezeczky, Zoe & Wilkins, David, 2022. "Repeat missing child reports: Prevalence, timing, and risk factors," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    2. Wulczyn, Fred, 2020. "Race/ethnicity and running away from foster care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    3. Sarri, Rosemary C. & Stoffregen, Elizabeth & Ryan, Joseph P., 2016. "Running away from child welfare placements: Justice system entry risk," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 191-197.
    4. Attar-Schwartz, Shalhevet, 2013. "Runaway behavior among adolescents in residential care: The role of personal characteristics, victimization experiences while in care, social climate, and institutional factors," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 258-267.
    5. Welch, Vicki & Jones, Christine & Stalker, Kirsten & Stewart, Alasdair, 2015. "Permanence for disabled children and young people through foster care and adoption: A selective review of international literature," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 137-146.
    6. King, Bryn & Fallon, Barbara & Filippelli, Joanne & Black, Tara & O'Connor, Carolyn, 2018. "Troubled teens and challenged caregivers: Characteristics associated with the decision to provide child welfare services to adolescents in Ontario, Canada," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 205-215.
    7. Latzman, Natasha E. & Gibbs, Deborah A. & Feinberg, Rose & Kluckman, Marianne N. & Aboul-Hosn, Sue, 2019. "Human trafficking victimization among youth who run away from foster care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 113-124.
    8. Bowden, Francesca & Lambie, Ian & Willis, Gwen, 2018. "Road runners: Why youth abscond from out-of-home care in New Zealand," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 535-544.
    9. Leenarts, Laura E.W. & Hoeve, Machteld & Van de Ven, Peter M. & Lodewijks, Henny P.B. & Doreleijers, Theo A.H., 2013. "Childhood maltreatment and motivation for treatment in girls in compulsory residential care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 1041-1047.
    10. O'Brien, Jennifer & Finkelhor, David & Jones, Lisa, 2022. "Improving services for youth survivors of commercial sexual exploitation: Insights from interventions with other high-risk youth," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    11. King, Bryn & Putnam-Hornstein, Emily & Cederbaum, Julie A. & Needell, Barbara, 2014. "A cross-sectional examination of birth rates among adolescent girls in foster care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 179-186.
    12. Chor, Ka Ho Brian & Luo, Zhidi & Dworsky, Amy & Raman, Rameela & Courtney, Mark E. & Epstein, Richard A., 2022. "Development and validation of a predictive risk model for runaway among youth in child welfare," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wulczyn, Fred, 2020. "Race/ethnicity and running away from foster care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    2. Attar-Schwartz, Shalhevet, 2013. "Runaway behavior among adolescents in residential care: The role of personal characteristics, victimization experiences while in care, social climate, and institutional factors," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 258-267.
    3. Lin, Ching-Hsuan, 2012. "Children who run away from foster care: Who are the children and what are the risk factors?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 807-813.
    4. Min Park, Jung & Metraux, Stephen & Culhane, Dennis P., 2005. "Childhood out-of-home placement and dynamics of public shelter utilization among young homeless adults," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 533-546, May.
    5. Bowden, Francesca & Lambie, Ian & Willis, Gwen, 2018. "Road runners: Why youth abscond from out-of-home care in New Zealand," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 535-544.
    6. Chor, Ka Ho Brian & Luo, Zhidi & Dworsky, Amy & Raman, Rameela & Courtney, Mark E. & Epstein, Richard A., 2022. "Development and validation of a predictive risk model for runaway among youth in child welfare," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    7. Sarri, Rosemary C. & Stoffregen, Elizabeth & Ryan, Joseph P., 2016. "Running away from child welfare placements: Justice system entry risk," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 191-197.
    8. Keegan Eamon, Mary & Kopels, Sandra, 2004. "`For reasons of poverty': court challenges to child welfare practices and mandated programs," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(9), pages 821-836, September.
    9. Foster, E. Michael & Hillemeier, Marianne M. & Bai, Yu, 2011. "Explaining the disparity in placement instability among African-American and white children in child welfare: A Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 118-125, January.
    10. Elgin, Dallas J., 2018. "Utilizing predictive modeling to enhance policy and practice through improved identification of at-risk clients: Predicting permanency for foster children," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 156-167.
    11. Flouri, Eirini & Buchanan, Ann, 2004. "Childhood families of homeless and poor adults in Britain: A prospective study," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 1-14, February.
    12. Timothy M. Diette & David C. Ribar, 2018. "A Longitudinal Analysis Of Violence And Housing Insecurity," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(3), pages 1602-1621, July.
    13. Lin, Ching-Hsuan, 2014. "Evaluating Services for Kinship Care Families: A Systematic Review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 32-41.
    14. Akin, Becci A., 2011. "Predictors of foster care exits to permanency: A competing risks analysis of reunification, guardianship, and adoption," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 999-1011, June.
    15. Garcia, Antonio R. & Circo, Elizabeth & DeNard, Christina & Hernandez, Natalie, 2015. "Barriers and facilitators to delivering effective mental health practice strategies for youth and families served by the child welfare system," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 110-122.
    16. Latzman, Natasha E. & Gibbs, Deborah A. & Feinberg, Rose & Kluckman, Marianne N. & Aboul-Hosn, Sue, 2019. "Human trafficking victimization among youth who run away from foster care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 113-124.
    17. Silver, Ian A. & Lonergan, Holly & Nedelec, Joseph L., 2022. "On the selection of variables in criminology: Adjusting for the descendants of unobserved confounders," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    18. Cepukiene, Viktorija & Pakrosnis, Rytis, 2011. "The outcome of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy among foster care adolescents: The changes of behavior and perceived somatic and cognitive difficulties," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 791-797, June.
    19. Zinn, Andrew, 2012. "Kinship foster family type and placement discharge outcomes," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 602-614.
    20. Lars Benjaminsen, 2016. "Homelessness in a Scandinavian welfare state: The risk of shelter use in the Danish adult population," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 53(10), pages 2041-2063, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:31:y:2009:i:12:p:1298-1306. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.