IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/cysrev/v55y2015icp222-231.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Experiences and needs of homeless youth with a history of foster care

Author

Listed:
  • Bender, Kimberly
  • Yang, Jessica
  • Ferguson, Kristin
  • Thompson, Sanna

Abstract

Youth exiting the foster care system through emancipation are at an increased risk for homelessness and adverse social, health, and financial outcomes. However, because youth exiting foster care are difficult to locate once homeless, few studies have examined their needs and experiences on the streets. Quantitative interviews were conducted in a large multi-site pilot study of youth (N=601) seeking homeless services in Denver (n=201), Austin (n=200) and Los Angeles (n=200). Over one-third of the sample (n=221) included youth who reported a history of foster care involvement. The study aimed to 1) describe youth with a history of foster care in terms of their homeless contexts (primary living situations, time homeless, peer substance use, transience, and victimization) and areas of need (education, income generation, mental health, and substance use); 2) determine how homeless youth with foster care history differ from their non-foster care homeless counterparts; and 3) identify factors associated with longer duration of homelessness among youth with a history of foster care. Findings suggest that youth with a history of foster care were generally living in precarious situations, characterized as dangerous and unstable, and they had significant needs in regards to education, income generation, mental health, and substance use treatment. Although few differences were observed between youth who reported a history of foster care and those who did not, foster youth reported greater childhood maltreatment and longer duration of homelessness. Foster care youth who reported greater transience and childhood physical neglect, as well as those who were living with relatives, friends, foster parents, or in facilities in the 6months preceding the interview reported a longer duration of homelessness. Implications are discussed for child welfare and homeless youth service organizations regarding the unique needs of foster care youth who become homeless.

Suggested Citation

  • Bender, Kimberly & Yang, Jessica & Ferguson, Kristin & Thompson, Sanna, 2015. "Experiences and needs of homeless youth with a history of foster care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 222-231.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:55:y:2015:i:c:p:222-231
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.06.007
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740915001905
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.06.007?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    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. Dachner, Naomi & Tarasuk, Valerie, 2002. "Homeless "squeegee kids": Food insecurity and daily survival," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 54(7), pages 1039-1049, April.
    2. Zlotnick, C. & Tam, T.W. & Soman, L.A., 2012. "Life course outcomes on mental and physical health: The impact of foster care on adulthood," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 102(3), pages 534-540.
    3. Tyler, Kimberly A. & Schmitz, Rachel M., 2013. "Family histories and multiple transitions among homeless young adults: Pathways to homelessness," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(10), pages 1719-1726.
    4. Slesnick, Natasha & Dashora, Pushpanjali & Letcher, Amber & Erdem, Gizem & Serovich, Julianne, 2009. "A review of services and interventions for runaway and homeless youth: Moving forward," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(7), pages 732-742, July.
    5. Berzin, Stephanie Cosner & Rhodes, Alison M. & Curtis, Marah A., 2011. "Housing experiences of former foster youth: How do they fare in comparison to other youth?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(11), pages 2119-2126.
    6. Collins, Mary Elizabeth, 2004. "Enhancing services to youths leaving foster care: Analysis of recent legislation and its potential impact," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(11), pages 1051-1065, November.
    7. Samuels, Gina Miranda & Pryce, Julia M., 2008. ""What doesn't kill you makes you stronger": Survivalist self-reliance as resilience and risk among young adults aging out of foster care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(10), pages 1198-1210, October.
    8. Dworsky, Amy, 2005. "The economic self-sufficiency of Wisconsin's former foster youth," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(10), pages 1085-1118, October.
    9. Vacca, James S., 2008. "Foster children need more help after they reach the age of eighteen," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 485-492, May.
    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. Gunawardena, Nathali & Stich, Christine, 2021. "Interventions for young people aging out of the child welfare system: A systematic literature review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    2. Narendorf, Sarah Carter & Bowen, Elizabeth & Santa Maria, Diane & Thibaudeau, Eva, 2018. "Risk and resilience among young adults experiencing homelessness: A typology for service planning," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 157-165.
    3. Reynolds, Andrew D. & Hasson, Robert G. & Crea, Thomas M., 2018. "Testing the ‘overburdening’ hypothesis: Do work and school attendance together place youth transitioning from care at risk for negative housing outcomes?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 279-286.
    4. Heyman, Janna C. & White-Ryan, Linda & Kelly, Peggy & Farmer, G. Lawrence & Leaman, Tara Linh & Davis, Henry J., 2020. "Voices about foster care: The value of trust," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    5. Narendorf, Sarah C. & Brydon, Daphne M. & Santa Maria, Diane & Bender, Kimberly & Ferguson, Kristin M. & Hsu, Hsun-Ta & Barman-Adhikari, Anamika & Shelton, Jama & Petering, Robin, 2020. "System involvement among young adults experiencing homelessness: Characteristics of four system-involved subgroups and relationship to risk outcomes," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    6. Bonakdar, Ahmad & Gaetz, Stephen & Banchani, Emmanuel & Schwan, Kaitlin & Kidd, Sean A. & O'Grady, Bill, 2023. "Child protection services and youth experiencing homelessness: Findings of the 2019 national youth homelessness survey in Canada," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    7. Kelly, Peggy, 2020. "Risk and protective factors contributing to homelessness among foster care youth: An analysis of the National Youth in Transition Database," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    8. Villagrana, Margarita & Guillen, Cindy & Macedo, Vanessa & Lee, Sei-Young, 2018. "Perceived self-stigma in the utilization of mental health services in foster care and post foster care among foster care alumni," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 26-34.
    9. Semanchin Jones, Annette & Bowen, Elizabeth & Ball, Annahita, 2018. "“School definitely failed me, the system failed me”: Identifying opportunities to impact educational outcomes for homeless and child welfare-involved youth," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 66-76.
    10. Lindner, Abigail Rose & Hanlon, Ryan, 2024. "Outcomes of youth with foster care experiences based on permanency outcome – Adoption, aging out, long-term foster care, and reunification: A systematic review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    11. Power, Luke & Hardy, Mark, 2024. "Predictors of care leavers’ health outcomes: A scoping review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    12. Elise Barboza, Gia & Valentine, Romello, 2022. "A network analysis of post-traumatic stress among youth aging out of the foster care system," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    13. Villagrana, Kalah M. & Mody, Elizabeth H. & Lawler, Siobhan M. & Wu, Qi & Ferguson, Kristin M., 2020. "Educational outcomes for homeless young adults with and without a history in foster care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    14. Woodgate, Roberta L. & Morakinyo, Oluwatobiloba & Martin, Katrina M., 2017. "Interventions for youth aging out of care: A scoping review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 280-300.
    15. Ryan Cooper & Joseph Doyle & Andres Hojman, 2023. "Legal aid in child welfare: Evidence from a randomized trial of Mi Abogado," POID Working Papers 077, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    16. Eric R. Wright & Ana LaBoy & Kara Tsukerman & Nicholas Forge & Erin Ruel & Renee Shelby & Madison Higbee & Zoe Webb & Melanie Turner-Harper & Asantewaa Darkwa & Cody Wallace, 2021. "The Prevalence and Correlates of Labor and Sex Trafficking in a Community Sample of Youth Experiencing Homelessness in Metro-Atlanta," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-16, January.

    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. Heyman, Janna C. & White-Ryan, Linda & Kelly, Peggy & Farmer, G. Lawrence & Leaman, Tara Linh & Davis, Henry J., 2020. "Voices about foster care: The value of trust," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    2. Kelly, Peggy, 2020. "Risk and protective factors contributing to homelessness among foster care youth: An analysis of the National Youth in Transition Database," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    3. Schelbe, Lisa, 2018. "Struggles, successes, and setbacks: Youth aging out of child welfare in a subsidized housing program," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 298-308.
    4. Havlicek, Judy & Lin, Ching-Hsuan & Villalpando, Fabiola, 2016. "Web survey of foster youth advisory boards in the United States," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 109-118.
    5. Singer, Erin Rebecca & Berzin, Stephanie Cosner & Hokanson, Kim, 2013. "Voices of former foster youth: Supportive relationships in the transition to adulthood," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 2110-2117.
    6. Rosenberg, Rachel, 2019. "Social networks of youth transitioning from foster care to adulthood," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    7. Brown, Delphine, 2023. "Childhood experiences, growing up “in care,” and trust: A quantitative analysis," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    8. Blakeslee, Jennifer E., 2015. "Measuring the support networks of transition-age foster youth: Preliminary validation of a social network assessment for research and practice," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 123-134.
    9. Havlicek, Judy & Curry, Ashley & Villalpando, Fabiola, 2018. "Youth participation in foster youth advisory boards: Perspectives of facilitators," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 255-270.
    10. Havlicek, Judy & Lin, Ching-Hsuan & Braun, Michael T., 2016. "Cultivating youth voice through participation in a Foster youth advisory board: Perspectives of facilitators," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 1-10.
    11. Woodgate, Roberta L. & Morakinyo, Oluwatobiloba & Martin, Katrina M., 2017. "Interventions for youth aging out of care: A scoping review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 280-300.
    12. Brothers, Sarah & Lin, Jess & Schonberg, Jeffrey & Drew, Corey & Auerswald, Colette, 2020. "Food insecurity among formerly homeless youth in supportive housing: A social-ecological analysis of a structural intervention," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    13. Gypen, Laura & Vanderfaeillie, Johan & De Maeyer, Skrallan & Belenger, Laurence & Van Holen, Frank, 2017. "Outcomes of children who grew up in foster care: Systematic-review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 74-83.
    14. Brown, Adam & Courtney, Mark E. & Curtis McMillen, J., 2015. "Behavioral health needs and service use among those who've aged-out of foster care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 163-169.
    15. Park, Sunggeun (Ethan) & Powers, Jenna & Okpych, Nathanael J. & Courtney, Mark E., 2020. "Predictors of foster youths’ participation in their transitional independent living plan (TILP) development: Calling for collaborative case plan decision-making processes," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    16. Curry, Susanna R., 2017. "Childhood experiences and housing insecurity in adulthood: The salience of childhood emotional abuse," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 301-309.
    17. Greeson, Johanna K.P. & Thompson, Allison E. & Ali, Samira & Wenger, Rebecca Stern, 2015. "It's good to know that you got somebody that's not going anywhere: Attitudes and beliefs of older youth in foster care about child welfare-based natural mentoring," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 140-149.
    18. Amy Dworsky & Keri-Nicole Dillman & M. Robin Dion & Brandon Coffee-Borden & Miriam Rosenau, 2012. "Housing for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care: A Review of the Literature and Program Typology," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 99170b3efe3c4d9091a187b17, Mathematica Policy Research.
    19. Simmons-Horton, Sherri Y., 2017. "Providing age-appropriate activities for youth in foster care: Policy implementation process in three states," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 383-391.
    20. Harwick, Robin M. & Lindstrom, Lauren & Unruh, Deanne, 2017. "In their own words: Overcoming barriers during the transition to adulthood for youth with disabilities who experienced foster care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 338-346.

    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:55:y:2015:i:c:p:222-231. 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.