RESUMEN

The purpose of the study was to conduct a preliminary efficacy evaluation of the Better Futures model, which is focused on improving the postsecondary preparation and participation of youth in foster care with mental health challenges. Sixty-seven youth were randomized to either a control group that received typical services or an intervention group, which involved participation in a Summer Institute, individual peer coaching, and mentoring workshops. Findings indicate significant gains for the intervention group on measures of postsecondary participation, postsecondary and transition preparation, hope, self-determination, and mental health empowerment, as compared to the control group. Youth in the intervention group also showed positive trends in the areas of mental health recovery, quality of life, and high school completion. Implications for future research and practice are discussed, while emphasizing the capacities of youth in foster care with mental health conditions to successfully prepare for and participate fully in high education.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Efforts to evaluate foster care outcomes must avoid systematic exclusion of particular groups. Although often unrecognized as such, youth with disabilities are highly overrepresented in the U.S. foster care system, and yet youth with some disabilities, including those with intellectual, serious emotional, and physical impairments may be underrepresented in research and evaluation studies evaluating foster care outcomes. The recruitment and retention of youth with various disabilities in such studies can be impeded by under-identification of disability and relatively high placement and school mobility. Furthermore, youth with various disabilities may experience more disappointing outcomes than foster youth overall, underscoring the importance of including these youth in outcome tracking efforts. This is especially relevant given the recent implementation of the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD), which requires that state child welfare agencies gather baseline information about youth in foster care at age 17, and then survey outcomes at 19 and 21. To promote the full participation of foster youth with disabilities in such outcome evaluation, this paper describes successful strategies for identifying and retaining participants that were used in three separate longitudinal intervention studies. These strategies include the systematic recruitment of foster youth by special education status, and creative use of validated tracking and retention strategies incorporating minor accommodations as needed.

RESUMEN

The aim of the study was to examine the experience of restrictiveness among transition-aged youth with disabilities in foster care. Utilizing a sample of 207 youth, placement types were explored for differences in disability status, race and sex. Further, youth perceptions of restriction around communication, movement around one's home, and access to the community were examined for youth receiving special education services (SPED), youth receiving developmental disability services (DD), and youth without disabilities. Youth with disabilities were more likely to be placed in more restrictive placement types and had significantly higher levels of perceived restriction around communication, movement, and community when compared to youth without disabilities. Additionally, males with disabilities experienced higher levels of restrictiveness, particularly those who received DD services, while White youth with disabilities also experienced greater community restrictiveness.