How do Youth Aging Out of Care Compare with Their Peers?
This issue brief presents data on offending and justice system involvement during the early transition to adulthood in a sample of young people aging out of foster care and nationally representative samples of same-aged peers. In particular, two issues are addressed: 1) how criminal behavior among youth in out-of-home care compares to that of youth more generally during the early transition to adulthood and 2) whether offending declines during this time among foster youth. Data come from The Midwest Study of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth, which is a longitudinal study of youth placed in out-of-home care due to abuse and/or neglect across three Midwestern states. The issue brief compared self-reported offending and arrests among these youth to samples of youth from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health study. Accounting for racial differences between the samples, the report found that youth aging out of care had higher rates of offending across a range of behaviors from property crimes to serious violent crimes. Chapin Hall found fewer differences in offending between the samples at age 19, although foster youth were more likely to report damaging property, stealing something worth more than $50, participating in a group fight, and pulling a knife or gun on someone. In addition, a higher percentage of foster youth reported having histories of arrest. These differences were true for both males and females. Although offending by foster youth is generally higher than youth more generally, the report found significant declines in most criminal behaviors over time.
