Thursday, November 11, 2011
Posted on November 10, 2011 at Philanthropy News Digest
Youth in Foster Care, Juvenile Justice Systems Struggle After Age 18, Report Finds
Youth in foster care and on probation in Los Angeles County are faring poorly under the current system and face severe challenges in education, employment, health, mental health, and earnings potential, a study funded by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation finds.
Led by Dennis P. Culhane, a professor of social policy at the University of Pennsylvania, the study, Young Adult Outcomes of Youth Exiting Dependent or Delinquent Care in Los Angeles County (125 pages, PDF), examined youth in foster care or on probation in L.A. County in 2002 or 2004 and linked them to records of public service usage from 2005 to 2009 across seven county departments and two state agencies. The report found that "crossover" youth — those who were involved in both the foster care and juvenile justice systems — averaged almost three times the per-person cost in terms of public service dollars as youth only in foster care. According to the foundation, the study underscores the importance of a new state policy that allows young adults to remain in foster care until age 21; foster care benefits for California youth currently expire at 18.
(Read the full article.)
Monday August 29, 2011
A Better Start: Clearing Up Credit Records for California Foster Children
Published by the California Office of Privacy Protection
Children make attractive targets for identity thieves, because the crime is usually not discovered for many years, giving thieves years of unobserved use of the stolen identities. Foster children may be particularly vulnerable – the children and their sensitive information pass through many hands. And a newly emancipated foster child usually faces the daunting task of dealing with the results of the crime alone, without a family safety net to help. (more...)
Wednesday June 1, 2011
From the Brookings Institute
CCF Briefs | Number 43
Children & Families, U.S. Economy, U.S. Poverty
Nicholas Zill, independent consultant
The Brookings Institution
May 2011 —
Abstract
In the current era of massive deficits, federal, state and local government agencies are seeking ways to lower expenditures and still maintain essential services. Child welfare programs represent an area where significant savings could be achieved while actually improving the life circumstances of the young people affected. The way this could be accomplished is by increasing the number of children and youth who are adopted out of foster care. Findings from a recent national survey of child health provide new evidence that adoption can save the public money while improving the life prospects of youngsters who have been maltreated in their early years.
Download the full report