Strategic Priority Outcome

Children who experience foster care are prepared for kindergarten at lower rates than children who do not experience foster care. Although the overall rate of kindergarten readiness has increased over the past few years, there has not been a substantial increase in kindergarten readiness for children who have experienced foster care.

READ THE ERDC REPORT ON EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE OUTCOMES FOR CHILDREN & YOUTH IN FOSTER CARE

Kindergarten Readiness by Foster Care Status, 2015-2020 School Years

 

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Kindergarten Readiness by Foster Care Status, 2015-2020 School Years

Source: Chen, V. W. and Hough, G. C. (2021) Education and Workforce Outcomes for Children and Youth in Foster Care. Olympia, WA: Education Research and Data Center, Office of Financial Management.  
Note: Kindergarten readiness is defined here as ready in 6/6 domains measured by the Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKIDS).

Kindergarten readiness is an outcome indicator for the DCYF priority to create a high-quality, integrated B-8 system. During the 2019-2020 school year, 95% of children who participated in the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) came from families that qualified for Free or Reduced Price Lunch (FRPL). Across the years, children who participate in ECEAP are prepared for kindergarten at higher rates than their FRPL-qualifying peers.

READ THE ECEAP ANNUAL REPORT

ECEAP Kindergarten Readiness by Domain, Relative to Income, School Years 2016-2019

 

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ECEAP Kindergarten Readiness by Domain, Relative to Income, School Years 2016-2019

Source: Washington State Education Research and Data Center. (September 2021). Early learning feedback reports [2016-2020]. https://erdc.wa.gov/data-dashboards/early-learning-feedback-report-0
Notes: A lower-income student means a student who qualifies for Free or Reduced Price Lunch (FRPL). Students qualify for FRPL when their parent/guardian annual income is equal to or less than 185% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). A higher-income student means a student who does not qualify for FRPL.
As a result of COVID-19 related obstacles to administering the Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKIDS), ERDC did not publish an Early Learning Feedback Report for the 2020-2021 school year.

Between 2015 and 2019, the gap between employment rates for young adults who have experienced foster care and those who have not, decreased in Washington State. During the same time period however, the gap in median earnings between the two groups widened, and that increase cannot be attributed to differences in number of hours worked. Longitudinal analysis shows that over time, the employment rate for young adults who have experienced foster care approaches the employment rate for young adults who have not, but that the gap in median earnings continues to increase.

READ THE ERDC REPORT ON EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE OUTCOMES FOR CHILDREN & YOUTH IN FOSTER CARE

Employment Among Young Adults, Age 18+, by Former Foster Status, 2015-2019

 

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Employment Among Young Adults, Age 18+, by Former Foster Status, 2015-2019

Source: Chen, V. W. and Hough, G. C. (2021) Education and Workforce Outcomes for Children and Youth in Foster Care. Olympia, WA: Education Research and Data Center, Office of Financial Management.

One of DCYF’s strategic priorities is that we create successful transitions to adulthood for youth and young adults in our care. Graduation from high school is an outcome indicator for this priority. Statewide, the 2022 four year graduating cohort included 85,240 students, 82% of whom graduated on time. In most years, an additional 2-3 percent of the class have graduated by the end of their fifth year. Among that 2022 cohort, 623 youth were indicated as having been in foster care. Youth who have not been in foster care graduated at the rate of the overall class, whereas 53% of youth who had been in foster care graduated on time. In recent years, an additional 2-10% of those youth did graduate from high school after their fifth year.

VIEW THE 2021-22 GRADUATION REPORT CARD

Employment for youth and young adults leaving residential facilities in Juvenile Rehabilitation is another outcome indicator for creating successful transitions to adulthood for youth and young adults in our care. Among young adults released in State Fiscal Year 2021, 68% found some work in the following year. Across the years, employment rates varied significantly by race and ethnicity. Asian clients had the highest rates of employment, while American Indian/Alaska Native clients had the lowest.

READ THE REPORT, EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES FOR YOUTH RELEASED FROM JUVENILE REHABILITATION

Quarters Worked First Year After Release from Juvenile Rehabilitation by Young Adults 18+ at Release, SFY 2014-2021

 

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Quarters Worked First Year After Release from Juvenile Rehabilitation by Young Adults 18+ at Release, SFY 2014-2021

Source: Goins, A. (2022). Employment outcomes for clients released from juvenile rehabilitation. Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families Office of Innovation, Alignment, and Accountability. https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/reports/EmploymentOutcomes-ReleasedJR2022.pdf
DCYF. (October 2023). Automated Client Tracking (ACT). [7/1/2022-6/30/2023]. Employment Security Department (ESD). (October 2023). [7/1/2022-6/30/2023]. 

A DCYF strategic priority is to improve the quality and availability of provider services. As an outcome indicator, we are monitoring the needs and provided treatment of children and youth in foster care. Research shows that exposure to traumatic events and chronic stress — such as poverty, housing instability, family conflict, abuse and neglect, and exposure to caregivers’ mental illness or substance use disorder — contribute to the greater behavioral health needs of children and youth experiencing out-of-home care.

READ THE REPORT FROM THE RESEARCH AND DATA ANALYSIS DIVISION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES

Needs and Treatment of Children and Youth in Foster Care, SFY 2014-2021

 

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Needs and Treatment of Children and Youth in Foster Care, SFY 2014-2021

Source: Iverson, A., Pavelle, B. Lucenko, B. & Felver, B. (2023). "Behavioral Health Treatment Needs and Outcomes among Medicaid-Enrolled Children in Washington State." Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, Research and Data Analysis.
Notes: Total in out-of-home care includes all children and youth age 0-17 ever in out-of-home care, for any length of time, during the state fiscal year. Mental health treatment need includes any mental health diagnosis, prescription, or service recorded in state administrative data in the past 24 months. Substance Use Disorder (SUD) treatment need includes one or more substance-related diagnosis, procedure, prescription, treatment, or arrest in the past 24 months. Treatment need indicators that are not captured by state administrative data, including privately paid or insured services, are not included. SUD is not measured for children under age 12.

Another outcome indicator for the strategic priority to improve the quality and availability of provider services is mental health need and parole aftercare availability for youth and young adults released from Juvenile Rehabilitation facilities. Post-release aftercare services increase the likelihood that youth and young adults will reenter their communities and live socially responsible and stable lifestyles. About half of youth and young adults with identified mental health needs are released with no parole aftercare services. DCYF continues to strive to find creative ways to service the unfunded post-release needs of this group. Each year, among the youth and young adults who are released to Intensive Parole services, more than half have identified mental health needs.

READ THE REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE, INTENSIVE PAROLE SERVICES FOR HIGH-RISK JUVENILE OFFENDERS

Youth and Young Adults Released from Juvenile Rehabilitation, by Identified Mental Health Need and Parole Aftercare, SFY 2016-2023

 

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Youth and Young Adults Released from Juvenile Rehabilitation, by Identified Mental Health Need and Parole Aftercare, SFY 2016-2023

Source: DCYF. (October 2023). Automated Client Tracking System (ACT) [July 2016-June 2023]. 
Notes: This measure has been updated to indicate mental health need based on the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs - Short Screener (GAIN-SS). Approximately 2% of clients who release each year were not assessed by the GAIN-SS. Mental health need is identified using the Internalizing Disorder Screener in the GAIN-SS. A score of 1 or more was used as it suggests a need for mental health treatment (Dennis, M. L., Feeney, T., & Titus, J. C. (2013). Global Appraisal of Individual Needs–Short Screener (GAIN-SS): Administration and scoring manual, version 3. Bloomington,IL: Chestnut Health Systems.)

One of DCYF’s strategic priorities is to safely reduce the number of children and youth in out-of-home care. The outcome indicator for this priority is the number of children and youth in out-of-home care. In SFY 2023, one third of the 9,677 children and youth under age 18 who were placed in out-of-home care for one or more days were under three years old.

Although the number of children and youth in out-of-home care at any single point in time is far fewer than the number who experience any out-of-home care over the course of the year, by either measure, the number has been declining. On the last day of the state fiscal year, 2023, there were 5,969 children and youth in out-of-home care. At that time, 55.9 percent of all children and youth under 18 in out-of-home care were placed with kin or relatives.

VIEW THE ANNUAL POINT-IN-TIME DATA FROM SFY 1979 TO PRESENT