Create Successful Transitions into Adulthood for Youth and Young Adults in Our Care

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 2021 four year graduating cohort included 84,828 students, 83% 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 2021 cohort, 657 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 48% 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 2020-21 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. In State Fiscal Year 2020, 59.3% of young adults found some work in the year following their release. Of those who did find work, 41.9% did so in the first quarter after leaving Juvenile Rehabilitation. 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 2014-2020

 

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Quarters Worked First Year After Release from Juvenile Rehabilitation by Young Adults 18+ at Release, SFY 2014-2020

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

Housing instability is a balancing indicator for our outcomes related to creating successful transitions to adulthood. Youth and young adults who exit the foster care system without being placed into a permanent family through reunification, adoption, or guardianship are often referred to as "aging out" of foster care. These youth are at higher risk of becoming homeless or unstably housed than those who have a family to support them at this critical life transition. Across the years, within 12 months of leaving care, about 21% of former foster youth experienced homelessness.

Analysis has also been done about the housing instability of youth and young adults (ages 12 to 25) who are released from a Juvenile Rehabilitation institution. From 2018-2020, the rates of homelessness for youth and young adults leaving Juvenile Rehabilitation institutions has mirrored those of former foster youth. Across the reported years, 20 percent experienced an episode of housing instability or homelessness within 12 months of discharge.

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