Youth

  • Youth Suicide Rates

    Youth Suicide Rates

    One of DCYF’s health goals is for youth to experience positive behavioral and mental health. Trends in mental health over the past decade show an increase in rates of suicide and attempted suicide. Between 2013 and 2021, rates of youth suicide and attempted suicide have increased by more than 600%.

    Rate of Suicide and Suicide Attempts per 100,000 Adolescents Age 10-17, 2013-2022
      graph
    Suicide and Suicide Attempts per 100,000 Adolescents Age 10-17, 5 Year Rate, 2018-2022
      graph
     
    Child Outcome Goal
    Mental Health
    Youth

  • Adult Support when Depressed

    Adult Support when Depressed

    In the agency's efforts to improve and support the resilience of children, youth, and families in Washington, DCYF has set a goal that children and youth are supported by healthy relationships with adults. One way to measure this is by tracking the percentage of youth who report having support from adults when they are feeling sad or depressed.

    In 2021, 51 percent of 10th graders who live with their parents/guardians felt they had access to adult support if they were feeling depressed. In comparison, 37.6 percent of 10th graders who do not live with their parents/guardians reported having access to an adult for support when depressed.

    10th Graders with Adult Support when Depressed, by Living Situation, 2021
      depressed adults
    Child Outcome Goal
    Youth

  • Employment After Foster Care

    Employment After Foster 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
      graph
     
    Child Welfare
    Strategic Priority Outcome
    Youth

  • High School Graduation of Youth in Foster Care

    High School Graduation of Youth in Foster Care

    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 2023 four year graduating cohort included 85,306 students, 84% 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 2023 cohort, 552 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.

    VIEW THE Washington State Education REPORT CARD Dashboard

    Four Year Graduation Rate, by Foster Care Status, Classes of 2013-2023
      graph
     
    Child Welfare
    Strategic Priority Balancing Indicator
    Strategic Priority Outcome
    Youth

  • Housing Instability

    Housing Instability

    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 past five years, within 12 months of leaving care, about 20% of former foster youth experienced an episode of housing instability or 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 2018-2022, the rates of homelessness for youth and young adults leaving Juvenile Rehabilitation institutions has mirrored those of former foster youth. Across the past five years, 18 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

    Homelessness Among Former Foster Youth within 12 Months of Leaving Foster Care, 2016-2022
      graph
    Homelessness Among Youth and Young Adults within 12 Months of Leaving Juvenile Rehabilitation, 2016-2022
      graph
    Child Welfare
    Strategic Priority Balancing Indicator
    Youth

  • Youth Depression

    Youth Depression

    In 2021, the HYS surveyed 9,378 10th-graders in Washington. Of the 8,506 who reported their living situations, 8,150 (95.8%) lived with parents/guardians, 194 (2.3%) lived with other relatives, 30 (0.4%) lived in foster care, and 132 (1.6%) lived with others or on their own. Of those living with parents/guardians, 37.4 percent reported feeling depressed, compared to 52 percent of students who did not live with parents/guardians.

    10th Graders Reporting Depression, by Living Situation, 2021
      10th Grade Depression
    Child Outcome Goal
    Mental Health
    Youth

  • High School Graduation

    High School Graduation

    DCYF’s third outcome goal related to education is that high school students graduate on time. Among 85,306 high school students in the 2023 cohort, 71,329 (84%) graduated on time.

    Among that 2023 cohort, about half (45,070) are indicated as low-income students. Non-low-income students graduated at a rate of 91%. By comparison, 77% of low-income students graduated on time.

    Of youth receiving Juvenile Rehabilitation services during the 2005-2006 school year who were enrolled in ninth grade, 9 percent graduated on time (2008-2009) and an additional 5 percent graduated within the following two years.

    View the Washington State Education Report Card Dashboard

    Four Year Graduation Rate, by Income Group, Classes of 2013-2023
      grad rate
     
    Child Outcome Goal
    Youth

  • Youth School Engagement

    Youth School Engagement

    The second DCYF education outcome goal is that youth are engaged in school. Youth who feel more connected or committed to school are more likely to achieve positive academic outcomes and are less likely to experience mental health issues.

    Engagement in school can be measured by the Healthy Youth Survey’s index of engagement in school, which captures information on decision-making opportunities at school, one-on-one opportunities with teachers, opportunities to work on special projects, extracurricular opportunities, and feeling a part of class activities or discussions. 2021 Healthy Youth Survey results show that 70.4% of 10th graders living with parents/guardians report a high level of engagement at school, compared to 61.7% of students who do not live with parents/guardians.

    10th Graders with High Levels of School Engagement, by Living Situation, 2021
      Entries and exits
    Child Outcome Goal
    Child Welfare
    Youth