Dismal Outcomes for Former Foster Children

Researchers at the Partners for Our Children program at the University of Washington and Chapin Hall Center at the University of Chicago have released a large, long-term study showing that, by many measures (including educational attainment, employment, family formation, connectedness and involvement with the criminal justice system ) former foster children do poorly as they transition to adulthood. Given that many children in the juvenile justice system have previously been involved in the child welfare system, it is likely that their outcomes would be similar, or even worse. It is rare, however, that any measure other than recidivism is used when gauging the "success" of the juvenile justice system. Shouldn’t we really be looking at a wider range of criteria?

See the full report at http://www.chapinhall.org/research/report/midwest-evaluation-adult-functioning-former-foster-youth