Maintaining Older Wards in the Juvenile Court System Until Age 21 Throughout Illinois

Purpose: Many youth who age out of the foster care system at age 18 are not ready to live on their own. Recent federal and state initiatives have expanded efforts to help these youth prepare for life outside the foster care system. In addition, 19 states, including Illinois, allow youth to remain in foster care under some circumstances until age 21. The Illinois Juvenile Court Act, for example, permits a court to continue the wardship of a minor until age 21 for “good cause.” In practice, however, few foster youth outside of Illinois' largest county are maintained in foster care after age 18. This study aims to clarify the circumstances under which judges retain state guardianship of foster youth after age 18.

Method: In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted in 14 counties throughout Illinois. The interviews were conducted with 10 male and 4 female judges, the majority of whom were white. Judges were asked questions regarding their opinions on maintaining the youth in foster care beyond age 18 and factors they consider in making their determination. The interviews were tape-recorded, with judges' permission. Researchers used open and axial coding as described in grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1990) to identify patterns and themes.

Results: The analysis yielded descriptive information about how juvenile court judges in the different counties throughout Illinois determine guardianship of foster youth age 18 to 21. The study identified certain factors that influence judges' decisions to maintain youth under state guardianship. The judges' responses reflected four primary reasons for not keeping youth in care after age 18: (a) lack of available services, especially in rural areas (b) the youth were not viewed as a population that needed to be given priority, especially compared to younger children; (c) the pursuit of education, vocational skills or employment were the only factors consistently identified as a “good cause” to maintain youth in care, with only a few judges mentioning other causes (such as health or safety); and, (d) there is no purpose to be served by maintaining youth in the foster care system if they do not want to remain in care and will not cooperate with offered services. A few judges had other reasons for ending guardianship at age 18.

Conclusions and Implications: This study provides a legal and practical perspective on youth aging out of the child welfare system and informs social work researchers and practitioners who are interested in the well-being of post-foster care youth. It offers a detailed picture of factors that contribute to judges' viewpoints of the practicality of maintaining youth in the foster care system beyond age 18. The study findings highlight the complexity of arguments for maintaining 18 to 21 year olds in the foster care system. It identifies factors like funding, staffing considerations and placement options that seem not to influence judges retaining youth in guardianship beyond age 18. It also offers areas for consideration by policy makers regarding the costs, benefits, and barriers in retaining guardianship of older youth until age 21.