Effects of Independent Living Supports and Subsequent Housing Instability after Youth Exit Foster Care

Background: Securing stable and permanent housing is a critical priority in planning for the transition from foster care, yet youth consistently report a lack of assistance in this area. Many foster youth lack an extensive safety net when they exit care, placing additional importance on access to social services as a necessary buffer as they transition out of care. The John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Act (1999) provides federal and state funds for a range of independent living services (ILS) for older foster care youth. Though these services and supports may provide an important protective asset in the transition from care, there is a gap in the current knowledge of how these supports impact youth housing outcomes after they exit care.  This paper attends to this gap by examining the relationship between use of independent living services, pre-exit, and experiences of housing instability across the transitional period for youth exiting care (ages 17 to 20).

Methods: Analyses draw upon statewide data from Rhode Island gathered as part of the National Youth Transitional Database (NYTD) (N=165). The NYTD was established by the Chafee Act, which required the US Administration of Children and Families (ACF) to establish a data collection system to track the ILS states provide to older youth as well as key outcomes for this group. States began gathering and submitting youth service and outcome data to ACF in 2011; this cohort consisted of youth who turned 17 during the fiscal year. Additional NYTD data collection was required at ages 17, 19, and 21.  Rhode Island implemented an enhanced NYTD data collection process to include two additional waves of data collection at ages 18 and 20 – permitting analysis of housing instability in our cohort annually following transition through age 20. Logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between pre-exit ILS utilization and homelessness at age 20.

Results: At age 17, youth had accessed an average of 1.7 (s.d. = 1.8) different types of independent living services during the year; approximately 36% accessed no independent living services, 28% accessed one type, 14% received 2-3 such services, and 22% four or more. At baseline (age 17), 13.2% of youth reported experiencing homelessness at some point in their lives. For NYTD follow-up time points, youth reported the following rates of homelessness (2-year report window): 15.0% (age 18), and 12.6% (age 19) to 18.5% (age 20). Youth reports of couch surfing in the past two years range from 18.5% (age 18) to 27.2% (age 20). Finally, greater use of independent living services at age 17 is associated with reduced risk of homelessness by age 20 (OR=2.5, p <.05). 

Implications: Results indicate the potential of ILS to positively impact housing outcomes for this population. Our discussion will place these results in the context of appropriate levels of service planning for youth in foster care who are preparing to ‘age out’ of the child welfare system, as well as necessary policies to support more positive outcomes for this population.