Aging out of Foster Care: A Portrait of Youth with Disabilities

Background and Purpose: Each year nearly 25,000 youth aging out (YAO) of foster care are confronted with instant adulthood, facing personal, social, financial, and educational independence (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2013). Compared to their general population peers, YAO are less likely to graduate high school, pursue post-secondary education, or complete college (Courtney, Dworsky, Lee, & Raap, 2009). While troubling, these findings may underestimate hardship among vulnerable groups within this population. Youth with disabilities, who face challenges in transitions to adulthood within the general population, are often under-represented within studies of YAO (Blakeslee, 2013).

According to national estimates, approximately half of YAO report a disability (Slayter, 2016). In light of federal efforts to improve outcomes among YAO (Fostering Connections Act, 2008), attention to the experiences of this sizeable sub-group of YAO with disabilities is crucial, yet rarely studied (Blakeslee, 2013). To provide one of the first accounts of a national sample of YAO with disabilities, this study examines (1) demographic and other descriptors while in care (e.g., number of removals, independent living service receipt), (2) educational and employment outcomes, and (3) differences between YAO with disabilities relative to those without disabilities across key descriptors and outcomes.

Method: This descriptive study uses longitudinal panel data from the National Youth in Transition Data (NYTD; 2011 and 2013) linked with the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System data (AFCARS, 2011). The NYTD provide state-level information about Chafee-funded independent living services as well as academic and employment outcomes of youth in foster care. NYTD presents new opportunities to examine a national sample of YAO; yet, they do not provide an avenue to investigate YAO with disabilities as a vulnerable subgroup. To understand experiences of YAO with disabilities, this study supplements NYTD with AFCARS data, which measures placement history and other information related to youth’s ability to successfully transition from care. In addition to univariate statistics, chi-square tests are used to contrast YAO with and without disabilities across key demographic, care, and educational and employment outcome measures.

Results: Within the study sample (N=6,500), 45% of youth (n=2,915) carried a disability diagnosis. YAO with disabilities were more likely to be male (49%; p<.001), receive special education services (37%; p<.001), removed from the home more than once (36%; p<.001), remain in foster care at age 19 (38%; p<.001), and receive federally funded independent living services (67%; p<.001). While no differences were noted across high school completion or employment, YAO with disabilities reported lower post-secondary enrollment (26%) than peers without disabilities (p<.01).

Conclusions and Implications: These findings suggest several implications for research, practice, and policy. With regard to research, findings demonstrate the need to identify and reduce barriers to college enrollment among YAO with disabilities. Within the field, practitioners should consider specialized needs of YAO with disabilities, particularly in facilitating college attendance. Policymakers may, too, take note of these findings: Recognizing that fewer YAO with disabilities enroll in post-secondary education, targeted legislation to eliminate barriers to college attendance for these youth may be warranted.