Session: Examining Trajectories of Child Welfare System Involvement to Promote Equitable Outcomes for Transition Age Youth (Society for Social Work and Research 27th Annual Conference - Social Work Science and Complex Problems: Battling Inequities + Building Solutions)

This symposium will describe trajectories of child welfare system involvement and highlight key outcomes among transition age youth using administrative data. Paper 1 documents maltreatment, pregnancy and arrest experiences among a cohort of female children. Paper 2 identifies several patterns of maltreatment exposure associated with higher probability of teen pregnancy and arrest. Paper 3 documents the relationship between academic preparation and college enrollment and considers the effects of foster care exposure on educational outcomes. Paper 4 exposes system involvement and sociodemographic differences among youth with and without confirmed experiences of commercial sexual exploitation. Together, these studies highlight the unique needs and long-term outcomes of youth involved in child-serving systems, inform upstream prevention and promote equitable outcomes for transition age youth. Paper 1 examined the relationship between placement type and involvement with Law Enforcement among a population of adolescents who have lived in congregate care. Statewide CPS records for all adolescents who spent at least one week in congregate care were linked to statewide arrest records (n=4,734). Overall, 17.9% of adolescents who had been in congregate care were arrested and booked during the two-year window of observation. The risk for arrest was more than two times higher for adolescents currently in congregate care and five and half times higher for adolescents who left care without permission in comparison to adolescents who exited to reunification or a permanent placement. Paper 2 identified different maltreatment experiences for a cohort of females during the course of their childhood, estimating subsequent pregnancy and arrest rates by these classification for children born in 2000 (N = 76,211). California child protective services records were probabilistically linked to guardian fields of state birth records and arrest records during adolescence. Several patterns of maltreatment were associated with higher probability of teen pregnancy and/or arrest. Findings indicate that earlier, or more complete identification of needs and provision of services, may reduce ongoing maltreatment effects in this population. Paper 3 used linked educational and child welfare administrative records to estimate college-readiness among youth born between 1995 and 2000 with prior child welfare system involvement in Wisconsin (N=9,800). The utility of policies that specifically target youth in foster care at or near the time of high school completion was examined by evaluating academic preparation and college enrollment patterns among youth with different timings and durations of foster care exposure. The results of this study will inform the potential reach and utility of policies that seek to break down barriers to college enrollment, specifically for adolescents in foster care. Paper 4 compared sociodemographic characteristics and lifetime system involvement for youth with system-identified commercial sexual exploitation risk and victimization in California between 2015 and 2020 (N = 13,193). Statewide data from California's child welfare system were used to describe investigative, service and placement experiences prior to the identification of CSE risk or victimization. Results from this study may inform the development of culturally competent prevention strategies and offer novel child welfare metrics that can inform systems change efforts.