Adolescent Childbirth Among Girls in Foster Care in the United States: Trends Based on Three Cohorts of the National Youth in Transition Database

Background and Purpose. Despite a considerable decline in the US teen birth rate over the past three decades, girls in foster care continue to be vulnerable to early childbirth. Little is known about trends in birth rate among girls in foster care over time, and the extent to which they mirror general population trends. The goals of the present study were to (a) examine the proportion of girls reporting childbirth by age 17 in three multi-state samples of youth in foster care in the US, and (b) explore differences in birth rate by race/ethnicity across the three cohorts.

Methods. Data and Samples: This study was based on a longitudinal analysis of data from three cohorts of the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD; cohorts established in years 2011, 2014, and 2017). To minimize bias due to differences in state response rates, this analysis was limited to nineteen states with a baseline response rate of 70% or higher across all three cohorts (females only; n=3,322, n=3,088 and n=3,063 for 2011, 2014 and 2017 cohorts, respectively). Measurement: Participants reported on their race/ethnicity and lifetime childbirth status at age 17. Analysis: For each sample (i.e., 2011, 2014, and 2017), we examined the proportion of girls reporting childbirth by age 17, and evaluated differences by race/ethnicity.

Results. The proportion of girls reporting childbirth by age 17 was highest in the 2011 sample (10.8%), followed by a decline in the 2014 sample (8.4%), and an additional decline in the 2017 sample (7.5%). Consistent with general population trends, Black and Hispanic girls had higher rates of childbirth than their white counterparts, though the observed declines in birth rates varied by race/ethnicity. In the 2011 NYTD sample, 14.4% of Black girls and 15.8% of Hispanic girls reported childbirth, compared to 7.7% of white girls. In the 2014 sample, the birth rate for white girls remained stable (7.2%); however, it fell considerably for Black and Hispanic girls (9.9% and 8.9%, respectively). In the 2017 sample, a modest decline was observed among white girls (5.7%), while relatively stable birth rates were present among Black and Hispanic girls (9.7% and 9.2%, respectively).

Conclusions and Implications. Findings from this analysis suggest that adolescent childbirth among youth in foster care may have declined between 2011 and 2017, particularly among Black and Hispanic girls. However, these findings should be interpreted in light of the limitations of the NYTD data, the inclusion of select states only, and our focus on childbirth by age 17, rather than by age 19. Analytic considerations, and the ability to make comparisons to national data on teen births will be discussed. Policy and practice implications, especially given the US reproductive justice landscape following Roe vs. Wade reversal, will also be considered.