Experiences of Early Adolescents in Foster Care in New York City: Analysis of the 1994 Cohort

• NCJ Number: 193871
• Author(s): Timothy Ross; Mark Wamsley; Ajay Khashu
• Date Published: 2001
• Length: 37 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: New York City Admin for Children's Services
• Corporate Author: Vera Institute of Justice; New York City Admin for Children's Services
• Sale Source: Vera Institute of Justice; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Downloaded March 25, 2002

Annotation

This report analyzed a 1994 early adolescent cohort in foster care and the reasons they entered foster care and their experiences or outcomes during and after care.

Abstract

Building upon a 2000 preliminary report on foster care outcomes which analyzed selected outcomes for early adolescents in foster care and found that the outcomes varied by the reasons the children entered, this report described the experiences of 2,019 children who entered foster care as early adolescents (age 11 to 15) in 1994 and followed their foster care experiences through May 1999. In 1994, a majority of early adolescents entered care because of persons in need of supervision (PINS) petitions and voluntary agreements, as opposed to abuse and neglect. The experiences of children in care varied based on their reasons for entry. This study identified three distinct patterns in adolescents' use of the foster care system that had distinct implications for the Administration for Children's Services (ACS). The patterns were linked to the reasons children entered care. The patterns were named "quick turnarounds" (less than 2 months in care), "repeaters" (reentry into care), and "longtermers" (from entry in 1994 through mid-1999). Fifty-seven percent of the 1994 cohort used the foster care system in one of these three ways. PINS children typically entered foster care for short lengths of stay. PINS children were more likely than the other adolescent groups to be absent without leave and be admitted to juvenile detention. Those children under voluntary placement had much longer lengths of stay (about one and a half years) and they were less likely to reenter care. These volunteer placements were the most costly to ACS. They spent relatively long periods of time in the system. If a child entered care due to an abuse and neglect petition, about 30 percent of them had the longest lengths of stay with an average of 2 years. A majority of these children had three or more placements while in care, and they were the least likely to be absent without leave or admitted to detention. Of the children who remained in care for the entire study, half of them entered care because of abuse and neglect. Bibliography, appendices, and tables.