NCJ Number
154282
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 59 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1995) Pages: 19-27
Date Published
1995
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This article reports the results of a survey of 266 specialist foster family care programs in North America and the United Kingdom to determine whether they admit delinquent youth to foster care and, if so, their success rate.
Abstract
Snowball sampling procedures were used to supplement lists of specialist/treatment foster family care program available from treatment foster care program organizations and from previous surveys. A questionnaire was mailed to programs identified as potential treatment or specialist foster family care programs; the same questionnaire was used in the United Kingdom and North America. The questionnaire was designed and pretested to secure data regarding program information, characteristics of the 10 youths most recently placed in the programs, and characteristics of the 10 youths most recently discharged from the programs. Findings show that delinquent juveniles have been integrated into specialist foster care programs that serve other youths. Although less than half the programs served delinquents (43 percent), very few served only delinquents. The delinquent youths tended to be slightly older than the other youths and were more likely to be male. Discharge data suggest that delinquents were just as successful in treatment foster care programs as were other youths, although delinquents spent substantially less time in treatment foster care than other youths. There were no significant differences across the two groups in reason for discharge, post discharge living arrangements, and the extent of parental participation in discharge planning. 6 tables and 28 references