Providing better opportunities for older children in the child welfare system

Future of Children

Volumn 14, Issue 1, 2004, Pages 151-173

  Massinga, Ruth ^a   Pecora, Peter J ^b,c  

^a Casey Family Programs   (United States)

^b Veteran Affairs Medical Services   (United States)

^c UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

AGE DISTRIBUTION; CHILD; CHILD WELFARE; FAMILY RELATION; FOSTER CARE; HEALTH CARE SYSTEM; HEALTH PROGRAM; HOMELESSNESS; HUMAN; OUTCOMES RESEARCH; REVIEW; RISK ASSESSMENT; SIBLING; SKILL; SOCIOECONOMICS; SUBSTANCE ABUSE; ADOLESCENT; ADULT; AGE; ARTICLE; COMPARATIVE STUDY; EDUCATION; EMPLOYMENT; FAMILY; FEMALE; HOUSING; HUMAN RELATION; MALE; MEDICAID; MEDICAL EDUCATION; QUALITY OF LIFE; RESEARCH; RISK FACTOR; TIME; UNITED STATES;

ADOLESCENT; ADULT; AGE FACTORS; CHILD; CHILD WELFARE; EDUCATION; EMPLOYMENT; FAMILY; FELLOWSHIPS AND SCHOLARSHIPS; FEMALE; FOSTER HOME CARE; HOUSING; HUMANS; INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS; MALE; MEDICAID; QUALITY OF LIFE; RESEARCH; RISK FACTORS; TIME FACTORS; UNITED STATES;

EID: 2342422568     PISSN: 10548289     EISSN: 15501558     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2307/1602759     Document Type: Review

References (137)

1. Based on the latest federal statistics on foster care supplied by the states for the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS). See U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The AFCARS report: Preliminary FY 2001 estimates as of March 2003. Washington, DC: DHHS, 2003. Available online at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/publications/afcars/report8.htm./
2. See note 1, DHHS.
3. See note 1, DHHS. See also Wulczyn, F., Brunner-Hislop, K., and Harden, B.J. The placement of infants in foster care. Journal of Infant Mental Health (2003) 23(5):454-75.
4. Based on cohort or administrative database studies that follow children over time to capture the dynamics of change, the median length of stay for youths who left care in 1998 ranged from about three months in Iowa to more than three years in Illinois. See Hislop, F.H., Wulczyn, K.B., and Goerge, R.M. Foster care dynamics 1983-1998. A report from the multi-state foster care data archive. Chicago, IL: Chapin Hall Center for Children, 2000, pp. 24-25.
5. See note 1, DHHS.
6. See U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. Positive youth development. February 2003. Available online at http://www.ncfy.com/ydfactsh.htm.
7. For a discussion of the need for services that focus on helping youths develop in multidimensional ways, see Berrick, J., Needell, B., Barth, R.P., and Johnson-Reid, M. The tender years: Toward developmentally sensitive child welfare services for very young children. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
8. For more information about training materials that workers and foster parents are using to teach life skills, see Casey Family Programs. Welcome to caseylifeskills.org. 1998-2002. Available online at http://www.caseylifeskills. org.
9. Pittman, K. Keeping our eyes on the prize. Youth Today (February 2002) 9(2):63. Available online at http://www.youthtoday.org.
10. Hormuth, P. All grown up, nowhere to go: Texas teens in foster care transition. Austin, TX: Center for Public Policy Priorities, 2001, p. 30.
11. Boston has been working to increase the number of siblings placed together, as well as to bolster foster parent recruitment and retention. A chronicle by Joanne Edgar documents the process and some of the outcomes of this collaborative effort. Casey Family Programs, National Center for Resource Family Support. Turning a vision into a reality. 2002. Available from Casey Family Programs.
12. Personal communication with Richard Barth, Frank Daniels Distinguished Professor, School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, November 2002.
13. Institute for Educational Leadership. Seminar on the federal role in helping young people transition from foster care: The Independent Living Program and more. Washington, DC: IEL, 1999, p. 16. Available online at http://www.iel.org/pubs/pubs/fostercare.pdf.
14. U.S. General Accounting Office. Foster care: Effectiveness of independent living services unknown. Washington, DC: GAO, 1999.
15. See also Pecora, P.J., Massinga, R., and Mauzerall, H. Measuring outcome in the changing environment of child welfare services. Behavioral Healthcare Tomorrow (1997) 6(2):2-6.
16. Because of methodological concerns with past research (such as a lack of adequate comparison groups and low study response rates), these results need to be viewed with caution.
17. Jones, M.A., and Moses, B. West Virginia's former foster children: Their experiences in care and their lives as young adults. New York: Child Welfare League of America, 1984;
18. Courtney, M., Piliavin, I., Grogan-Kaylor, A., and Nesmith, A. Foster youth transitions to adulthood: A longitudinal view of youth leaving care. Child Welfare (2001) 80:685-717;
19. McDonald, T.P., Allen, R.I., Westerfelt, A., and Piliavin, I. Assessing the long-term effects of foster care: A research synthesis. Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America, 1996. These comparisons must be viewed with caution, as maltreated children and children from families in poverty would be more appropriate comparison groups.
20. Nollan, K., Pecora, P., Lewy, J., et al. How are the children doing part II? Assessing youth outcomes in family foster care. Seattle: Casey Family Programs, 2000, p. 9.
21. See, for example, Blome, W. What happens to foster kids: Educational experiences of a random sample of foster care youth and a matched group of non foster care youth. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal (1996) 14(1):41-53;
22. Cook, R., Fleishman, E., and Grimes, V. A national evaluation of Title IV-E foster care independent living programs for youth: Phase 2. Rockville, MD: Westat, Inc., 1991;
23. and Festinger, T. No one ever asked us ... A postscript to foster care. New York: Columbia University, 1983.
24. See note 15, Courtney, et al.; note 17, Cook, et al.; and note 15, McDonald, et al.
25. See Casey Family Programs. The foster care alumni studies. 1998-2002. Reports available online at http://www.casey.org/.
26. See note 15, Jones and Moses; and Robins, L.N. Deviant children grown up: A sociological and psychiatric study of sociopathic personality. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1966.
27. See Alexander, G., and Huberty, T.J. Caring for troubled children: The Villages follow-up study. Bloomington, IN: The Villages of Indiana, 1993;
28. note 17, Cook, et al.; note 15, Courtney, et al.; and Zimmerman, R.B. Foster care in retrospect. Studies in social welfare. Vol. 14. New Orleans: Tulane University Press, 1982.
29. However, a recent examination of youth employment in three states suggests a more complex picture, with many youth aging out of foster care being underemployed, large variations in patterns of employment by state, and a greater likelihood of employment when youth begin work before age 18. In all three states, youth were more likely to earn income for the first time during the four quarters prior to and the quarter of their eighteenth birthdays than in the two years following. See Goerge, R.M., Bilaver, L., Lee, B.J., et al. Employment outcomes for youth aging out of foster care. Chicago: University of Chicago, Chapin Hall Center for Children, 2002. Available online at http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/fostercare-agingout02/.
30. Follow-up alumni studies using state public-assistance databases are much less expensive and have more complete data by avoiding nonparticipation rates. See Dworskey, A., and Courtney, M.E. Self-sufficiency of former foster youth in Wisconsin: Analysis of unemployment insurance wage data and public assistance data. Washington, DC: DHHS, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, 2000. Available online at http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/fosteryouthWI00/.
31. See note 19, Casey Family Programs.
32. See, for example, Ainsworth, F. Maluccio, A.N., and Thoburn, J. Child welfare outcome research in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America, 2001;
33. and Kerman, B., Wildfire, J., and Barth. R.P. Outcomes for young adults who experienced foster care. Children and Youth Services Review (2002) 24(5):319-44.
34. See Bernstein, N. A rage to do better - Listening to young people from the foster care system. San Francisco: Pacific News Service, 2000;
35. Fisher, A. Finding fish. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2002;
36. and Pelzer, D. A man named Dave: A story of triumph and forgiveness. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, 2000.
37. This section is extracted and modified from Pecora, P.J., Whittaker, J.K., Maluccio, A.N., and Barth, R.P. The child welfare challenge. 2nd ed. Hawthorne, NY: Walter de Gruyter, 2000, pp. 42-49;
38. and Child Welfare League of America. Summary of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (PL 105-89). Photocopy. Washington, DC: CWLA, Public Policy Department, 1997. Reprinted with permission.
39. Under the Family Unification Program (FUP), youths ages 18 to 21 who left foster care at age 16 or older are eligible for housing assistance. Youths referred to the program receive housing vouchers funded through FUP. The vouchers are time-limited; a youth can have a voucher for only 18 months. The agency referring a young person to the program provides aftercare to the youth when he or she enters housing using a voucher. An array of services is available to youths in housing to promote successful transition to adulthood. See U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Homelessness programs in HHS. No date. Available online at http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/progsys/homeless/Programs.htm.
40. The Youthbuild Program, funded under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, provides competitive grant awards to local agencies to provide job training, education, counseling, and leadership development opportunities to unemployed and out-of-school young adults ages 16 to 24. Program participants take part in the construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing in their own communities. Many graduates go on to construction-related jobs or college. Alumni receive postprogram counseling. The program does not, however, provide housing to the youth participants themselves. See YouthBuild U.S.A. Funding for YouthBuild. April 22, 2003. Available online at http://www.youthbuild.org/nofa/.
41. See U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. ACF News. June 6, 2002. Available online at http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/news/facts/youth.htm.
42. Survivors Insurance, established in 1939, provides benefits to surviving dependents of a deceased worker who has paid Social Security taxes. Children under age 18 are entitled to benefits based on the deceased parent's earnings record, as is the surviving parent until the youngest child reaches age 16.
43. See, for example, Lahti, J. A follow-up study of foster children in permanent placements. Social Service Review (1982) 56:556-71;
44. and Emlen, A., Lahti, J., Downs, G., et al. Overcoming barriers to planning for children in foster care. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Children's Bureau, 1978.
45. Kroner, M.J. Living arrangement options for young people preparing for independent living. Child Welfare (1988) 67:547-62;
46. and Kroner, M.J. Housing options for independent living programs. Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America, 1999.
47. For other reviews of transition services programs, see, for example, Wulczyn, F., and Brunner-Hislop, K. Teens in out-of-home care: Background data and implications. Chicago: University of Chicago, Chapin Hall Center for Children, 2001;
48. Collins, M.E. Transition to adulthood for vulnerable youths: A review of research and implications for policy. Social Service Review (2001) 75:271-91; and note 15, Courtney, et al.
49. See note 7, Berrick, et al.
50. See note 1, DHHS.
51. See, for example, Fernandez, E. Significant harm: Unraveling child protection decisions and substitute care careers of children. Avebury, England: Ashgate Publishing, 1996; and note 31, Lahti.
52. Maluccio, A.N., Fein, E., and Olmstead, K.A. Permanency planning for children: concepts and methods. London and New York: Routledge, Chapman and Hall, 1986.
53. McFadden, J.E., and Downs, S.W. Family continuity: The new paradigm in permanence planning. Community Alternatives - International Journal of Family Care (1995) 7:39-59.
54. Personal communication with Richard Barth, Frank Daniels Distinguished Professor, School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, November 2002.
55. For more information about family group decision making, see American Humane. National Center on Family Group Decision Making. 2003. Available online at www.ahafgdm.org;
56. and Center for the Study of Social Policy. Bringing families to the table: A comparative guide to family meetings in child welfare. Washington, DC: CSSP, 2003.
57. This strategy is used by the Family Preservation FAST Services and WRAP Services programs of Catholic Community Services (CCS), Western Washington. Contact Mary Stone Smith, (253) 225-0984, Maryss@ccsww.org.
58. Although increased funding for services for Native American children is needed, because more tribes have exerted jurisdiction over many child welfare cases, Title IV-E funding was not extended to support tribal social services. See Clemens, N. Improving access to independent living services for tribes and American Indian youth. Seattle: Casey Family Programs and the National Indian Child Welfare Association, 2000, pp. 13-15.
59. See note 13, GAO, p. 2; and Kerman, B., Barth, R.B., and Wildfire, J. Extending transitional services to former foster children. Shelton, CT: Casey Family Services, 2002, pp. 2-3.
60. See, for example, Whittaker, J.K., and Maluccio, A.N. Rethinking "child placement": A reflective essay. Social Service Review (March 2002):108-34.
61. See Casey Family Programs. It's my life: A framework for youth transitioning from foster care to successful adulthood. Seattle: Casey Family Programs, 2001;
62. and Clark, H.B., Deschenes, N., and Jones, J. A framework for the development and operation of a transition system. In Transition to adulthood: A resource for assisting young people with emotional or behavioral difficulties. H.B. Clark and J. Davis, eds. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company, 2000.
63. Based on information provided by 31 states in their state plans provided to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to qualify for federal independent living funds. This analysis was commissioned by the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, April 2002.
64. See, for example, note 13, GAO; Zwiebel, C., and Strand, C. How states are helping foster care youth "age out": An assessment of state plans for use of Chafee funds. St. Louis: Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, 2002, p. i; and note 43, Kerman, et al.
65. See note 13, GAO; and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Title IV-E independent living programs: A decade in review. Washington, DC: DHHS, Administration for Children, Youth and Families, Children's Bureau, 1999.
66. Klaw, E.L., and Rhodes, J.E. Mentor relationships and the career development of pregnant and parenting African American teenagers. Psychology of Women Quarterly (1995) 19(4):551-63.
67. See, for example, Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development. Turning points: Preparing youth for the 21st century. Washington, DC: CCAD, 1989;
68. Melaville, A.L., and Blank, M.J. Together we can: A guide for crafting a profamily system of education and human services. Washington, DC: U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, 1993;
69. and Wynn, J., Costello, J., Halpern, R., and Richman, H. Children, families and communities: A new approach for social services. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago, Chapin Hall Center for Children, 1994.
70. Child Trends. Helping teens develop healthy social skills and relationships: What the research shows about navigating adolescence. Washington, DC: Child Trends, July 2002.
71. Child Trends. Mentoring: A promising strategy for youth development. Washington, DC: Child Trends, February 2002.
72. For example, youths in one mentoring program (Big Brothers Big Sisters) were 46% less likely to initiate drug use and 27% less likely to initiate alcohol use during the mentoring program than their nonmentored peers. In two other mentoring program studies that also examined substance abuse, mentored youths were less likely to initiate drug use over the long term (but not the short term) than their peers not in the program.
73. For more information about "scattered site" apartments, see note 32, Kroner, 1988; and note 32, Kroner, 1999.
74. Pecora, P.J., Williams, J., Downs, A.C., et al. What Casey Family Programs intervention components provide the most leverage towards achieving key program outcomes? Informing program design for permanency planning and transition services. Seattle: Casey Family Programs, 2003;
75. and Pecora, P.J., Williams, J., Kessler, R.J., et al. Assessing the effects of foster care: Early results from the Casey National Alumni Study. Seattle, WA: Casey Family Programs, 2003.
76. The Daniel Memorial Independent Living Skills system is available online at http://www.danielkids.org/cart/ils.htm
77. See Casey Family Programs. The Ansell Casey life skills assessment. 2000-2003. Available online at https://www.caseylifeskills.org/aclsa/english/ preIndex.htm.
78. This section is adapted from the following sources: Pecora, P.J. Promising practice strategies for family foster care and current policy challenges. The Third Macquarie Street Lecture for Children and Young People, Report from the Committee on Children and Young People of the 53rd Parliament. Sydney, NSW: Parliament of New South Wales, August 2002;
79. and Pecora, P.J., and Maluccio, A.N. What works in family foster care. In What works in child welfare. M. Kluger, G. Alexander, and P. Curtis, eds. Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America, 2001, pp. 139-55.
80. Traglia, J.J., Pecora, P.J., Paddock, G., and Wilson, L. Outcome-oriented case planning in family foster care. Families in Society (1997) 78(5):453-62.
81. Wulczyn, F., and Brunner Hislop, K. Teens in out-of-home care: Background data and implications. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago, Chapin Hall Center for Children, 2001;
82. and Collins, M.E. Transition to adulthood for vulnerable youths: A review of research and implications for policy. Social Service Review (2001) 75:271-91.
83. See, for example, note 36, Fernandez; and Foster Care Youth United. Youth communication: Stories that make a difference. 2002-2003. Available online at www.youthcomm.org.
84. See, for example, note 17, Festinger; Rice, D.L., and McFadden, E.J. A forum for foster children. Child Welfare (1988) 67(3):231-43;
85. and Kufeldt, K., Armstrong, J., and Dorosh, M. How children in care view their own and their foster families: A research study. Child Welfare (1995) 74(3):695-715.
86. For more information, see Casey Family Programs. Foster care alumni.casey.org. 2002. Available online at http://fostercarealumni.casey.org.
87. A similar effort is taking place in Australia with the CREATE Foundation. See CREATE Foundation. Australian children and young people in care: Report card on education. Coorparoo, QLD: CREATE Foundation, September 2002;
88. and NSW Commission for Children and Young People. Latest news. 2000-2003. Available online at http://www.kids.NSW.gov.au.
89. Washington State Office of the Family and Children's Ombudsman. Foster care. What young people in the system say is working. Olympia, WA: Office of the Governor, 2001. Available online at http://www.governor.wa.gov/ofco/00rpt/ fostercare.pdf.
90. See note 7, Berrick, et al.
91. Fein, E., Maluccio, A.N., & Kluger, M.P. No more partings: An examination of long-term foster family care. Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America, 1990.
92. Weinstein, E.A. The self-image of the foster child. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1960.
93. See note 67, Fein, et al.
94. Cox, M., and Cox, R.D. Foster care: Current issues, policies and practices. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Co., 1985;
95. and Fanshel, D., and Shinn, E.B. Children in foster care: A longitudinal investigation. New York: Columbia University Press, 1978.
96. See Massinga, R., and Perry, K. The Casey Family Program: Factors in effective management of a long-term foster care organization. In When there is no place like home: Options for children living apart from their natural families. J. Blacker, ed. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 1994, pp. 163-80;
97. and Teather, E.C., Davidson, S., and Pecora, P.J. Placement disruption in family foster care. Seattle: Casey Family Programs, 1994.
98. See, for example, note 71, Massinga and Perry; Cross, T.L., Bazron, B.J., Dennis, K.W., and Issacs, M.R. Towards a culturally competent system of care: A monograph on effective services for minority children who are severely emotionally disturbed. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Child Development Center, 1989;
99. and Weisz, J.R., Weiss, B., and Donenberg, G.R. The lab versus the clinic: Effects of child and adolescent psychotherapy. American Psychologist (1992) 47:1578-1585.
100. Warsh, R., Maluccio, A.N., and Pine, B.A. Teaching family reunification - A sourcebook. Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America, 1994.
101. Courtney, M.E. Factors associated with reunification of foster children with their families. Social Service Review (1994) 68(1):81-108; and see note 70, Fanshel and Shinn.
102. Hess, P.M., and Proch, K.O. Family visiting in out-of-home care: Guide to practice. Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America, 1988.
103. But the research is far from definitive, and some researchers would judge it to be contradictory based on their data. See Barber, J., and Delfabbro, P. Children in foster care. London: Allyn and Bacon, 2003.
104. See Fraser, M.W., Walton, E., Lewis, R.E., et al. An experiment in family reunification: Correlates of outcome at one-year follow-up. Children and Youth Services Review (1996) 18(4-5):335-61;
105. Maluccio, A.N. What works in family reunification. In What works in child welfare. M. Kluger, G. Alexander, and P. Curtis, eds. Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America, 2000, pp. 163-69;
106. and Wulczyn, F., Zeidman, D., and Svirsky, A. HomeRebuilders: A family reunification demonstration program. In Child welfare research review. J. Duerr Berrick, R. P. Barth, and N. Gilbert, eds. New York: Columbia University Press, 1997, pp. 252-71.
107. See, for example, note 37, Maluccio, et al.; Shapiro, D. Agencies and foster children. New York: Columbia University Press, 1976; and note 73, Warsh, et al.
108. Churches Community Services Forum. At what cost? Resourcing the safety and well being of Queensland's children and young people in care. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: CCSF, 2001.
109. See note 17, Blome; and Fanshel, D., Finch, S.J., and Grundy, J.F. Foster children in life course perspective. New York: Columbia University Press, 1990.
110. See, for example, Chernoff, R., Combs-Orme, T., Risley-Curtiss, C., and Heisler, A. Assessing the health status of children entering foster care. Pediatrics (1994) 93(4):594-601.
111. See, for example, Aldgate, J. Foster children at school: Success or failure? Adoption & Fostering (1990) 14:38-69;
112. Biehal, N., and Wade, J. Looking back, looking forward: Care leavers, families and change. Children and Youth Services Review (1996) 18(4-5):425-46;
113. and Winters, W., and Maluccio, A.N. School, family and community working together to promote social competence. Social Work in Education (Summer 1988):207- 217.
114. See also the following web sites: http://smarttogether.org for materials on better ways of tutoring youths; http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/socwork/nrcfepp/ publications/index.html for educational resources for foster parents; and http://www/casey.org for material to help educate teachers about the needs of foster youths.
115. Stroul, B. Children's mental health: Creating systems of care in a changing society. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 1996.
116. An important caution here are the findings from Glisson and his colleagues in Tennessee that (a) organizational climate and (b) how staff were treated and prepared were more strongly associated with positive outcomes than services integration. Glisson, C. The effects of services coordination teams on outcomes for children in state custody. Administration in Social Work (1994) 18:1-23.
117. Although it is hoped that such wraparound services can minimize placement of children in residential treatment, treatment foster care homes often fill an important place in the array of services for both younger and older youths. See Chamberlain, P. Treating chronic juvenile offenders - Advances made through the Oregon multidimensional treatment foster care model. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2003;
118. and Meadowcroft, P., Thomlison, B., and Chamberlain, P. Treatment foster care services: A research agenda for child welfare. Child Welfare (1994) 73:565-81.
119. Burt, M.R., and Balyeat, R. A new system for improving the care of neglected and abused children. Child Welfare (1974) 53(3):167-97.
120. Nollan, K.A. What works in independent living preparation for youth in out-of-home care. In What works in child welfare. M. Kluger, G. Alexander, and P. Curtis, eds. Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America, 2000, pp. 195-204.
121. For more information, see the Casey Family Programs web site at http://www.caseylifeskills.org.
122. See, for example, Chaskin, R.J., Brown, P., Venkatesh, S., and Vidal, A. Building community capacity. New York: Aldine de Gruyter, 2001.
123. See note 79, Fanshel, et al.; note 15, Jones and Moses; and note 21, Zimmerman.
124. Ryan, P., McFadden, E., and Wiencek, P. Analyzing abuse in family foster care. Final report to the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect on Grant #90CA097. Washington, D.C. Child Welfare League of America, 1987.
125. See note 9, Hormuth, pp. 41-43.
126. Emerson, J. Postsecondary education and training support: Serving as a national force for change in child welfare. Presentation to the Board of Trustees, Casey Family Programs, Seattle, Washington, April 17, 2003.
127. See note 55, Pecora, et al.
128. U.S. Census Bureau. The Big Payoff: Educational Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of Work-Life Earnings. July 2002. Available online at http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p23-210.pdf.
129. For example, the federal Promoting Safe and Stable Families Act amendments of 2001 (Title 2, Section 201) appropriated $42 million for 2003 for education and training vouchers for youths aging out of foster care. This funding allocates an annual minimum of $500,000 to each state to provide an annual maximum of $5,000 each to youths attending institutions of higher education or vocational training as defined by the Higher Education Act of 1965; assists at least 8,400 postsecondary students; and pays for "costs of attendance" (not yet defined), such as educational, living, and health-related expenses. For 2004, $60 million is proposed for this program. In addition, Workforce Incentive Program funds are available and underutilized in many localities.
130. Contact Richard Otto at the Casey Family Program's Bay Area office for more information: 1485 Treat Blvd, #102, Walnut Creek, CA 94596, (925) 935-5705, fax (925) 935-1003.
131. Fitzgibbon, G., Cook, J.A., and Falcon, L. Vocational rehabilitation approaches for youth. In Transition to adulthood: A resource for assisting young people with emotional or behavioral difficulties. H.B. Clark and J. Davis, eds. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company, 2000, pp. 75-90;
132. Hurley, K. Almost home. Shelterforce online (2002), Issue 125. Available online at http://www.nhi.org/online/issues/125/fostercare.html
133. Research data are limited. Although many states are now trying to maximize the use of their Federal Chafee funds, there has been little analysis of the utilization amounts and patterns. (The program is not even 5 years old yet, with very little research conducted thus far.) Chafee funds, distributed nationally, add up to about $500 to $850 dollars per youth, per year, which is not a huge amount given the needs of some children. (Personal Communication, Robin Nixon, October 3, 2003.) See also Clymer, C., Edwards, K., Ponce, J., and Wyckoff, L. Supporting Youth Employmen: A Guide for Community Groups. Philadelphia: Public/Private Ventures, 2002, p. 1. Available online at http://www.ppv.org/pdffiles/SupportYouthGroup.pdf.
134. See note 90, Emerson, pp. 12-16.
135. Allen, M. Crafting a federal legislative framework for child welfare reform. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry (1991) 61(4):610-23.
136. Personal communication with Richard Barth, Frank Daniels Distinguished Professor, School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, November 2002.
137. Nelson, D.W. Gratified but not satisfied on foster care independence. Advocasey (2001) 3(2):2.