Effect of Independent Living Program Services on Enrollment of Foster Youth

Education is associated with many individual life advantages; yet disparities in educational outcomes exist for some vulnerable populations. Foster youths are young adults generally age 18-25 who were formerly wards of their state due to legal intervention resulting from parental abuse or neglect. The success of these young adults affects the well-being of society, inviting interest from policymakers and child welfare practitioners. The Independent Living Program (ILP) was introduced nationally by the federal government and is administered by states. This program assists foster youths in their transition to adulthood through various supports and services. The present study explored the effects of ILP services on the educational enrollment of foster youths beyond the legal emancipation age of 18. Logistic regression was utilized to examine relationships between the receipt of ILP services and enrollment in high school, General Education Development (GED) classes, postsecondary vocational training, or college courses while controlling for common life outcome barriers. Ethnicity and gender were also examined. The study results revealed statistically significant relationships between certain ILP services and enrollment. Results also showed youths who remained in foster care had greater odds of being enrolled. Further results indicated a statistically significant relationship between Black and Hispanic youths and enrollment in each analysis compared to White youths. Female foster youths were also found to be more likely than male foster youths to be enrolled with ILP services. Factors that decreased the odds of enrollment included past incarceration and having children.Abstract I -- List Of Tables V -- Acknowledgements Vi -- Dedication Vii -- Chapter I Introduction 1 -- Study Overview 1 -- The Emerging Adult 5 -- Theoretical Framework 6 -- Scope of the Problem 6 -- Significance of Postsecondary Education 6 -- Enrollment of Foster Youths during Emerging Adulthood 7 -- Lower Achievement of Foster Youths 8 -- Purpose of the Study 9 -- Study Significance 10 -- Summary 11 -- Chapter II LITERATURE REVIEW 14 -- Theoretical Framework Overview 14 -- Adolescent Brain Development and the Emerging Adult 16 -- The Foster Care System 20 -- Negative Outcomes Associated with the Foster Care System 22 -- Low Educational Achievement and Educational Unpreparedness 24 -- Mental Health 26 -- Homelessness and Housing Instability 29 -- Poverty and Unemployment 30 -- Criminal Justice System Involvement 31 -- Pregnancy and Early Parenting 31 -- Connections and Social Support 32 -- Ethnicity and Gender 34 -- The Independent Living Program 36 -- Historical Overview of the Independent Living Program 37 -- Program Administration among States 39 -- Life Skills Training 44 -- Employment Services 44 -- Financial Support 46 -- Study Hypotheses 48 -- Summary 49 -- Chapter III METHODOLOGY 51 -- Research Objectives 51 -- Operationalization of Terms 53 -- Dependent Variable 54 -- Independent Variables 54 -- Control Variables 55 -- Data Collection 58 -- Data Preparation 59 -- Analytic Procedures 60 -- Multivariate Analysis 60 -- Chapter IV RESULTS 62 -- Descriptive Statistics 63 -- Foster Youth Population Description 63 -- Logistic Regression Analysis 68 -- Research Question 1 69 -- Research Question 2 74 -- Research Question 3 79 -- Summary 87 -- Chapter V CONCLUSION 92 -- Introduction 92 -- Interpretation of Findings 94 -- Research Question 1 94 -- Research Question 2 95 -- Research Question 3 96 -- Life Outcome Variables 100 -- Demographic Traits 102 -- Limitations 104 -- Future Research 105 -- Policy and Practice Implications 107 -- Conclusion 111 -- REFERENCES 113Banerjee, NeenaPeterson, BonnieLowney, Kathleen S.D.P.A.Public Administratio