Postsecondary Educational Attainment of Young People Leaving Care in the USA: Implications for Practice and Policy

Citation

Courtney, Mark E. & Okpych, Nathanael J. (2019). Postsecondary Educational Attainment of Young People Leaving Care in the USA: Implications for Practice and Policy. In McNamara, Patricia; Montserrat, Carme; & Wise, Sarah (Eds.), Education in Out-of-Home Care: International Perspectives on Policy, Practice and Research (pp. 239-253). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Abstract

Research over the past two decades has generally shown poor postsecondary educational outcomes for youth transitioning to adulthood from out-of-home care, but research on the topic is limited (Gypen L, Vanderfaeillie J, De Maeyer S, Belenger L, Van Holen F, Child Youth Serv Rev 76:74–83, 2017). The California Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study (CalYOUTH) has been following the educational trajectories of a population-based sample of youth in out-of-home care into adulthood (Courtney et al., 2018). The study has followed 727 youth who were first interviewed in 2013 while still in care at age 17, with follow-up interviews at age 19 (n = 611; 84% sample retention) and 21 (n = 616; 85% sample retention). This chapter describes trends in the secondary and postsecondary educational attainment of these young people, support they received to pursue their education, and the obstacles they have encountered along the way. The study’s findings have implications for social work practice and policies and programs intended to positively influence the postsecondary educational attainment of youth transitioning to adulthood from state care.

URL

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26372-0_17https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2F978-3-030-26372-0_17.pdf

Keyword(s)

postsecondary attainment care-leavers policy practice

Reference Type

Book Chapter

Book Title

Education in Out-of-Home Care: International Perspectives on Policy, Practice and Research

Author(s)

Courtney, Mark E.
Okpych, Nathanael J.

Editor(s)

McNamara, Patricia
Montserrat, Carme
Wise, Sarah

Year Published

2019

Pages

239-253

Publisher

Springer International Publishing

City of Publication

Cham

ISSN/ISBN

978-3-030-26372-0

DOI

10.1007/978-3-030-26372-0_17

Reference ID

6700