Lost In Foster Care

Contact:

Jennifer Hogansen, PhD
    Research Assistant Professor
    503-725-9603
    hogansen@pdx.edu

What are the experiences of youth with disabilities in foster care?

The following research, funded by the National Institute for Disability Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), examined children and youth in foster care who experience a disability. This population has been prioritized for study because their number is increasing in size, their outcomes following foster care are extremely poor, and virtually no information exists related to the unique factors and disparities which they may face in the foster care system. In effect, children and youth with disabilities have been Lost in Foster Care.

In particular, there is an alarming absence of information regarding the incidence and characteristics of youth with disabilities in foster care, particularly for adolescents. As such, the Lost in Foster Care study provides original data documenting the disability statistics for children and youth with disabilities in foster care. To do so, Oregon’s State Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS) was examined, which records demographic and contextual information for each youth in the state’s care. Records were analyzed for a total of 8561 children and youth who had been in foster care for at least two weeks as of October 15, 2005. Fifty-one percent of the children and youth were male, and 63% were “White”. Ages ranged from 0 to 21, with a mean age of 8 years. The majority of children and youth were placed in care due to findings of Neglect/Threat of Harm (18%) or Lack of Supervision/Protection (16%). Sixty-one percent of youth were placed in non-kinship foster care placements.

Because the state of Oregon does not specifically record whether a youth experiences a disability, the state database category of “special problems” was systematically converted to represent this variable. Across all ages, a total of 72% of children and youth were reported to have a verified or suspected disability. More specifically, 26% were reported to experience at least one disability verified with a clinical diagnosis; however, an additional 47% were “suspected” of experiencing at least one disability. Regarding co-occurrence, 18% of the sample had more than one disability, either suspected (9%) or verified (9%). Twenty-nine percent of all youth in care (n = 2507) were age 13 or older, and the rates for suspected and verified disability were considerably higher for this group: 34% of these adolescents were reported to experience at least one verified disability, while another 49% were suspected of experiencing at least one disability (for a total of 84% suspected plus verified). Co-occurrence rates were also higher, with 33% of adolescents experiencing more than one disability (suspected = 16%, verified = 17%).

The full report of this research provides additional information regarding demographic and contextual variables, including age, gender, ethnicity, type of foster care, and type of abuse experienced. Findings include comparisons between adolescents with disabilities and their peers without disabilities. In general, when compared to their peers without disabilities, youth with disabilities were found to have more restrictive placements (e.g., residential treatment, psychiatric hospitalization) and had abuse histories of physical and sexual abuse, rather than neglect, emotional abuse, or threat of harm.

Please contact Dr. Hogansen for additional information.

Results were recently presented at the 16th National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect. Please click on the following link to access the Powerpoint presentation:

Lost In Foster Care Presentation - April, 2007 (pdf file)