Handbook of Foster Youth

Currently, there are over 400,000 youth living in foster care in the United States, with over 20,000 aging out of the child welfare system each year. Foster youth are more prone to experience short- and long-term adverse developmental outcomes including diminished academic achievement and career opportunities, poor mental and overall health, financial struggles, homelessness, early sexual intercourse, and substance abuse, many of these outcomes are risk factors for involvement in the juvenile justice system. Despite their challenges, foster youth have numerous strengths and positive assets that carry them through their journeys, helping them to overcome obstacles and build resilience. The Handbook of Foster Youth brings together a prominent group of multidisciplinary experts to provide nuanced insights on the complex dynamics of the foster care system, its impact on youth's lives, and the roles of institutions and policies in the foster system. It discusses current gaps and future directions as well as recommendations to advance the field. This book provides an opportunity to reflect on the many challenges and strengths of foster youth and the child welfare system, and the combined efforts of caregivers, community volunteers, policy makers, and the professionals and researchers who work with them.

Elizabeth Trejos-Castillo is the C.R. Hutcheson Endowed Associate Professor of Human Development & Family Studies at Texas Tech University. Her research interests include individual/contextual factors, deviance and risk-taking behaviors in youth using a cross-cultural comparative mixed-method lens. Nancy Trevino-Schafer, MS, ABD, is a Doctoral Candidate in Human Development & Family Studies at Texas Tech University. Her research interests include program evaluation, adolescent development, prevention science (specifically teen pregnancy prevention), minority studies, and social justice.

Preface Section I. Part I: Understanding the Child Welfare/Foster Care System: History and Structure 1. History of Foster Care: Policy, Practice, and Reformation John R. Seita 2. Foster Care Placement Process and Settings Donna M. Aguiniga and Elissa E. Madden Part II: Foster Youth Individual Development 3. Neurobiological Development in Foster Youth: Outcomes and Intervention Kristin Bernard, Allison Frost, and Sierra Kuzava 4. Trauma and Socioemotional Development in Foster Youth: Lessons Learned from LONGSCAN Alan J. Litrownik, Laura J. Proctor, and May Yeh 5. Foster Youth Voices: An Exploratory Study on their Challenges and Strengths Nancy Trevino-Schafer and Elizabeth Trejos-Castillo Part III: Impact of Foster Care on Youth's Overall Health 6. Assessment of Youth in Foster Care Jeffrey N. Wherry 7. Physical Health and Foster Youth Yo Jackson and Lindsay Huffhines 8. The Sexual and Reproductive Health of Youth in Foster Care Amy Dworsky 9. Substance Use and Addiction Problems in Foster Youth Jordan M. Braciszewski Part IV: Foster Youth Development in Context 10. Natural Mentoring to Support the Establishment of Permanency for Youth in Foster Care John Paul Horn and Renée Spencer 11. Youth in Foster Care Relationships with Biological, Foster, and Adoptive Families Armeda Stevenson Wojciak and Nathan A. Hough 12. Factors Affecting the Educational Trajectories and Outcomes of Youth in Foster Care Katherine C. Pears, Hyoun K. Kim, and Kimbree L. Brown Section II. Part V: Aging Out of Foster Care into Independent Living: Challenges and Opportunities 13. Self-Sufficiency: Employment, Earnings, and Receipt of Public Benefits by Former Foster Youth Loring P. Jones 14. Supportive Housing Contexts and Educational Opportunities for Foster Youth Transitioning Out of Care Harriett D. Romo and Sophia M. Ortiz 15. Human Capital Accumulation: A Proposed Measure and Theoretical Framework for Foster Youth Job Placement Intervention Strategies Toni Naccarato, Emily J. Bruce, Derek J. Stafford, and Nathaniel Hawkes 16. Access and Continuity of Transitional Living Services for Foster Youth Mary Elizabeth Collins and Michelle Banks Part VI: Areas of Special Consideration in Foster Youth 17. Youth with Disabilities in Foster Care Katharine Hill and Elizabeth Lightfoot 18. Racial and Ethnic Disproportionality in Foster Care Samuel L. Myers, Jr., William J. Sabol, Man Xu, and Diana Vega Vega 19. Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Sex Trafficking of Foster Children and Youth Nadine M. Finigan-Carr and Amelia Rubenstein 20. Undocumented Immigrant Latin@ Youth and the U.S. Child Welfare System Frank Anthony Rodriguez, Vivian J. Dorsett, and John Jacob Rodriguez 21. Sexual and Gender Expansive Youth in Foster Care Nicholas Forge and Robin Hartinger-Saunders Part VII: Social Policy and Institutional Support 22. Fostering "Belonging-ness": The Role of Private Foster Care Agencies with Foster Parents and Youth Marlo A. Perry and Mary E. Rauktis 23. Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) in Child Welfare Agencies Jane Burstain, Brock Boudreau, and Jesse Booher 24. Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Systems: Crossover and Integration of Services Melissa Jonson-Reid, Allison Dunnigan, and Joseph Ryan 25. Permanent and Formal Connections: Mentors, Community Services, and Connectedness Preston A. Britner and Ciara M. Collins

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