Youth

Between 2015 and 2019, the gap between employment rates for young adults who have experienced foster care and those who have not, decreased in Washington State. During the same time period however, the gap in median earnings between the two groups widened, and that increase cannot be attributed to differences in number of hours worked. Longitudinal analysis shows that over time, the employment rate for young adults who have experienced foster care approaches the employment rate for young adults who have not, but that the gap in median earnings continues to increase.

READ THE ERDC REPORT ON EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE OUTCOMES FOR CHILDREN & YOUTH IN FOSTER CARE

Employment Among Young Adults, Age 18+, by Former Foster Status, 2015-2019

 

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Employment Among Young Adults, Age 18+, by Former Foster Status, 2015-2019

Source: Chen, V. W. and Hough, G. C. (2021) Education and Workforce Outcomes for Children and Youth in Foster Care. Olympia, WA: Education Research and Data Center, Office of Financial Management.

One of DCYF’s strategic priorities is that we create successful transitions to adulthood for youth and young adults in our care. Graduation from high school is an outcome indicator for this priority. Statewide, the 2022 four year graduating cohort included 85,240 students, 82% of whom graduated on time. In most years, an additional 2-3 percent of the class have graduated by the end of their fifth year. Among that 2022 cohort, 623 youth were indicated as having been in foster care. Youth who have not been in foster care graduated at the rate of the overall class, whereas 53% of youth who had been in foster care graduated on time. In recent years, an additional 2-10% of those youth did graduate from high school after their fifth year.

VIEW THE 2021-22 GRADUATION REPORT CARD

Employment for youth and young adults leaving residential facilities in Juvenile Rehabilitation is another outcome indicator for creating successful transitions to adulthood for youth and young adults in our care. Among young adults released in State Fiscal Year 2021, 68% found some work in the following year. Across the years, employment rates varied significantly by race and ethnicity. Asian clients had the highest rates of employment, while American Indian/Alaska Native clients had the lowest.

READ THE REPORT, EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES FOR YOUTH RELEASED FROM JUVENILE REHABILITATION

Quarters Worked First Year After Release from Juvenile Rehabilitation by Young Adults 18+ at Release, SFY 2014-2021

 

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Quarters Worked First Year After Release from Juvenile Rehabilitation by Young Adults 18+ at Release, SFY 2014-2021

Source: Goins, A. (2022). Employment outcomes for clients released from juvenile rehabilitation. Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families Office of Innovation, Alignment, and Accountability. https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/reports/EmploymentOutcomes-ReleasedJR2022.pdf
DCYF. (October 2023). Automated Client Tracking (ACT). [7/1/2022-6/30/2023]. Employment Security Department (ESD). (October 2023). [7/1/2022-6/30/2023]. 

Housing instability is a balancing indicator for our outcomes related to creating successful transitions to adulthood. Youth and young adults who exit the foster care system without being placed into a permanent family through reunification, adoption, or guardianship are often referred to as "aging out" of foster care. These youth are at higher risk of becoming homeless or unstably housed than those who have a family to support them at this critical life transition. Across the past five years, within 12 months of leaving care, about 20% of former foster youth experienced an episode of housing instability or homelessness.

Analysis has also been done about the housing instability of youth and young adults (ages 12 to 25) who are released from a Juvenile Rehabilitation institution. From 2018-2021, the rates of homelessness for youth and young adults leaving Juvenile Rehabilitation institutions has mirrored those of former foster youth. Across the past five years, 20 percent experienced an episode of housing instability or homelessness within 12 months of discharge.

VIEW THE REPORT FROM THE RESEARCH AND DATA ANALYSIS DIVISION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES

Another outcome indicator for the strategic priority to improve the quality and availability of provider services is mental health need and parole aftercare availability for youth and young adults released from Juvenile Rehabilitation facilities. Post-release aftercare services increase the likelihood that youth and young adults will reenter their communities and live socially responsible and stable lifestyles. About half of youth and young adults with identified mental health needs are released with no parole aftercare services. DCYF continues to strive to find creative ways to service the unfunded post-release needs of this group. Each year, among the youth and young adults who are released to Intensive Parole services, more than half have identified mental health needs.

READ THE REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE, INTENSIVE PAROLE SERVICES FOR HIGH-RISK JUVENILE OFFENDERS

Youth and Young Adults Released from Juvenile Rehabilitation, by Identified Mental Health Need and Parole Aftercare, SFY 2016-2023

 

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Youth and Young Adults Released from Juvenile Rehabilitation, by Identified Mental Health Need and Parole Aftercare, SFY 2016-2023

Source: DCYF. (October 2023). Automated Client Tracking System (ACT) [July 2016-June 2023]. 
Notes: This measure has been updated to indicate mental health need based on the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs - Short Screener (GAIN-SS). Approximately 2% of clients who release each year were not assessed by the GAIN-SS. Mental health need is identified using the Internalizing Disorder Screener in the GAIN-SS. A score of 1 or more was used as it suggests a need for mental health treatment (Dennis, M. L., Feeney, T., & Titus, J. C. (2013). Global Appraisal of Individual Needs–Short Screener (GAIN-SS): Administration and scoring manual, version 3. Bloomington,IL: Chestnut Health Systems.)

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is the primary residential treatment for youth and young adults in Washington’s Juvenile Rehabilitation (JR) facilities. Two integral components of DBT are individual counseling sessions and skills groups. JR’s standard is for residents to attend 4 of each per month. Equitable access to appropriate treatment is a driver of equitable outcomes. Residents who are Black/African American or Asian/Pacific Islander received less DBT treatment than did other groups.

READ THE EVALUATION OF DIALECTICAL BEHAVIOR THERAPY IN WASHINGTON STATE’S JUVENILE REHABILITATION

READ THE UPDATE ON THE 2019 DIALECTICAL BEHAVIOR THERAPY RECOMMENDATIONS

In 2021, the HYS surveyed 9,378 10th-graders in Washington. Of the 8,506 who reported their living situations, 8,150 (95.8%) lived with parents/guardians, 194 (2.3%) lived with other relatives, 30 (0.4%) lived in foster care, and 132 (1.6%) lived with others or on their own. Of those living with parents/guardians, 37.4 percent reported feeling depressed, compared to 52 percent of students who did not live with parents/guardians.

10th Graders Reporting Depression, by Living Situation, 2021

 

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10th Graders Reporting Depression, by Living Situation, 2021

Source: Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Health Care Authority Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery, & Liquor and Cannabis Control Board (2021). Healthy Youth Survey [2021]. https://askhys.net
Notes: "Does Not Live with Parents/Guardians" includes students who live with other relatives (kinship care), who are in foster care, or who have other living situations.

DCYF’s third outcome goal related to education is that high school students graduate on time. Among 85,240 high school students in the 2022 cohort, 70,121 (82%) graduated on time.

Among that 2022 cohort, about half (43,997) are indicated as low-income students. Non-low-income students graduated at a rate of 94%. By comparison, 84% of low-income students graduated on time.

Of youth receiving Juvenile Rehabilitation services during the 2005-2006 school year who were enrolled in ninth grade, 9 percent graduated on time (2008-2009) and an additional 5 percent graduated within the following two years.

View the 2021-22 Graduation Report Card

Four Year Graduation Rate, by Income Group, Classes of 2013-2022

 

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Four Year Graduation Rate, by Income Group, Classes of 2013-2022

Source: Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (2023). Report card graduation [2013-2022]. https://data.wa.gov/education/Report-Card-Graduation-2014-15-to-Most-Recent-Year/9dvy-pnhx
Notes: Graduation rates are calculated using the “adjusted cohort” methodology. This method tracks a group of students entering ninth grade for the first time and tracks them over time, not relying on estimates.