Researchers Find Association between Participation in Extended Foster Care and Reduced Risk of Homelessness

Authors

Feng, H., Harty, J.S., Okpych, N.J. & Courtney, M.E.

Type
Paper/Research
Year published
2020
Title

Researchers Find Association between Participation in Extended Foster Care and Reduced Risk of Homelessness

Organization

Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago

Abstract

This memo examines experiences of homelessness that occurred between participants’ first and third interviews—about a 4-year period between ages 17 and 21. During both the second and third rounds of interviews, respondents were asked about experiences of homelessness since their last CalYOUTH interview. In this memo, homelessness is defined as staying in a “homeless shelter or in a place where people were not meant to sleep because you had no place to stay” for at least one night. We created a dichotomous variable capturing homelessness between Waves 1 and 3, which distinguished between youth who had and had not been homeless. We also investigated the associations between homelessness and other characteristics of the youths and their experiences.