Differential Risks: How Disability Shapes Risk in the Transition to Adulthood for Youth who Age Out of Foster Care.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines how disability is associated with risk during the transition to adulthood for youth who age out of foster care and considers how experiences in the child welfare system contribute to these associations.

BACKGROUND: The transition to adulthood is important for later socioeconomic standing, health, and wellbeing. Youth who age out of foster care with disabilities may require a high level of support during this transition yet may lack support.

METHOD: This study employs linear probability models to estimate the association between disability and incarceration, homelessness, childbearing, and substance abuse between ages 17 and 21 using linked administrative data from the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect (N=5,221).

RESULTS: Having a physical or sensory disability is associated with lower risk in the transition to adulthood. Alternatively, having an emotional or mental related disability is associated with increased risk of incarceration and homelessness, but the association with homelessness is accounted for by child welfare experiences.

CONCLUSION: Due to the importance of foster care and child protective histories in explaining some risky outcomes for youth with emotional and mental disabilities, policy makers and practitioners should include those early stages of care when seeking it improve outcomes in the transition to adulthood for youth with disabilities who age out of foster care.