Impact of Juvenile Confinement on Young Adult Pathways of Former Foster Youth

This book shares results from a mixed method study of former foster youth and the experiences that influenced the trajectory of their lives during their transitional adulthood years.

Readers will come away from the book with a better understanding of the life events that most significantly influence foster youth’s transition to adulthood and how this knowledge can inform policy and practice. Through an extensive review of the literature, readers will gain broad knowledge of research in the areas of foster youth and offending trajectories, other young adult outcomes of foster youth, and the effect of juvenile detention on the likelihood of adult offending. Quantitative findings from a national sample of foster youth highlight the negative impact of confining foster youth as juveniles. Qualitative findings point to life experiences that promote self-agency, determination, and resiliency in youth aging out of care. Figures and tables present these findings in an easily accessible format. Readers will learn through both the quantitative and qualitative results that the ages of 17–19 are of utmost importance in helping former foster youth transition successfully to adulthood. Narratives of participant stories with direct quotations make the qualitative findings a compelling read. Numerous policy and research implications of the findings are shared that can direct academics and practitioners alike.

Practitioners working with youth transitioning out of care, researchers, and instructors will all find this book a practical and meaningful resource. Practitioners will gain insights that will enable them to provide needed support for young people transitioning out of foster care. Policymakers may use the research to help advocate for policies suggested by the study’s findings such as increased use of diversion and extended foster care. Findings of the study raise new questions for researchers to explore further. Instructors will find this an excellent supplemental text for a graduate-level social work, sociology, or criminology course.

Ronda Shepherd Engstrom is Assistant Professor of Criminology at Davis & Elkins College in West Virginia. Dr Engstrom has published in Crime & Delinquency and the Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice. Her research interests include foster care and offending, youth transitioning out of care, educational engagement as a protective factor, resiliency, and student engagement through service learning. Dr Engstrom serves her community as a volunteer at a state correctional facility and as a board member of the Centers Against Violence. Dr Engstrom has a backgroundin teaching sociology, leading ministry in her faith community and working as a parent educator/counselor for a child abuse prevention program.