Post Permanency Outcomes of Youth Adopted out of Foster Care: Implications on State and Federal Policy

Abstract

A mixed methods approach was taken to compare the post-permanency outcomes of youth who had been adopted out of foster care and their peers who aged out of the foster care system. To complete this assessment, focus groups of adults who had been adopted out of foster care were conducted throughout the state of Connecticut and longitudinal data from the National Youth in Transition Database was analyzed. Results seem to associate youth who were adopted out of foster care at age 17 having more positive outcomes than those who aged out of foster care between the ages of 18 and 20, but had similar outcomes to those who stayed in foster care until at least the age of 21. Further research is needed, given the scarcity in literature and research surrounding the outcomes of adults who had been adopted from foster care in their youth.