Employment outcomes of young parents who age out of foster care

- This study analyzed administrative data for 1943 recently emancipated youths who were the parent of at least one child.
- Only half of the parents were ever employed during the first four quarters after exit, most of those who worked were not consistently employed, and the earnings of employed parents were very low.
- Several demographic and placement history characteristics were associated with an increase or decrease in the odds of being employed and/or with earnings.

Despite the high rate of early parenthood among youths in foster care, relatively little is known about the employment outcomes of young parents after they age out of the child welfare system. This study analyzed administrative data for 1943 recently emancipated youths who were the parent of at least one child. Like prior studies of former foster youths, this study finds that only half of the parents were employed at any point during the first four quarters after exiting care, most of those who worked were not consistently employed, and the earnings of parents who were employed were very low. Several demographic and placement history characteristics were associated with an increase or decrease in the odds of being employed and/or with total earnings among the parents who worked. The implications of these findings for policy and practice are discussed.