Comparing three years of well-being outcomes for youth in group care and nonkinship foster care.

Abstract

Using three waves of data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, this study examines differences in cognitive, academic, and affective well-being of youth first placed in nonkinship foster care (N = 259) and youth first placed in group care (N = 89). To compare nonrandomized groups, propensity score matching was used. Results from hierarchical linear modeling suggest that both groups of youth show improved behavior and below-average academics over time.