Delinquency in the Child Welfare System

PROJECT SUMMARY FOR 2003-IJ-CX-1004 Data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) will be used to examine how individual and family characteristics and social services are associated with delinquent behavior among children and adolescents in the child welfare system. A particular focus will be the relative impact of child welfare services settings- group care, foster care, kinship foster care, and remaining in the home. The project will examine delinquent behaviors and assoicated characteristics of youth in the child welfare system and identify predictors in the transition to and from delinquency over an 18-month period. The NSCAW cohort includes 5,504 children, ages birth to 15, who was investigated by child welfare services agencies following an allegation of maltreatment. NSCAW is unique in that children are followed whether their cases are closed following the investigation or open and receiving child welfare services. Data were collected from caregivers, youth, child werfare workers, and teachers. Wave I (baseline) and Wave 3 (18-month follow-up) data will be used. At base-line, the 1,886 subjects were 6- to 15-year-olds; 52% are female, 30% African-American, 51% White, and 19% Hispanic. This data will address the following questions: (1) What proportion of youth exibit the various types of delinquent behaviors? (2) What individual -level factors are associated with delinquent behaviors? (3) What family -level factors are associated with delinquent behaviors? (4) What is the level of agreement between youth and caregiver reports of delinquency, and how does such agreement vary by sex, age, race, and child welfare services settings? (5) Which individual-level risk factors predict the transition to/from more serious delinquent behavior? (6) Does remaining in the home and receiving child welfare services have an effect on delinquency compared to remaining in the home and not receiving services? (7) Among children who enter out-of-home care, is residing in kinship foster care, foster care, or group care associated with the rate of delinquent behavior at 18 months? Ca/ncf