The foster care system attempts to prepare maltreated children and youth for successful adult lives. This study documents the economic advantages of a privately funded foster care program that provided longer term, more intensive and more expensive services compared to public programs.
The study found significant differences in major adult educational, health and social outcomes between children placed in a private program and those placed in public programs operated by Oregon and Washington.
Based on available data, the estimated present value of the enhanced foster care services exceeded their extra costs. Based on the roughly 100,000 adolescents age 12-17 entering foster care each year, if all of them were to receive the private model of services, the savings for a single cohort of these children could be about $6.3 billion in 2007 dollars.
Zerbe, J. R., Plotnick, R., Kessler, R. C., Pecora, P.J., Hiripi, E., O’Brien, K., Williams, J., English, D., & White, J. (2009) Benefits and costs of intensive foster care services: The Casey Family Programs compared to state services. Contemporary Economic Policy, 27 (3), 308-320. Published Online: Feb. 16, 2009. Link: http://bit.ly/1OFZ6t from ilrinc.com
Related posts:
- Prevention Initiative Demonstration Project from Casey Family Programs
- SF Family and Children Services Foster Care Therapeutic Program Proposal
- Briefing Examines Economic Costs of Child Poverty
- Policy Update – Who Controls Foster Care Programs, Juvenile Justice and Foster Youth
- Cutting foster care money likely costs California in the long run
