Children's academic achievement and foster care.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Poor school outcomes for children in out-of-home placement (OHP) raise concerns about the adequacy of child welfare and educational policy for this vulnerable population. We analyzed the relation between OHP and academic achievement, focusing on reading and math achievement in grades 3 through 8.


METHODS
Linked administrative data were used for our analytic sample comprising 529 597 child-year observations for 222 049 children who experienced OHP or were in a comparison group. Three models were estimated: a pooled ordinary least squares regression that considered placement status and test scores net of the full set of control variables; an identical model that added the previous year's test scores as an additional control; and a final model that included child-specific fixed effects.


RESULTS
Children in OHP settings had achievement test scores at least 0.6 SD below average. However, we found similar deficits across children with past, current, and future exposure to OHP and, in our preferred model, OHP (past, current, or future placement) had no statistically discernible relation with either reading or math achievement.


CONCLUSIONS
OHP by itself is not significantly related to school achievement; however, evidence reveals consistently low average math and reading achievement among children involved with Child Protective Services.
['Berger|Lawrence M|LM|', 'Cancian|Maria|M|', 'Han|Eunhee|E|', 'Noyes|Jennifer|J|', 'Rios-Salas|Vanessa|V|']
D000293:Adolescent D002648:Child D004522:Educational Status D005260:Female D005581:Foster Home Care D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008433:Mathematics D011932:Reading
foster care child welfare child protective services out-of-home care