Instability in Care and Living Arrangements: Putting Foster Youth in Context

• DOI: 10.31235/osf.io/ek4c8
• Publication Date: 2019-05-17T14:41:54Z
• Authors: Youngmin Yi
• Keywords: bepress|Social and Behavioral Sciences|Sociology; SocArXiv|Social and Behavioral Sciences|Sociology; bepress|Social and Behavioral Sciences|Social Work; Social Work; Sociology; bepress|Social and Behavioral Sciences; 1. No poverty; SocArXiv|Social and Behavioral Sciences; SocArXiv|Social and Behavioral Sciences|Social Work; Social and Behavioral Sciences; 10. No inequality; 16. Peace & justice; 3. Good health

Family instability is a key dimension of social inequality in the United States. Child maltreatment one context which changes to child’s care and living arrangements, introduced when child placed foster care, could actively improve wellbeing. In this study, I analyze nationally representative sample welfare-involved youth examine whether association between arrangements driven by children’s placement or selectivity youth. find that compared children who do not enter those are more likely experience change their primary caregiver, availability secondary arrangement. When treat initial transition into as necessary, excluding it from my measures change, appears stabilize structures while constitutive relationships remain substantially less so. addition answering an important question about experiences youth, study contributes central situation “institutionalized” family life—including shaped welfare system—in broader scholarship dialogue on childhood diversity, instability, inequality.