Past Results

Wave 1

CalYOUTH Study

Who responded?

• 727 respondents
  • 59% Female
  • 41% Male
  • 16-17 years old
• In care for at least 6 months

Key Highlights

• 92% had at least one adult they could turn to for emotional support
• 66% wanted to stay in foster care after age 18
• 60% agreed social workers had been helpful to them
• ​70% agreed foster parents had been helpful to them
• 80% reported they wanted to graduate from college and nearly as many expected to do so

Learn More:
CalYOUTH Study Overview
​Chapin Hall Report: Wave 1

CalYOUTH in the Loop

Who responded?

• 180 respondents
  • 76% Female
  • 23% Male
  • 1% Other
• Between 16-24 years old

Key Highlights

• 60% indicated money was primary barrier to attend college
  • ​Learn more about college and career financial aid resources
• 50% indicated they lacked confidence to attend college
• 50% indicated friends and family were not supportive of their goal to attend college
  • ​70% CalYOUTH in the Loop respondents indicated that having a mentor would help their goals to attend college or career education

​
Outreach methods

• CalYOUTH in the Loop Surveys were conducted online via Survey Gizmo.
• The survey was 35 questions long

​Learn More
CalYOUTH in the Loop presentation for the 2015 Blueprint Conference

​Wave 2

CalYOUTH Study

Who responded?

• 611 respondents
• 60% Female
• 40% Male
• 19 years old
• 70% remained in extended foster care
• 7% left foster care but returned to extended foster care prior to being interviewed
• 23% Left foster care and did not return

Key Highlights

• 34% of youth who were no longer in care experienced homelessness since their last interview
• 14% of youth that remained in care experienced homelessness
• More than half of youth surveyed felt “Very prepared” in the areas of independent living skills, substance abuse risks, sexual health, family planning, parenting, and relationship skills
• More than 70% of youth were enrolled in school and/or employed at the time of the interview
• About 40% of youth currently enrolled in school were using a scholarship, fellowship, grant, stipend or student loan to help pay for their schooling

​Learn More:
CalYOUTH Study Overview
Chapin Hall Report: Wave 2

CalYOUTH in the Loop

Who responded?

• 248 respondents
• 76% Female
• 23% Male
• 1% Other
• Between 16-24 years old

Key Highlights

• ​40% of youth (18-21) enrolled in school were using a scholarship, fellowship, grant, stipend, or student loan to help pay for their schooling.
• Over 20% of youth in the study were not in extended foster care because they excited care to legal permanency.
  
• 28% of respondents experienced homelessness
  
• 60% of respondents had access to reliable forms of communication “always” and 72% indicated that their preferred method of communication was texting.
  

Outreach methods

• Email blasts to youth
• Email blasts to professionals in foster youth services, education
• Flyers at events (Child Welfare Council, California Youth Connection Advisory Board meeting)
• Youth Perspective Recruiter Job Opportunity
• Direct outreach to Guardian Scholars staff/coordinators or campus staff directly on the text and add your own words. Use this text to go into more detail about your company

Wave 3

CalYOUTH Study

CalYOUTH in the Loop

Who responded?

• 616 respondents
• 62% Female
• 38% Male
• 21 years old
• All respondents were no longer in foster care at the time of interview

Key Highlights

• 62.74% of respondents aged out of foster care at 21
• 9.4% by their own request decided to leave foster care
• 7.5% reunified with their parents
• Almost a quarter of youth reported being homeless since the last interview
• About two-thirds of young people “agreed,” “strongly agreed,” or “very strongly agreed,” that they were generally satisfied with their experience in care.

Learn More:
Chapin Hall Report: Wave 3
CalYOUTH Study Wave 3 Overview

​Learn more about the results from Wave 3 of the CalYOUTH Study and share your feedback and perspective!

Take the Survey