Open AccessFostering Healthy Futures Preventive Intervention for Children in Foster Care: Long-term Delinquency Outcomes from a Randomized Controlled Trial
Author(s) -
Heather N. Taussig,
Julia Dmitrieva,
Edward F. Garrido,
John L. Cooley,
Erin Crites
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
prevention science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1573-6695
pISSN - 1389-4986
DOI - 10.1007/s11121-021-01235-6
Subject(s) - juvenile delinquency , foster care , intervention (counseling) , poison control , psychology , randomized controlled trial , suicide prevention , health psychology , injury prevention , clinical psychology , medicine , psychiatry , public health , nursing , medical emergency , surgery
Child maltreatment and foster care placement are strong risk factors for delinquency and juvenile justice involvement, and there is substantial crossover between youth in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. This study examines the long-term impact of the Fostering Healthy Futures (FHF) program, a 30-week mentoring and skills group preventive intervention for preadolescent maltreated children in foster care. Participants included 426 children recently placed in out-of-home care who were randomized to intervention or control conditions. Outcomes included both self-reported delinquency, measured at multiple time points between 6 months and 12 years post-intervention, as well as court records of delinquency charges, which were measured for 7 consecutive years beginning 3 months after the intervention began. Results from multilevel models indicated that the intervention group self-reported 30-82% less total and non-violent delinquency than the control group between ages 14 and 18. Court charges for total and violent delinquency in mid-adolescence were also 15-30% lower for the intervention group. These findings indicate that a mentoring and skills training program in preadolescence can reduce delinquency and justice involvement for children who are at high risk for these outcomes.