The Children’s Bureau in the Administration for Children and Families contracted with the Urban Institute and its partners—the Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago and the National Opinion Research Center—to conduct an evaluation of selected programs funded through John Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (CFCIP). This evaluation, using a rigorous, random assignment design, was called for in the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999. The goal of the evaluation is to determine the effects of Independent Living Programs funded under CFCIP in achieving key outcomes for participating youth including increased educational attainment, higher employment rates and stability, greater interpersonal and relationship skills, reduced non-marital pregnancy and births, and reduced delinquency and crime rates. An initial evaluability assessment was conducted to identify programs that could be rigorously evaluated and to develop an evaluation design that would meet the requirements of the authorizing legislation. Programs participating in the evaluation include an employment services program in Kern County, California; a one-on-one intensive, individualized life skills program in Massachusetts; and, a tutoring/mentoring program and a classroom-based life skills training program, both in Los Angeles County, California.

Investigators: Mark E. Courtney, Ph.D. University of Wisconsin Madison, WI

Matthew W. Stagner, Ph.D. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Washington, DC

Michael Pergamit, Ph.D. Urban Institute Washington, DC