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| ABSTRACT: The Outcomes of Independent Living project was a collaborative research project between the University of Maryland Center for Families, the Family Welfare Research and Training Group, and the Baltimore City Department of Social Services. The purpose of this project was to provide information on the outcomes of young adults who left out-of-home care in Baltimore City. Choice of outcomes was guided by the federal legislation in collaboration with Baltimore City Department of Social Service staff. The outcomes of interest included educational achievement, employment status, homelessness, parenthood, life skills, health risk behavior and criminal activity. Explanatory domains examined included social support, spirituality, and stress. A single cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the outcomes of a cohort of 186 young adults who left the out-of-home care of the Baltimore City Department of Social Services between October 1, 1999 and September 30, 2000. Administrative data related to employment and public assistance was collected for the 186 young adults. A computer-assisted self-administered interview was also used to collect outcome data related to self-sufficiency including: educational attainment, employment, housing, parenthood, life skills, health care access, health risk behavior, drug abuse, and criminal activity. Descriptive findings of this study are similar to those from other studies of independent living outcomes. The cross-sectional design of this project prevented examination of causal relationships between outcomes and explanatory domains. Nevertheless, findings suggest that young adults may benefit from support in the following areas as they transition from out-of-home care to adulthood: housing, education, and employment. In addition, the findings provide additional support for the assertion that social support systems, both familial and peer, may play critical roles during this transition. PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Diane DePanfilis, PhD FUNDING SOURCE: Baltimore City Department of Social Services AMOUNT OF FUNDING: $128,523 PROJECT DATES: 2001 – 2003; 2003 - Present (Secondary data analysis) PRODUCTS:
Final Report
DePanfilis, D., & Daining, C. (2003). Assessment of outcomes of independent living final report. Study funded by Baltimore City Department of Social Services. Baltimore, MD: University of Maryland School of Social Work, Center for Families and Family Welfare Research and Training Group. DePanfilis, D., & Daining, C. (2003). Aftercare Study: Outcomes of Independent Living final report. Study funded by Baltimore City Department of Social Services. Baltimore, MD: University of Maryland School of Social Work, Center for Families and Family Welfare Research and Training Group. Dissertation:
Daining, C. (2005). Resilience of Youth in Transition from Out-of-Home Care to Adulthood. Doctoral Dissertation. University of Maryland School of Social Work. Selected Presentations:
DePanfilis, D. Outcomes of Independent Living Project. Presentation at the DSS Social Services Administrators Meeting. Baltimore, February 25, 2003. DePanfilis, D. Outcomes of Independent Living Project. Presentation at the Independent Living Program Workgroup Meeting. Baltimore, April 3, 2003. Peer Reviewed Presentation:
Daining, C. & DePanfilis, D. Resilience of Youth in Transition from out-of-Home Care to Adulthood. Presentation planned for the 2007 Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work and Research, San Francisco, January 11-16, 2007. Peer Reviewed Paper:
Daining, C, & DePanfilis, D. (2007). Resilience of youth in transition from out-of-home care to adulthood. Children & Youth Services Review, 29, 1158-1178.
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