From juvenile justice involvement to incarceration in young adulthood: Do independent living services matter?

Despite high rates of juvenile justice system involvement among youth emancipating from foster care, we continue to know very little about how independent living services (ILS) receipt may be differentially associated with young adult outcomes between dual-system and non-dual-system youth. Using data from the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD), this study examines how the association between criminal justice system involvement in young adulthood and ILS receipt depends on dual-system status. Survey non-response weights are calculated using child welfare system history and demographic measures. Models are fit separately to predict incarceration between 17–19 and 19–21. Results show that receipt of ILS before 17 is significantly associated with decreased risk of incarceration between 17–19 for all youth, regardless of dual-system status. The results suggest that the relationship between ILS and incarceration does not depend on dual-system status at the national level, but does when accounting for state variation.