Teens who run from foster care want to connect with their families and be "normal," according to a new study. While this is not the only reason that teens choose to leave foster care without anyone's knowledge, it is a driving factor. And because of this, finding ways to keep foster kids in connection with their families or even in placement with siblings, may go a long way to decreasing the number of foster kids who ultimately become at risk by making the decision to run away.
Researchers from The University of Kansas School of Social Welfare wanted to find out why teenagers from the Kansas foster system were running away at rates higher than in most other states in the nation. What they found, according to Phys.org was that there were many reasons that contributed to teens running away.
Per the publication, the reasons why seven percent of Kansas foster teens ran away in a 30-month period include:
- Not having control over their lives
- Craving a sense of normalcy
- Not being in safe foster environments
- Worker turnover rates mean teens never bond with their social worker
- Not having family connections
Further still, according to The University of Kansas, researchers could identify the largest risk factors that caused teens to run away. They included:
- Having a high number of foster placements
- Higher rates of hospitalizations
- Removal from familial home because of neglect
- Higher rate of trauma experiences
- Had behavioral issues
- Were male
What was interesting was that when teens had access to their family, be it their immediate or relatives, their risk of running away declined remarkably, according to the publication. Fewer times of running away went hand-in-hand with having more say in what happened in their lives as far as placement was concerned.
According to Youth.gov, nearly one-third of those in foster care will run away. The risk for doing so increases as kids age. As a result of this, intervention needs to be found that gives teens the feeling that they are supported. And in many instances, this comes from being around family.
Researchers started their study wanting to not only know why teens run away when in foster care in large numbers in Kansas but also wanting to find ways to keep teens from being at risk when out on the streets. This is because when teens are runaways, they can become victims of trafficking, exploitation, being arrested, and poor health conditions, according to Phys.org. And the way they determined this was best combated was through contact with family.
Because of this, Kansas is in the process of becoming a "Kin-First State," per the publication. This means that whenever possible, children and teens will be placed with members of their family, regardless of how far removed, to help combat the high rate of runways in the state from the system.
To help make the program a success, according to The University of Kansas, researchers have recommended that lawmakers consider the following:
- Allowing and maintaining family visitation while in foster care
- Allow foster kids to have more say in their care and placement
- Improving the placements made so that there is not a desire to run away
While the "Kin-First State" program is in its infancy, researchers have already seen a decline in runways from foster care in some areas of the state. The hope is that when they come back to interview the teens who took part in the study in the future, further gains will have been made, and fewer teens feel the need to run away from their placements in foster care.
Source: Phys.org, The University of Kansas, Youth.gov