Evaluating an Intervention to Prevent Homelessness and Other Poor Outcomes among Youth Aging Out of Orphanages in Poland

A number of recent studies (in the US, Poland and other nations) have documented that youth often experience homelessness soon after “aging out” of foster care. The present study evaluated an innovative new program that... [ view full abstract ]

A number of recent studies (in the US, Poland and other nations) have documented that youth often experience homelessness soon after “aging out” of foster care. The present study evaluated an innovative new program that attempted to prevent such experience with homelessness, as well as other negative outcomes, after leaving state care. Building Resilience through Intervention, Guidance, and Empowerment (BRIGE) engaged youth in orphanages in southern Poland at age 17, prior to their expected “aging out.” BRIGE provided emotional and other support for multiple years during the transition to adulthood. BRIGE’s comprehensive focus involved flexibility, home visits, and a preventive orientation. Graduate students in psychology served as mentors and were each assigned 1-2 youth with whom they worked over at least 2 full years.
The first two cohorts of youth served by the pilot BRIGE intervention have a full 18 months of follow-up data (N=9). Structured interviews were done at baseline at age 17, and 6-month, 12-month, and 18-month follow-ups. All 9 youth exited the orphanage between the 6- and 12-month interviews. Other analyses compared the 9 BRIGE clients (at 18 months) to a matched sample from an earlier survey of orphanage youth not served by BRIGE or any other intensive program (N=18).
Significant (p<.05) linear effects, all showing improvements among the 9 BRIGE clients, were obtained in repeated measures ANOVAs on total monthly income and two measures of psychological distress (i.e., obsessive-compulsive and paranoid symptoms). While none of the BRIGE clients experienced homelessness during the follow-up period, 7 of the comparison clients did (χ² (1, N=27)=4.73; p<.05). A significant ANOVA (p<.01) showed that the BRIGE clients had more total income than the comparison group. Implications for future research, intervention, and policy will be discussed and the audience will be engaged in this discussion.
Key words: youth leaving foster care, prevention, homelessness, poverty.