The relationship between re-incarceration and their own childhood foster care experience of women

Abstract

Using matched state administrative records of women in the Illinois state prison system, we investigate whether incarcerated women with foster care experience during their early (aged 10 to 14) and late (aged 15 to 18) teens do better or worse in re-incarceration rates compared to female counterparts who went to prison but had no foster care experience. We find that women with the early-teen foster care experience have higher rates of re incarceration than women without foster care, regardless of whether they were reunited with their parents. The adverse association between the first foster care placement during early-teens and re-incarceration is particularly stronger among former female inmates with low education or history of drug addiction than others. We conclude that incarcerated women with foster care experiences, especially in their early teens, need more attention and extra support from the appropriate institutions upon their release. In addition, it seems that foster care can work as a strong signal of possible re-incarceration among women with low education and history of drug addiction. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.