Long-Term Benefits of Providing Transitional Services to Youth Aging-Out of the Child Welfare System: Evidence from a Cohort of Young People Who Use Drugs in Vancouver, Canada

Youth aging-out of the child welfare system (CWS) experience numerous vulnerabilities including, elevated rates of substance use and substance use disorders. Calls to improve services to transition youth to independence are common; however, evidence of the long-term impacts associated with transitional service utilization is scarce. Further, existing services frequently lack appropriate supports for substance using youth and it is unknown if youth are able to access such services. In the present study, we assess the relationship between transitional service utilization and health and social outcomes among a cohort of people who use drugs (PWUD) that aged-out of the CWS.

Publication Date: 
2020
Journal Name: 
International Journal of Drug Policy