Table 1.

Research Meeting Eligibility Criteria for Review of Mental Health Disorders and Service Use among Foster Youth

Author	Sample Size	Sample Exclusion Criteria	Data Collection Methods	Study Limitations
Barth (1990)	55	Youth in criminal justice, mental health or child welfare system (cws); Discharge from cws < 1 year or > 10 years	Face to face interviews	Snowball sampling methods were implemented in one city. Findings may not be generalizable to all former foster youth.
Courtney et al. (2001)	Wave 1: 141 Wave 2: 113	Developmental disability (dd)	Face to face interviews	The sample size is small, reflects a population in Wisconsin, and findings may not be generalizable to youth in other states.
Courtney et al. (2004; 2005; 2007; 2010; 2011); Keller et al., 2010	Wave 1: 732 Wave 2: 603 Wave 3: 591 Wave 4: 602 Wave 5: 596	In jail or psychiatric hospital Mental illness or development disability Non-English speaking Foster care for reason other than child maltreatment	Face to face interviews	The Midwest study excluded youth who could not participate in an interview due to incarceration or psychiatric hospitalization at the time of the interview’ and severe mental illness.
McMillen & Tucker (1999)	252	Discharged Case open for adoption subsidies only < 6 months in care Unable to locate	Administrative data & case file review	The use of state child welfare administrative data precludes detailed information about mental health service use.
McMillen et al. (2004; 2005); McMillen & Raghavan (2009); Vaughn et al. 2007)	Wave1: 406 Wave 9: 325	IQ < 70 or communication disorder Discharged or on run Lives >100 miles past study area	Face to face interviews	Inclusion criteria do not indicate that participants entered foster care due to child abuse and neglect as opposed to delinquency or behavioral problems.
Needell et al., 2002	10,228	Records without social security information	Linked administrative data review	The use of administrative data precludes detailed information about mental health service use. In addition, disorders are placed into broad categories that make it a challenge to report specific disorders, such as PTSD.
Pecora et al., (2009)	1,087	Placed with a Casey foster family <12 months Discharged from foster care at least 12 months before interview	Case file review and face to face interviews	It could be that the characteristics of participants differ from the general population of aging out foster youth. In the general study of 1087 participants (aged 20–51), it is important to point out that not all participants aged out of foster care. Given the focus of this review, we report rates among alumni who were between the ages 20 to 26 (n=318) during the interview.
Shin (2005)	113	In substitute care < 6 months Placed in restrictive care setting Run away; jail, or development disability	Face to face interviews & administrative data review	The use of sample selection criteria, which restricted the inclusion of youth in residential treatment, precludes information about a population assumed to have high mental health needs.
Shook et al. (2011)	1,361	Did not turn 17 in foster care	Retrospective administrative data review	This study’s findings of cross system involvement is representative of those youth who receive services in one county. Therefore the findings may not reflect the experiences of youth served in multiple counties.