International Journal of Education and Social Science (IJESS)

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has reported that over 500,000 foster care children were admitted to the foster care system for the fiscal year of 2015. The overall annual cost of foster care placement in the U.S. exceeds $9 billion dollars, a value shared by both the state and federal entities. The lack of effective placement and services often lead to low academic attainment and higher probability for children to become adjudicated delinquents. Placement in foster care affects children's emotional development, which can lead to adverse outcomes on behavior and mental health due to inconsistent nurturing and lack of parental contact. The costs for negative foster care outcomes include, emotional, physical, and psychological impairment, coupled with the separation of biological families, in many cases surpasses the monetary costs of foster care placement. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between foster care placement, academic attainment and juvenile delinquency through a theoretical framework including Street Level Bureaucracy Theory (SLBT) and Social Control Theory.