Interdisciplinary PhD candidate Brittany Barker
Brittany Barker, Interdisciplinary PhD candidate recently wins the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Doctoral Research Award for her project titled, “Street-Involved Youth and the Child Welfare System: Evidence to Improve Outcomes.”
Brittany’s project looks at the child welfare system. Children and youth currently in this system have notably poor outcomes, including elevated rates of substance misuse, homelessness, incarceration, unplanned pregnancies, poverty, underemployment, physical, and mental health issues. Whether it is the events that precede government intervention or the experiences youth go through during their tenure in government care, research indicates that the child welfare system is not sufficiently protective. The outcomes for youth who age-out of government care are also troubling, as the transition is fraught with challenges as services are abruptly terminated at the legal age of majority in BC. While there is growing concern for this highly vulnerable population and several targeted interventions have been developed, little has been done to assess the impact of these efforts on health outcomes and behaviours.
Drawing on data from a longitudinal cohort of over 700 street-involved youth who use illicit drugs, Brittany’s project will study the impact that targeted interventions to support youth in, and aging out of, the child welfare system have on health outcomes, and she hopes that it will inform future policy interventions to improve the child welfare system.