Foster Youth Identity Fraud Victimization: Prevalence and Characteristics, Risk Factors, and Protective Interventions
Publication Date
2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Abstract
Identity fraud poses serious risks for youth in foster care. As young people move through various out-of-home placements and schools, their sensitive personal data are often widely disseminated and difficult to secure. When they transition from foster care to adulthood, identity fraud victims with compromised credit histories may be denied loans, employment, insurance, and/or stable and affordable housing, adding barriers to the achievement of key developmental tasks during the already-precarious period of emerging adulthood. To discover and resolve cases of identity fraud, state child welfare agencies are required by federal law to conduct annual credit checks for adolescent youth in foster care. Although the federal credit check mandate was first enacted more than a decade ago, very few studies have investigated the prevalence or nature of foster youth identity fraud victimization, or the risk factors associated with such victimization. To address these knowledge gaps, this dissertation examines credit monitoring and identity protection program outcomes for young people in Virginia’s foster care system. Chapter 2 investigates the prevalence, characteristics, and demographic correlates of identity fraud victimization among a population-based cohort of 4,670 youth who received credit checks from November 2015 through December 2021. In Chapter 3, logistic regression models examine demographic and foster care placement factors associated with differing odds of victimization among a subsample of 1,176 cohort youth who received a credit check during Virginia state fiscal year 2021. In a separate but related analysis, Chapter 4 explores the implementation of credit freezes as protective interventions for vulnerable children in foster care. Findings from these studies underscore the importance of credit monitoring and identity protection practices in foster care service contexts.
Creative Commons License
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Recommended Citation
Gyourko, J. R. (2024). Foster youth identity fraud victimization: Prevalence and characteristics, risk factors, and protective interventions [Doctoral dissertation, University of Pennsylvania]. Penn ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/entities/publication/1f5b96b6-a6d0-49b7-b803-eb5ed3bf3e65/full
