Youth who age out of foster care are at risk of poor outcomes and risky behaviors in young adulthood. Yet, little is known about what child welfare workers can do to decrease these risks. The effect of foster care placement instability on substance use and risky sexual behaviors is examined using data from 114 young adults who aged out of care. When controlling for variables commonly associated with these behaviors, a history of foster care placement instability increased the young adults' likelihood to use substances. Child welfare practitioners could potentially reduce the vulnerability of this population by providing them greater stability during adolescence.Keywords Foster care youth Á Aging out Á Placement stability Á Substance use Á Risky sexual behaviors Á Foster care Á Young adult outcomes Youth who age out of foster care are at an elevated risk of negative outcomes in young adulthood. Risky sexual behaviors and substance use are among the risk behaviors to which this population is susceptible and engagement in these risk behaviors can create pathways to further vulnerabilities. While there is a collection of research regarding these risk behaviors among adolescents and young adults in the general population, there is little evidenced-based knowledge as to the unique factors that increase foster care youths' susceptibility to these behaviors in their transition to young adulthood. This study examines the role of placement instability while in foster care as one factor that could contribute to young adult risky behaviors.

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Keywords: Foster care; social media; technology; case managementSocial media and other digitally-based technologies are increasingly becoming commonplace platforms for both communication and connection. In the field of public child welfare, social media can pose a complex mix of risks and benefits. Its benefits include expediting such case management tasks as client contact and communication, keeping children and youth connected to siblings and family, mining for potential family and relative connections for children in out-of-home care, finding missing parents and/or runaway youth, and coordination among care-givers. Despite its many potential uses in supporting case management tasks, social media also has risks that include breached confidentiality, invasion of privacy, and inadequate protection of child, family, and worker information. Yet, there is little information in the empirical literature about either the employment of social media in public child welfare or its ethical, effective, and safe use. We undertook an exploratory study of state child welfare training administrators to examine the use, policy context, staff training, and perceived risks and benefits of social media in public child welfare.

To increase their research skills and confidence, students in a nonresearch-focused elective MSW course gathered qualitative data through cross-ethnic interviews for a formal research project. Qualitative findings from a focus group of students were used to examine the perspectives of the students, all but one of whom were women, about (a) changes in their knowledge of and attitudes toward research, (b) the struggles they experienced, and (c) whether such projects should be integrated into other courses. Implications for social work educators who are seeking to empower social work students, especially women, to conduct research are discussed.

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