SRP Year
2000-2001
Principal Investigator(s)
- Jane McLeod
David Takeuchi
Study Description
The TAME Study focused on foster children's transitions into adulthood. Researchers were interested in learning more about the day-to-day experiences of teenagers who are in foster care, how they think about their futures, and what they see as the barriers to making successful transitions into independent living. The study also included an evaluation component in which foster children give their impressions of their experiences in the foster care system.
The TAME Study involved four different data collection activities: telephone surveys and in-depth interviews with teenagers who are currently in the foster care system in Indiana; a mail survey of Division of Family and Children case managers; and a telephone survey of Indiana residents (the Indiana poll).
Researchers have already conducted a number of studies of foster care, but most of those studies have collected data only from case managers or foster parents. There are only a few studies that have asked teens who are in foster care about their experiences directly.
This study would not have been possible without the support and assistance of the Division of Family and Children and its case managers, and without the thoughtful participation of the foster children themselves.
Research Team
Cher Jamison
Lexi Berkowitz
Paul Ruggerio Namaste
Camilla Saulsbury
This study was conducted with support from the staff at the Center for Survey Research at Indiana University and used the Center's centralized telephone interviewing facility located on the Bloomington campus. CSR interviewers assisted in data collection.
Sources of Support
This study was supported by funding from the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University-Bloomington.