Mark Courtney wearing a blue shirt and suit jacket in front of library shelves

Mark E Courtney, PhD

Professor Emeritus: Samuel Deutsch Professor Emeritus; Principal Investigator, California Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study
he/him/his
markc@uchicago.edu
773.702.1219
Address

969 E. 60th Street
Chicago, IL 60637

Office Location: E-7

Areas of Expertise
Child Welfare and Child Protection
Children and Adolescents
Family
Foster Care
International
Program Evaluation
Social Welfare Policy
Social Work

Professor Mark Courtney is the Principal Investigator for CalYOUTH, an evaluation of the impact of the California Fostering Connections to Success Act on outcomes during the transition to adulthood for foster youth. CalYOUTH includes collection and analysis of information from three sources: 1) transition-age youth, 2) child welfare workers, and 3) government program data. The study, led by Mark Courtney and conducted in collaboration with the California Department of Social Services and California County Welfare Directors Association, is being carried out over a 10-year period from 2012-2022.

The overall study addresses three primary research questions:

  1. Does extending foster care past age 18 influence youths’ outcomes during the transition to adulthood (e.g., education, employment, health, housing, parenting, and general well-being)?
  2. What factors influence the types of support youth receive during the transition to adulthood in the context of extended foster care?
  3. How do living arrangements and other services that result from extended foster care influence the relationship between extending care and youth outcomes?

To answer these questions, CalYOUTH followed youth (N = 727) ages 17 through 23 using in-person interviews. In addition, CalYOUTH conducted on-line surveys of California child welfare workers to obtain their perceptions of key characteristics of the service delivery context of extended foster care and the needs of and services received by youths on their caseload. Finally, CalYOUTH linked data on the foster care histories of over one-hundred thousand youths who transitioned to adulthood from foster care in California between 2006 and 2019 to data on youths' postsecondary education, employment and earnings, and receipt of need-based public program benefits during the transition to adulthood.

California Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study (CalYOUTH) Project details
Professor Mark Courtney Inducted into California Social Work Hall of Distinction
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Professors Yoonsun Choi and Waldo E. Johnson, Jr. are inducted as 2023 fellows by the American Academy of Social Work & Social Welfare (AASWSW)
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Mark Courtney Receives Distinguished Career Achievement Award
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See all news articles about Professor Emeritus: Samuel Deutsch Professor Emeritus; Principal Investigator, California Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study Mark E Courtney
Mark Courtney comments on the state of Texas’s approach to extended foster care
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Mark E. Courtney’s research on youth transitioning to adulthood from foster care is cited in a story about missing children
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Mark E. Courtney comments on California’s decision to increase funding for foster youth and families during the pandemic
Read NBC Philadelphia article
Mark Courtney and CalYOUTH team identified aspects of extended care associated with positive outcomes for youth aging out of foster care
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See all media stories featuring Mark E Courtney

Books and edited volumes:

  • Stein, M., Ward, H. & Courtney, M. E. (2011). Editor: Special Volume, Children and Youth Services Review, Young people's transitions from care to adulthood, 33(12).
  • Courtney, M. E. & Ivaniec, D. (Eds.) (2009).  Residential care of children: Comparative Perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Courtney, M. E. & Thoburn, J. (Eds.) (2009).  Children in State Care. Surrey, UK: Ashgate Publishing.
  • Courtney, M.E. & Skyles, A. (2003). Editor: Special Volume, Children and Youth Services Review, Racial disproportionality in the child welfare system, 25(5-6).
  • Courtney, M.E. (2000).  Editor: Special Volume, Children and Youth Services Review, Managed care and child welfare services: What are the issues?  22(2).
  • Barth, R. P., Courtney, M. E., Berrick, J. D., & Albert, V. (1994).  From child abuse to permanency planning: Child welfare services, pathways, and placements.  New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
  • Specht, H. & Courtney, M. E. (1994).  Unfaithful Angels: How social work has abandoned its mission. New York: The Free Press.

Journal articles and book chapters:

  • Park, S., Okpych, N.J., Harty, J.S., Courtney, .M.E. (2022). County-Level Factors Matter: The Role of Contextual Factors in Foster Youths’ Extended Foster Care Participation and Human Capital Outcomes. Child Maltreatment. doi:10.1177/10775595221088226
  • Park, S., Powers, J., Okpych, N.J., Courtney, M.E. (2021). Co-production of Care Leavers’ Transition Planning as Young Adults: An Analysis of Young People in California Foster Care, The British Journal of Social Work, 2021;, bcab252, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcab252
  • Arnau-Sabatés, L., Dworsky, A., Sala-Roca, J., & Courtney, M. E. (2021). Supporting youth transitioning from state care into adulthood in Illinois and Catalonia: Lessons from a cross-national comparison. Children and Youth Services Review, 120: 105755.
  • Katz, C.C., Courtney, M.E., Sapiro, B. (2020). Emancipated Foster Youth and Intimate Partner Violence: An Exploration of Risk and Protective Factors. Journal of Interpersonal Violence; 35(23-24):5469-5499. doi:10.1177/0886260517720735
  • Park, S., Okpych, N. J., & Courtney, M. E. (2020). Predictors of remaining in foster care after age 18 years old. Child Abuse & Neglect, 108(11): 104629.
  • Park, S., Powers, J., Okpych, N. J., & Courtney, M. E. (2020). Predictors of foster youths’ participation in their Transitional Independent Living Plan (TILP) development: Calling for collaborative case plan decision-making processes. Children and Youth Services Review, 115(8): 105051.
  • Munson, M., Katz, C. C., Okpych, N. J., & Courtney, M. E. (2020). Mental health management among older youth with child welfare experiences: Service utilization and preparedness. Journal of Adolescent Health, 67(2), 225-231.
  • Okpych, N. J., Park, S. E., Sayed, A. S., & Courtney, M. E. (2020). The roles of Campus-Support Programs (CSPs) and Education and Training Vouchers (ETVs) on college persistence for youth with foster care histories. Children and Youth Services Review, 111(1): 104891.
  • Courtney, M. E., Valentine, E. J., & Skemer, M. (2019). Experimental evaluation of transitional living services for system-involved youth: Implications for policy and practice. Children and Youth Services Review, 96: 396-408.
  • Courtney, M. E. (2019). The benefits of extending state care to young adults: Evidence from the United States of America. In Mann-Feder, V. and Goyette, M. (Eds.), Leaving Care and the Transition to Adulthood: International Contributions to Theory, Research, and Practice. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Courtney, M. E., Deng, S., Dave, A., & Lee, B. J. (2019). The transition to adulthood for marginalized youth. In Chaskin, R. J., Lee, B. J., and Jaswal, S. (Eds.), Social Exclusion in Cross-National Perspective: Actors, Actions, and Impacts from Above and Below. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Lee, B. J., Courtney, M. E., Gao, X., & Sakrani, M. (2019). State responses and structures for child protection. In Chaskin, R. J., Lee, B. J., and Jaswal, S. (Eds.), Social Exclusion in Cross-National Perspective: Actors, Actions, and Impacts from Above and Below. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Courtney, M. E. & Okpych, N. J. (2019). Postsecondary educational attainment of young people leaving care in the USA: implications for practice and policy. In McNamara, P., Montserrat, C., Wise, S. (Eds.), Education in Out-of-Home Care: International Perspectives on Policy, Practice and Research. New York: Springer.
  • Park, K. Okpych, N. J., & Courtney, M. E. (2019). Psychotropic medication use and perceptions of medication effects among transition-age foster youth. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 88(3):269-281.
  • Okpych, N. J. & Courtney, M. E. (2019). The relationship between extended foster care and college outcomes for foster care alumni. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 14(2), 254-276.
  • Okpych, N. J. & Courtney, M. E. (2019). Longitudinal analyses of educational outcomes for youth transitioning out of care in the U.S.: Trends and influential factors. Oxford Review of Education, 45(1), 461-480.
  • Nabunya, P. Padgett, D., Ssewamala, F. M., Courtney, M. E., & Neilands, T. (2019). Examining the nonkin support networks of orphaned adolescents participating in a family-based economic-strengthening intervention in Uganda. Journal of Community Psychology, 47(3):579-593.
  • Okpych, N. J. & Courtney, M. E. (2018). Barriers to degree completion for college students with foster care histories: Results from a 10-year longitudinal study. Journal of College Student Retention, 23(1) 28–54.
  • Okpych, N. J. & Courtney, M. E. (2018). The role of avoidant attachment on college persistence and completion among youth in foster care. Children and Youth Services Review, 90: 106-117.
  • Okpych, N. J., & Courtney, M. E. (2018). Characteristics of foster care history as risk factors for psychiatric disorders among youth in care. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 88(3):269-281.
  • Okpych, N. J., Feng, H., Park, K., Torres-García, A., & Courtney, M. E. (2018). Living situations and social support in the era of extended foster care: A view from the U.S. Longitudinal and Life Course Studies, 9(1): 6-9.
  • Courtney, M. E., and J. L. Hook. 2017. "The potential educational benefits of extending foster care to young adults: Findings from a natural experiment." Children and Youth Services Review: 124-132.
  • Courtney, M. E., N. J. Okpych, P. Charles, D. Mikell, B. Stevenson, K. Park, B. Kindle, J. Harty, and H. Feng. 2016. Findings from the California Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study (CalYOUTH): Conditions of Youth at Age 19. Chicago: Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago.
  • Courtney, M. E., N. J. Okpych, D. Mikell, B. Stevenson, K. Park, J. Harty, H. Feng, and B. Kindle. 2016. CalYOUTH Survey of Young Adults' Child Welfare Workers. Chicago: Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. 
  • Brown, A., M. E. Courtney, and J. C. McMillen. 2015. "Behavior health needs and service use among those who've aged-out of foster care." Children and Youth Services Review 58: 163-169.
  • Havlicek, J. and M. E. Courtney. 2015. "Maltreatment histories of aging out foster youth: A comparison of offical investigated and self-reports of maltreatment prior to and during out-of-home care." Child Abuse & Neglect 52: 110-122.
  • IOM (Institute of Medicine) and NRC (National Research Council). 2015. Investing in the Health and Well-Being of Youth Adults. Washington DC: The National Academies Press.
  • Katz, C. C. and M. E. Courtney. 2015. "Evaluating in the self-expressed unmet needs of emancipated foster youth over time. Children and Youth Service Review 57:9-18. 
  • Lee, J. S., M. E. Courtney, T. W. Harachi, and E. A. Tajima. 2015. "Labeling and the effect of adolescent legal system involvement on adult outcomes for foster youth aging out of care. American Journal of Orthospychiatry 85(5): 441-451. 
  • Okpych, Nathaniel J. and Mark E. Courtney. 2015. "Relationship between adult outcomes of young people making the transition to adulthood from out-of-home care and prior residential care." Therapeutic Residential Care For Children and Youth: Developing Evidence-Based International Practice, James K. Whittaker, Jorge Fernandez del Valle, and Lisa Holmes, eds. London: Jessica Kingsley.
  • Valentine, E. J., M. Skemer, and M. E. Courtney. 2015. Becoming Adults: One-Year Impact Findings from the Youth Villages Transitional Living Evaluation. New York: MDRC. 
  • Ahrens, Kym R., Michelle M. Garrison, and Mark E. Courtney. 2014. "Health outcomes in young adults from foster care and economically diverse backgrounds." Pediatics 134(6): 1-8.
  • Courtney, Mark E., Pajarita Charles, Nathaniel J. Okpych, and Katherine Halsted. 2014. California Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study (CalYOUTH): Early Findings from the Child Welfare Worker Survey. Chicago: Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago.
  • Courtney, Mark E., Pajarita Charles, Nathaniel J. Okpych, Laura Napolitano, and Katherine Halsted. 2014. Findings from the California Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study (CalYOUTH): Conditions of Foster Youth at Age 17. Chicago: Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago.
  • Courtney, Mark E., Michael Pergamit, Maria Woolverton, and Marla McDaniel. 2014. "Challenges to learning from experiments: Lessons from evaluating independent living services." In From Evidence to Outcomes in Child Welfare: An International Reader, Aron Shlonsky and Rami Benbenishty, eds. New York: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199973729.003.0007.
  • Greeson, Johanna K.P., Antonio R. Garcia, Minseop Kim, and Mark E. Courtney. 2014. "Foster youth and social support: The first RCT of independent living services." Research on Social Work Practice. doi:10.1177/1049731514534900.
  • Kruzich, Jean Marie, Joseph A. Mienko, and Mark E. Courtney. 2014. "Individual and work group influences on turnover intention among public child welfare workers: The effects of work group psychological safety." Children and Youth Services Review 42(7): 20-27.
  • Lee, JoAnn. S., Mark E. Courtney, and Emiko Tajima. 2014. "Extended foster care support during the transition to adulthood: Effect on the risk of arrest." Children and Youth Services Review 42: 34-42.
  • Okpych, Nathaniel J., and Mark E. Courtney. 2014. "Does education pay for youth formerly in foster care? Comparison of employment outcomes with a national sample." Children and Youth Services Review 43: 18-28.
  • Ahrens, Kim R., Cari McCarty, Jane Simoni, Amy Dworsky, and Mark E. Courtney. 2013. "Psychosocial pathways to sexually transmitted infection (STI) risk among youth transitioning out of foster care: Evidence from a longitudinal cohort study." Journal of Adolescent Health 53(4):478-85.
  • Courtney, Mark E., Amy Dworsky, and Laura Napolitano. 2013. Providing foster care for young adults: Early implementation of California’s Fostering Connections Act. Chicago: Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago.
  • Courtney, Mark E., Robert J. Flynn, and Joël Beaupré. 2013. "Overview of out of home care in the USA and Canada." Psychosocial Intervention 22(3): 163-73.
  • Dworsky, Amy, Kym Ahrens, and Mark Courtney. 2013. "Health insurance coverage and use of family planning services among current and former foster youth: Implications of the health care reform law." Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law 38(2): 421-39.
  • Dworsky, Amy, Laura Napolitano, and Mark E. Courtney. 2013. "Homelessness during the transition from foster care to adulthood." American Journal of Public Health 103(S2): S318-S323.
  • Hook, Jennifer L., and Mark E. Courtney. 2013. "Former foster youth as fathers: Risk and protective factors predicting father-child contact." Family Relations 62(4): 571-83.
  • Ryan, Joseph P., Abigail B.Williams, and Mark E. Courtney. 2013. "Adolescent neglect, juvenile delinquency and the risk of recidivism." Journal of Youth and Adolescence 42(3):454-65.
  • Salazar, Amy M., Thomas E. Keller, L. Kris Gowen, and Mark E. Courtney. 2013. "Trauma exposure and PTSD among older adolescents in foster care." Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 48(4): 545-51.
  • Ahrens, Kym R., Katon Wayne, Carolyn McCarty, Laura P. Richardson, and Mark E. Courtney. 2012. "Childhood sexual abuse and having sex for money: A prospective evaluation among a population of adolescents aging out of foster care." Child Abuse & Neglect 36(1):75-80.
  • Courtney, Mark E., and Jennifer L. Hook. 2012. "Evaluation of the impact of enhanced parental legal representation on the timing of permanency outcomes for children in foster care." Children and Youth Services Review 34(7): 1337-43.
  • Courtney, Mark E., and Jennifer L. Hook. 2012. "Timing of exits to legal permanency from out-of-home care: The importance of systems and implications for assessing institutional accountability." Children and Youth Services Review 34(12): 2263-72.
  • Courtney, Mark E., Jennifer L. Hook, and JoAnn S. Lee. 2012. "Distinct subgroups of former foster youth during young adulthood: Implications for policy and practice." Child Care in Practice 18(4): 409-18.
  • Cusick, Gretchen R., Judy Havlicek, and Mark E. Courtney. 2012. "Risk for arrest: The role of social bonds in protecting foster youth making the transition to adulthood." American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 82(1): 19-31.
  • Lee, JoAnn S., Mark E. Courtney, and Jennifer L. Hook. 2012. "Formal bonds during the transition to adulthood: Extended foster care support and criminal/legal involvement." Journal of Public Child Welfare 6(3): 255-79.
  • Mosley, Jennifer E., and Mark E. Courtney. 2012. Partnership and the Politics of Care: Advocates’ Role in Passing and Implementing California’s Law to Extend Foster Care. Chicago: Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago.
  • Courtney, Mark E., JoAnn Lee, and Alfred Perez. 2011. "Receipt of help acquiring life skills and predictors of help receipt among current and former foster youth." Children and Youth Services Review 33(12): 2442-51.
  • Garcia, Antonio, and Mark E. Courtney. 2011. "Prevalence and predictors of service utilization among racially and ethnically diverse adolescents in foster care diagnosed with mental health and substance abuse disorders." Journal of Public Child Welfare 5(5): 521-45.
  • Salazar, Amy M., Thomas E. Keller, and Mark E. Courtney. 2011. "Understanding social support’s role in the relationship between maltreatment and depression in youth with foster care experience." Child Maltreatment 16(2): 102-13.
  • Ahrens, Kym R., Laura P. Richardson, Mark E. Courtney, Carolyn McCarty, Jane Simoni, and Wayne Katon. 2010. "Foster care experience and laboratory-confirmed sexually transmitted infections among female and male youth." Pediatrics 126(1): 97-103.
  • Dworsky, Amy, and Mark E. Courtney. 2010. "The risk of teenage pregnancy among transitioning foster youth: Implications for extending state care beyond age 18." Children and Youth Services Review 32(10): 1351-56.
  • Keller, Thomas E., Jennifer E. Blakeslee, Stephanie C. Lemon, and Mark E. Courtney. 2010. "Subpopulations of older foster youths with differential risk of diagnosis for alcohol abuse or dependence." Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs 71(6): 819-30.
  • Naccarato, Toni, Megan Brophy, and Mark E. Courtney. 2010. "Employment outcomes of foster youth: The results from the Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Foster Youth." Children and Youth Services Review 32(4): 551-9.
  • Osgood, D. Wayne, E. Michael Foster, and Mark E. Courtney. 2010. "Vulnerable populations and the transition to adulthood." The Future of Children 20(1): 209-29.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 2009. "Beyond safety and permanency: Making well-being a focus of child welfare policy and practice for children in state care." Children Australia 24(1): 15-20.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 2009. "Describing the problem: Outcomes for older youth exiting the foster care system in the U.S." In Achieving Permanence for Older Children and Youth in Foster Care, Benjamin Kerman, Anthony B. Maluccio, and Madelyn M. Freundlich, eds. New York: Columbia University Press.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 2009. "The difficult transition to adulthood for foster youth in the U.S.: Implications for the state as corporate parent." Social Policy Report 23(1): 3-18.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 2009. "Social policy and the transition to adulthood for foster youth in the U.S." In From Child Welfare to Child Well-being: An International Perspective on Knowledge in the Service of Policy Making, Sheila B. Kamerman, Shelley Phipps, and Asher Ben-Arieh, eds. New York: Springer.
  • Courtney, Mark E., Talal Dovev, and Robbie Gilligan. 2009. "Looking backward to see forward clearly: A cross-national perspective on residential care." In Residential care of children: Comparative perspectives, Mark E. Courtney and Dorota Iwaniec, eds. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Courtney, Mark E., and Darcy Hughes-Huering. 2009. "Residential care in the United States of America: Past, present, and future." In Residential Care of Children: Comparative Perspectives, Mark E. Courtney and Dorota Iwaniec, eds. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Courtney, Mark E., and Dorota Iwaniec, eds. 2009. Residential care of children: Comparative perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Courtney, Mark E., and June Thoburn, eds. 2009. Children in State Care. Surrey, UK: Ashgate Publishing.
  • Courtney, Mark E., and Andrew Zinn. 2009. "Predictors of running away from out-of-home care." Children and Youth Services Review 31(12): 1298-306.
  • Dworsky, Amy, and Mark E. Courtney. 2009. "Homelessness during the transition to adulthood among 19 year old former foster youth." Child Welfare 88(4): 23-56.
  • Peters, Clark M., Amy Dworsky, Mark E. Courtney, and Harold Pollack. 2009. Extending foster care to age 21: Weighing the costs to government against the benefits to youth. Chicago: Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 2008. "Child welfare: History and policy framework." In Encyclopedia of Social Work, 20th ed., Terry Mizrahi and Larry E. Davis, eds. New York: Oxford University Press and NASW.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 2008. "U.S. foster youth in transition: Policy, program, and prospects." In Young People’s Transitions from Care to Adulthood: International Research and Practice, Mike Stein and Emily R. Munro, eds. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 2008. "Use of secondary data to understand the experience of care leavers: Cross-national comparisons." In Young People’s Transitions from Care to Adulthood: International Research and Practice, Mike Stein and Emilry R. Munro, eds. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
  • Courtney, Mark E., Amy Dworsky, Irving Piliavin, and Steven McMurty. 2008. "Comparing welfare and child welfare populations: An argument for rethinking the safety net." In Child Welfare Research: Advances for Practice and Policy, Duncan Lindsey and Aron Shlonsky, eds. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Courtney, Mark E., Andrew Zinn, Erica H. Zielewski, Roseanna Bess, Karin Malm, Matthew Stagner, and Mike Pergamit. 2008. "Evaluation of the life skills training program: Los Angeles County." Washington DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.
  • Peters, Clark M., Katie S. Claussen Bell, Andrew Zinn, Robert M. Goerge, and Mark E. Courtney. 2008. Continuing in foster care beyond age 18: How courts can help. Chicago: Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago.
  • Zinn, Andrew E., and Mark E. Courtney. 2008. Are family needs and services aligned? Evaluating the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare. Chicago: Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago.
  • Bullock, Roger, Mark E. Courtney, Roy Parker, Ian Sinclair, and June Thoburn. 2007. Can the corporate state parent? Adoption and Fostering 30(4): 6-19.
  • Courtney, Mark E., Amy Dworsky, Gretchen R. Cusick, Judy Havlicek, Alfred Perez, and Thomas Keller. 2007. Midwest evaluation of the adult functioning of former foster youth: Outcomes at age 21. Chicago: Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago.
  • Courtney, Mark E., Amy Dworsky, and Harold Pollack. 2007. When should the state cease parenting? Evidence from the Midwest study. Chicago: Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago.
  • Cusick, Gretchen R., and Mark E. Courtney. 2007. Offending during late adolescence: How do youth aging out of care compare with their peers? Chicago: Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago.
  • Dworsky, Amy, and Mark E. Courtney. 2007. "Barriers to employment among TANF applicants and their consequences for self-sufficiency." Families in Society 88(3): 379-89.
  • Dworsky, Amy, Mark E. Courtney, and Andrew Zinn. 2007. "Child, parent, and family predictors of child welfare services involvement among TANF applicant families." Children and Youth Services Review 29(6): 802-20.
  • Keller, Thomas, Gretchen R. Cusick, and Mark E. Courtney. 2007. "Approaching the transition to adulthood: Distinctive profiles of adolescents aging out of the child welfare system." Social Service Review 81(3): 453-84.
  • Kushel, Margot B., Irene H. Yen, Lauren Gee, and Mark E. Courtney. 2007. "Homelessness and health care access after emancipation: Results from the Midwest evaluation of adult functioning of former foster youth." Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 161(10): 986-93.
  • Bullock, Roger, Mark E. Courtney, Roy Parker, Ian Sinclair, and June Thoburn. 2006. "Can the corporate state parent?" Children and Youth Services Review 28(11): 1344­-58.
  • Courtney, Mark E., and Amy Dworsky. 2006. "Early outcomes for young adults transi­tioning from out-of-home care in the U.S.A." Child and Family Social Work (11): 209­-19.
  • Courtney, Mark E., and Sherri Terao. 2006. "Emotional and behavioral problems of fos­ter youth: Early findings of a longitudinal study." In The Crisis in Youth Mental Health, Hiram E. Fitzgerald, Robert Zucker, and Kristine Freeark, eds. Vol. 2, Disorders in adolescence, Francisco A.Villarruel and Tom Luster, eds. London: Praeger.
  • Dworsky, Amy, Mark E. Courtney, and Irving Piliavin. 2006. "Applicants’ understand­ing of Wisconsin’s TANF program and its relationship to other programs for low-income families." Journal of Social Services Research 33(2): 1-12.
  • Mackey-Bilaver, Lucy, and Mark E. Courtney. 2006. "Science says: Foster care youth." Washington DC: National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 2005. Review of Orphan trains: The story of Charles Loring Brace and the children he saved and failed, by Stephen O'Connor. Social Service Review 79(4): 742-744.
  • Courtney, Mark E., Amy Dworsky, Irving Piliavin, and Andrew Zinn. 2005. "Involve­ment of TANF applicant families with child welfare services." Social Service Review 79(1): 119-157.
  • Courtney, Mark E., Amy Dworsky, Gretchen R. Ruth, Thomas Keller, Judy Havlicek, and Noel Bost. 2005. Midwest evaluation of the adult functioning of former foster youth: Outcomes at age 19. Chicago: Chapin Hall Center for Children at the Uni­versity of Chicago.
  • Courtney, Mark E., and Darcy Hughes-Huering. 2005. "The transition to adulthood for youth "aging out"of the foster care system." In On your own without a net: The transi­tion to adulthood for vulnerable populations, ed. D. Wayne Osgood, E. Michael Foster, Constance Flanagan, and Gretchen R. Ruth. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  • Budde, Stephen, Susan Mayer, Andrew Zinn, Melissa Lippold, Adam Avrushin, Ava Bromberg, Robert M. Goerge, and Mark E. Courtney. 2004. Residential care in Il­linois: Trends and alternatives. Chicago: Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago.
  • Courtney, Mark E., Steven L. McMurtry, Katrin Maldre, Peter Power, and Andrew Zinn. 2004. An evaluation of ongoing services in Milwaukee County: Profiles and out­comes of newly opened cases. Chicago: Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago.
  • Courtney, Mark E., Steven L. McMurty, and Andrew Zinn. 2004. "Housing problems experienced by recipients of child welfare services." Child Welfare 83(5): 393-422.
  • Courtney, Mark E., Barbara Needell, and Fred Wulczyn. 2004. "Unintended conse­quences of the push for accountability: The case of national child welfare perfor­mance standards." Children and Youth Services Review 26(12): 1141-1154.
  • Courtney, Mark E., Melissa Roderick, Cheryl Smithgall, Robert Matthew Gladden, and Jenny Nagaoka. 2004. Issue brief: The educational status of foster children. Chicago: Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago.
  • Courtney, Mark E., Sherri Terao, and Noel Bost. 2004. Evaluation of the adult func­tioning of former foster youth: Conditions of Illinois youth preparing to leave state care. Chicago: Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago.
  • Courtney, Mark E., Sherri Terao, and Noel Bost. 2004. Midwest evaluation of the adult functioning of former foster youth: Conditions of youth preparing to leave state care. Chicago: Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago.
  • Smithgall, Cheryl, Robert Matthew Gladden, Eboni Howard, Robert M. Goerge, and Mark E. Courtney. 2004. Educational experiences of children in out-of-home care. Chicago: Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago.
  • Courtney, Mark E., and Joan Blakey. 2003. "Examination of the impact of increased court review on permanency outcomes for abused and neglected children." Family Court Review 41(4): 471-479.
  • Courtney, Mark E., Steven L. McMurtry, Noel Bost, Katrin Maldre, Peter Power, and Andrew Zinn. 2003. An evaluation of safety services in Milwaukee County. Chi­cago: Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago.
  • Courtney, Mark E., and Ada Skyles, ed. 2003. "Racial disproportionality in the child welfare system." Children and Youth Services Review 25(5-6): 355-358.
  • Dworsky, Amy, Mark E. Courtney, and Irving Piliavin. 2003. What happens to fami­lies under W-2 in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin? Chicago: Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago.
  • Harris, Marian S., and Mark E. Courtney. 2003. "The interaction of race, ethnicity, and family structure with respect to the timing of family reunification." Children and Youth Services Review 25(5-6): 409-429.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 2002. "Child poverty as a basis for child welfare services funding." Poverty Research News 6(1): 3-5.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 2002. A review of Suffer the little children: The inside story of Ireland's industrial schools. Social Service Review 76(2): 349-351.
  • Courtney, Mark E., Steven L. McMurtry, Noel Bost, Katrin Maldre, Peter Power, and Andrew Zinn. 2002. An evaluation of safety services in Milwaukee County. Chicago: Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago.
  • Courtney, Mark E., and Sherri Terao. 2002. Classification of independent living ser­vices. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Children's Bureau.
  • Piliavin, Irving, Amy Dworsky, and Mark E. Courtney. 2002. What happens to families under W-2 in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin? Report from wave 2 of the Milwaukee TANF Applicant Study. Chicago: Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 2001. "Challenges and opportunities posed by the reform era." Journal of Applied Social Science 25(1): 31-39.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 2001. "Ethics in American adoption." Journal of Marriage and the Fam­ily 63(2): 583-584.
  • Courtney, Mark E., Irving Piliavin, Andrew Grogan-Kaylor, and Ande Nesmith. 2001. "Foster youth transitions to adulthood: A longitudinal view of youth leaving care." Child Welfare 80(6): 685-717.
  • Courtney, Mark E., and Andrew Zinn. 2001. "Use of the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist in a longitudinal study of treatment of foster care outcomes." In Assessing youth behavior: Using the Child Behavior Checklist in family and children's research, ed. Nicole S. Le Prohn, Kathleen Wetherbee, Elena Lamont, Thomas Achenbach, and Peter Pecora. Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America.
  • Courtney, Mark E., ed. 2000. "Managed care and child welfare services: What are the issues?" Children and Youth Services Review 22(2): 87-91.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 2000. "Research needed to improve the prospects for children in out-of-home placement." Children and Youth Services Review 22(9-10): 743-761.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 2000. "Welfare reform and child welfare services: Issues of concern and potential evaluation strategies." In Evaluating comprehensive state welfare reform: The Wisconsin Works Program, ed. Burt S. Barnow, Thomas Kaplan, and Robert A. Moffitt, 317-335. New York: Rockefeller Press.
  • Courtney, Mark E., and Amy Dworsky. 2000. "Out of-home care in Wisconsin: 1990­2000. Report to the Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services." Madison, WI: School of Social Work, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
  • Dworsky, Amy, and Mark E. Courtney. 2000. "Self-sufficiency of former foster youth in Wisconsin: Analysis of unemployment insurance wage data and public assistance data." Madison, WI: Institute for Research on Poverty.
  • Piliavin, Irving, Mark E. Courtney, and Amy Dworsky. 2000. "What happens to families under W-2 in Milwaukee County Wisconsin?: Information collected from parents at the time of application for TANF assistance." Madison, WI: Institute for Research on Poverty.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 1999. "The economics of child maltreatment." Child Abuse and Neglect 23(1): 975-986.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 1999. "Foster care and the costs of welfare reform." In The foster care crisis: Translating research into policy and practice, ed. Patrick A. Curtis and Grady Dale, 225-242. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
  • Courtney, Mark E., and Anthony N. Maluccio. 1999. "The rationalization of foster care in the twenty-first century." In The foster care crisis: Translating research into policy and practice, ed. Patrick A. Curtis and Grady Dale, 129-151. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 1998. "Correlates of social worker decisions to seek treatment-ori­ented out-of-home care." Children and Youth Services Review 20(4): 281-304.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 1998. "The costs of child protection: Implications for welfare reform?" The Future of Children 8(1): 88-103.
  • Courtney, Mark E., and Andrew Grogan-Kaylor. 1998. "Out-of-home care in Wiscon­sin: 1988-1997." Report to the Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services. Madison, WI: School of Social Work, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
  • Courtney, Mark E., Irving Piliavin, Andrew Grogan-Kaylor, and Ande Nesmith. 1998. "Foster youth transitions to adulthood: A longitudinal view of youth leaving care." Madison, WI: Institute for Research on Poverty.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 1997. "The politics and realities of transracial adoption." Child Welfare 76(6): 749-779.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 1997. "Reconsidering family preservation: A review of Putting fami­lies first." Children and Youth Services Review 19(1-2): 61-76.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 1997. "Welfare reform and child welfare services." In Child welfare in the context of welfare "reform", volume V, Confronting the new politics of child and family policy in the United States, ed. Alfred J. Kahn and Sheila B. Kamerman. New York: Cross-national Studies Research Program, Columbia University School of Social Work.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 1997. "Welfare reform and child welfare services: Issues of concern and potential evaluation strategies." In Evaluating state welfare reforms: A conference, IRP special report series, SR #69, 255-265. Madison, Wisconsin: Institute for Research on Poverty, March 1997.
  • Courtney, Mark E., and Barbara Needell. 1997. "Outcomes of kinship foster care: les­sons from California." In Child welfare research review, volume II, ed. Richard P. Barth, Jill Duerr Berrick, and Neil Gilbert, 130-149. New York: Columbia University Press.
  • Courtney, Mark E., Irving Piliavin, and Bradley R. Entner-Wright. 1997. "Transitions from and returns to out-of-home care." Social Service Review 71(4): 652-667.
  • Piliavin, Irving, and Mark E. Courtney. 1997. "Interstate comparison of welfare reform programs." Focus 18(3): 29-32.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 1996. "Kinship foster care and children's welfare: The California ex­perience." Focus 17(3): 24-48.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 1996. "Putting families first: An experiment in family preservation and When there's no place like home: Options for children living apart from their natural families." Social Work 41(4), 425-26.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 1996. "W-2 and child welfare." Focus 18(1): 69-71.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 1996. "Welfare reform and the child welfare system." Capitol Com­ments 15(7): 5-8.
  • Courtney, Mark E., and Richard P. Barth. 1996. "Pathways of older adolescents out of foster care: Implications for independent living services." Social Work 41(1): 75-83.
  • Courtney, Mark E., Richard P. Barth, Jill Duerr Berrick, Devon Brooks, Barbara Needell, and Linda Park. 1996. "Race and child welfare services: Past research and future di­rections." Child Welfare 75(2): 99-137.
  • Courtney, Mark E. and Linda Park. 1996. "Children in out-of-home care in Wiscon­sin: 1988-1994." Report to the Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services. Madison, WI: School of Social Work, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
  • Courtney, Mark E., and Yin-Ling I. Wong. 1996. "Comparing the timing of exits from substitute care." Children and Youth Services Review 18(4-5): 307-334.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 1995. "The Federal role in child welfare services." Focus 17(1): 37-38.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 1995. "The Federal role in child welfare services." In Welfare block grants: Advantages and disadvantages, IRP Special Report Series, SR #6, 27-33. Madi­son, WI: Institute for Research on Poverty.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 1995. "The foster care crisis and welfare reform." Public Welfare 53(3): 27-33.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 1995. "Reentry to foster care of children returned to their families." Social Services Review 69(2): 226-241.
  • Courtney, Mark E., Irving Piliavin, and Andrew Grogan-Kaylor. 1995. "The Wisconsin study of youth aging out of out-of-home care: A portrait of children about to leave care." Report to the Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services. Madison, WI: School of Social Work, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
  • Barth, Richard P., Mark E. Courtney, Jill D. Berrick, and Vicky Albert. 1994. From child abuse to permanency planning: Child welfare services pathways and placements. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
  • Barth, Richard P., Mark E. Courtney, and Marianne Berry. 1994. "Timing is everything: An analysis of the time to adoption and finalization." Social Work Research 18(3): 138-148.
  • Barth, Richard P., Mark E. Courtney, Barbara Needell, and Mellissa Jonson-Reid. 1994. Performance indicators for child welfare services in California. Berkeley, CA: Child Welfare Research Center.
  • Berrick, Jill D., Richard P. Barth, Barbara Needell, and Mark E. Courtney. 1994. "Relative foster care and the preservation of families: What's the difference?" In Proceedings of the Sixth Annual Conference on Family-Based Services, Empowering Families. Iowa City, IO: National Resource Center on Family-Based Services.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 1994. "Factors associated with entrance to group care." In Child wel­fare research review, volume 1, ed. Richard P. Barth, Jill Duerr Berrick, and Neil Gil­bert, 185-204. New York: Columbia University Press.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 1994. "Factors associated with the reunification of foster children with their families." Social Services Review 68: 81-108.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 1994. "The foster care crisis." In IRP Discussion Papers, 1048-94. Madi­son: WI, Institute for Research on Poverty.
  • Courtney, Mark E., and Raymond C. Collins. 1994. "New challenges and opportuni­ties in child welfare outcomes and information technologies." Child Welfare 73(5): 359-378.
  • Specht, Harry, and Mark E. Courtney. 1994. "Unfaithful angels: How social work has aban­doned its mission." New York: The Free Press.
  • Barth, Richard P., Vicky Albert, Ruth Lawrence, and Mark E. Courtney. 1993. "Budget al­location methodology in child welfare services in California: Phase I Report." Berke­ley, CA: Child Welfare Research Center.
  • Berrick, Jill Duerr, Mark E. Courtney, and Richard P. Barth. 1993. "Specialized foster care and group home care: Similarities and differences in the characteristics of children in care." Children and Youth Services Review 15: 453-473.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 1993. "Standardized outcome evaluation of child welfare services out-of-home care: Problems and possibilities." Children and Youth Services Review 15: 349-369.
  • Courtney, Mark E. 1992. "Psychiatric social workers and the early days of private prac­tice." Social Service Review 66: 199-214.
  • Courtney, Mark E., Richard P. Barth, and S. Alphin. 1992. "Assessing the needs of de­pendent children and wards: Analysis of the Level of Care Assessment pilot test." Berkeley, CA: Child Welfare Research Center. 

 

Mark Courtney is the Samuel Deutsch Professor Emeritus in the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice. His fields of special interest are child welfare policy and services, the connection between child welfare services and other institutions serving marginalized populations, and the professionalization of social work. His current work includes studies of the adult functioning of former foster children, evaluation of polices and services for youth transitioning to adulthood from foster care, and the influence of juvenile courts on the operation of the child welfare system.

Professor Courtney received his Ph.D. and M.S.W. from the School of Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley. He also received an M.A. in clinical psychology from the John F. Kennedy University and a B.A. in Social Sciences from the University of California, Berkeley.

He served as Director of Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago from 2001 to 2006. He has also served on the faculties of the University of Washington (2007-2010) and the University of Wisconsin (1992-2000).  He was the founding director of Partners for Our Children (POC), a public-private partnership housed at the University of Washington devoted to improving child welfare services. POC received the 2008 American Public Human Services Association Award for Academic Excellence.

In 2015, Professor Courtney received the Distinguished Career Achievement Award from the Society for Social Work and Research. He was named a Fellow to the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare in 2012 and received the 2010 Peter W. Forsythe Award for leadership in public child welfare from the National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators. He was also named Social Worker of the Year in 2000 by the Wisconsin Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

Before moving into academia, Professor Courtney worked for several years in various capacities providing group home care to abused and neglected adolescents. Professor Courtney has served as a consultant to the federal government, state departments of social services, local public and private child welfare agencies, and the philanthropic community.