Children who grow up outside the care of their biological parents—e.g., those in adoptive, foster, or kinship (AFK) care—experience poorer educational outcomes than their peers. However, the protective factors that could mitigate any risks of AFK care have received less attention. One understudied area is the participation of AFK youth in organized activities (e.g., extracurricular or afterschool programs). Drawing on nationally representative data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (n = 16,197), this study used multilevel modeling to (1) examine the association of AFK care status with organized activity participation and with educational outcomes; and (2) examine whether such participation moderates any association between AFK care status and later educational outcomes (GPA, college expectations, college enrollment and college degree). In addition to a binary measure of participation, multiple dimensions of activity participation (i.e., type, breadth, and intensity) were tested as moderators. Findings show that youth in AFK care reported significantly lower rates of activity participation, as well as poorer education outcomes as compared to other youth. However, there was little evidence of moderation: organized activity participation was associated with improved educational outcomes regardless of care status. The possible benefits of participation for youth in AFK care are similar to those for other youth. Implications for the intersection of child welfare and educational systems are discussed, including the need to ensure developmental opportunities for youth in AFK care.

在亲生父母照料之外长大的孩子——例如，在收养、寄养或亲属 (AFK) 照料下的孩子——经历的教育成果比同龄人差。然而，可以减轻 AFK 护理风险的保护因素较少受到关注。一个未被充分研究的领域是 AFK 青年参与有组织的活动（例如，课外或课后计划）。借鉴 2002 年教育纵向研究（n = 16,197)，本研究使用多级建模来 (1) 检查 AFK 护理状态与有组织的活动参与和教育成果的关联；(2) 检查这种参与是否会调节 AFK 护理状态与以后的教育成果（GPA、大学期望、大学入学率和大学学位）之间的任何关联。除了参与的二元测量之外，还测试了活动参与的多个维度（即类型、广度和强度）作为调节器。调查结果表明，与其他青年相比，接受 AFK 护理的青年的活动参与率明显较低，教育成果也较差。然而，几乎没有证据表明有节制：无论护理状态如何，有组织的活动参与都与改善教育结果相关。青年参与 AFK 护理的可能好处与其他青年相似。讨论了对儿童福利和教育系统交叉的影响，包括需要确保青年在 AFK 护理中的发展机会。