Youth In Residential Placement Research Articles

A Comparison of Two Caregiving Models in Providing Continuity of Care for Youth in Residential Care

This paper reports on a research study that examined differences in two care giving models (houseparent vs. child care worker) in providing continuity of care for youth in residential placement. Continuity is defined as interactions by caretakers with youth in care that are predictable, appropriate, and occur over an extended period time in order to establish a pattern on which youth can depend and anticipate. The house parent model assumes that a “family like” environment is needed in residential care, and can be best maintained by live-in workers referred to as house parents. The child care worker model uses rotating shift workers to staff residential units. Data for this research were collected in a residential facility that used both models, and are drawn from the staffing patterns in 16 cottages. The continuity of care was based on the longest tenure of a caregiver in a cottage and is reported as the ratio of the number of months that a cottage had the same caregiver(s). Continuity in the cottages ranged from .31 to 1.0. Cottages with house parents had higher levels of continuity than those residences with child care workers, but only at a level that approached significance (P < .138). However, child care workers had significantly more turnover than did house parents. The boy’s continuity ratio suggests boys on average had the same caretaker 75% of the time while the comparable percentage for girls was 57%. Girls were significantly more likely to have child care workers than house parents, and more likely at a level near significant to experience turnover among care givers.

Integrating systems of care in california for youth with severe emotional disturbance II: Initial group home expenditure and utilization findings from the California AB377 Evaluation Project

The California AB377 Evaluation Project was established to study the replication of an innovative system of care in three California counties for youth suffering from severe emotional disturbance. Development of the innovative system of care was pioneered in Ventura County, California, and the replications were legislatively enabled through Assembly Bill 377 (AB377). This paper reports evaluative findings about a central goal of the innovative care system: the reduction of use of highly restrictive out-of-home placements though creation and maintenance of coordinated and effective community-based services. Group home facilities are the focus of the evaluation work because these facilities consume the largest proportion of all public expenditures for youth in residential placements in California. More than 10 years of aggregate county and state level monthly expenditure and utilization data are presented. The results indicate that the demonstration counties have generated lower per capita inflation adjusted rates of expenditures and per capita group home placements than California as a whole. The evaluation results provide evidence that an integrated system of care can reduce group home placements. However, the nature, quality and effectiveness of any and/or all alternative services provided remains a topic for further investigation.

Predictors of peer helpfulness: Implications for youth in residential treatment

AbstractSociometric measures were used to predict peer helpfulness of youth in a residential treatment center. Seventeen female adolescents with conduct disorders were asked to choose three peers in their group who were most popular, similar, well‐liked, and competent. These sociometric measures were correlated with the frequency in which each peer was nominated as most and least helpful in several problem scenarios representing actual situations encountered in residential settings. A multiple linear regression analysis indicated that “popularity” was the best predictor of peer helpfulness across the problem scenarios. Discussion focused on the impact of popularity on treatment strategies for youth in residential placement.