An evaluation of the effects of an integrated services program for multi-service use families on child welfare and educational outcomes of children

Canan Karatekin, Saahoon Hong, Kristine Piescher, Jill Uecker, Jeff Mcdonald

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to evaluate a program that provides integrative case management for families dependent on at least two government services (e.g., child welfare, disability, chemical dependency, vocational rehabilitation). In the current study, we focused on effects of services on children's educational and child welfare outcomes two years after program exit. Children enrolled in the program were compared to a community comparison sample through propensity score matching. None of the group differences was significant. However, outcomes related to child maltreatment (number of child maltreatment reports accepted by Child Protective Services and out-of-home placements) improved dramatically within two years after exit. Outcomes in the education area were less uniformly positive. On the one hand, children's attendance was high and school mobility was low. In addition, there was a significant reduction in the number of children receiving special education services two years after exit. Nevertheless, a third of the children were still receiving special education services two years after exit, and their academic performance on standardized reading and math tests was quite poor. Thus, the intensive case management model was related to successful outcomes in an area directly targeted by the program (child maltreatment), but the gains did not generalize to another domain that was not an explicit focus of the program (academic achievement).

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)16-26
Number of pages11
JournalChildren and Youth Services Review
Volume41
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2014

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was supported by a grant from the Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota .

Keywords

  • Child maltreatment
  • Educational outcomes
  • Evaluation
  • Follow-up
  • Government services
  • Integrative case management

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