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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 11:27 pm
Time: 11:27 pm
Results for child welfare (colorado)
1 results foundAuthor: Coen, Anita Saranga Title: Inside the Black Box: A Study of the Residential Treatment Center Program in Colorado Summary: This study increased our understanding of how Colorado’s Residential Treatment Center (RTC) Program functions in several key areas. We analyzed data provided by the Colorado Department of Human Services to analyze the financial aspects of the program and develop a profile of child welfare youth in RTCs. With the help of responding RTCs and counties, we were able to document the types and amount of services offered by RTCs and explore placement decision-making and alternatives to RTCs. We met with caretakers and family members to capture their perspectives on many aspects of the system. This study of Colorado’s RTC Program focused on six main areas of investigation: • What is the political and economic context in which the RTC Program exists? The RTC Program is immersed in a complex system involving numerous stakeholders and intricate funding streams. Political and economic trends at the national, state, and local level are discussed in relation to their impact on the RTC Program. • What are the costs of RTC placements, what are the likely effects of the current reimbursement system, and what other options are available? The state has been working to improve its rate-setting methodology. The current system does not account for population growth and changes in service needs. We anticipate that if rates do not keep up with costs, the response may be a loss of beds available for child welfare youth. We found that there are no apparent cost economies derived from using larger facilities. We suggest the state look initially into developing an incentive system that can be linked to rates and, in the future, linked to outcomes. • Who are RTC clients and how do they differ from clients in other treatment environments? RTC youth have the highest number of emotional/behavioral problems of youth in child welfare placements. They are placed in RTCs primarily because of the caretaker’s inability to cope or their own behavioral problems. Child welfare youth admitted to RTCs have very high levels of mental health problems when compared to youth in other child-serving systems. On average, their level of risk and clinical severity is higher than that of youth admitted to community mental health and, for many characteristics, is close to that of youth admitted to inpatient mental health settings. Our findings highlight important policy issues for youth with serious emotional/behavioral problems who are likely served across multiple human services programs. • What are the characteristics of and services offered by RTCs to children/youth in their care and what constitutes an RTC day? RTCs are extremely diverse and offer a wide variety of services. Within an RTC, however, service delivery does not appear to differ substantively based on the predominant type of presenting problem. RTCs do provide a substantial amount of intensive supervision. Almost a third (31%) of a typical day is spent in school, 13 percent is spent in various types of therapy, and 10 percent is self-structured. This analysis can serve as a foundation for the state’s exploration into developing a standard for the RTC day. • What are the most important factors in RTC placement and what alternatives are most likely to have an affect on RTC utilization? The three most important factors used in determining the need for an RTC placement are (1) the severity of the youth’s mental health needs, (2) the severity of the youth’s acting out behavior, and (3) the likelihood that the youth will improve in an RTC placement. Almost all caseworkers who responded to our survey believed it was important that the selected RTC have specialized care that meets the child’s needs and good transition services. The placement type that most caseworkers said they could have used instead of an RTC was therapeutic foster care. • How should RTC outcomes be measured and what is needed to develop a useful RTC outcomes measurement system? The Division of Child Welfare Services (DCWS) has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to measuring outcomes. The CCAR, the instrument being used by DCWS for youth in RTCs, demonstrated acceptable reliability as well as face and construct validity. Efforts to develop an outcomes measurement system have been seriously hampered by a lack of staff and infrastructure. We also identified other instruments and outcomes systems, some of which are RTC based, rather than state based. Finally, we made recommendations for the steps needed to continue work in this area. Details: Denver, CO: Policy Studies, Inc., 2003. 154p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 29, 2011 at: https://www.policy-studies.com/Portals/0/docs/Publications/Child_Welfare/Inside-the-Black-Box-A-Study-of-the-RTC-Program-in-CO.pdf Year: 2003 Country: United States URL: https://www.policy-studies.com/Portals/0/docs/Publications/Child_Welfare/Inside-the-Black-Box-A-Study-of-the-RTC-Program-in-CO.pdf Shelf Number: 122230 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild Welfare (Colorado)Juvenile OffendersJuvenile Sex OffendersResidential Treatment Centers |