Short-Term Outcomes for Youth Receiving Runaway and Homeless Shelter Services
Description:
Objective: Few studies have assessed the outcomes of runaway/homeless youth that seek assistancefrom shelter or crisis services, which would provide much needed documentation ofintervention effectiveness and point to new directions for service provision. The goals of the currentstudy were to: (1) assess short-term outcomes among runaway/homeless youth using emergencyshelters and crisis services and (2) compare short-term outcomes achieved by runaway/homeless youth in crisis shelters with similar youth using other, longer-term treatment modalities.Method: The study sampled 261 youth using runaway/homeless shelters from four midwesternstates at intake and six-weeks post discharge and 47 high-risk youth using longer-termservices at intake and six weeks post intake; ten key outcome variables were assessed. Results:Every outcome variable demonstrated improvement post intervention: days on the run, schoolsuspension and/or detention, and sexual activity decreased; perceived family support and selfesteemincreased; and youth were more likely to be currently employed and less likely to havebeen fired. In comparing runaway/homeless crisis shelter users with day treatment users on theten outcome variables, there were no significant differences across any of the outcome variables.Conclusions: Despite limitations, the research provides evidence for the short-term effectivenessof crisis shelter services for runaway/homeless youth. (abstract from http://rsw.sagepub.com)
Type of Resource:
Journal
Publication Date:
2002
Volume:
12
Issue:
5
Pages:
589
Location:
Thousand Oaks