The Impact of Services on Family Outcomes
Ann TurnbullDenise Poston
Beach Center on DisabilityUniversity of Kansaswww.beachcenter.org
With special Thanks to Jean Ann Summers, Hasheem Mannan,Mian Wang,Janet Marquis and Kandace Fleming
What We Say About Early Childhood Services –And Need to Back up with Data
Strengthening families is a way to ensure children have the best outcomes
The type, amount, and quality of services make a difference in meeting families’ needs and their quality of life
Partnerships with professionals influence families’ quality of life
What Do We Mean by Supports and Services for Families?
Largely undefined The Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA) Part C (birth to 3) and Part B-619 (3 to 5) provides a start
Family-centered practice is considered best practice in terms of how to deliver services, but not for what to provide
What Do We Mean by Partnerships?
TRUST
Child-Professional Relationship
Family-ProfessionalRelationship
RespectCommitmentSkillsReliability - Safety
RespectCommunicationEqualityReliability - Dependability
What Do We Mean by Family Quality of Life?
Family Quality of Life
ParentingPhysical/Material
Well-Being
Disability-RelatedSupport
EmotionalWell-Being
FamilyInteraction
Service Impact Study
Designed to test the assumption that services and partnerships affect family quality of life
Limited to one life cycle stage – early childhood
Limited to one state - Kansas Encompasses two policy areas (Parts
B and C of IDEA)
The Service Impact Study
13 program partners throughout Kansas4 serve children ages birth to 35 serve children ages 3 to 54 serve children ages birth to 5
180 families of children receiving services in these programs
Family Participants
0102030405060708090
Percent
AfricanAmerican
Asian Hispanic White
Racial Background
Family Participants
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Percent
Urban Suburban Town Rural
Community Size
Family Participants
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Percent
> HighSchool
HighSchool or
GED
SomeCollege
AssociateDegree
BachelorDegree
GraduateDegree
Educational Background
Family Participants
0
10
20
30
40
50
Percent
Mild Moderate Severe VerySevere
Unknown
Severity of Child's Disability
Measures
Services Inventory Beach Center Family Professional
Partnership Scale Beach Center Family Quality of Life
Scale
Services Inventory
14 child-oriented services 14 family-oriented services Parents check whether service is needed
(yes/no) If needed, parents rate how much they are
getting:
None
Some but not enough
Enough
How Families Rate Services for Their Children?
More families report (59%) they are getting enough of the services their child needs – with a few exceptions Of the 163 families whose children need
speech, 60% report getting enough The exceptions
Of the 57 families whose children need behavior support, 40% report getting enough
How Do Families Rate Services for Themselves?
Fewer families report (21%) they are getting enough of family-oriented services they needOf the 73 families reporting they need
information about services, 23% report getting enough
Of the 49 families reporting they need parent training, 20% report getting enough
The Family-Professional Partnership Scale
9 items for Child-Professional Domain 9 items for Family-Professional Domain Parents think of provider who works most
with them and their child Parents rate satisfaction on a scale of 1-5
1 = Very Dissatisfied
5 = Very Satisfied
Child-Professional Relationship:Sample Items
How satisfied are you that your child’s service provider . . .Has the skills to help your child succeedSpeaks up for your child’s best interestsTreats your child with dignityBuilds on your child’s strengths
Family-Professional Relationship:Sample items
How satisfied are you that your child’s service provider . . .Uses words that you understandProtects your family’s privacyShows respect for your family’s values
and beliefsIs a person you can depend on and
trust
How Do Families Rate Partnerships?
Families on average were highly satisfiedChild-Professional Relationship rating = 4.24Family-Professional Relationship rating = 4.43
Highest rated item:Service provider is friendly (4.67)
Lowest rated item:Service provider helps parent gain skills or
information (3.77)
The Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale
25 items in 5 domainsFamily Interaction (6 items)Parenting (6 items)Emotional well-being (4 items)Physical/Material Well-being (5 items)Disability-related support (4 items)
Families rate satisfaction on a scale of 1 to 5
Family Quality of Life: Sample Items
For my family to have a good life together, how satisfied am I that . . .My family enjoys spending time together.My family members have friends or others
who provide support.My family members have transportation.Adults in my family have time to take care of
needs of every child.My family member with a disability has
support to accomplish goals at school.
How Do Families Rate Their Quality of Life?
On average, participants reported that they were fairly satisfied with their family quality of lifeFamily Interaction – 4.06Parenting – 4.07Emotional Well-being – 3.43Physical/Material Well-Being – 4.21Disability-Related Support – 4.13
Some Limitations and Explanations
Limited Sample High scores
Satisfaction response stemFamilies of young children report more
satisfaction with their partnerships – might this also affect FQOL?
Families may not think they need a service because they think they won't be able to get it anyway
Putting It Together
Service adequacy significantly predicts family quality of life ( t-value = 4.76)
Service adequacy significantly predicts partnership (t-value of 4.39)
Partnership is a partial mediator of the effect of service adequacy and family quality of life (Sobel test = 2.14, p = 0.031)
Partnerships
ServicesFamily Quality of Life
The Support Triangle:Services and Partnerships Make a Difference for Families
Implications For Future Research and Activities
Exploring the issue of family supports and servicesWhy do families report not needing very
many services for themselves (717 vs 425)?Why are they not getting the services they do
need? Exploring the relationship between family
outcomes and child outcomes Exploring how structures in organizations
and best practices facilitate partnerships