TY - JOUR
T1 - A Multi-Stakeholder Perspective on Factors Affecting Successful Transition to Adulthood for Youth with Severe Emotional Disturbances
AU - Cox, Milira
AU - Urban, Jennifer Brown
AU - Lich, Kristen Hassmiller
AU - Wells, Rebecca
AU - Lawrence, C. Nicole
AU - Kwaja, Nadira
N1 - Funding Information:
It is important to acknowledge that transition age youth are a notoriously difficult population to engage and the grant funding from SAMHSA was designed to provide communities the opportunity to test and refine strategies aimed at informing and improving practices overall. The BECOMING project is just one example of a program designed to support youth in the areas perceived as most important to a successful transition to adulthood for youth with SED. The data utilized for this study were collected very early in the implementation of the BECOMING program and the resulting clusters helped to inform program development and service array for enrolled youth. For example, in addition to broad screening efforts and linking youth to needed mental health services, supports related to the development of life skills were a primary focus of the program. Youth enrolled in the BECOMING project were provided case management, goal planning, and access to flexible funds. BECOMING Care Coordinators provided youth with one-to-one case management services designed to connect youth to services in the community and provide follow-up supports/visits. Further, care coordinators assisted youth in goal planning related to educational pursuits, employment, physical and mental health, housing stability, and transportation. Flexible funds were an important aspect of the program because they provided financial support in areas of high need and where there are typically no other funding sources, with the aim of reducing barriers that may be impediments to reaching goals across life domains. Examples of how these funds were used included educational supports (e.g., books and computers), basic needs (e.g., food and personal care items/clothing), and transportation (e.g., bus passes to attend school and therapy appointments).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - This study elicited the perspectives of youth, caregivers, service providers and researchers to explore how communities can best support the transition to adulthood for youth ages 16–21 with mental health and functional impairments, who are at risk of disconnecting from health and human services. Framed by Relational Systems Evaluation (RSE) and Positive Youth Development (PYD), our study demonstrates the importance of engagement with youth experts. Group Concept Mapping (GCM), a collaborative multiphase mixed-methods approach, was used as a systematic process for participants to make meaning of qualitative data using multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis (Kane and Trochim in Concept mapping for planning and evaluation, Sage Publications Inc., Thousand Oaks, 2007). Across all participant groups, Life Skills were perceived as highly important and highly feasible for a successful transition to adulthood. However, Positive Social Support & Connectedness were viewed as less important and less feasible by all groups. When examined closely, youth perspectives differed from caregiver and provider perspectives in the factors they prioritized and deemed feasible. Our findings have implications for community mental health services and positive youth development program practitioners.
AB - This study elicited the perspectives of youth, caregivers, service providers and researchers to explore how communities can best support the transition to adulthood for youth ages 16–21 with mental health and functional impairments, who are at risk of disconnecting from health and human services. Framed by Relational Systems Evaluation (RSE) and Positive Youth Development (PYD), our study demonstrates the importance of engagement with youth experts. Group Concept Mapping (GCM), a collaborative multiphase mixed-methods approach, was used as a systematic process for participants to make meaning of qualitative data using multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis (Kane and Trochim in Concept mapping for planning and evaluation, Sage Publications Inc., Thousand Oaks, 2007). Across all participant groups, Life Skills were perceived as highly important and highly feasible for a successful transition to adulthood. However, Positive Social Support & Connectedness were viewed as less important and less feasible by all groups. When examined closely, youth perspectives differed from caregiver and provider perspectives in the factors they prioritized and deemed feasible. Our findings have implications for community mental health services and positive youth development program practitioners.
KW - Mental health
KW - Positive youth development
KW - Severe emotional disturbance
KW - Transition to adulthood
KW - Transition-age youth
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85141955869&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10560-022-00898-6
DO - 10.1007/s10560-022-00898-6
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85141955869
SN - 0738-0151
JO - Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal
JF - Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal
ER -
