Comprehensive health education and prevention service needs of children in out-of-home child welfare settings in Massachusetts.
Item
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Title
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Comprehensive health education and prevention service needs of children in out-of-home child welfare settings in Massachusetts.
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Identifier
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AAI9630518
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identifier
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9630518
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Creator
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Webman, Dorothy Marie.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Irwin Epstein
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Date
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1996
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Social Work | Health Sciences, Public Health | Sociology, Individual and Family Studies
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Abstract
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Each year, approximately 1,800 of the 13,500 children in the care of the Massachusetts Department of Social Services (MDSS) receive residential treatment services (MDSS, 1996). Teenagers are placed in the care and custody of the MDSS for a variety of reasons including removal from family due to abuse or neglect, disrupted adoptions, voluntary placements or through Child in Need of Services (CHINS) petitions.;A focal point of this dissertation is the risk-taking behavior of 300 adolescents who were studied while in the care of MDSS and placed in residential treatment centers throughout the state. Results of this analysis were compared to a similar study of 3,050 youth in public schools in Massachusetts. Both studies employed the use of a nationally recognized risk-assessment instrument, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. This study revealed startling information about the age of onset of a range of risk-taking behaviors among youth in residential programs. Before the age of nine, fifty-four (18.0%) of the subjects smoked their first cigarette; sixty-five (21.7%) of these youth had their first alcoholic beverage; sixty-one (20.3%) of these girls and boys first tried marijuana; and sixty-nine (23.0%) had sexual intercourse. Clearly, these young people entered residential treatment with a substantial history of risk-taking behavior.;Significant differences between public school and residential school students on all dimensions of risk-taking behaviors were identified. Residential school students reported three times more tobacco use, five times more injectable drug use, five times more incidents of pregnancy, and double the rate of violent experiences than did their public school peers. Residential school students also reported significantly higher rates of suicidal thought and planning attempts. Girls in these residential schools reported higher involvement in most dimensions of risk-taking than their male peers in residential programs.;Despite the fact that youth in residential treatment exhibit such serious health-related risk-taking behaviors, they rarely receive comprehensive health education and prevention services. This study explores categorical funding streams and services systems that could alleviate this life-threatening service gap. Finally, recommendations for re-organizing, integrating, and coordinating systems of care for teenagers in Massachusetts are offered.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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D.S.W.
