Order Number |
636738393092 |
Type of Project |
ESSAY |
Writer Level |
PHD VERIFIED |
Format |
APA |
Academic Sources |
10 |
Page Count |
3-12 PAGES |
According to the paper, the importance of having family being involved in residential care has been in recognition for a long while. This can be evidenced in the federal law, which has been put in place, making it mandatory for the family to be involved in the care of children.
There is an important effort being seen in the community-based programs requiring the youths to have a close relationship with their families. This is an essential attempt because it helps in ensuring that the youth do not miss out on essential stages as they grow.
The paper states that the physical distance existing between the care facility and the friends and family of the kid is an immense forecaster of the times at which the family will be contacting the child. If the detachment between the care facility and friends is big, then there is higher likelihood of the family failing to visit the children more frequently.
Research states that children are placed at residential care after numerous unsuccessful incidents of care in other surroundings. A huge number of paternities desire for their kids to be put in residential care units closer to their homes. This is in order to enable them to be in a position of visiting them more often due to the decreased physical distance.
As the children stay at the residential programs, they have been noted to respond positively to the care. Most of them show higher levels of satisfaction if their families visit them frequently.
As the paper states, the level of satisfaction cannot be used as a good measure, and it can’t be highly relied on due to its dependence on some clinical measures. When the family is involved in the children stay at the residential care, children seem to respond more positively and have their periods of stay reduced greatly.
The paper states that family involvement is linked to academic and behavioral improvement. Family involvement produces lasting positive impacts on the child. The paper notes state that “greater family involvement has been associated with better post-discharge permanency and lower readmission rates” (Huefner et al. 2015). This, therefore, confirms the importance of the parents being involved with their children in the residential programs.
Researches have been conducted to help in identifying the most effective types of contact in children. There is a difference in the effectiveness of different types of methods of contact, with the most common methods being face-to-face meetings and phone contacts. Between the two, face-to-face interaction has been noted to be more effective than telephone contact.
The face-to-face contact is more effective because it helps in breaking the monotony and also helps in informing the child that he or she still matters. The problem arises when planned contacts fail to happen as per the plans. Such instances are very distressing to the children.
“Research has shown that when planned contacts with families do not occur, children can become distressed and aggressive”(Huefner et al. 2015). Due to the difference in the impact of different types of contacts and the physical distance, researchers carried out research to determine these facts.
Methodology
The researchers analyzed record data for 350 individuals at a program for the period between July 2009 and October 2011 and discharged before January 1, 2012. They also ensured that the program had conducted a follow-up questionnaire on the individuals for at least six months. 350 was a good number to carry out research with and make a viable conclusion.
The researchers also ensured that they corrected records for different months to avoid being biased. The research methodology applied by the researchers was also free of bias, as the respondents were from different states. They also relied on Monte Carlo to determine the number of subjects needed, thus doing the research to meet the set standards.
Statistic chosen
The power calculations got from the Monte Carlo model by the application of the simulation which was projected for the research indicated that a tester of 351 individuals would be in power in surplus of 0.80 to successfully identify impact scopes of at tiniest r being equal to 0.09 for the estimation of the impacts of the distance and varieties contact of friends and family results.
The data was then analyzed by the use of Mplus 6.0 (Huefner et al. 2015). This was then used to determine the kind of associations that existed between the distance, contact, and likelihood estimation used to deal with incomplete data. It was essential to account for the missing data as well to avoid having gaps in research.
Results
The univariate correlations indicated that instances of increased distance between the family and the program were directly linked to limited face-to-face interaction. It was, however, not linked to the telephone contact. Telephoneinteraction was, however, linked to an increase in troublesome behavior as well as limited parting success.
The increased distance, which was linked to fewer visits, was linked to better departure success. This finding contradicted the research as it would have been expected greater distance to affect departure negatively due to it being associated with limited visits.
The physical distance between the family and the program was linked to the number of face-to-face contacts but not to the total telephone interactions made. It was related to the number of visits as families found it easier to visit the programs if they were in close proximity and found it difficult for longer distances to visit their children. It was, however, noted that frequent phone calls were detrimental to the children while face-to-face visits helped in improving their outcomes.
References
Huefner, J. C., Pick, R. M., Smith, G. L., Stevens, A. L., & Mason, W. A. (2015). Parental involvement in residential care: Distance, frequency of contact, and youth outcomes. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24(5), 1481-1489.