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The article discusses the transition involves numerous stakeholders including the child, service providers, caregivers, educational professionals, and legal professionals. Preparing for this transition involves numerous stakeholders including the child, service providers, caregivers, educational professionals, and legal professionals.

The Family Empowerment Scale (FES) is one of the most widely used measures for assessing the empowerment of caregivers of youth with emotional difficulties. The purpose of this study was to examine the internal factor structure, score reliability, and convergent validity of the FES scores with caregivers of youth who had recently departed therapeutic residential care. Results indicated that the hypothesized three-factor model fit the data adequately with caveats. FES scores were reliable based on coefficient alpha and omega, and evidence of convergent validity with caregiver self-efficacy was moderate to strong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although newly passed federal regulations mandate the provision of family-based aftercare supports for adolescents served in therapeutic residential care, very little research has been conducted to determine best practice. This efficacy and replication study compares the outcomes of youths and caregivers randomly assigned to On the Way Home (OTWH; n = 98) or traditional aftercare supports (n = 89) following discharge from therapeutic residential care (TRC). Findings were mixed. At posttest (12-months) no significant differences were found between groups on indicators of placement stability and school involvement, however, significant differences were found between groups on several indicators of caregiver empowerment and self-efficacy, with caregivers in OTWH reporting greater levels of self-efficacy and empowerment across the domains of family and community. At follow-up (21-months), moderate to large differences were found between groups on indicators of placement stability and school involvement, with odds ratios indicating youths in OTWH were 2 and 3 times more likely to be engaged in school and living in the community, respectively. Implications, limitations, and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While much is known about the educational, behavioral, and social needs of adolescents receiving school-based special education services, one critical domain, health literacy, has been largely unexamined. Given the impact of health and health management on the well-being of all persons, and the likelihood of additional challenges for students receiving special education supports, this study sought to examine and compare the health needs and transition preparedness of 341 adolescents with and without Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). Survey items were selected from widely used health literacy, health risk, and health related quality of life measures. Findings revealed that for students with IEPs, the risk for having limited health literacy was 128% higher than for their peers without IEPs. Students with IEPs were also significantly more likely to demonstrate risk across indicators of health related quality of life, health risk, and access. Limitations, research recommendations, and implications are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Residential care is one of the most restrictive out-of-home care settings; however, this is a temporary placement and youth eventually reintegrate into the home and community setting. Reintegration presents many challenges, and aftercare becomes critical for maintaining youth gains and promoting family stability. Aftercare programs and supports should align to individual family needs that entail understanding individual and familial characteristics. Previous studies have explored characteristics related to family functioning, mental health, behavior, and perceptions of need during reintegration; yet little is known regarding how affective characteristics (i.e., self-efficacy, empowerment) factor into reintegration, or the implications this may have for providers. The purpose of this study was to address this gap by exploring empowerment and self-efficacy in caregivers (N = 120) who had a child return home within 1 month of departing residential care. Overall, caregivers reported high levels of empowerment and self-efficacy during the initial transition period. Significant differences for empowerment and self-efficacy were present in characteristics such as race, income, number of children in the home, and free/reduced lunch status. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Aftercare has been suggested to improve the outcomes of youth who depart group homes. This project used a survey method to collect data from 38 agency leaders from across the United States on the aftercare supports they believed were available for youth departing group homes and returning to their homes/schools prior to high school graduation. The results revealed that 34% of agencies provided an aftercare service with a model, and 29% of agencies received external funding for aftercare. The findings are summarized and limitations and implications for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The provision of aftercare services for youth and families is an important topic in residential care. Focus groups were conducted with seven service professionals working with youth in residential care in the United States. Providers responded to two questions: Based on your involvement in residential care 1) what barriers do providers experience when trying to access aftercare services for youth who are departing residential care; and 2) what solutions have providers attempted or recommended to overcome barriers so that aftercare services are made available to youth? Common themes for barriers included: 1) Youth/Family barriers to engagement; 2) Aftercare programming issues and concerns; 3) State, local, and agency policy; 4) Lack of funding; and 5) Lack of interagency collaboration. Common themes for solutions included: 1) Continuity of care; 2) State, local, and agency policy recommendations; 3) Family engagement; 4) Funding solutions; 5) Discharge planning; 6) Agency collaboration; and 7) Technology. Study limitations, future research, and implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Although previous studies have demonstrated that children in out-of-home care present with elevated levels of mental and physical health, educational, and behavioral problems, little is known about youth's ability to manage health care needs or access health information and support. This study evaluates the health literacy skills of 229 youth served in a residential setting. Results revealed that the majority of youth demonstrated some level of risk, and anywhere from one-quarter to one-third demonstrated significant health literacy deficits suggesting a need for additional research and treatment intervention. Implications, study limitations, and recommendations for practice and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]