Vraaggerichte en gezinsgerichte jeugdzorg: processen en uitkomsten. Evaluatie van het programma Gezin Centraal

PhD ceremony: Ms. J. Metselaar, 14.30 uur, Aula Academiegebouw, Broerstraat 5, Groningen

Dissertation: Vraaggerichte en gezinsgerichte jeugdzorg: processen en uitkomsten. Evaluatie van het programma Gezin Centraal

Promotor(s): prof. E.J. Knorth, prof. T.A. van Yperen

Faculty: Behavioural and Social Sciences

Gezin Centraal is an experimental child and youth care programme intended for children aged 6–14 with severe psychosocial problems and their families. The programme has three components: intensive family coaching, out-patient treatment and care at a residential home. Needs-led care and a family-focused approach are the core features of the programme. Gezin Centraal’s programme evaluation can be described as practice-based outcomes research, a kind of research which focuses on incorporating the evaluation into everyday care activities, utilizing the research data, and linking the research to the interventions. The general question of this study was: how does the care provided to children in the age of 6 until 14 years in the Gezin Centraal programme unfold and what results are obtained in comparison with standard care programmes? As a child and youth care intervention Gezin Centraal aims to reach a group of clients similar to the group of care as usual. It appears that at the beginning of the care programme there is not always enough insight into the problem situation and its severity, and the extent to which treatment is needed. In the needs-led care and a family-focused approach Gezin Centraal differs less from the comparison groups than had been expected. A pilot study of the outcomes of this care service showed that in comparison with the internal and external comparison groups, after the intervention Gezin Centraal’s clients have fewer problems with the child’s functioning. The internal comparison showed that Gezin Centraal clients had less parenting stress. The evaluation of Gezin Centraal has been an important step towards gaining a better idea of the programme’s process. The study stimulates those involved to draw up explicit standards for outcomes and to reach the target group through better selection.