NCJ Number
219465
Journal
Residential Treatment for Children & Youth Volume: 22 Issue: 1 Dated: 2004 Pages: 55-74
Date Published
2004
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This article describes a hospital diversion program for treating young persons dealing with psychiatric crises, called the Crisis Residence program in Westchester, NY and presents descriptive data for residents treated during fiscal year 2001-2002.
Abstract
Results indicated that the majority of youth treated by the Crisis Residence were discharged to where they were living prior to admission. Just less than one-third of the youth were discharged to a higher level of care and a small portion of youth went to a lower level of care. As such, the Crisis Residence seemed to function primarily as a respite or short-term treatment setting that allowed youth to regain stability before returning to their original residence. Other findings revealed that one-third of the residents in both samples had histories of child sexual abuse. Indeed, maltreatment was found to be common among all residents. The findings suggest that Crisis Residence staff should receive training on how to respond and treat mentally ill youth with histories of trauma and maltreatment. The study focused on providing descriptive information on two groups entering the Crisis Residence: those who entered the program from a residential treatment center and those who entered the program as an outside referral. Future research should focus on the experiences of residents and their families regarding the perceived value of the Crisis Residence. Participants were 103 youth who were residents at the Crisis Residence during the study period. Approximately one-third of participants were referred from a residential treatment center (RTC referral) while the other two-thirds were referred from outside the agency (outside referral). Almost all participants were of ethnic minority status. Data were drawn from the admissions information recorded by Crisis Residence staff. Data included child demographic and background information, history of maltreatment and behavior problems, precipitating events and behaviors, presenting problems, and service information such as length of stay, discharge information, and discharge destination. Data were analyzed using logistic regression models. Tables, notes, references