Enhancing Family Support Program Outcomes through Improved Participant Matching

• In Event: Poster Session 08
  In Poster Session: PS 08 Topic - Prevention and Interventions

Abstract

Background. Families experiencing elevated risk are referred to family support programs (FSPs) in order to promote strong outcomes; however, increased risk can result in less engagement and fewer benefits. A variety of demographic and structural family characteristics are known to predict decreased program engagement and outcomes (Lundahl et al., 2006; McConnell, et al., 2013; Reyno & McGrath, 2006). Currently, it is unclear whether these family characteristics uniformly diminish engagement and outcomes or if certain programs more effectively engage some subpopulations.
Objective. The current proposal seeks to examine “what works for whom” in a sample of more than 13,000 families across five FSPs. This study will investigate whether subpopulation characteristics differentially predict engagement and family development outcomes (self-sufficiency, mental health, debt management, child education, child care, family functioning, social support, concrete support, nurturing and attachment, and child development knowledge) across an array of FSPs. Hypothesis 1: Family poverty, single-parent status, lower maternal age, and family minority race are expected to negatively predict program engagement. Family characteristics that are associated with drop-out rates will be weighted in subsequent analyses to increase the accuracy of program effect estimates. Hypothesis 2: Younger parents, larger household size, single-parent households, English as a Second Language (ESL), minority ethnicity, and greater poverty will be associated with diminished program outcomes. However, subpopulation differences are expected by program. Families with greater poverty and larger household size may benefit more from FSPs that emphasize concrete supports (e.g. Colorado Community Response [CCR]). ESL and minority ethnicity families are expected to have moderated outcomes only when examined FSPs have lower levels of cultural adaptation. Other subpopulation differences are exploratory.
Methods. The following FSPs were administered widely across one state and measured family demographics and outcomes: Family Resource Center Family Development Services, CCR, SafeCare, Promoting Safe and Stable Families, and one Head Start site. Outcomes were measured using the Colorado Family Support Assessment (CFSA; OMNI & Family Resource Center Association, 2018), a three-part measure which includes a self-sufficiency matrix (Richmond, Pampel, Zarcula, Howey, & McChesney, 2015), the Protective Factors Survey (Counts, Buffington, Chang-Rios, Rasmussen, & Preacher, 2010), and readiness to change. Across FSPs, there are a total of 13,683 participants with a pre-CFSA and 9,490 participants with both a pre and post-CFSA. Analyses will be completed in late 2020.
Analysis Plan. Intercorrelations will be examined between attrition at the post-CFSA timepoint and subpopulation characteristics. Multivariate regressions will then identify the significant predictors of attrition in each FSP; subsequently, these characteristics will be weighted to correct for drop-out bias in analyses. Next, hierarchical linear regressions and interaction analyses will be conducted using SPSS to examine associations between family characteristics and family outcomes, as moderated by FSP. The following covariates will be included in analyses: readiness to change, assessment year, and length of time in treatment.
Implications. Identification of subpopulations who achieve better or worse family development outcomes could improve the matching of participants to available programs (McConnell, et. al., 2013) and critically indicate where program adaptations are needed to more effectively engage indicated subpopulations.

Authors

• Elly Miles, Urban Institute
  Presenting Author

• Julia Dmitrieva, University of Denver
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jacob Barney
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kendra Dunn
  Non-Presenting Author

• Heather Craiglow
  Non-Presenting Author

• Teri Haymond, Family Resource Center Association
  Non-Presenting Author

• Sarah E Watamura, University of Denver
  Non-Presenting Author