Intervention for homeless and at-risk youth: Assessing youth and staff perspectives on service provision, satisfaction and quality

Abstract

This study applies a developmental framework to examining service provision within an agency servicing homeless and at-risk youth. Forty-five youth and 30 staff provided quantitative ratings and qualitative description of five core dimensions of service delivery informed by research on youth development within community agencies and studies of service utilization within homeless youth populations; namely, program rules and organization, safety, positive youth–staff relationships, positive peer relationships and access to community resources. Results illustrate significant relationships among core dimensions, service satisfaction and service quality, although relationships varied by informant group. For youth, satisfaction was driven by having supportive, caring relationships with staff. For staff, service quality was driven by emphasis on rules, organization and predictability of services. Implications for service provision within agencies servicing homeless and at-risk youth are discussed.

Keywords:

• youth
• homelessness
• positive youth development
• service satisfaction
• service provision

Acknowledgement

The research reported in this article was supported in part by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Seed Grant program administered by the Merrill-Palmer Institute for Child and Family Development, Detroit, MI. The research reported in this article is part of a larger project examining reputable community agencies within a midwestern metropolitan area servicing homeless and at-risk youth, Tompsett, Heinze, Jozefowicz-Simbeni, and Toro (2004) and based on the doctoral dissertation of H. Heinze (Wayne State University, 2006): Identification and Evaluation of Effective Programming for Homeless and At-Risk Adolescents. The authors thank the youth, staff and administration at the participating agency who provided time, insights and resources to make this project possible. To these special individuals, we dedicate this work. We also thank the faculty and students in the Research Group on Homelessness and Poverty at Wayne State University involved in project planning, data collection and dissemination: Paul Toro, Bart Miles, Patrick Fowler, Carolyn Tompsett, Mason Haber, Lindsey Sander, Karen Hobden and Nicole Ouellette.

Notes

¹Outreach and education targets youth engaged currently or previously in high-risk activities, such as prostitution, running away, delinquency and substance abuse. Although the majority of programs target girls and young women, drug and alcohol education programming additionally targets boys and young men. Thus, four male participants (three youth, one staff) are included in the sample.

²Participant by department information is as follows: youth: shelter = 18; prevention = 14; outreach = 14; staff: counseling services = 4; prevention = 5; shelter = 4; outreach = 6; interns = 5; volunteers = 6. Volunteers and interns had responsibilities in multiple departments.

³At this agency, parental or legal guardian consent was required for all youth under age 18 seeking services (consent was required for youth seeking shelter services within 48 hours of admission). Youth and agency staff were therefore already in contact with parent or guardians, and provided them with study information and consent forms. Parents could contact researchers with any additional questions or concerns about the study. Parental or guardian consent was required for participation in the current study.