Evolve Therapeutic Services: A 5-year outcome study of children and young people in out-of-home care with complex and extreme behavioural and mental health problems

Abstract

Background Little evaluation research has been conducted on the effectiveness of services and intervention provided to children in out-of-home care. This study evaluated an innovative Queensland, Australia program employing a collaborative wrap-round model of care in combination with a flexible intervention approach, individually tailored to children and young people in out-of-home care presenting with complex and extreme behavioural and mental health problems. Method The sample consisted of 664 children and young people. Two clinician-rated measures, the CGAS and HoNOSCA, were used to assess young people's functioning via a pre-post-treatment design. Results Results revealed significant improvements across a range of problems areas: general functioning and adjustment; disruptive, antisocial and aggressive behaviour; overactivity, poor attention and concentration; non-accidental self-injury; problems with scholastic and language skills; non-organic somatic symptoms; emotional symptoms; peer and family relationships; self-care and independence; and school attendance. Conclusion Findings provide good evidence for the effectiveness of the therapeutic intervention program. Implications for future research are explored.