Browsing by Author "Twilley, Leslie"

Now showing 1 - 11 of 11
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    A profile of Child Support Services dependents in Alberta
    (PolicyWise for Children & Families, 2019-07-17) Jia, Ruiting; Twilley, Leslie; Cui, Xinjie
    Child support payment agreements and court orders can support the well-being of children in single-parent or blended families. This report profiled Alberta Child Support Services (CSS) dependents (0 to 22 years old) from 2005/06 to 2010/11. CSS dependents are the children for whom child support was sought. Analyses examined these individuals’ sociodemographic characteristics and public service use patterns based on the reasons for the case closure and the amounts of money granted in proceedings to obtain child support. This report found that (1) there were 24,619 to 28,868 CSS dependents between 2005/06 and 2010/11, (2) the percentage of CSS dependents who met or exceeded educational expectations in the K-12 education system generally increased over the report period, (3) a higher proportion of CSS dependents were both high-cost health service users and mental health service users than non-CSS dependents, and (4) the monetary amount of a dependent’s CSS payment related to their educational achievement. These findings provide policy-relevant evidence that public authorities may consider as they seek to better support CSS dependents.
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    A profile of children and youth whose families received Family Support for Children with Disabilities services
    (PolicyWise for Children & Families, 2019-01-18) Jia, Ruiting; Cankaya, Ozlem; Twilley, Leslie; Cui, Xinjie; Cui, Xinjie
    Families caring for children with disabilities may require a wide range of supports to assist them. This report used administrative data to profile young Albertans (0 to 17 years old) who received a range of services from the Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) program between 2005/06 and 2010/11. Analyses examined these individuals’ sociodemographic characteristics and public service use patterns based on their primary reason for support. This report found that (1) more than half of FSCD clients with mental health disorders met or exceeded educational expectations during the report period, (2) a higher proportion of FSCD clients who had mental health conditions and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder received child intervention support (to protect against abuse, neglect, or another risk) than the non-FSCD population, and (3) a higher proportion of FSCD clients with developmental delay and mental health or health conditions were in single-parent/blended families receiving child support payments than the non-FSCD population. These findings provide policy-relevant evidence that public authorities may consider as they seek to better support children with disabilities.
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    A profile of children in Alberta receiving Child Care Subsidy
    (PolicyWise for Children & Families, 2019-05-17) Izakian, Hesam; Twilley, Leslie; Cui, Xinjie
    Access to child care subsidies can improve children’s academic, psychosocial, and behavioural functioning. This report profiled Albertan children (0 to 8 years old) who were Child Care Subsidy (CCS) recipients from 2005/06 to 2010/11. Analyses examined these individuals’ sociodemographic characteristics and public service use patterns. This report found that (1) Edmonton and South Alberta region had higher proportions of CCS recipients than other regions, (2) recipients of CCS had higher use of social supports, rates of residential mobility, and low socioeconomic status neighbourhood occupancy than non-recipients, and (3) child care use patterns changed between 2005/06 to 2010/11. These findings provide policy-relevant evidence that public authorities may consider as they seek to better support CCS dependents.
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    A profile of income support clients
    (PolicyWise for Children & Families, 2019-01-17) Easterbrook, Adam; Twilley, Leslie; Cui, Xinjie
    A large proportion of individuals using income support programs face barriers to permanent employment and often re-enter income support programs. This report used administrative data to profile Albertan youth (18 to 25 years old) who were Income Support recipients at some point between 2005/06 and 2010/11. Analyses examined these individuals’ sociodemographic characteristics and income support use patterns by their client and household type. This report found that (1) 12,914 to 16,645 Albertans (around 3%) accessed Income Support each year from 2005/06 to 2010/11, (2) females and males accessed Income Support for different purposes, (3) recipients of Income Support were more likely to not complete high school, move residences, live in the lowest socioeconomic neighborhoods, receive mental health services and be a high-cost health services users than non-recipients, and (4) recipients without children were more likely to be criminal offenders than those with children. These findings provide policy-relevant evidence that public authorities may consider as they seek to better assist Income Support recipients. 
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    A profile of post-secondary students in Alberta
    (PolicyWise for Children & Families, 2019-01-17) Lamba, Navjot; Twilley, Leslie; Cui, Xinjie
    Many benefits are associated with obtaining a post-secondary education. This report used administrative data to profile students (18 to 25 years old) enrolled in publicly-funded post-secondary institutions in Alberta from the 2005/06 to 2010/11. Analyses examined these individuals’ sociodemographic characteristics and public service use patterns based on their enrollment status (full-time or part-time) and credential type. This report found that (1) almost one-third (120,000 to 130,000 a year from 2005/06 to 2010/11) of Albertan individuals 18 to 25 years old were enrolled in publicly-funded post-secondary institution, (2) there was a greater representation of female than male students, (3) about 3% of full and part-time students identified as Aboriginal, (4) part-time students were more likely to use mental health services than full-time students and non-students, (5) students were less likely to be high-cost health service users than individuals not enrolled in post-secondary studies, and (6) students enrolled in post-secondary studies, but not in credential programs, were more likely to use social services and income supports than other students. These findings provide policy-relevant evidence that public authorities may consider as they seek to better support post-secondary students.
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    A profile of young adult corrections involvement
    (PolicyWise for Children & Families, 2019-05-17) Werk, Christine; Twilley, Leslie; Cui, Xinjie
    Young adults with corrections involvement often have complex needs that would benefit from coordination between service providers. This report used administrative data to profile young Albertans (18 to 25 years old) with adult corrections involvement from 2005/06 to 2010/11. Analyses examined these individuals’ sociodemographic characteristics, public service use patterns, and court outcomes. This report found that (1) about 1% of young adults had corrections involvement in a given year (10,302 to 14,864 a year from 2005/06 to 2010/11), (2) young adults with corrections involvement were more likely to not complete high school as well as use social services and income supports than those without corrections involvement, (3) some court outcomes were more common than others, and (4) some court outcomes applied more to individuals with particular sociodemographic characteristics. These findings provide policy-relevant evidence that public authorities may consider as they seek to better support corrections-involved youth.  
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    A profile of young Albertans
    (PolicyWise for Children & Families, 2019-05-17) Werk, Christine; Twilley, Leslie; Cui, Xinjie
    Understanding the sociodemographic characteristics and service use patterns of young Albertans is essential to support them. This report profiled Albertan youth (0 to 25 years old) who used government services in Alberta or were registered in the health care system between 2005/06 and 2010/11. Analyses crossed gender and age groups with sociodemographic and public service use administrative data. This report found that (1) neighbourhood income status increased slightly over the report period, (2) females moved slightly more often than males, (3) a higher percentage of females than males performed at or above educational expectations, (4) school-aged youth moved less often than younger children or older youth, and (5) a higher percentage of older students were below educational expectations than younger students. These findings provide policy-relevant evidence that public authorities may consider as they seek to improve outcomes for young Albertans. 
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    A profile of young Albertans using mental health services
    (PolicyWise for Children & Families, 2019-05-17) Werk, Christine; Twilley, Leslie; Cui, Xinjie
    Mental health conditions are common. They pose a significant burden to individuals and economic burden to Canada. This report profiled Albertan youth (0 to 25 years old) who received mental health services from 2005/06 to 2010/11. Analyses examined these individuals’ sociodemographic characteristics and public service use patterns. This report found that (1) 5% of individuals received a mental health service in a given year (61,249 to 67,853 a year from 2005/06 to 2010/11), (2) mental health service users had lower educational achievement and were more likely to be students with special needs than those not using services, (3) behavioural conditions were the most common disorder among those with mental health service use, followed by anxiety and depression, and (4) those diagnosed with schizophrenia/psychosis were more likely to be high-cost health users and have other life challenges, such as criminal involvement, than others with a mental health condition. These findings provide policy-relevant evidence that public authorities may consider as they seek to better support young Albertans with mental health conditions. 
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    A profile of young Albertans with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
    (PolicyWise for Children & Families, 2019-01-18) Werk, Christine; Twilley, Leslie; Cui, Xinjie
    Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) experience lifelong neurocognitive, behavioural, and physical challenges. This report profiled 3,025 Albertans (0 to 25 years old) with FASD from 2005/06 to 2010/11. Analyses examined these individuals’ sociodemographic characteristics and public service use patterns. This report found that persons who were male, living in Northwest/North Central Alberta, and living in the lowest socioeconomic areas were more likely to receive an FASD diagnosis than the rest of the population. The report also found that young Albertans with FASD diagnoses had higher rates of public service and income support use, criminal offending, poorer health outcomes, and less educational achievement than those not diagnosed with FASD. These findings provide evidence that collaborative programming, resourcing and planning may enhance service delivery and improve outcomes for children with FASD in Alberta. 
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    A profile of youth and young adults with criminal offences
    (PolicyWise for Children & Families, 2019-07-17) Werk, Christine; Twilley, Leslie; Cui, Xinjie
    Youth with corrections involvement often have complex needs that would benefit from coordination between service providers. This report used administrative data to profile youth (12 to 25 years old) that had criminal offences between 2005/06 and 2010/11. Analyses examined these individuals’ sociodemographic characteristics and public service use patterns based on their total number of offences and offence type(s). This report found that (1) around 3% of youth and young adults in Alberta had criminal offences in a given year (22,415 to 25,135 a year from 2005/06 to 2010/11), (2) the proportion of both female offenders and offenders meeting or exceeding educational expectations increased over time, (3) the most common types of offences were administrative and property, followed by violent and other criminal, (4) youth with administrative offences were the least likely of the types of offenders to be meeting or above educational expectations, and (5) drug offenders made up the lowest percentage of total offences and have different sociodemographic characteristics and public service use patterns than other offender types. These findings provide policy-relevant evidence that public authorities may consider as they seek to better support young adult offenders. 
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    ItemOpen Access
    A profile of youth corrections involvement
    (PolicyWise for Children & Families, 2019-05-17) Werk, Christine; Twilley, Leslie; Cui, Xinjie
    Youth with corrections involvement often have complex needs that would benefit from coordination between service providers. This report looked at young Albertans (12 to 25 years old) that had youth corrections involvement between 2005/06 and 2010/11. Analyses examined these individuals’ sociodemographic characteristics, public service use patterns, and court outcomes. This report found that (1) 1% of youth had corrections involvement in a given year (7,027 to 9,682 a year from 2005/06 to 2010/11), a higher proportion of corrections-involved youth were: male, lived in the lowest socioeconomic status neighbourhoods, moved one or more times, were high cost health users, used social services and were students with special needs than those with no corrections involvement, (2) youth involved with corrections were less likely to achieve academically than those with no corrections involvement, and (3) court outcomes varied by demographic group. These findings provide policy-relevant evidence that service providers may consider as they seek to better support youth with corrections involvement.