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Family characteristics as predictors of intensity in family services

Version 2 2024-06-04, 05:27
Version 1 2019-02-18, 12:57
journal contribution
posted on 2024-06-04, 05:27 authored by LM Kelly, L Walker, JM Knowles
This article investigates factors influencing the number of hours families are involved with family services and uses these factors to develop a predictive model. This research began with focus groups involving family service workers who identified three key domains influencing service intensity: worker/family relationship, family motivation, and family characteristics. The family characteristics domain is the focus of this article. Influencing factors within this domain are examined through analysis of database information from 258 families who had previously accessed family services through a community services organization. Key predictors identified include the gender of main consumer, family size, and presence of issues such as family violence and physical illness. These findings are used to develop a model to predict intervention intensity for families accessing family services. The ability to estimate service intensity provides data to effectively develop innovative programs and enable better balancing of staff workloads and resources. Additionally, the capability to predict intensity helps allocate families to appropriate workers and programs.

History

Journal

Journal of family social work

Volume

22

Pagination

146-160

Location

Abingdon, Eng.

ISSN

1052-2158

eISSN

1540-4072

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2018, Taylor & Francis

Issue

2

Publisher

Taylor & Francis