Konzeption und Durchführung einer Katamnese-Studie im Jugendhilfebereich

Effectiveness of day care youth welfare measures Objective: In order to provide optimal support to families living in precarious circumstances, empirically sound findings on the adequacy of the educational-therapeutic concepts that are being implemented in the context of these measures are required. Our study investigates to what extent service-users benefit from youth welfare measures between the measures between start and finish. Method: Altogether, 50 adolescents have participated in educational measures for a period of two years on average. Problem areas constituting an indication for an educational measure were assessed systematically at the beginning and after termination of the measure (pre-post-comparison). Results: The primary goals of day care in particular were clearly reached. Compared to their level at the beginning of the measure, problems concerning social behaviour had clearly improved at the measure s termination. Further, school achievement problems were clearly reduced during the educational measure. In cooperation with the parents it was possible to significantly reduce deficits in parenting skills inherent in the family system. Conclusions: Results underscore the high effectiveness of educational measures in reducing strain and problem behaviour.