Comparing youth and caregiver experiences in a school-based system of care

ABSTRACT Families’ positive health service-related views and experiences are associated with improvements in physical and psychological well-being. Research has elucidated key differences in the experiences of caregivers and their children. More work is needed to better understand how families experience enrollment in systems of care (SOCs), given their unique service delivery approach. We compared the service-related views and experiences of 77 youth (Mage = 13.5 years, SD = 2.09, Range = 8 to 18) with severe emotional challenges and their caregivers enrolled in a school-based SOC. Youth and their caregivers reported positive views of service characteristics and related youth outcomes. However, caregivers reported significantly higher levels of perceived cultural sensitivity of services, general satisfaction with services, and active participation in services. Qualitative findings indicated that youth primarily reported improvements in their own psychological and behavioral functioning as the most helpful aspect of services, whereas caregivers tended to emphasize specific youth and family services that they received, such as counseling and psychiatric treatment. We discuss limitations and implications for future research.