A study of home-based services for families of adolescents

Adolescents and their families present some of the most difficult challenges for family-centered, home-based service providers. A study of 51 families of adolescents, who received services from one rural home-based program was conducted in order to describe the characteristics distinguishing families in which placement was averted from families in which placement was not. Content analysis of case records indicated group differences on severity and type of adolescent behavior, family functioning, and families' follow-up with discharge recommendations. Gender differences in placement rates were also noted. Implications for the provision of family-centered, home-based services to families of adolescents were discussed.