PolicyWise for Children & Families
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We generate knowledge by conducting research and evaluation, and by managing, linking, and analyzing data. We measure the impact of how we influence positive changes for children and families.
PolicyWise is a charitable, not-for-profit corporation. We are managed by a President and CEO and governed by a dedicated Board of Directors. Our employees are experts in applied research and evaluation, data science, knowledge mobilization, marketing & communications, and administration.
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Browsing PolicyWise for Children & Families by Author "Jia, Ruiting"
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Item Open Access A profile of Child Support Services dependents in Alberta(PolicyWise for Children & Families, 2019-07-17) Jia, Ruiting; Twilley, Leslie; Cui, XinjieChild 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.Item Open Access 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, XinjieFamilies 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.Item Open Access A profile of students with special needs who transitioned between Government of Alberta disability programs(PolicyWise for Children & Families, 2019-10-18) Jia, Ruiting; Bhatt, Hitesh; Cui, XinjieThe child to adult transition can be especially challenging for youth with disabilities. This report examined special needs service use patterns of Albertans with disabilities (15 to 23 years old) when they transitioned from child to adult disability supports during 2005/06 to 2010/11. Analyses focused on transition pathways between two support programs for youth with disability in Alberta: child disability supports (the Family Support for Children with Disabilities program) and adult disability supports (the Persons with Developmental Disabilities program). This report found that 6% of Albertan students with special needs received child disability services at some point between 2005/06 and 2008/09, 55% of whom (the majority of which had multiple disabilities) later transitioned to adult disability services at some point between 2005/06 and 2010/11. In contrast, 3% of non-child disability support students transitioned to adult disability supports in the same period. This report also found that special needs students with different transition patterns had different service use patterns. These findings provide policy-relevant evidence that service providers can use to improve transitions for youth with disabilities.Item Open Access A profile of young Albertans with autism spectrum disorder(PolicyWise for Children & Families, 2019-01-18) Jia, Ruiting; Cui, XinjieAutism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong neurobehavioural condition that can present serious social, behavioural, and communicational challenges to children. This report profiled 8,132 young Albertans (0 to 25 years old) with ASD from 2005/06 to 2010/11. Analyses examined these individuals’ sociodemographic characteristics and public service use patterns. This report found that young Albertans with ASD had less educational achievement, more chronic diseases and greater use of social and income supports than those without ASD. The report also found an overall trend of increasing disability service use from 2005/06 to 2010/11. These findings provide policy-relevant evidence that public authorities may consider as they seek to better support children with ASD.