Browsing by Author "Bhatt, Hitesh"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    A case for collaborative practice: a longitudinal look at provincial support services for children (3 to 12 years) with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in Alberta over six years
    (PolicyWise for Children & Families, 2019-07-19) Piatt, Carley; Bhatt, Hitesh; Cui, Xinjie
    Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) experience lifelong neurocognitive, behavioural, and physical challenges from prenatal alcohol exposure. This report profiled 1,055 Albertan children (3 to 12 years old) in 2005/06 that were diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders between 2005/06 and 2010/11. Analyses examined these individuals’ sociodemographic characteristics and public service use patterns from 2005/06 to 2010/11. This report found that (1) 49% of profiled children required child intervention (to protect against abuse, neglect, or another risk) and also at least one other support service during the report period, (2) the overall pattern of support service delivery was similar for children with FASD throughout Alberta, and (3) a greater percentage of children diagnosed with FASD accessed mental health services and failed to meet or exceed educational expectations than those without FASD. These findings provide policy-relevant evidence that collaborative programming, resourcing, and planning may enhance service delivery and improve outcomes for children with FASD in Alberta.
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    A profile of Albertans experiencing different client pathways in the income support and income support learners programs
    (PolicyWise for Children & Families, 2019-06-18) Lamba, Navjot; Bhatt, Hitesh; Cui, Xinjie
    A large proportion of individuals using income support programs face barriers to permanent employment and often re-enter income support programs. This report profiled 35,368 Albertan’s (18 to 25 years old) use of and transition between Income Support and Income Support Learners programs using administrative data from 2005/06 to 2010/11. Analyses examined these individuals’ sociodemographic characteristics and public service use patterns. This report found that individuals receiving income support had higher rates of residential mobility, injury/harm diagnoses, hospitalizations, corrections-involvement, and non-full-time healthcare registration than persons not accessing income supports. This report also found that income support access patterns varied by an individual’s demographic characteristics. These findings provide policy-relevant evidence that public authorities may consider as they seek to reduce young adults’ sustained reliance on income support programs.
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    A profile of students with special needs in Alberta
    (PolicyWise for Children & Families, 2019-10-18) Lamba, Navjot; Bhatt, Hitesh; Cui, Xinjie
    Students with special needs require instructional supports to reach their full potential. This report used administrative data to profile about 72,000 Albertan students (kindergarten to 12th grade) with special needs between 2005/06 and 2010/11. Analyses examined these individuals’ sociodemographic characteristics and public service use patterns based on their grade year and disability type. This report found that (1) the highest proportion of students with special needs lived in Northeast Alberta, (2) a greater proportion of students with special needs were male, performed below educational expectations, lived in the lowest socioeconomic neighbourhoods, moved residences, and were high-cost health and mental health users than those without special needs. This report also found that student's public service use patterns significantly varied by disability type. These findings provide policy-relevant evidence that public authorities may consider as they seek to better support students with special needs. 
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    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, Xinjie
    The 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.
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    A profile of young Albertans with cerebral palsy
    (PolicyWise for Children & Families, 2019-01-18) O’Brien, Daniel; Werk, Christine; Piatt, Carley; Bhatt, Hitesh; Cui, Xinjie
    Cerebral palsy (CP) results in motor disorders and neurological abnormalities and is the leading cause of lifelong physical disability that begins in childhood. This report profiled 3,970 young Albertans (0 to 25 years old) with CP from 2005/06 to 2010/11. Analyses examined these individuals’ sociodemographic characteristics and public service use patterns. This report found that young Albertans with CP had less educational achievement, were less likely to have criminal justice involvement, were more likely to use social services, and were more likely to have chronic diseases than those without CP. The report also found that about half of young Albertans with CP received services from each available public disability support program. These findings provide policy-relevant evidence that public authorities may consider as they seek to better support children with CP.