Browsing by Author "Scott, Allison"

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    Health, mental health and social service use in high-level offenders age 18 to 25 in Alberta
    (PolicyWise for Children & Families, 2019-07-19) Lifeso, Natasha; Scott, Allison; Piatt, Carley; Zhang, Yunqi; Cui, Xinjie
    A large proportion of crime is committed by a small number of prolific offenders. This report used administrative data to compare the service use of young Albertans (18 to 25 years old) with different levels of criminal offending using data from 2005/06 to 2009/10. Analyses examined these individuals’ sociodemographic characteristics and public service use patterns based on their total number of offences. This report found that there were 26,572 individuals between the ages of 18 to 25 years in 2005/06 who were charged with at least one offence between 2005/06 and 2009/10. This report further found that higher-level offenders were more likely to be high users of healthcare and provincial social systems and to experience other challenges, such as substance abuse and homelessness, than lower-level offenders. These findings provide evidence that a coordinated and collaborative approach to service-delivery between ministries may benefit young adults heavily involved with the justice system.
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    Mental health and social program usage: analyses for integrated mental health hubs
    (PolicyWise for Children & Families, 2019-07-19) Scott, Allison; Parker, Naomi; Salt, Valeri; Brown, Kyla; Piatt, Carley; Scott, Cathie; Cui, Xinjie
    In 2019, Alberta is creating integrated mental health hubs to support the well-being of youth. This report describes the proportion of youth (11 to 24 years old) between 2005/06 and 2010/11 who received mental health diagnostic codes in Alberta and their experiences with provincial services. This report found that (1) the proportion of youth who received diagnostic codes for a mental health condition was 20% overall, but highest (30%) in females 19-24 years old, (2) youth who received a mental health diagnostic code were more likely to have received services from a social program, be involved in the criminal justice system, and have indicators of substance abuse and self-harm behaviours, and (3) between 30% and 45% of older female youth with mental health diagnostic codes experienced pregnancy at least once during the report period. In addition, the report profiled specific service use information about three target community sites for the implementation of integrated mental health hubs. These findings provide policy-relevant evidence that public authorities may consider as they seek to better support children with mental health conditions and create integrated mental health hubs.
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    Shared clients: health, mental health, and social characteristics of high users of the health, justice, and community and social support systems
    (PolicyWise for Children & Families, 2019-07-19) Scott, Allison; Lifeso, Natasha; Piatt, Carley; Zhang, Yunqi; Cui, Xinjie
    High users of multiple systems (sometimes called complex needs individuals) are a small proportion of the population that require a significant number of services. This report profiled young adults who are high users of multiple systems from 2005/06 to 2009/10 and followed them across time to determine their outcomes in 2010/11. Young adults that were in the top 10% of emergency department users, considered prolific offenders (5+ criminal offences), and received income support were described as ‘Shared Clients’. Analyses compared Shared Clients to young adults without these patterns. This report found that high users of multiple systems had more complex needs and were more likely to have negative outcomes over time. These findings provide evidence that a cooperative and integrative approach to service delivery between ministries and service providers may improve outcomes for shared clients. 
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    Youth homelessness: risk factors and outcomes
    (PolicyWise for Children & Families, 2019-07-19) Scott, Allison; Lifeso, Natasha; Piatt, Carley; Zhang, Yunqi; Cui, Xinjie
    Youth experiencing homelessness often face serious risks including victimization, substance abuse, poor nutrition, suicidality, and limited access to primary healthcare and other services. This report examined Alberta youth (14 to 17 years old) in 2005/06 to find (1) what social programs and medical codes in 2005/06 to 2006/07 preceded a homelessness diagnostic code in 2007/08 to 2010/11, and (2) what outcomes homeless youth (in 2005/06 to 2008/09) faced during 2009/10 to 2010/11. This report found that homeless youth were more likely to have many poor outcomes before their homelessness and to have many poor outcomes after experiencing youth homelessness. These outcomes were seen across systems (i.e., income support, health care, criminal, and education systems). These findings provide evidence that offering supports to homeless youth from multiple contact points, including health, education, and justice may improve their outcomes.