Needs Assessment
Despite the high prevalence of trauma (>80% of sample) and frequent mental health symptoms (>60% of children samples), we observed that staff and management possessed limited awareness of child development and mental health. Further, we observed select staff exhibiting hostility, which is a challenge to providing a safe and nurturing environment for children. In fact, children commonly reported feeling unsupported by staff; and procedures to support individualized attention, assessment and development for long-term child residents at group homes appeared severely limited.
These data speak toward the need to better promote children’s psychosocial well-being and increase the capacity and propriety of caregivers and systems that support them.
