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. 2021 Jan;63(1):81-88.
doi: 10.1111/dmcn.14478. Epub 2020 Jan 31.

Use of family disability service by families with young children with disabilities

Matthew J Russell  1   2   3 , Yunqi Zhang  1 , Xinjie Cui  1 , Suzanne Tough  2   4 , Jennifer D Zwicker  3   5
Affiliations

Use of family disability service by families with young children with disabilities

Matthew J Russell et al. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

Aim: To investigate which families with young children with disabilities used disability services and when they used services to inform policy on service delivery.

Method: We used linked administrative data from different ministries in Alberta to describe families' use of disability services when their children were between the ages of 3 and 8 years old. Disability was investigated on the basis of the presence of a severe special education code for children, and level of special education code. The outcome was the use of family disability services.

Results: Of 31 346 children, 24 761 (79.0%) had no special education code, 3982 (12.7%) had a mild special education code, and 2603 (8.3%) had a severe special education code. Level of special education code was associated with child characteristics and service use. Children with severe special education codes generally were more likely to report service use and have poor outcomes than those with less severe codes. Of note, 26% of children with severe special education codes used family disability services. In addition, among children with severe special education codes, many years of severe coding (compared with fewer years) had the strongest association with family disability service use (prevalence ratio 5.50; 95% confidence interval 4.10-7.37). Associations with family disability service use were seen with mental health, health care, and educational achievement. Interactions between child characteristics and service use were observed.

Interpretation: This study provides evidence that families were more likely to use disability services when they were involved with other services, and that use interacts with various factors. The findings highlight the importance of considering service eligibility, referral, and integration.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Among children with a severe special education code (a) the percentage that used Family Support for Children with Disability (FSCD) services at the listed ages and (b) the percentage that ever had the listed category of special education code. Among children’s category of special education code (c) the percentage that used FSCD services. Ninety‐five per cent confidence intervals are shown as error bars.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Significant interactions for the use of Family Support for Children with Disability (FSCD) services for children who had a severe special education code. The percentage of families using FSCD services for interactions between (a) years with a severe education code by sex, (b) years with a severe education code by mental health service use, (c) educational achievement by mental health service use, and (d) educational achievement by socioeconomic status (SES). Ninety‐five per cent confidence intervals are shown as error bars.
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References

    1. United Nations General Assembly . Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. New York, NY: United Nations, 2006.
    1. Finlay B, Zwicker J. Measure What Matters. Calgary, AB: School of Public Policy, 2019. https://www.disabilitydataproject.com/ (accessed 8 January 2020).
    1. Child and Youth Data Laboratory . Longitudinal project program overlap summary. Edmonton, AB: PolicyWise for Children and Families, 2016.
    1. Alberta Education . Student Population Statistics. Edmonton, AB: Government of Alberta, 2019.
    1. Arim RG, Miller AR, Guèvremont A, Lach LM, Brehaut JC, Kohen DE. Children with neurodevelopmental disorders and disabilities: a population‐based study of healthcare service utilization using administrative data. Dev Med Child Neurol 2017; 59: 1284–90. - PubMed

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