Data Triangulation Youth and Parent Perceptions and Attitudes in the Youth Transition Demonstration

1
Data Triangulation Youth and Parent Perceptions
and Attitudes in the Youth Transition
Demonstration Focus Groups

• Alissa Gardenhire-Crooks,
• Allen LeBlanc, and Conrad Mandsager

2
What is YTD?

• The Youth Transition Demonstration (YTD) is a
  Social Security Administration sponsored
  demonstration and evaluation of programs designed
  to help youth with disabilities make a successful
  transition from school to work and economic
  self-sufficiency.
• Successful transition outcomes include the
  youths educational attainment, employment,
  earnings, and receipt of disability benefits.

3
What are Focus Groups?

• Small groups of respondents are interviewed
  together about their experiences regarding a
  program or situation.
• Questions are asked in an interactive group
  setting where participants are free to talk with
  other group members.
• Allows participants to focus on and discuss the
  things they feel are most important.

4
YTD Focus Groups Analysis

• Protocols were developed to capture information
  on key issues from participants with differing
  perspectives.
• We gathered data from different types of
  participants to assess the transition experiences
  of youth with disabilities.

5
YTD Focus Groups Subgroups

• Who knows the experiences and needs of youth with
  disabilities?
• Youth (most between the ages of 16 and 25)
• Parents of youth with disabilities
• Service providersincluding teachers, transition
  coordinators, and direct service providers
• And key othersincluding sheltered workshop
  staff, employers, and community college and
  university staff

6
San Bernardino Youth and Parents

• YOUTH
• Clients of school-based Transition Services
• ¾ were learning disabled
• High school to graduate school
• Many had work experience and lived independently
• Variety of career goals

• PARENTS
• Most parents represented youth going through the
  transition
• Many had children with disabilities more severe
  than the youth interviewed
• Most had youth living at home or in board and
  care facilities

7
Data Triangulation Dyads and Groups

• By asking parents and youth similar questions we
  were able to better understand the many factors
  which affect their transition experience.
• The youth-parent dyads showed that the youth gave
  details of their transition experiences, while
  parents could give an overview of their childs
  experience in the disability system.
• As with the matched pair responses, the grouped
  responses showed that the youth were more
  concerned with their lived transition
  experiences, while parents were more evaluative
  of these experiences.

8
YTD Focus Groups Next Steps

• Finish analysis of West Virginia focus groups
  (with a more severely disabled youth sample and
  more youth-parent dyads).
• Conduct focus groups in Erie County, NY (in a YTD
  pilot program, interviews with program staff and
  pilot youth participants separated by school
  status).
• Continue dyadic and group analysis of data.