IOWA FAMILY SURVEY

Protective Factors in Families Served by Iowa Child Abuse Prevention Programs

PROGRAM DATA SUMMARY:

Dallas County Family Support Project

Produced by

Hornby Zeller Associates, Inc.

August 2013

Sponsored by the Iowa Department of Human Services

505 Fifth Avenue, Suite 900 Des Moines, IA 50309 P: (515) 244-2200 F: (515) 280-7835 Toll-Free: (800) 237-1815

In conjunction with

Hornby Zeller Associates, Inc. 373 Broadway South Portland, ME 04106 ME@hornbyzeller.com

About This Report

This report is provided to Dallas Countys Family Support Project, a part of Iowas Child Abuse Prevention Program (ICAPP). The information included here is from the Iowa Family Survey administered in fiscal year 2013.

Measuring Protective Factors

The Iowa Family Survey assesses five protective factors: nurturing and attachment; family functioning and resilience; social and emotional support; concrete support; and parenting and knowledge of child development. Using a seven-point agreement scale, participants are asked to rate a series of statements about their families, connection to their communities, parenting practices, and perceived relationships with their child(ren) before they started the program, then again after receiving services for six months or more.

Family Support Project Survey Participation

Number of Enrollment Surveys:

31
Number of Follow-up or Program Completion Surveys:

30

Who is Included? Iowa Family Survey Statewide Demographic Summary

80.5% were female, 19.5% male 76% were White, 12% Hispanic, 9% AfricanAmerican, and 2% Native American or Alaskan Native 60% were married or partnered 10% were separated or divorced 30% were single Data in this report are based on surveys collected from July 2012 through July 2013. The report represents information from adult caregivers (program participants) who shared demographic information and responses to the protective factors questions. Statewide, 2,525 total surveys were analyzed, 1,418 enrollment and 1,107 follow-up. Statewide data are presented on this page and the next. Comparing the demographics of families served to the 2010 US Census data for Iowa, there are noticeable differences. For instance, statewide 93 percent of Iowans are White, and three percent are African American compared to 76 percent White and nine percent African American among the families served. Five percent of Iowans identify themselves as Hispanic or Latino compared to 12 percent served. This year, programs served more single parents than last and also more male parents. Similar to 2012, fewer caregivers were employed (49 percent among respondents compared to 64 percent in the population). More people in Iowa have some college education including undergraduate and graduate degrees (57%) than people served by the ICAPP programs (47%).

Housing Status 35% owned their home 42% rented their home 21% shared or temporary Employment & Education Status 49% were employed full or part-time 14% were currently in school 32% had a high school diploma or GED 24% had some college or vocational training 12% had an Associates degree 11% had a Bachelors degree 3% had a Masters degree or higher

Dallas Countys Family Support Project Data Summary 2013

Page 1

Thinking a little more about the families who access Iowas prevention programs, it is helpful to look at household income. Statewide, of those who completed surveys, 56 percent earned $20,000 or less per year (compared to the US Census data for 2010, just 14 percent earned less than $25,000); 14 percent had annual incomes between $20,000 and $30,000; eight percent earned $30,000 to $40,000; and 22 percent earned $40,000 or more (the 2010 Census data showed that 60 percent of households in Iowa earned $50,000 or more per year). The chart here shows a more detailed comparison of incomes between Family Support Project families and all families who responded across the state.

Household Income
100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% $0-10 $10-$20 $20-$30 $30-$40 Income in Thousands of Dollars 41% 10% 15% 12% 14% 27% 8% 10% 6% 5% $40-$50 > $50 16% 36%

Statewide

Dallas: Family Support Project

The Protective Factors

Each protective factor domain is comprised of multiple questions. The number here reflects the average score across all of the questions in that domain. Scores for all domains range from one (being the lowest) to seven (being the highest). This years results show that all five factors start off with relatively high scores (the lowest being 5.2). In each domain there is a higher average score when looking at the follow up group. The lowest scores and least amount of difference is in the Concrete Support domain, compared to Nurturing and Attachment, the domain with the highest scores at enrollment and followup, again with little difference.

Average Statewide Protective Factors Scores

Nurturing & Attachment Child Development Concrete Support Social Support Family Functioning 1 Pretest 3 5 Post Test 5.5 5.7 5.2 5.4 5.7 6.0 5.2 5.5 7 6.2 6.3

Dallas Countys Family Support Project Data Summary 2013

Page 2

Family Support Project Data

Program-specific data are provided here to the extent sufficient surveys were completed. The abbreviation N/A is used to signify items in which insufficient data are available for analysis. A total of 61 surveys were completed by participants in the Family Support Project program. Where sufficient surveys were completed, results are provided for families that responded to the enrollment survey with those that took the follow-up survey; they may not be the same families. Nonetheless, these results provide programs the ability to see the areas where families may be doing well and where they may need additional assistance. Please note that some percentages may not sum to 100 percent due to rounding.

Characteristics of Program Participants

Family Support Project participants were asked to share basic demographic information about themselves and their families on the Family Survey. The information included here reflects the characteristics of all participants who answered the demographics questions this year.

Families Included in this Program 62% were female, 38% male 63% were White, 37% Hispanic, 82% were married or partnered 12% were separated or divorced 7% were single

Employment and Education Status 52% were employed full or parttime 13% were currently in school 30% had a high school diploma or GED 12% had some college or vocational training 2% had an Associates degree 30% had a Bachelors degree 7% had a Masters degree or higher

Housing Status 65% owned their home 28% rented their home 7% shared or temporary

Protective Factors Responses

Statewide, more surveys were completed this year compared to the first year of administration; this section provides a glimpse of the perceptions of families completing the pre and post surveys for this program, to the extent there are sufficient data to analyze.

Dallas Countys Family Support Project Data Summary 2013

Page 3

Parenting and Child Development In the area of parenting and knowledge of child development, five questions inquire about the caregivers understanding of child development, managing behaviors, and feelings about parenting in general. Responses are grouped as disagree, neutral, or agree. Enrollment Child Development Questions There are many times when I dont know what to do as a parent. I know how to help my child learn. My child misbehaves just to upset me. I praise my child when s/he behaves well. When I discipline my child I lose control.
Disagree 52% 13% 26% 10% 0% Neutral 16% 6% 13% 3% 26% Agree 32% 81% 61% 87% 74% Disagree 37% 3% 20% 7% 10%

Follow up
Neutral 10% 10% 10% 7% 13% Agree 53% 86% 70% 87% 77%

Nurturing and Attachment Four questions are used to gauge the caregivers relationships and daily emotional connections with their children. Enrollment Nurturing and Attachment Questions I am happy being with my child. My child and I are very close to each other. I am able to soothe my child when s/he is upset. I spend time with my child doing what s/he likes to do.
Never/ Rarely 0% 3% 3% 7% Half the time 3% 0% 29% 23% Frequently /Always 97% 97% 68% 70% Never/ Rarely 0% 0% 3% 3%

Follow up
Half the time 0% 3% 13% 17% Frequently /Always 100% 97% 83% 80%

Concrete Support in Time of Need For families to be successful and healthy, their basic needs must first be met. The results of these and all protective factors questions should be considered in context of each unique community; when families perceive that they have access to tangible goods and services, it can help them cope with stress, particularly in times of crisis or intensified need. Enrollment Concrete Support Questions I would have no idea where to turn if my family needed food or housing. I wouldnt know where to go for help if I had trouble making ends meet. If I needed help finding a job, I wouldnt know where to go for help.
Disagree 13% 16% 6% Neutral 10% 13% 6% Agree 77% 71% 87% Disagree 33% 30% 23%

Follow up
Neutral 10% 7% 13% Agree 57% 63% 63%

Dallas Countys Family Support Project Data Summary 2013

Page 4

Social and Emotional Support The three questions relating to this factor refer to perceived informal support from family, friends, and neighbors that help provide for emotional needs. Enrollment Social Support Questions I have people who will listen when I need to talk about my problems. When I am lonely, there are several people I can talk to. If there is a crisis, I have others I can talk to.
Disagree 10% 17% 6% Neutral 10% 10% 0% Agree 81% 73% 94% Disagree 10% 20% 7%

Follow up
Neutral 10% 10% 13% Agree 80% 70% 80%

Resilience and Family Functioning The five questions in this domain address the families abilities to openly share positive and negative experiences, as well as their capacities to accept, manage and solve problems. Enrollment Family Functioning Questions In my family, we talk about our problems. When we argue, family members listen to both sides of the story. In my family, we take time to listen to each other. My family pulls together when things are stressful. My family is able to solve our problems.
Never/ Rarely 3% 3% 7% 6% 0% Half the time 19% 39% 21% 10% 16% Frequently /Always 77% 58% 72% 84% 84% Never/ Rarely 10% 10% 0% 3% 0%

Follow up
Half the time 20% 13% 17% 20% 20% Frequently /Always 70% 77% 83% 77% 80%

Dallas Countys Family Support Project Data Summary 2013

Page 5

Assistance and Service Involvement

A variety of services are available to families, some of which are designed to help families meet their day-to-day basic needs while others are intended to provide resources such as education and parenting support. The charts here show the types of assistance and services received by Family Support Project survey respondents.

Assistance Received 5% participated in Head Start/Early Head Start 28% received Medicaid 9% received CHIP 9% received SSI 33% qualified for Food Stamps/EBT 28% received WIC 10% received assistance for utilities 7% received the Earned Income Tax Credit 50% received no assistance

Service Involvement 100% participated in group parent education 4% participated in incentive-based parent education 13% participated in home-based parent education 4% participated in adult education 17% received child care assistance 17% were members of a support group 9% received job/training assistance 4% received assistance with basic needs (e.g., food, clothes, heat, housing)

Conclusion
The Family Support Project, as well as all programs working as part of the continuum of prevention services in Iowa, is encouraged to review this years survey results and consider how the responses of families compare to their existing knowledge of the families served. While these data should not be used to demonstrate the impact of services on individual families, programs can use this information to think about the target population, whether or not they are reaching the highest risk groups, and to what extent the findings for each protective factor domain are aligned with the programs intentions. Looking at this report along with other sources of information, programs can consider what domains, if any, may need more focus. For more detailed results related to protective factors of families served, programs can review the Annual Evaluation Report to the Iowa Department of Human Services, provided by Prevent Child Abuse Iowa found at http://www.pcaiowa.org/grantees/icapp/quarterly-reports/ . This report provides service delivery information organized by program type, along with protective factors scores for each. Looking at all of the surveys completed, the statewide evaluation includes results from a group of matched surveys, which allows for a true comparison of pre- to post- participation. This true pre to post comparison is not able to be done at the county or program level due to the smaller number of completed surveys.

Dallas Countys Family Support Project Data Summary 2013

Page 6

For more details...

For more information about the Iowa Family Survey or for assistance with data interpretation or sharing please contact: Darshana Spach, M.Ed., at Hornby Zeller Associates, Inc. Email: dspach@hornbyzeller.com Phone: (207) 773-9529

Dallas Countys Family Support Project Data Summary 2013

Page 7