Youth Care Releases Long-Term Evaluation Report Demonstrating Significant Youth and Family Improvement
Youth Care has released a comprehensive evaluation report summarizing treatment outcomes for adolescents served between 2012 and 2024. The report provides a transparent, data-driven look at who Youth Care serves, the level of clinical acuity at admission, and the measurable changes youth and families experience during treatment.
Prepared by an independent evaluation specialist, the report reflects more than a decade of measurement-based care and highlights meaningful improvement across mental health, behavior, relationships, and family functioning.
A highly complex youth population at admission
The evaluation includes data from 2,254 youths admitted to Youth Care over the 12-year period, with an average of 173 admissions per year. Youth admitted to the program present with significant clinical complexity and extensive treatment histories.
Key characteristics at intake include:
- 99% of youths had received prior therapy
- 57% had attended at least one residential treatment program before Youth Care
- 80% had visited an emergency room for mental health reasons prior to admission
- 80% had experienced psychiatric hospitalization at least once
- 85% reported suicidality, including thoughts, plans, or attempts
- 78% had a history of self-harm
- 48% had run away prior to admission
At intake, youth self-reported overall health scores averaged 82, while caregiver-reported scores averaged 106–110, placing the population well into the clinical range of distress
Significant improvement in overall mental and behavioral health
Youth Care uses the Youth Outcomes Questionnaire (Y-OQ) as part of routine measurement-based care, administering the assessment at admission, monthly during treatment, and at discharge. This allows for consistent tracking of change over time and data-informed treatment adjustments.
From admission to discharge:
- Youth self-reported overall health scores improved by an average of 31 points
- Mothers reported an average improvement of 51 points
- Fathers reported an average improvement of 42 points
These changes are considered clinically meaningful and statistically significant, indicating substantial reductions in emotional and behavioral distress during treatment
Notably, 47% of youths who completed assessments at discharge scored in the healthy range, despite entering treatment with high levels of acuity.
Improvement across critical domains of youth health
The evaluation found large, significant improvements across multiple domains assessed by the Y-OQ, including:
- Mental health distress (anxiety, depression, fearfulness)
- Behavioral dysfunction (impulsivity, attention, self-control)
- Social problems (rule-breaking, aggression, conflict with authority)
- Relationship health (connections with peers and family)
- Critical issues, including suicidality, self-injury, severe aggression, and psychosis-related symptoms
Both youth and caregivers reported consistent improvement, with changes exceeding thresholds for reliable clinical change across domains
Family functioning improves alongside youth outcomes
Family engagement and change are central components of Youth Care’s treatment model. Family functioning was assessed using two validated tools: the Family Assessment Measure (FAM-III) and the McMaster Family Assessment Device (FAD).
From admission to discharge:
- Youth-reported family functioning improved with large effect sizes
- Parents reported moderate but significant improvements
- Improvements were seen across communication, emotional expression, role performance, involvement, and conflict
These findings suggest that treatment at Youth Care supports not only individual youth change, but healthier family systems as well
Outcomes reflect acuity and individualized treatment trajectories
The report also examined how outcomes varied based on clinical acuity at admission. Youth entering treatment with higher levels of distress showed the most profound improvement, while those entering in the healthy range showed minimal change, a pattern consistent with responsible, targeted intervention.
This analysis underscores the importance of setting realistic expectations based on clinical presentation and highlights the program’s capacity to support highly acute youth populations
A commitment to transparency and continuous improvement
The Youth Care evaluation affirms the impact of the program’s relational, structured, and measurement-driven approach to care. Youths and caregivers consistently reported meaningful improvement across emotional, behavioral, relational, and family domains during treatment.
Equally important, the report identifies areas for future growth, including the need for expanded post-discharge data collection to better understand long-term outcomes.
By sharing these findings in a clear, accessible format, Youth Care aims to support informed decision-making by families, referral sources, and professionals, and to ensure that accurate, contextualized information is available when programs are being researched.
About the evaluation
This evaluation summarizes outcomes for adolescents treated at Youth Care between 2012 and 2024. All analyses and reporting were prepared by Dr. Laura Mills, Director of Evaluation Services at BestNotes, using validated assessment tools and longitudinal data where available.
