Children and Youth are Supported by Healthy Relationships with Adults

  • Adult Support when Depressed

    In the agency's efforts to improve and support the resilience of children, youth, and families in Washington, DCYF has set a goal that children and youth are supported by healthy relationships with adults. One way to measure this is by tracking the percentage of youth who report having support from adults when they are feeling sad or depressed. Youth who live with their parents/guardians are more likely to report having adult support when sad or depressed than youth who do not live with their parents/guardians.

    10th Graders with Adult Support when Depressed, by Living Situation, 2023

      Bar chart showing percent of 10th graders in 2023 who had adult support when they were depressed, by whether they lived with their parents/guardians. That year, when they were depressed, 59.9% of those who lived with their parents/guardians had adult support, while only 47.5% of those who did not live with their parents/guardians had it
    Child Outcome Goal
    Mental Health
    Youth

  • Youth-Family Engagement

    Another indicator of healthy youth-adult relationships is engagement between children and youth and their families. Family engagement includes opportunities to discuss problems with parents, chances to have fun with their families, and opportunities to be involved in family decisions. Results show that youth who live with their parents/guardians are more likely to report high opportunity for family engagement than youth not living with their parents/guardians.

    10th Graders with High Opportunity for Family Engagement, by Living Situation, 2023

      family engagement
    Child Outcome Goal
    Child Welfare
    Youth