Statewide study of 455 Ohio children who received family preservation or reunification services found that the homeless child was more likely to be a child of color, to be younger, to have problems maintaining a bond with parents, and to be in a relative's home, and less likely to have behavior problems or successful service outcomes. Contains 22…

Individual effectiveness studies and reviews of studies are described for eight mental health service components for children and adolescents with severe emotional disturbances and their families. Components discussed include residential services, outpatient services, day treatment services, crisis and emergency management services, case…

Describes transfer of methods of the PRIDE program for foster parent training and assessment from Sweden and Finland, to Hungary, Norway, Poland, and Estonia. Discusses three critical factors: program content, methodology used to accomplish the transfer, and commitment of the transferring organizations and individuals involved. Considers the…

Objective: To determine factors influencing the use of outpatient mental health services provided by mental health professionals (OMHS) for children in foster care using a national probability sample in the United States. Method: As part of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being, detailed survey data were collected on 462 children,…

This report summarizes the findings of a study of court files relating to care proceedings involving parents with an intellectual disability. The authors found that 15.3% of all children subject to care applications in the year 2000 in the courts studied had at least one parent with an intellectual disability. They also found that these children…

This paper examines the impact of welfare reforms on several measures of child maltreatment. The authors use state-level data from 1990 to 1998 to examine whether recent welfare reforms have increased or reduced the incidence of reported and substantiated cases of maltreatment, the incidence of specific types of substantiated…

This study examined the effects on older adults' psychological health of participation in a volunteer role that afforded opportunities to form friendships with age peers and to express nurturance toward another person. Access to these important social provisions was expected, in turn, to contribute to greater self-esteem, less loneliness, and less…

For 15 years, "Newark Kids Count" has provided insight into the challenges facing Newark's children and families. This report presents the portrait of Newark children in 2010. A special section on Newark charter schools is also presented. Advocates for Children of New Jersey's (ACNJ's) goal in choosing this topic was to inform the…

Roughly 600,000 families are homeless today in America, while over 2.7 million children are in foster care or out-of-home placements. Few policymakers have examined these issues together, or understood that they are interrelated and must be addressed jointly to break the cycle of family disintegration, violence, and poverty. A recent survey by the…

The Career Education Center (CEC) is an alternative high school educational program than began in 1989 to serve the needs of adolescents in New York City who are homeless, educationally disadvantaged, do not fit into a traditional high school setting, or who are awaiting foster care placement. The CEC supports these students, bolsters their…

The presentations compiled in these proceedings on welfare and self-sufficiency reflect much of the current research in areas of housing, health, employment and training, welfare and reform, nutrition, child support, child care, and youth. The first section provides information on the conference and on the National Association for Welfare Research…

This newsletter issue focuses on the theme of fostering collaboration between parents and professionals in meeting the mental health needs of children. Structured group interviews (focus groups) were held with both parents and professionals who have been members of decision making boards and committees. Interview excerpts illustrate findings that…

This module is part of a training program for foster parents and foster care workers offered at Colorado State University. The module's learning objectives are for participants to: (1) identify family rules and evaluate their effectiveness; (2) understand the characteristics of effective discipline with children; and (3) learn about ways to handle…

This module is part of a training program for foster parents and foster care workers offered at Colorado State University. The module's learning objectives address: (1) the organization of a social services foster care system; (2) the functioning of human systems and the rules governing their operation; and (3) the difficulties complex systems…

This paper presents an example of "optimistic research," a qualitative approach which focuses on positive interventions helpful to practitioners, in this case an examination of programs successfully integrating people with severe disabilities. The study evaluated 40 programs through site visits which focus on observation, interviews, and…