The purpose of this study was to explore reasons why adolescent youth from foster care and in special education, including those who are newly emancipated from the foster care system, have difficulty transitioning into independent living. The study was guided by one research question: What difficulties do students who receive special education…

Some of the nation's most vulnerable youth are those living in foster care and other out-of-home settings. Many such youth have experienced abuse and neglect, face mental health and substance abuse challenges, and struggle with serious behavioral problems (Casanueva et al. 2014). They are more likely than their peers to have academic struggles and…

Young people's confidence in their creative abilities, as well as their beliefs about whether these abilities are fixed or malleable, play potentially important roles in educators' efforts to foster creativity. This study explores a multidimensional model of young people's creative self-beliefs that comprises creative self-efficacy,…

A National Evaluation of Title IV-E Foster Care Independent Living Programs for Youth was conducted to evaluate the influence of the Independent Living Initiatives, Public Law 99-272, on States' development of programs, policies, and services; and the impact of services on outcomes for older youth discharged from foster care. The first phase of…

The dramatic rise in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is accompanied by a substantial increase in public school inclusion. A growing body of research supports the need for teachers proficient in evidence-based practices to support such students. One strategy involves using peer support networks like Circle of Friends (CoF)…

Research shows that young people are under-informed about the risk of contracting AIDS. This document originated with a legislative directive that AIDS/HIV education guidelines be developed for families caring for foster children under the age of 16. Summarized are the efforts of a work group, comprised of state and local employees, foster parent…

This module is part of a training program for foster parents and foster care workers offered at Colorado State University. The module examines substance abuse by children aged 10 years and above. The module's learning objectives address: (1) family rules and coping mechanisms relevant to substance-abusing youth; (2) characteristics of adolescent…

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 uncertainty in parenting; (2) a range of options for parenting challenging children; (3) the use of complex resource arrangements to meet the multiple needs of challenging…

This practicum targeted a multi-service child and youth care agency in which lesbian women and gay men were implicitly excluded from serving as therapeutic foster parents. The setting in which the practicum project was developed, implemented, and evaluated is a not-for-profit, provincially chartered, and publicly-funded organization, headquartered…

In 1986, the Keep Youth in School Project, a joint venture of the Catholic University of America, the Family and Child Services of Washington, D.C., the District of Columbia Department of Human Services, and the Marriott Corporation, began a 3-year research and demonstration program to develop a practice model for helping minority foster children…

To learn what happens to children and families who come into contact with the child welfare system, the Children's Bureau of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families has undertaken the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW). As part of this longitudinal study of the characteristics, needs, experiences, and outcomes…

This practicum was designed to assist parents of juveniles who had been placed in residential care for sexual offenses. Although there was a consensus in the field that inclusion of the family in treatment was essential, few family treatment models were available. No family treatment models were found specific to working with families that had…

Outdoor behavioral healthcare (OBH) is an emerging mental health intervention/treatment to help adolescents overcome emotional, psychological, and addiction problems. Currently, over 100 OBH programs in the United States use elements of wilderness therapy to address adolescents' problem behaviors and foster responsibility and personal growth.…