In 2012, the Tennessee Department of Health included the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) module in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a telephone survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to analyze how ACEs affect the State’s general population. This report summarizes the findings from the analysis that indicate ACEs are widespread, common, and prevalent in Tennessee. Overall, 52% of the statewide population had at least one ACE, while 21% had three or more ACEs. Emotional abuse and parental separation or divorce rank as the most common…
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Journal Article The "My Brother's Keeper" initiative (Obama, 2014) has helped to attract public attention to the vulnerabilities faced by many boys of color (BOC). In this article, I review what is known about the developmental status of BOC, identify key family practices that are critical to their development, and consider the implications of both for early intervention. The lack of school readiness skills and early reading competence are seen as the most serious early concerns. BOC struggle with language, literacy, and the regulation of behavior and emotions. These problems are evident at school entry,…
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Journal Article Mobile technology presents an exciting opportunity for social workers to reach populations that are typically underserved by interventions and services. We present one application of technology that is particularly relevant to social work practice. The mDad (Mobile Device Assisted Dad) app was developed to augment existing social work practices by providing a father-friendly tool to help new fathers learn about and engage with their infants and toddlers. We discuss the process of developing the app content and conducting usability testing of the mDad app. We conclude with a discussion of the…
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Journal Article OBJECTIVE: To describe interactive activities between parents and young children in a nationally representative sample. We hypothesized that the frequency of participation in interactive activities would be different across economic strata and would be associated with developmental delay.METHODS: Children 4 to 36 months of age were identified by using The National Survey of Children’s Health 2011–2012. Interactive caregiving practices were reported by poverty status. Developmental concerns were derived from caregiver responses and scoring of the Parents Evaluation of Developmental Status.…
Brief
This brief introduces the Family and Provider/Teacher Relationship Quality (FPTRQ) measures for early care and education stakeholders. The brief introduces the constructs and elements included in the measures, the measures' reliability, how the measures might be used, and how to use them. If you plan to use the measures, reviewing the full Family and Provider/Teacher Relationship Quality Measures: User’s Manual is recommended. (Author abstract modified)
Brief
This research-to-practice brief is intended to help policymakers, program managers, and practitioners learn how the newly released Family and Provider/Teacher Relationship Quality (FPTRQ) measures can be used to complement or supplement two approaches, Strengthening Families™ and the Head Start Parent, Family and Community Engagement (PFCE) frameworks, and their related self-assessments, that have been frequently used by Early Care and Education (ECE) stakeholders to support their work with families and to assess their programs, providers and teachers in these efforts. (Author abstract)
Webinar
Taking care of our mental health is just as important as taking care of our physical health. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) estimates that one in five adult Americans (ages 18 and older) will experience a mental health problem this year.
This NRFC webinar focused on ways in which fatherhood programs can talk with fathers about mental health issues. Specifically, it provided tips on helping fathers identify and address mental health and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) issues, talk about ways…
U.S. women graduate from high school at higher rates than U.S. men, but the female-male educational advantage is larger, and has increased by more, among black students and students of low socioeconomic status (SES) than among white and high-SES students. The authors explore why boys fare worse than girls in low-SES households—both behaviorally and educationally—by exploiting matched birth certificates, health, disciplinary, academic, and high school graduation records for more than 1 million children born in Florida between 1992 and 2002. They account for unobserved family heterogeneity by…
This guidebook describes the steps and best practices for successfully selecting and implementing a parenting intervention. The purpose is to provide program, state, and child care network leaders an easy-to-use tool for implementing a parenting intervention. The guidebook may be used as a companion to the Compendium of Parenting Interventions recently developed by the Health and Human Services Interagency Parenting Group and the Head Start National Center on Family and Community Engagement for use across various community-based settings. The guidebook is organized according to four stages of…
New economic realities have focused attention on how to best design workforce development strategies to help low-wage and low-skill workers succeed. Lack of child care is one important barrier that can make it difficult for low-income parents to successfully participate in education and training programs. This report provides an overview of the child care and workforce development systems, and discusses the issues that lie at the intersection of these two worlds. It concludes with a description of next steps for policymakers and practitioners in each domain, and important questions that still…
