Parents who are involved with child welfare services (CWSI) often have a history of childhood adversity and depressive symptoms. Both affect parenting quality, which in turn influences child adaptive functioning. We tested a model of the relations between parental depression and child regulatory outcomes first proposed by K. Lyons-Ruth, R. Wolfe, A. Lyubchik, and R. Steingard (2002). We hypothesized that both parental depression and parenting quality mediate the effects of parental early adversity on offspring regulatory outcomes. Participants were 123 CWSI parents and their toddlers assessed…
Federal law sets timelines for states' decisions about placing foster care children in permanent homes, and, in some cases, for filing to terminate parental rights. Some policymakers have questioned the reasonableness of these timelines for children of incarcerated parents and expressed interest in how states work with these families. GAO was asked to examine: (1) the number of foster care children with incarcerated parents, (2) strategies used by child welfare and corrections agencies in selected states that may support contact or reunification, and (3) how the Department of Health and Human…
This report presents evidence for HOPE (Health Outcomes of Positive Experiences) based on newly released, compelling data that reinforce the need to promote positive experiences for children and families in order to foster healthy childhood development despite the adversity common in so manyfamilies. (Author abstract modified)
Jobs Plus promotes employment among public housing residents through employment services, rent rule changes that provide incentives to work, and community support for work. Within the first 18 months, all nine public housing agencies in this evaluation had begun structuring their programs, building partnerships, and implementing the model’s core components. (Author abstract)
How do parents experience stress? How does the social environment, economic hardship, and the very nature of parenting contribute to a parent's stress and coping? Learn how parents and their families are influenced - physically, cognitively, and emotionally - by their experiences with stress. Find coping strategies and ways to help families as they navigate stressors in their environment. (Author abstract)
Work activity among prime-age (25 to 54) men in America has declined precipitously, leaving seven million or more working-age men in the US outside the labor force. The causes are widespread and include a lack of postsecondary education, dependence on benefit programs, opioid dependency, the rising prevalence of criminal records, a lack of available jobs in economically distressed areas, and weakening cultural norms. A wide range of policies should be implemented to address these causes. These include increased education and training, subsidized jobs for the hard-to-employ, wage subsidies or…
NPEN’s 2015 survey of parenting education nationwide revealed information about work being done in the parenting education arena, including how parents and other caregivers are being reached, how they are engaging with parenting programs, what they are learning and how those programs are promoted and funded. Data was also collected regarding the settings in which parenting educators work, what kind of curricula are being used, what advocacy efforts are being made and which of those efforts have the most success, and what are the greatest obstacles to providing more parenting education. The…
This report presents findings from a study of the Children’s Institute, Inc. (CII), a multiservice organization in Los Angeles that combines a broad range of clinical and nonclinical services to meet the needs of children and families who have been affected by trauma. It begins by explaining that each year, CII serves more than 20,000 children and family members, and that CII’s range of activities, which it calls its Integrated Service Model, serve the “whole child, entire family.” Through its service model, CII provides a broad range of supports that the child and family may need to overcome…
In 2009, the RAND Corporation launched the Deployment Life Study, a longitudinal study of military families to examine family readiness. The study surveyed 2,724 families at frequent intervals through- out a complete deployment cycle—that is, before a service member deploys (sometimes months before), during the actual deployment, and after the service member returns (possibly a year or more after she or he has redeployed). It assessed outcomes over time, including the following: the quality of marital and parental relationships; the psychological, behavioral, and physical health of family…
This report describes the activities and outcomes of the Federal Interagency Reentry Council, a council designed to reduce recidivism among former prisoners and improve outcomes related to employment, education, housing, health, and child welfare. Comprised of more than 20 federal agencies, the Reentry Council coordinates and leverages existing federal resources, dispels myths and clarifies policies, elevates programs and policies that work, and reduces the policy barriers to successful reentry. The following accomplishments of the Reentry Council in its first five years are described:…
