Other
To generate a national conversation on the plight of Black men and boys, the Twenty-First Century Foundation (21CF) has partnered with actor-director Mario Van Peebles and producer Karen Williams to create BRING YOUR "A" GAME -- a documentary film that, in Van Peebles' words, "sheds light on the resilience and influence of Black males." BRING YOUR "A" GAME uses screenings and accompanying community discussions as a catalyst to transform the lives of urban youth. Using a cinematic style influenced by popular culture and employing innovative technologies, the film details strategies that have…
Other
Marriage has become a major component of the TANF reauthorization debates, as proposals in the Senate, House, and White House have allocated significant resources to marriage promotion activities and related research. Although there is an existing body of research on marriage from fields such as psychology, demography, and child development, research on marriage policy is sparse. In September 2003, the National Poverty Center hosted a conference to synthesize what is known from existing research about marriage policies and family formation issues.This issue of the forum describes two recent…
Other
Many children experience adversity in the form of poverty, abuse or neglect, homelessness, or other conditions that make them vulnerable to the damaging effects of chronic stress. New research reveals that chronic stress alters their rapidly developing biological systems in ways that undermine their ability to succeed in school and in life. The good news is that we have strong evidence for programs and approaches that policy makers could use to help these children overcome the effects of stress. Home visitation and early childhood health care can give parents much-needed support and…
Other
In recent years, increased attention has been focused on the roles of fathers and their importance to the health and well-being of families; those roles and the policies and programs that could strengthen them were explored at the June First Tuesdays discussion moderated by Robert Lerman of the Urban Institute. Freya Sonenstein of the Urban Institute discussed strategies for improving the productive and social health of young men and that could prevent or at least delay unwed fatherhood. Christina Hoff Sommers of the American Enterprise Institute discussed how young men fare in school, and…
