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…
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…
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:…
Although both men and women are involved in marriage, relationship matters are often considered the woman's domain. For practitioners offering marriage and relationship education (MRE), this general belief can often make engaging men in your program a challenge. Information is relatively sparse with regard to how men can be engaged in marriage education. There is research on men and commitment, and there are relatively frequent pop culture references to men and marriage regarding infidelity or gender roles, but very few resources are available for married men to support their relationship.…
In May 2009, the National Healthy Marriage Resource Center (NHMRC) and the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NRCDV) co-sponsored the conference "Toward a Common Understanding: Domestic Violence Typologies and Implications for Healthy Marriage and Domestic Violence Programs" at the Airlie Conference Center in Warrenton, Virginia. The conference brought together a diverse set of 35 experts to critically examine the underlying research on different types of intimate partner violence (IPV) and consider their implications for practice. This guide summarizes the conference…
This report begins by urging support for the reauthorization of the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), legislation that will encourage communities to engage juvenile offenders in programs proven to help steer them away from a life of crime. The report then reviews the current situation resulting from placing juvenile offenders in residential facilities with other troubled youth, including a cost of more than $5 billion to keep juvenile offenders in facilities. The benefits of providing community services and family coaching to juvenile offenders is discussed, and…
In this report, the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) examines how to increase the public health approachto child development by looking at national, State and local strategies, policies and programs that have a high impact for improving health and well-being across a range of sectors, and how to better bring those sectors together to develop partnerships that have a better chance of achieving common goals. It begins by reviewing the impact of negative experiences on the physical health and brain development of a child, and the need to reduce risks and build protective factors that help…
The McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research at New York University Silver School of Social Work recently partnered with the National Council for Behavioral Health to facilitate a yearlong Learning Community (LC), a promising methodology for helping organizations adopt and sustain practices and principles of Trauma-Informed Care (TIC). A total of 32 behavioral health organizations were enrolled in the LC, 92% of which reported having implemented trauma-informed care in at least six of the National Council’s seven TIC domains by the end of the LC, and 100% of which reported improving…
This paper discusses the need for targeted public investment in children’s mental and behavioral health and opportunities presented by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) for promoting children’s cognitive, affective, and behavioral health. The following points are made: emphases within the ACA for prevention and coordination of care enable more family focus, or the two-generation framework, however, important gaps remain that threaten the reach of evidence-based, family-focused health care and ultimately, healthy development; there are untapped opportunities to deliver…
In our discussion, we review and synthesize research evidence on five identified domains of instability that have been well established in the literature: family income, parental employment, family structure, housing, and the out-of-home contexts of school and child care. In our review of the evidence, we also discuss some of the key pathways through which instability may affect development. Specifically, research points to the underlying role of parenting, parental mental health, and the home environment in providing the stability and support young children need for positive development. We…
