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…
Brief
Taking risks is fairly common in adolescence. Risky behaviors can be associated with serious, long-term, and -- in some cases -- life-threatening consequences. This is especially the case when adolescents engage in more than one harmful behavior. The tendency for risky behaviors to co-occur has been well-studied. Yet prevention efforts traditionally have taken a targeted approach, seeking to prevent a single risky behavior. A more powerful and cost-effective approach may be to employ strategies designed to address factors associated with multiple risky behaviors. This Research Brief brings…
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)
Brief
Coordinating housing and financial capability servicesseems logical, but they have been historically disconnected,requiring residents to seek support outside of housing.Many nonprofit housing managers, public housingauthorities and housing counseling organizations arebeginning to offer financial capability services to clientsor are expanding on the services they have offered foryears. These organizations provide financial capabilityservices in-house or through partnerships, which canstreamline efforts to address client needs. (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)
Brief
Physical, mental, and emotional health have a major impact on a family’s ability to thrive. Childhood trauma, for instance, can have lasting health and social consequences. Research demonstrates that parents with health insurance are more likely to seek regular care for themselves and their children. By reimagining health care services to make it easy for children and their parents to seek preventive care at the same time — through health centers or clinics that support families in making appointments together and providing child care while parents are seeking their own health care — states…
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…
Brief
This brief is based on data from 444 rural mothers across 13 states who had low incomes and young children. The data is from the USDA Hatch funded Multi-State Project, “Interactions of Individual, Family, Community, and Policy Contexts on the Mental and Physical Health of Diverse Rural Low Income Families”, known as NC1171 Rural Families Speak about Health. (Author abstract)
