The vast majority of individuals who are in U.S. jails and prisons will eventually return to the community. Criminal justice policymakers and practitioners everywhere have made it a priority to ensure these individuals, returning in large numbers each year, do not commit new crimes following their release. As part of these efforts, state and local government officials have focused on the need for people released from prison and jail to have jobs, seeing employment as critical to successful reentry. Indeed, incarcerated individuals that have been asked about their post-release plans…
The purpose of this discussion paper is twofold: to identify progress in the use of evidence-based violence prevention programs and selected resources and to discuss the critical gap between the evidence and its translation into demonstrably effective community-based programs. In January 2013, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) convened a 2-day workshop on the evidence base for violence prevention. The IOM Forum on Global Violence Prevention assembled experts to discuss what works to prevent violence, where to find evidence, and challenges faced by practitioners, communities, and policy makers…
Until communities offer multiple pathways to connect with ladders of opportunity, many young families headed by out-of-school and out-of-work (OSOW) youth will be unable to achieve financial independence. To break the cycle of poverty, many human service organizations use two-generation approaches with "young families" (that is, families with children in which the parent is an OSOW young person ages 15-24 years). One hallmark of these two-generation approaches is the use of strategies that address the developmental needs of the young parents, their children, and the families as a whole. The…
The situation of high unemployment for black men is not new. It has persisted for decades, and scholars, sociologists, economists, policy makers, and advocates have brought attention to various aspects of this challenge and put forth solutions. Yet, it is seemingly an intractable situation. In 2012, three years after the end of the recession, the black male unemployment rate was in the double digits for every age category up to age 65. This was not the case for any other racial group. In 2010, half of working black men were employed in the two occupational clusters with the lowest average…
This report summarizes both the research and stakeholder input shared during the Listening Session on Mentoring Children of Incarcerated Parents held in Washington, DC in September 2013. The session was organized by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in partnership with the White House Domestic Policy Council and Office of Public Engagement and included more than 40 participants. Participants included those from relevant government agencies and departments, individuals recognized by the White House in June 2013 as Champions of Change for…
Academics and activists have frequently called for increased collaboration and communication between domestic violence and child welfare agencies as a means of more effectively responding to the impact of domestic violence on children and in recognition of the co-occurrence of domestic violence and child maltreatment. This Article reviews whether efforts based on the Greenbook and other initiatives calling for collaboration have led to any appreciable decrease in family violence. The Article finds evidence to suggest that there has not been significant improvement in the incidence or…
The Children's Mental Health eReview addresses the gap between what we know from the literature and what we experience working with children and families. Each issue explores a specific topic area and reflects the expertise of a group of people working in diverse research and practice settings. This issue examines the needs of children with incarcerated parents. The contributing authors reflect expertise with a variety of populations, settings and cultures. They represent some of the many people working in creative, collaborative ways to better understand and serve children of incarcerated…
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a form of trauma that can result in significant mental health distress for victims. Rates of clinical depression and posttraumatic stress disorder are higher among abused versus non-abused women, particularly if victims have experienced other lifetime trauma. While there are numerous interventions designed to reduce trauma-induced mental health symptoms, most were originally developed to address events that have occurred in the past (e.g., combat, childhood sexual abuse). Many IPV survivors are still under threat of ongoing abuse or stalking, which not only…
This study seeks to determine the role that parental incarceration plays on the probability of food insecurity among families with children and very low food security of children using micro-level data from the Fragile Families and Child Well Being Study (FFCWS). The data set contains the 18-question food security module which allows us to explore the link between incarceration and food insecurity and very low food security among children, families, and adults. The incidence of very low food security in our data is somewhat higher than the national average, but the incidence of other levels…
This toolkit provides information and resources to assist stakeholders in incorporating domestic violence and child maltreatment awareness into service provision, including information that will increase service provider's understanding of these issues and will also help them identify other beneficial resources or referrals in the community that may support their efforts to institute healthy relationship policies and practices. (Author abstract)
