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…
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Journal Article This article highlights the success of the Santa Barbara Network of Family Resource Centers that has worked with leadership from First 5 Santa Barbara to establish partnerships and practices that strengthen families and communities. Their collaborative embeds the Strengthening Families Framework into programs and services throughout the county and has resulted in a new initiative aimed at increasing fathers' positive involvement in the lives of their children.
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Journal Article This article introduces a successful reading program, Family Connections, for incarcerated parents and their children. A comprehensive review of the literature supports the need to implement prison programs from an ecological perspective, in which the needs of inmates and their families are considered. More specifically, the benefits of directing resources toward the establishment of reading programs in prisons and jails for inmates and their children are discussed. The Family Connections program is aimed at improving inmates' parental skills and attributes. The article also includes the…
Spending positive time with both parents promotes child well-being and is associated with better child support outcomes. Unmarried parents do not have systematic access to assistance in establishing parenting time orders, so stateand local child support programs have sought to address this service gap. This fact sheet highlights states and countiesthat coordinate the establishment of child support orders and parenting time agreements. Family violence safeguardsare always a critical component when addressing parenting time. (Author abstract)
OCSE recently launched Parenting Time Opportunities for Children, a pilot program to give child support agencies grants to develop, implement, and evaluate procedures to establish parenting time orders along with new child support orders. The goal is to learn more about how the child support program can safely and effectively give families opportunities to establish parenting time orders, thereby improving child well-being overall and related child support outcomes. This fact sheet introduces OCSE's Parenting Time Opportunities for Children grantees. (Author abstract)
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Journal Article The development of the San Diego Military Family Collaborative, comprised of more than 400 representatives from over 80 unique public, private, faith-based, military, and governmental organizations, is described. Strategies the Collaborative is using to coordinate efforts to support military families are discussed, and their long-term goal of aligning shared measurement and activities in child abuse and neglect prevention is emphasized. 6 references.
This new toolkit from the National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families uses a backdrop of significant historical events as a foundation for understanding perspectives, improving communication, and strengthening relationships with those in the African American community. This toolkit is grounded in current research and draws on the experience of practitioners to provide practical suggestions for engaging and serving this population, particularly for incorporating healthy marriage and relationship education skills into service delivery systems as part of a comprehensive family-…
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…
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…
This guide addresses the importance of promoting healthy family and marital relationships as an effective strategy to improve interpersonal relationships and productivity in the workplace. This guide focuses on specific steps employers can take to support employees, enhance their interpersonal skills, and reduce family stress by improving coping skills. It also highlights promising practices by leading American companies that recognize the importance of investing in healthy relationships for both hourly workers and full-time staff. (Author abstract)
