This report discusses the incidence of child sexual abuse in families in which children do not live with both biological parents and the silence surrounding the link between family breakdown and child sexual abuse in Australia. The need for a government-commissioned, anti-child sexual abuse public information campaign based on pro-marriage campaigns in the United States is emphasized. It begins with information on the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and its lack of focus on familial sexual abuse that accounts for an estimated 70 to 80% of cases of child…
Over the last year, the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP), which manages the Alliance for Racial Equity in Child Welfare, has reviewed data and research literature, talked to young African American men who are in - or had been in - foster care and identified initiatives and strategies that are showing promise. This paper is a product of that work and is intended to: Summarize what we know about the situation of African American males involved with the child welfare system; Outline an approach to more effective action to improve outcomes for these boys and young men; and…
While no one can avoid all stressful situations, 2013's Stress in America survey portrays a picture of high stress and ineffective coping mechanisms that appear to be ingrained in our culture, perpetuating unhealthy lifestyles and behaviors for future generations. While the news about American stress levels is not new, what’s troubling is the stress outlook for teens in the United States. In many cases, American teens report experiences with stress that follow a similar pattern to those of adults. (Author abstract modified)
In light of the momentum building to improve the fortunes of young men of color, this review takes a look at what is known about this population and highlights programs that are shown by rigorous research to be making a difference. It first examines the special challenges and struggles of these young men in the labor market, including problems related to their disproportionate involvement in the criminal justice system and their experiences in the educational system. A growing number of young men of color have become disconnected from the positive systems, institutions, and pathways designed…
This Social Policy Report summarizes what is currently known about our nation’s military children and families and presents ideas and proposals pertinent to the formulation of new programs and the policies that would create and sustain these initiatives. We emphasize the need for future rigorous developmental research about military children and families that could more definitively inform future programs and policies. These policies and programs should build on the resilience of military children and families in order to best maintain and enhance their health and positive development. The…
Two commentaries from the report, Military and Veteran Families and Children: Policies and Programs for Health Maintenance and Positive Development, deepen the discussion about how best to support military and veteran children and families. In the first commentary, Michelle Sherman, who has spent many years working in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) system, describes innovative efforts of VHA programs to partner with community organizations to better support children and families. She also calls for VHAs to expand their focus to support veterans and their families. (Author abstract…
Two commentaries from the report, Military and Veteran Families and Children: Policies and Programs for Health Maintenance and Positive Development, deepen the discussion about how best to support military and veteran children and families. In the second commentary, Rami Benbenishty and Ron Astor highlight the importance of considering the normative settings in which military children function (e.g., nonmilitary communities, schools) and building on those normative experiences to foster resiliency in military-connected children. They also urge researchers to include information about the…
The following working paper, authored by FRPN project team members Jay Fagan, Ph.D., and Rebecca Kaufman, M.S.W., reviews and synthesizes attempts that have been made by researchers, policymakers and practitioners to identify outcomes for responsible fathering and to develop measures of those outcomes. The focus of this paper is on two dimensions of fatherhood, fathers’ involvement and engagement with children and fathers’ co-parenting relationships with the child’s mother, and how the outcomes and measures associated with fatherhood programs should be rooted in established theory.
This report presents the results of a study that identified areas of Oregon in which greater investments in effective prevention services may be particularly beneficial. For the study, Portland State University’s Center for the Improvement of Child and Family Services (PSU) conducted a county-level assessment of rates of child abuse and neglect, risk factors for maltreatment, and level of implementation of 12 maltreatment prevention programs that had been highlighted in CTFO’s 2013 report “Preserving Childhood: Oregon’s Leading Efforts to Prevent Child Abuse and Strengthen Families”.…
The standard portrayals of economic life for ordinary Americans and their families paint a picture of stagnancy, even decline, amidst rising income inequality or joblessness. But rarely does the public conversation about the changing economic fortunes of Americans and their families look at questions of family structure. This is an important oversight because, as this report shows, changes in family formation and stability are central to the changing economic landscape of American families, to the declining economic status of men, and to worries about the health of the American dream. (Author…
