Approaches To Child And Family Policy


Book Description

This unusual and stimulating collection of essays examines the state of child and family policy in the United States today. Drawing upon the diverse disciplines of the social and behavioral sciences, history, philosophy, and law, the authors assess the influence of federal policy on families; reasons for the failures in national child-care legislat




Social Policy for Children and Families


Book Description

The Third Edition of Jeffrey M. Jenson and Mark W. Fraser’s award-winning text, Social Policy for Children and Families, offers new evidence that a public health framework based on ecological theory and principles of risk, protection, and resilience is essential for the successful design and implementation of social policy. Written in a conversational, reader-friendly style and incorporating cutting-edge research, this carefully crafted book maps a pathway for developing resilience-based social policies. In every chapter, experts in their respective fields apply the editors’ conceptual model across the substantive domains of child and family poverty, child welfare, education, mental health, health, developmental disabilities, substance use, and juvenile justice. Recipient of the Best Edited Book Award from the Society for Research on Adolescence in 2008, the book is an ideal core text for graduate and upper level undergraduate courses and a vital resource for elected officials, policy makers, and others interested in the evolution of policies aimed at preventing problem behaviors and supporting children and families.




Social Policy for Children and Families


Book Description

Rev. ed. of: Social policy for children & families: a risk and resilience perspective. 2006.




Parenting Matters


Book Description

Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the familyâ€"which includes all primary caregiversâ€"are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.




Innovative Approaches to Supporting Families of Young Children


Book Description

This invaluable reference introduces successful strengths-based programs for aiding families of young children in critical social contexts: family, school, community, and policy. The wide range of systems/contextual approaches described here are based in current understanding of children’s development, stress and resilience in families, cultural competence, and the two-generational approach to intervention. Research-based examples across early care and early learning platforms illustrate the links between parental protective factors and children’s academic and social outcomes, and between family stability and larger social goals. By supporting parents and children equally, the contributors assert, these interventions more fully address developmental and family issues than programs that mainly serve one generation or the other. Included in the coverage:• Parent and community focused approaches to supporting parents of young children: the Family Networks Project./div• Honoring parenting values, expectations, and approaches across cultures.• Building young children's executive functions at home and in early care and education settings.• Promoting early childhood development in the pediatric medical home.• Neighborhood approaches to supporting families of young children.• Public policy strategies to promote the well-being of families with young children. Innovative Approaches for Supporting Parents of Young Children benefits professionals and practitioners working to support families of young children, particularly those interested in social work, psychology, public policy, and public health.




Social Policy for Child and Family Development


Book Description

Social Policy for Child and Family Development: A Systems/Dialectical Perspective is designed to help students think critically and dialectically about social policies that affect children and families. Based on the belief that no single policymaking position has all the answers, the book offers a model that reduces the tendency to present only one viewpoint. As they move through the text, readers use this model to evaluate the effectiveness of specific policies. The book addresses issues such as alcohol, nicotine, and drug use during pregnancy, social policy and poverty, education, family development, and technology. The material also discusses child abuse and neglect, social media and ethnicity, and the future of social policy on child and family development. Each chapter includes learning objectives, key terms, study questions, a debate activity, additional reading resources, and a list of references. Social Policy for Child and Family Development is well suited to courses in child and family studies or consumer sciences. Thomas W. Roberts is a professor in the Department of Child and Family Development at San Diego State University. He teaches courses in family studies and public policy. His research interests include attachment in long-term marriages, parenting, applying neuroscience to marital therapy, and the role of religion and ethical values on family development. He has numerous publications and is the author of the book A Systems Perspective of Parenting: the Child, the Family and the Social Network. He is the founder and President of Improving Developmental Experiences Across the Lifespan (IDEALS), a 501(c)3 non-profit. Dr. Roberts received his Ph.D. from the University of Georgia in 1984.




Food Insecurity in Families with Children


Book Description

This book synthesizes research about the effects of food insecurity on children, families, and households, emphasizing multiple pathways and variations across developmental contexts. It focuses on emerging new methods that allow for a more refined approach to practice and policy. The volume provides a brief overview of the topic, and additional empirical chapters pose and address unanswered research questions. It concludes with a short commentary, providing recommendations for future research and policy and yielding a significant and timely contribution to advance developmental scientific knowledge and promote its use to improve the lives of children and families. Featured areas of coverage include: The effects of early food insecurity on children’s academic and socio-emotional outcomes. The effects of household food insecurity on children with disabilities. Early childhood access to Women, Infants, and. Children (WIC) and school readiness. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and adolescent mental health. Food Insecurity in Families with Children is an essential resource for policy makers and related professionals as well as graduate students and researchers in developmental, clinical, and school psychology, child, youth and family policy, public health, and social work.




Handbook of Family Policy


Book Description

The Handbook of Family Policy examines how state and workplace policies support parents and their children in developing, earning and caring. With original contributions from 44 leading scholars, this Handbook provides readers with up-to-date knowledge on family policies and family policy research, taking stock of current literature as well as providing analyses of present-day policies, and where they should head in the future.




Evaluating Family Programs


Book Description

The diverse composition of American families and changing ways of raising our children have become subjects of intense scrutiny by researchers and policymakers in recent years. Shifting demographics and work patterns, growing numbers of women in the work force, teenage pregnancy, single-parent families, and the deinstitutionalization of the elderly, disabled, and mentally ill--all these trends have significantly affected family life. Evaluating Family Programs effectively bridges the gap between researchers and practitioners in order to bring practical, understandable advice to providers of family programs and to program funders and policymakers. Heather B. Weiss and Francine H. Jacobs have collected in this volume works which move outside the traditional approaches of their disciplines to create new models for delivering and evaluating services. This sets a mood of genuine inquiry and excitement about successful aspects of programs while maintaining openness about the limitations of both research and practice. By expanding the research model, this work is an attempt to understand reciprocal influences of extended family, culture, community, and social institutions. It urges those who advocate program accountability to understand that not all types of evaluations are appropriate for all programs, and it notes that limitations in current evaluation technologies make it difficult to evaluate outcomes. Evaluating Family Programs reminds the reader that in order to develop sound family policy we must look at children and families in context. Beacuse policymakers, program administrators, and informed citizens have come to rely more upon the results of evaluation research, we must improve our methods while not losing sight of its limitations. It is a thought-provoking contribution to the efforts of those who seek to support the American family with compassion, understanding, and realism.




Children's Rights


Book Description

Get up-to-date information on children’s and parent’s rights Children have a basic human right to be free of abuse and maltreatment. The late Dr. John Pardeck’s Children’s Rights: Policy and Practice, Second Edition comprehensively explores the latest legal, psychological, sociological, policy, and child advocacy issues dealing with children’s rights. Essential issues are clearly discussed involving children at home, in school, in foster care, and in residential facilities. This new edition of The Haworth Social Work Practice Press classic examines the practical and ethical issues inherent in balancing a child’s right to self-determination against the same child’s need to be protected. Children’s Rights: Policy and Practice, Second Edition delves deep into the causes of abuse and neglect and offers help for families at risk. Techniques are presented for case and cause advocacy, as well as venues for family and individual therapy. Other discussions address the role and function of child protective services and the juvenile justice system, a review of effective social policy to protect and care for children, family health and children’s rights issues, and children’s rights in schools and day care facilities. This essential exploration includes extensive references and notes, a list of Web sites, and a comprehensive glossary of influential legal rulings focusing on children’s rights. Children’s Rights: Policy and Practice, Second Edition includes over 100 pages of new and updated material on: new rulings of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that have implications for children’s rights legal case studies an overview and analysis of the Leave No Child Behind Act children’s rights and school violence an expanded discussion on practice interventions focusing on various approaches for helping children adjust to substitute care an expanded examination on advocacy and children’s rights, with emphasis on legal case studies as a tool for enhancing the rights of children Balancing theoretical considerations, solid information, and practical advice, Children’s Rights: Policy and Practice, Second Edition is an essential resource for child welfare workers, attorneys, educators, students, parents, and social workers.