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Full-Text Articles in Social Work

Introduction To The Early Childhood Issue, Leslie A. Forstadt, Sheryl Peavey Jan 2009

Introduction To The Early Childhood Issue, Leslie A. Forstadt, Sheryl Peavey

Maine Policy Review

Guest editors Leslie Forstadt and Sheryl Peavey introduce the articles in this special issue of Maine Policy Review on early childhood by highlighting the myriad of programs and policies affecting Maine’s young children and their families. To illus­trate the challenges faced by parents, they present the fictional account of a young woman facing an unexpected pregnancy. The story illustrates the sometimes confusing array of services, programs, and funding for young children and their parents. The authors argue “it is time to make every door into the system of early childhood services the right door for every parent.”


Child Care And Work Challenges For Maine’S Parents Of Children With Special Needs, Helen D. Ward, Julie A. Atkins, Erin E. Oldham Jan 2009

Child Care And Work Challenges For Maine’S Parents Of Children With Special Needs, Helen D. Ward, Julie A. Atkins, Erin E. Oldham

Maine Policy Review

Research by the authors with parents, child care providers, and other service providers found that parents of children with special needs face particular challenges trying to maintain stable employment while balancing work and family. These parents have more difficulty finding and keeping child care for children with special needs, and there is a lack of coordination of therapy with child care programs. Since the study was completed, Maine has taken several steps to begin to address these issues


The Community Caring Collaborative: Case Study Of A Grassroots Collaboration To Create A System Of Care For At-Risk Infants, Young Children, And Their Families In Washington County, Maine, Marjorie Withers Jan 2009

The Community Caring Collaborative: Case Study Of A Grassroots Collaboration To Create A System Of Care For At-Risk Infants, Young Children, And Their Families In Washington County, Maine, Marjorie Withers

Maine Policy Review

Marjorie Withers presents a case study of rural Washington County, Maine, where community-agency part­nerships are increasing services for community members and their children affected by exposure to drugs, alcohol, and other risk factors. The Community Caring Collaborative (CCC) is an effective model in part because of its structure. But most important, according to Withers, is the creation of hope and new energy in an area of the state char­acterized by longstanding feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness.


Parent Education:“Prepare The Child For The Path, Not The Path For The Child”, Candace J. Eaton Jan 2009

Parent Education:“Prepare The Child For The Path, Not The Path For The Child”, Candace J. Eaton

Maine Policy Review

Candace J. Eaton describes why parent education is important and discusses a number of parent-educa­tion approaches and programs that currently exist in Maine. She argues that we need to increase access to research-supported programs, parent-education classes, and support groups to all geographic areas of the state and all populations. In this era of reduced funding, Eaton recommends continuous evaluation of program outcomes and the limitation of funding to programs and approaches that show positive improvements.


Applying For Tanf: Ten Tips For Relative Caregivers, University Of Maine Center On Aging Jan 2008

Applying For Tanf: Ten Tips For Relative Caregivers, University Of Maine Center On Aging

Maine Center on Aging Service and Consultation

TANF provides financial assistance to help with basic living expenses for children and families living in Maine. When applying for TANF, it is important to remember that many children being cared for by relatives who are residents of Maine can receive TANF as long as the relative plans to care for the child for at least one month. This relation can be by blood, adoption, or marriage. Legal custody is not required, but the names and contact information of the birth parents is required. If you are a relative applying just for a child living with you, only the child’s …


Applying For Mainecare: Ten Tips For Relative Caregivers, University Of Maine Center On Aging Jan 2008

Applying For Mainecare: Ten Tips For Relative Caregivers, University Of Maine Center On Aging

Maine Center on Aging Service and Consultation

MaineCare provides free or low-cost comprehensive healthcare benefits to children and families living in Maine. Almost all children being cared for by relatives who are residents of Maine are eligible, and legal custody is not required. Even if you or the child have other health insurance, MaineCare may still be available. Requirements during this application process include providing a certified copy of the child’s birth certificate and the social security number of the child. If you are applying only for the child living with you, only the child’s income is considered. If you are applying for yourself and the child, …


Health And Aging: A Roadmap For Maine’S Older Adults And Their Families, Lenard W. Kaye, Dyan M. Villeneuve Jan 2007

Health And Aging: A Roadmap For Maine’S Older Adults And Their Families, Lenard W. Kaye, Dyan M. Villeneuve

Maine Center on Aging Research and Evaluation

The rapid aging of Maine’s population has created a range of challenges associated with maximizing the health and well-being of our older citizens. This issue brief considers a series of policy and programmatic approaches to promoting healthy aging lifestyles in the state while ensuring the continued involvement of relatives and other informal supports in all such efforts. Much of the current legislation that governs policy decisions regarding social service delivery and allocation of funds for Maine’s elders is funneled through the Older Americans Act, but this has not kept pace over the past 20 years. One key factor that is …


Silverwire, University Of Maine Center On Aging Jul 2006

Silverwire, University Of Maine Center On Aging

Maine Center on Aging Education and Training

The Silverwire Newsletter is a publication that highlights the work of the UMaine Center on Aging. The topics covered in this edition of the Silverware Newsletter include the plans of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services to visit Maine, new grants and filled positions, the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Summit for Grand families, the Legal Colloquium, and older adult alcohol abuse needs, resources, and readiness assessment analysis.


The Human Face Of Housing Policy For Rural Elders In Maine, Sandra S. Butler Jan 2003

The Human Face Of Housing Policy For Rural Elders In Maine, Sandra S. Butler

Maine Policy Review

Sandra Butler reflects on the ways in which the older households she has been encountering in her recent in-depth research in Washington County match those described by Stephen Golant in his article in this issue on the needs of elderly homeowners and the solutions to those needs. Butler’s research is based on extensive interviews with volunteers and clients of the Senior Companion Program, which has as one of its primary purposes helping elders remain in their homes as long as possible. Butler notes that she was surprised to learn how many subsidized housing complexes exist in Washington County. A number …


Maine’S Homeless Families: An Interview With Helen Hemminger, Helen Hemminger Jan 1999

Maine’S Homeless Families: An Interview With Helen Hemminger, Helen Hemminger

Maine Policy Review

Since 1991 Helen Hemminger has been director of The Tedford Shelter, a homeless shelter serving adults and families in the Brunswick, Maine area. In this interview, Hemminger provides a first- hand account of Maine’s changing homeless population. The good news, she reports, is that the percentage of people with mental illnesses staying at the shelter has gone down. The bad news is that since 1994 the shelter has experienced a steady increase in the number of homeless families. As Hemminger notes, there are more Maine families today working very hard to make ends meet. Living on a precarious edge, one …


Adolescent Homelessness: A Roundtable Discussion Jan 1999

Adolescent Homelessness: A Roundtable Discussion

Maine Policy Review

Where do homeless adolescents come from? Are there more homeless youth today than ten years ago? How do we help these youth? What do they need? In December 1998, these questions formed the core of a Maine Policy Review roundtable discussion featuring: State Representative Michael Quint; Dana Totman, deputy director of the Maine State Housing Authority; Christine O’Leary, coordinator of Portland’s Preble Street Resource Teen Center; Bob Rowe, executive director of New Beginnings in Lewiston; and Brad Coffey, chair of the board of Bangor’s Shaw House from 1994-1998. In their wide-ranging discussion, the participants focused on the varied circumstances that …