Digital Commons Network^™

Intersystem Collaboration: A Statewide Initiative To Support Families, Elizabeth M. Tracy, David E. Beigel, Ann C. Rebeck, Jeffrey A. Johnsen

Journal of Family Strengths

The study described in this paper utilized a qualitative case study method to assess the processes involved in inter-system collaboration in the context of one state's system change initiative. The collaborative experience is described from the perspective of participating service system professionals and family members. The major themes of collaboration that emerged from the study included changes in communication across systems, changes in inter-system relationships, changes in attitudes, changes in interactions with families, and changes in the ways services are delivered. Lessons learned and practice implications of each theme are discussed.

Social Workers' Perceptions Of Family Preservation Programs, Elain M. Maccio, David Skiba, Howard J. Doueck, Karen A. Randolph, Elisabeth A. Weston, Lorie E. Anderson

Journal of Family Strengths

The passage of the Adoptions and Safe Families Act of 1997, with its focus on child safety and concurrent planning, has presented family preservation workers with new challenges and new opportunities. Twenty volunteers from a large comprehensive social service agency were interviewed to determine their experiences with two models of family preservation—Multisystemic Therapy (MST) and Traditional Family Preservation Service (TFPS) or practice as usual. Workers from both programs were able to articulate values consistent with family preservation as important strengths of the programs— keeping families together and empowering families for example. Information from referring agencies was described as variable and …

Understanding And Fostering Family Resilience, Robert G. Blair

Journal of Family Strengths

This paper examines a model of resilience and provides a fictional case example from the classical musical, Fiddler on the Roof along with a discussion of how this model may be helpful in assisting families at various levels of functioning to bounce back and perhaps even experience growth through facing difficult challenges.

Family Preservation Conference Participants And The Internet: Opinions About On-Line Continuing Education, Timothy Barnett-Queen

Journal of Family Strengths

Development of distance and distributed learning continuing education (CE) opportunities for human services workers requires existence of such CE offerings, participant access to the Internet, knowledge of the Internet's use, and willingness to enroll in such programs. A survey of human services professionals who attended the Family Preservation Annual Conferences in 2000 (N = 230) and 2002 (N - 197) revealed that 92% (n = 206) of 2000 survey participants and 98% (192) of 2002 survey participants have used the Internet, while 76% of 2000 and 56% of 2002 respondents reported no formal training in the use of the Internet …

A Process For Achieving Comparable Data From Heterogeneous Databases, Rachel L. Richesson

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The current state of health and biomedicine includes an enormity of heterogeneous data ‘silos’, collected for different purposes and represented differently, that are presently impossible to share or analyze in toto. The greatest challenge for large-scale and meaningful analyses of health-related data is to achieve a uniform data representation for data extracted from heterogeneous source representations. Based upon an analysis and categorization of heterogeneities, a process for achieving comparable data content by using a uniform terminological representation is developed. This process addresses the types of representational heterogeneities that commonly arise in healthcare data integration problems. Specifically, this process uses a …

Family Connectedness And Sexual Risk-Taking Among Urban Youth Attending Alternative High Schools, Christine M Markham, Susan R Tortolero, S Liliana Escobar-Chaves, Guy S Parcel, Ronald Harrist, Robert C Addy

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

CONTEXT: Youth in alternative high schools engage in risky sexual behavior at higher rates than do their peers in regular schools, placing themselves at an increased risk of sexually transmitted disease and unintended pregnancy. Family connectedness is associated with reduced adolescent sexual risk-taking, although this association has not been tested among alternative school youth.

METHODS: A sample of 976 urban, predominantly minority alternative high school students in Houston, Texas, were surveyed in 2000-2002. Survey data were analyzed using logistic regression to determine whether family connectedness is related to sexual risk-taking.

RESULTS: Overall, 68% of students reported ever having had sex. …

Encouraging Adolescents Toward Mental Health Careers Via Website Biographies, Irmi U. Willcockson, Prabhu R. Shankar, Cynthia L. Phelps, Craig W. Johnson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This project designed, developed, implemented and is currently evaluating the effectiveness of an interactive, multi-media website designed to encourage adolescents to consider careers in mental health. This Web-based learning environment features biographies of mental health scientists. Evaluation is conducted in a systematic, structured way using cognitive achievement, usability (ease of use), and affective scales (e.g., fun to use) as outcome measures

The Physician's Perception Of Medical Error And Its Application To The Development Of An Educational Training Tool, Johnny E. Bates, Cynthia Phelps, Craig W. Johnson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

It is becoming clear that if we are to impact the rate of medical errors it will have to be done at the practicing physician level. The purpose of this project was to survey the attitude of physicians in Alabama concerning their perception of medical error, and to obtain their thoughts and desires for medical education in the area of medical errors. The information will be used in the development of a physician education program.

The Extended Family: Reviewing An Invaluable Resource, Elaine Walton, Jini Roby, Richard Sullivan, Amy Frandsen

Journal of Family Strengths

During the last two decades, the extended family has been rediscovered as a viable and meaningful resource for nurturing and protecting children. The purpose of this article is to provide an historical context for involving the extended family in child welfare cases and to identify key factors influencing that involvement.

A Reduced Model Clarifies The Role Of Feedback Loops And Time Delays In The Drosophila Circadian Oscillator, Paul Smolen, Douglas A. Baxter, John H. Byrne

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Although several detailed models of molecular processes essential for circadian oscillations have been developed, their complexity makes intuitive understanding of the oscillation mechanism difficult. The goal of the present study was to reduce a previously developed, detailed model to a minimal representation of the transcriptional regulation essential for circadian rhythmicity in Drosophila. The reduced model contains only two differential equations, each with time delays. A negative feedback loop is included, in which PER protein represses per transcription by binding the dCLOCK transcription factor. A positive feedback loop is also included, in which dCLOCK indirectly enhances its own formation. The model …

Library To Host Frankenstein Traveling Exhibition, Vol.15 (5) September - October 2002, Houston Academy Of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library

Library Lines (1998-2009)

No abstract provided.

Consumer Health Information For Asians (Chia): A Collaborative Project, Deborah D. Halsted, Beatriz Varman, Marsha Sullivan, Lynne Nguyen

Library Staff Publications

According to the 2000 United States Census, the Asian population in Houston, Texas, has increased more than 67% in the last ten years. To supplement an already active consumer health information program, the staff of the Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library worked with community partners to bring health information to predominantly Asian neighborhoods. Brochures on health topics of concern to the Asian community were translated and placed in eight informational kiosks in Asian centers such as temples and an Asian grocery store. A press conference and a ribbon cutting ceremony were held to debut the kiosks and to …

Friends Of The Texas Medical Center Library Support New Historical Research, Vol.15 (3-4) May - August 2002, Houston Academy Of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library

Library Lines (1998-2009)

No abstract provided.

Child, Parent, And Peer Predictors Of Early-Onset Substance Use: A Multisite Longitudinal Study, Julie B Kaplow, Patrick J Curran, Kenneth A Dodge

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The purpose of this study was to identify kindergarten-age predictors of early-onset substance use from demographic, environmental, parenting, child psychological, behavioral, and social functioning domains. Data from a longitudinal study of 295 children were gathered using multiple-assessment methods and multiple informants in kindergarten and 1st grade. Annual assessments at ages 10, 11, and 12 reflected that 21% of children reported having initiated substance use by age 12. Results from longitudinal logistic regression models indicated that risk factors at kindergarten include being male, having a parent who abused substances, lower levels of parental verbal reasoning, higher levels of overactivity, more thought …

Welcome Reception And Open House, Vol.15 (2) March - April 2002, Houston Academy Of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library

Library Lines (1998-2009)

No abstract provided.

Breast Cancer On The World Wide Web: Cross Sectional Survey Of Quality Of Information And Popularity Of Websites, Funda Meric, Elmer V Bernstam, Nadeem Q Mirza, Kelly K Hunt, Frederick C Ames, Merrick I Ross, Henry M Kuerer, Raphael E Pollock, Mark A Musen, S Eva Singletary

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVES: To determine the characteristics of popular breast cancer related websites and whether more popular sites are of higher quality.

DESIGN: The search engine Google was used to generate a list of websites about breast cancer. Google ranks search results by measures of link popularity---the number of links to a site from other sites. The top 200 sites returned in response to the query "breast cancer" were divided into "more popular" and "less popular" subgroups by three different measures of link popularity: Google rank and number of links reported independently by Google and by AltaVista (another search engine).

MAIN OUTCOME …

The Recovery Room, Vol.15 (1) January - February 2002, Houston Academy Of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library

Library Lines (1998-2009)

No abstract provided.

Implementing Intensive Family Preservation Services: A Case Of Infidelity, Raymond S. Kirk, Kellie Reed-Ashcraft, Peter J. Pecora

Journal of Family Strengths

The importance of treatment fidelity in evaluations of all human service programs, including intensive family preservation services (IFPS), is examined in this article. Special attention is focused on the issue of treatment fidelity in IFPS programs attempting to adhere to a specific program model (Homebuilders©), and on the problems that lack of treatment fidelity has caused for research that has been conducted on this and other program models. Attempts to address the issue of treatment fidelity in other program areas offer models for constructing treatment fidelity assessment tools for IFPS. The authors suggest a schema for assessing treatment fidelity in …

The Elegant Simplicity Of Family Preservation Practice Legecies And Lessons, James K. Whittaker

Journal of Family Strengths

An earlier version of this manuscript was prepared for the Chapin Hall invitational seminar on family preservation, The Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago, September 16 & 17, 1999. The author wishes to acknowledge the comments and helpful suggestions of seminar participants-Jacqueline McCroskey, Martha Shirk, Fran Jacobs, John Schuerman, Lee Schorr, Charlotte Booth, Kristi Nelson, Susan Kelly, Frank Farrow, and Susan Notkin. These comments, as indeed many of their prior contributions, have had a seminal effect on my thinking about family preservation services over the years. Clark Peters and other Chapin Hall staff deserve special thanks …

Promising Practices To Engage Families And Support Family Preservation, Marianne Berry

Journal of Family Strengths

The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA) is the latest legislation in two decades of important child welfare policy in the United States. The Adoption and Safe Families Act has served to shorten the period of time that caseworkers and families have to show that families are making progress toward family preservation, with permanency decisions being made after 12 months, rather than 18. The importance of engaging and motivating families in services has therefore increased. The practice directive of ASFA can be summarized as 'Act Smart, Fast, and Accountable. " Using findings from largely correlational research, concrete recommendations …

Front Matter

Journal of Family Strengths

Title pages, table of contents, etc.

Ic107: Program: 8th Biennial Symposium On Minorities, The Medically Underserved & Cancer. Awareness Is Not Enough, Intercultural Cancer Council

Informational and Promotional Materials

Program details the events, speakers, attendees, and discussions during the 8th Biennial Symposium on Minorities, the Medically Underserved & Cancer presented by Intercultural Cancer Council and jointly sponsored by Baylor College of Medicine. The symposium took place February 6-10 at the OMNI Shoreham in Washington, DC. See more at Intercultural Cancer Council Records.

Family Preservation In Perspective, Anthony N. Maluccio, Edith Fein

Journal of Family Strengths

This essay traces the family preservation movement to its permanency planning roots; discusses the principles and underlying philosophy of the movement, and suggests the appropriate context for considering further development of child welfare services.

Family To Family: Child Welfare For The 21st Century, Jill S. Roberts, Theresa J. Early

Journal of Family Strengths

Child welfare services have undergone many revisions and transformations since their initiation. Some scholars trace the beginning of child welfare in the United States to events such as a 1655 Massachusetts conviction for maltreatment leading to the death of a 12-year-old boy (Watkins, 1990). The predominant philosophy of child welfare has shifted over time from an early emphasis on child saving, to child protection, to family preservation. Building on family preservation, one of the current transformations in child welfare that is taking place in isolated pockets to whole states, is family-centered, neighborhood-based services. One force behind implementation of this transformation …

Biennium Report: Services 2001-2002 / 2000-2001, Houston Academy Of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library

Annual Reports: 1943 - Present

The file contains the annual report for the library from 2000-2002.

Front Matter

Journal of Family Strengths

Table of Contents, Editorial Board, General Information

Failed Child Welfare Policy: An Essay Review, Anthony N. Maluccio

Journal of Family Strengths

Hutchinson, J.R. (with C.E. Sudia) (2002). Failed Child Welfare Policy—Family Preservation and the Orphaning of Child Welfare. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.

This essay reviews Failed Child Welfare Policy (Hutchinson, 2002), in which the author argues that the public child welfare system has failed to meet the needs of children and families coming to its attention. She recommends using the available—and limited—resources to reorganize and reconstruct the service delivery system with emphasis on familycentered services.

Supporting Families Through Short-Term Foster Care: An Essay Review, Anthony Maluccio

Journal of Family Strengths

Aldgate, J. and Bradley, M. (1999). Supporting families through short-term fostering. London: The Stationery Office.

This essay reviews a British qualitative study of short-term foster care from the perspectives of birth parents, children, foster parents, and social workers. Respondents highlighted the value of short-term foster care as a family support service and also offered many recommendations for improving service delivery. The study provides useful implications for restructuring child welfare services in the United States and for promoting cross-national collaboration in future research activities in the area of child and family services.

Family Preservation In Child Welfare: Its Base And Its Future, Marianne Berry

Journal of Family Strengths

This is the eleventh issue of the Family Preservation Journal, and we have chosen to focus this special issue on the use of family preservation services in child welfare. While family preservation services, as a philosophy and as a service model, are provided to families in a variety of service settings and sectors, including juvenile justice and mental health arenas, they have their basis and origin in services to children and families. We think it is time, in this 11th issue of the Journal, to take stock of the state of family preservation services in child welfare and assess where …

A Case Study Of An Agency's Three Family Preservation Contracts, Mark Ezell

Journal of Family Strengths

This article presents a case study of a nonprofit child welfare agency that delivered family preservation services under three different purchase-of-service (POS) contracts. The research specifically focuses on how certain POS contract provisions and reimbursement rates influence the delivery of family preservation services. The three contacts examined differed on criteria, such as reimbursement mechanism, service volume, definition of clientele, and reimbursement rate. The study found that as reimbursement rates decline and as administrative costs increase, the service provider struggled with cash flow, staffing, fundraising, and service provision, among other things. It is concluded that contract-related resources, policies, and procedures impact …