Digital Commons Network^™

A City For All Citizens: Integrating Children And Youth From Marginalized Populations Into City Planning, Victoria Derr, Louise Chawla, Mara Mintzer, Debra Flanders Cushing, Willem Van Vliet

School of Natural Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Socially just, intergenerational urban spaces should not only accommodate children and adolescents, but engage them as participants in the planning and design of welcoming spaces. With this goal, city agencies in Boulder, Colorado, the Boulder Valley School District, the Children, Youth and Environments Center at the University of Colorado, and a number of community organizations have been working in partnership to integrate young people’s ideas and concerns into the redesign of parks and civic areas and the identification of issues for city planning. Underlying their work is a commitment to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and children’s …

Kids Count The State Of The Child In Tennessee 2012, Tennessee. Commission On Children & Youth.

The State of the Child in Tennessee

No abstract provided.

Resilience And Trauma In Maltreated Youth, Timothy Day

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Research into resilience represents a theoretical shift from the medical model in contemporary psychology to a focus on adaptation (Poulou, 2007). The relationship however between resilience and the development and PTSD in children remains unclear. The purpose of this present study is to expand on this research by investigating resilience and adaptability with respect to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms across maltreated youth of different ethnicities at risk for PTSD. Participants will be recruited from a Department of Family Services (DFS)-affiliated clinic in the Las Vegas area and administered the Children's PTSD Inventory (CPTSD-I), Behavior Assessment System for Children-2 Parent …

The Impact Of Perpetrator Gender On Child Protective Services Sexual Abuse Cases: A National Picture, David Axlyn Mcleod

Theses and Dissertations

Child sexual assault is a problem of epidemic proportions in the United States with some research suggesting up to one fifth of our nations children being victimized before reaching adulthood. Research has suggested females could be responsible for up to 20% of child sexual abuse cases, and at the same time only represent only 1% of sexual offenders incarcerated the US. This creates a situation where a large group of relatively under-researched offenders are evading detection. Numerous calls for further research have been made, but relatively few studies have had the ability to shed significant light on this phenomenon on …

A One-Hour Sleep Restriction Impacts Brain Processing In Young Children Across Tasks: Evidence From Event-Related Potentials, Dennis Molfese, Anna Ivanenko, Alexandra P.F. Key, Adrienne Roman, Victoria J. Molfese, Louise M. O'Brien, David Gozal, Srinivas Kota, Caitlin M. Hudac

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

The effect of mild sleep restriction on cognitive functioning in young children is unclear, yet sleep loss may impact children's abilities to attend to tasks with high processing demands. In a preliminary investigation, six children (6.6 - 8.3 years of age) with normal sleep patterns performed three tasks: attention (“Oddball”), speech perception (conconant-vowel syllables) and executive function (Directional Stroop). Event-related potentials (ERP) responses were recorded before (Control) and following one-week of 1-hour per day of sleep restriction. Brain activity across all tasks following Sleep Restriction differed from activity during Control Sleep, indicating that minor sleep restriction impacts children's neurocognitive functioning.

Why Massachusetts Should Not Relegate Parents To “Legal Strangers”1: A Survey Of The Myriad Interpretations Of The Icpc, Matthew E. Christoph

Western New England Law Review

The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) is a well-intentioned statute that has led to anomalous and irrational results in courts across the country. The ICPC’s aim is to ensure that foster care placements by state agencies of children across state lines preliminary to adoption or placement in foster care are in the child’s best interests. However, certain courts have drastically expanded the ICPC’s reach to cover parental foster care placements. This Article discusses the split in case law, the reasons for limiting the ICPC in Massachusetts, and options for nervous courts, attorneys, and state agencies when sending …

Surrender And Subordination: Birth Mothers And Adoption Law Reform, Elizabeth J. Samuels

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

For more than thirty years, adoption law reform advocates have been seeking to restore for adult adoptees the right to access their original birth certificates, a right that was lost in all but two states between the late 1930s and 1990. The advocates have faced strong opposition and have succeeded only in recent years and only in eight states. Among the most vigorous advocates for access are birth mothers who surrendered their children during a time it was believed that adoption would relieve unmarried women of shame and restore them to a respectable life. The birth mother advocates say that …

Preserving The Bond: Child Welfare Professionals' Perspectives On The Opportunities And Challenges Of Parent-Child Visitation, Lina M. Munoz

Dissertations

The foster care system was designed to be a temporary placement for children when their parents are unable or unwilling to provide proper care and supervision. A permanency plan must be established for all children in care, stating clear goals for a permanent living arrangement to facilitate the child's reunification with his/her family. The current Illinois Child Welfare Practice Model promotes a family-centered, trauma-informed, and strength-based practice approach when providing child welfare services to families in foster care with the caseworker serving as the primary vehicle for facilitating change.

This study explored how this child welfare practice model is reflected …

Annual Report Fiscal Years 2011 And 2012, Tennessee. Commission On Children And Youth.

Annual Report

No abstract provided.

Clinician Conceptualizations Of Post-Migration Refugee Youth Previously Exposed To Political Violence, Sara Michele Mehrabani

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have examined the experience of distress with refugee children and adolescents who have been exposed to political violence. Recognition has also been given to migration stress and traumatic grief as additional stressors in the lives of refugee youth. Studies in this area have established the fact that development appears to influence the expression of distress in youth who have experienced adverse experiences such as political violence. Reaction to political violence and the refugee experience also appear mediated by culture as well as other contextual factors such as the nature of the violence. The purpose of this study was to …

The Child's Right To Be Heard And Represented In Judicial Proceedings , Howard A. Davidson

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Do Attitudes About Spoiling Children Affect Attitudes Regarding What Infants Need For Early Social-Emotional Development, Kathleen Westover

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Infants that are raised in a warm loving environment have an increased probability of growing into responsible loving adults. Infants have the ability to make their needs known through different cues such as crying. Many parents do not understand how to respond appropriately to their infant’s cues. For instance many parents believe that if you pick up an infant every time they cry they will become spoiled. Researchers have studied the effects of responding appropriately to an infant. Infants who have their needs met when they demonstrate signs of distress learn that the world is a safe place for exploration. …

Early Intervention Speech And Language Therapy Service: Meeting Needs Of Children, Families, Practicioners And Communities: Policy Brief, Noirin Hayes, Siobhán Keegan, Eimer Goulding

Reports

No abstract provided.

Individual And Family Correlates Of High And Low Achievement Among Children In A Head Start Program, Millah Musungu

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Preschool children living in poverty are at risk for not attaining the required pre-academic and social-emotional skills that predict successful transition to kindergarten. The present study investigated individual and family correlates that were hypothesized to predict and classify children in high, average, and low achievement groups in a Head Start Program. The study was based on analyses of archival data from 745 children who attended the Schenectady Community Action Program (SCAP) Head Start during the period encompassing the 2005-2010 academic years. The study used a combination of binary logistic regression analysis, independent-samples t-test, and qualitative survey results to address research …

Child Welfare Cases Involving Mental Illness: Reflections On The Role And Responsibilities Of The Lawyer-Guardian Ad Litem, Frank E. Vandervort

Articles

Child welfare cases involving mental illness suffered either by a child or his parent can be among the most difficult and perplexing that a child’s lawyerguardian ad litem (L-GAL) will handle. They may present daunting problems of accessing necessary and appropriate services as well as questions about whether and when such mental health problems can be resolved or how best to manage them. They also require the L-GAL to carefully consider crucially important questions—rarely with all the information one would like to have and too often with information that comes late in the case, is fragmented or glaringly incomplete. This …

Building Resilience In Foster Children: The Role Of The Child's Advocate, Frank E. Vandervort, James Henry, Mark A. Sloane

Articles

This Article provides an introduction to, and brief overview of trauma, its impact upon foster children, and steps children's advocates" can take to lessen or ameliorate the impact of trauma upon their clients. This Article begins in Part 11 by defining relevant terms. Part III addresses the prevalence of trauma among children entering the child welfare system. Part IV considers the neurodevelopmental (i.e., the developing brain) impact of trauma on children and will explore how that trauma may manifest emotionally and behaviorally. With this foundation in place, Part V discusses the need for a comprehensive trauma assessment including a thorough …

Family Involvement, Clinician Beliefs And Child Psychiatric Rehospitalization, Sherma J. Charlemagne

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Psychiatric rehospitalization is estimated to fall between 30% and 50% among children and adolescents and is said to be the result of complex relationships between clinical and non-clinical child, family and service system factors. Psychiatric rehospitalization has been noted as an unfavorable outcome of inpatient treatment because of the associated economic to society and the family and emotional costs to the family and patient. Therefore, several attempts have been made in the relevant literature to identify and understand factors that will reduce the risk of rehospitalization in this population. In the context of parent professional collaboration, clinician beliefs and family …

The Baysider : June / August 2011, Bayside Neighborhood Association

The Baysider

The Baysider (1999 - 2018) a community newspaper, published by the Bayside Neighborhood Association. Bayside is an inner-city Portland neighborhood flanked by Parkside, Back Cove, Downtown (a.k.a. Intown), and the East End. Feature articles focused on Bayside, though also included many city themes.

Annual Report Fiscal Year 2009-2010, Tennessee. Commission On Children And Youth.

Annual Report

No abstract provided.

Posttraumatic Stress Among Young Urban Children Exposed To Family Violence And Other Potentially Traumatic Events, Cindy A. Crusto, Melissa L. Whitson, Sherry M. Walling, Richard Feinn, Stacey R. Friedman, Jesse Reynolds, Mona Amer, Joy S. Kaufman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This study examines the relationship between the number of types of traumatic events experienced by children 3 to 6 years old, parenting stress, and children's posttraumatic stress (PTS). Parents and caregivers provided data for 154 urban children admitted into community-based mental health or developmental services. By parent and caregiver report, children experienced an average of 4.9 different types of potentially traumatic events. Nearly one quarter of the children evidenced clinically significant PTS. Posttraumatic stress was positively and significantly related to family violence and other family-related trauma exposure, nonfamily violence and trauma exposure, and parenting stress. Additionally, parenting stress partially mediated …

Defining A Foster Care Placement Move: The Perspective Of Adults Who Formerly Lived In Multiple Out-Of-Home Placements, Yvonne Unrau

Social Work Faculty Publications

Several studies have demonstrated that children who experience multiple placements are more likely to experience behavioral problems and are less likely to achieve reunification. However, little is known about how move transitions— from one foster home to another, from foster care to birth family home, or between family placements and group care facilities—are perceived or experienced by children in foster care, or those formerly in foster care. This qualitative study examines the definition of foster care placement moves from the perspective of adults formerly in foster care. Participants identify both physical and psychological shifts as key dimensions of the placement …

The Baysider : Fall 2010, Bayside Neighborhood Association

The Baysider

The Baysider (1999 - 2018) a community newspaper, published by the Bayside Neighborhood Association. Bayside is an inner-city Portland neighborhood flanked by Parkside, Back Cove, Downtown (a.k.a. Intown), and the East End. Feature articles focused on Bayside, though also included many city themes.

Cognitive Biases In Childhood Anxiety Disorders: Do Interpretive And Judgment Biases Distinguish Anxious Youth From Their Non-Anxious Peers?, Melinda Cannon

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine cognitive biases in clinically anxious children compared to normal children and to determine if cognitive biases could discriminate anxious youth from non-anxious youth. Two specific cognitive biases were the focus of the present study—interpretive biases (i.e., the tendency to interpret neutral stimuli in a negative way) and judgment biases (i.e., a lowered estimate of one's ability to cope with a threatening situation). Twenty-four youth comprised the anxiety disordered sample and were each matched to two normal youth on four demographic variables (gender, age, ethnicity, and family income level), thus the matched comparison …

Breaking Down The Walls: Divorce And The Effects It Had On A Child's Communication In Relationships Outside Of The Family, Jennifer Maddox

Masters Theses

There is no question that divorce is prevalent in our society today. This paper discussed a study about the effects divorce has on an adolescent girl's communication with adults outside of her family. The hypothesis was that divorce negatively effects a child's communication with adults outside of their family. The two methodologies used to conduct this study were Narrative Analysis and Q-sort. The ten participants for the Narrative Analysis method were asked whether they thought their parents divorce effected their communication with adults outside of their family, and whether the effect was negative or positive. They were also asked to …

Strengthening Family Practices For Latino Families, Karen G. Chartier, Lirio K. Negroni, Michie N. Hesselbrock

Social Work Publications

The study examined the effectiveness of a culturally-adapted Strengthening Families Program (SFP) for Latinos to reduce risks for alcohol and drug use in children. Latino families, predominantly Puerto Rican, with a 9–12 year old child and a parent(s) with a substance abuse problem participated in the study. Pre- and post-tests were conducted with each family. Parental stress, parent-child dysfunctional relations, and child behavior problems were reduced in the families receiving the intervention; family hardiness and family attachment were improved. Findings contribute to the validation of the SFP with Latinos, and can be used to inform social work practice with Puerto …

Family Coping As A Protective Factor For Poor Children, Catherine Decarlo Santiago

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined family influences on coping and adjustment among 90 low-income Latino middle school children (46% Female; Average age = 11.38, SD = .66) and their primary caregivers (93% Female; Average age = 36.12, SD = 6.13). All participants identified as Hispanic/Latino, with 75% of families identifying as Mexican-origin Latino, 77% of parents identifying as immigrants, and 32% of children identifying immigrants. All children participating in the study were receiving free or reduced lunch, a poverty indicator. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed that family reframing is related to fewer symptoms of psychopathology and that familism enhances the protective effect …

System Transformation In The Context Of Building An Integrative System In The Child Welfare System In Allegheny County Through Child And Adolescent Needs And Strengths Assessment, Svetlana Doni

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the last decade, the Allegheny County constituents could witness the transformation of a widely criticized system of divided services into a single Department of Human Services. As an attempt to improve service planning DHS moved to a common assessment (CANS Comprehensive) shared across the child-serving offices/systems that would lead to a shared service plan and an overall integrated service delivery process. The primary goal of the CANS is to support communication between systems and, in the end, help the integration process within DHS.

This study describes what CANS is and how it became a central point in Human Services …

Natural High Prevention Platform: A Search-Based, Substance Abuse Prevention Program For Sundt Memorial Foundation, Jennifer Martin, Kay Costilow, Rose Baxter, Maureen Guarcello

Program Design and Evaluation

Research project for Sundt Memorial Foundation on Natural High Prevention Platform: a research-based, substance abuse prevention program.

Recognizing Communities That Are Friendly To Children With Special Health Care Needs, Center For Persons With Disabilities

Blog Posts

No abstract provided.

Library Services To Children, Teens And Families Experiencing Homelessness, Vikki C. Terrile

Urban Library Journal

Families with children are one of the fastest growing homeless populations in the United States, but are often left out of public library discussions of services to the homeless. This article will explore the demographics and educational issues surrounding children and teens who are experiencing homelessness in order to make the case that library services specifically for them are necessary. It will also look at the role library programs and services for their parents can play in improving literacy skills within the family unit. In addition, the article will examine model library services to children, teens and families experiencing homeless …