Years of program development and research have provided effective strategies for strengthening America's families to prevent delinquency. This guide has been written to help program planners, policy makers, and service providers determine the most effective family-focused and parenting intervention strategies for high-risk youth and families. It reviews what is known about the impact of family characteristics on the risk for delinquency as well as promising family interventions. Providers using the guide will be better able to choose or modify existing programs or create new interventions for high-risk youth.
The U.S. military has been continuously engaged in foreign conflicts for over two decades. The strains that these deployments, the associated increases in operational tempo, and the general challenges of military life affect not only service members but also the people who depend on them and who support them as they support the nation â€" their families. Family members provide support to service members while they serve or when they have difficulties; family problems can interfere with the ability of service members to deploy or remain in theater; and family members are central influences on whether members continue to serve. In addition, rising family diversity and complexity will likely increase the difficulty of creating military policies, programs and practices that adequately support families in the performance of military duties. Strengthening the Military Family Readiness System for a Changing American Society examines the challenges and opportunities facing military families and what is known about effective strategies for supporting and protecting military children and families, as well as lessons to be learned from these experiences. This report offers recommendations regarding what is needed to strengthen the support system for military families.
In her previous book, Within Our Reach, renowned Harvard social analyst Lisbeth Schorr examined pilot social programs that were successful in helping disadvantaged youth and families. But as those cutting-edge programs were expanded, the very qualities that had made them initially successful were jettisoned, and less than half of them ultimately survived. As a result, these groundbreaking programs never made a dent on the national or statewide level. Lisbeth Schorr has spent the past seven years researching and identifying large-scale programs across the country that are promising to reduce, on a community- or citywide level, child abuse, school failure, teenage pregnancy, and welfare dependence. From reformed social service agencies in Missouri, Michigan, and Los Angeles to "idiosyncratic" public schools in New York City, she shows how private and public bureaucracies are successfully nurturing programs that are flexible and responsive to the community, that have set clear, long-term goals, and that permit staff to exercise individual judgment in helping the disadvantaged. She shows how what works in small-scale pilot social programs can be adapted on a large scale to transform whole inner-city neighborhoods and reshape America. On the heels of the federal government's dismantling of welfare guarantees, Common Purpose offers a welcome antidote to our current sense of national despair, and concrete proof that America's social institutions can be made to work to assure that all the nation's children develop the tools to share in the American dream.
Features the Strengthening Families Program - a family change programme that reflects research that indicates that the most effective interventions build parent, child and family skills.
Family caregiving affects millions of Americans every day, in all walks of life. At least 17.7 million individuals in the United States are caregivers of an older adult with a health or functional limitation. The nation's family caregivers provide the lion's share of long-term care for our older adult population. They are also central to older adults' access to and receipt of health care and community-based social services. Yet the need to recognize and support caregivers is among the least appreciated challenges facing the aging U.S. population. Families Caring for an Aging America examines the prevalence and nature of family caregiving of older adults and the available evidence on the effectiveness of programs, supports, and other interventions designed to support family caregivers. This report also assesses and recommends policies to address the needs of family caregivers and to minimize the barriers that they encounter in trying to meet the needs of older adults.
In addition to introducing readers to the field of family-based prevention science, Family-Based Prevention Programs for Children and Adolescents highlights the distinctive contributions of a set of exemplary programs in terms of their foundational theory, design, delivery mechanisms, performance, and unique opportunities for future research. It is organized into three sections to orient readers to: the existence of different types of family-based programs targeting families with children of different ages; the strategies and challenges that arise when attempting large-scale dissemination of prevention programs; and, the emerging innovations that promise to push the field forward into uncharted territories. Each chapter is written by a preeminent program developer, including: Gene H. Brody Richard F. Catalano Patricia Chamberlain Thomas J. Dishion Marion S. Forgatch Kevin P. Haggerty Cleve Redmond Matthew R. Sanders Richard L. Spoth Carolyn Webster-Stratton Contributors review the state of the research and then provide a summary of their own program, including research and dissemination efforts. They also discuss take-home lessons for practitioners and policymakers, and provide their view of the future of program development and research in their area. As an important signpost signifying the noteworthy achievements of the field to date, as well as an arrow pointing the field toward significant growth in the future, this book is a must-have primary resource for graduate students in developmental or clinical psychology, counseling, family sciences, social work, or health policy, and an essential guide for practitioners and policymakers in the field of family-based prevention, family service delivery, or public health.
This is an edited volume reviewing the major means-tested social programs in the United States. Each author addresses a major program or area, reviewing each area’s successes and recommending how to address shortcomings through policy change. In general, our means-tested programs do many things well, but some adjustments to each could make the system much more effective. This book provides policymakers with a broad overview of the issues at hand in each program and how to address them.
