A Presentation by Prevent Child Abuse America

Ben tanzernyspep(june2010)

View more presentations from Michelle Gross.

Dutch Study Supports Policies That Promote Exclusive Breastfeeding

Infants in a Dutch study who were exclusively breastfed for at least six months were less likely to develop respiratory or gastrointestinal issues, which the researchers said supports "current health policy strategies that promote exclusive breastfeeding for six months in industrialized countries," Reuters reports. The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life, and a recent study found that $13 billion could be saved annually in the U.S. if families comply with the recommendations.

The study -- published in the journal Pediatrics and conducted by researchers at Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam -- included data on about 4,100 infants born between 2002 and 2006. The researchers considered whether the infants were breastfed and until what age; whether they were given any other foods; and whether they were treated for various infections, such as pneumonia or stomach flu.

Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months reduced the risk of respiratory tract infections by about two-thirds, compared with a 50% reduction among infants exclusively breastfed for four months. The results of exclusive breastfeeding were "less dramatic" in reducing the risk of gastrointestinal infection, regardless of the length of exclusive breastfeeding, Reuters reports.

Lead author Henriette Moll said the most significant decline in breastfeeding typically occurs when women return to work. Addressing the issue requires "translating the study results into practice" through policies such as extended maternity leave and creation of "adequate facilities to continue breastfeeding," Moll added.

Ruth Lawrence, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Section on Breastfeeding, said, "From a practical standpoint, it's to an employer's benefit to facilitate breastfeeding." She added, "Absenteeism of parents of bottle-fed babies is extremely high, and that's costly to an industry." Therefore, "it's a lot cheaper to facilitate breastfeeding," she said (Myers Lowe, Reuters, 6/22).

GE Healthcare Introduces Educational Web Site Empowering Hospitals To Develop Single Family Room NICUs

GE Healthcare (NYSE:GE) has unveiled a new online resource to help empower professionals in the development of Single Family Room (SFR) Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) - considered to be optimal in caring for premature and sick babies.

A growing trend in NICU design, SFR NICUs provide families with a comfortable and private place to bond with their babies and to discuss care plans with NICU staff. SFR NICUs also enable caregivers to tailor the environment to each infant's individual needs in light, temperature and sound.

The time spent in a NICU proves to be a crucial period for babies' growth and brain development, and is also a key time for family bonding. Research now shows that a more natural sensory environment and increased parental interaction has long-term benefits for NICU babies.

The web site , created by GE Healthcare's Maternal Infant Care division, is a compilation of vendor-neutral information, insights and experiences from U.S. hospitals that have launched SFR NICUs. Subjects range from planning, budgeting and design through construction and workflow, providing healthcare professionals with advice, successes and lessons learned in the development of SFR NICUs.

"Hospitals and healthcare providers who have taken on the challenge of implementing SFR NICUs are truly pioneers and heroes, improving the quality of neonatal intensive care and offering babies and their families comfort at a challenging time," said Carrie Eglinton Manner, General Manager of Maternal Infant Care for GE Healthcare. "It is our hope that sharing insight and experience through this vendor-neutral web site will help those hospitals who are new to Single Family Room NICUs make the best possible decisions for their organization and their patients."

McDonald's Threatened With Law Suit For Using Toys To Promote Happy Meals, US

A US consumer group has threatened legal action against the fast food company McDonald's if it does not stop using toys to promote its "junk food" Happy Meals: the group says using unfair and deceptive marketing to "lure small children" is illegal under consumer protection laws in various states of the US.

The nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) announced on Tuesday that it had served McDonald's with a 30-day notice of its intention to sue. Giving such notice is a legal requirement under several states in which the group might bring the lawsuit, they said in a statement. The lawsuit will go ahead if the company does not agree within 30 days to stop its toy-related promotions.

Stephen Gardner, litigation director for CSPI, told the press that:
"McDonald's is the stranger in the playground handing out candy to children." He said the way the fast food company uses toys exploits the fact children are developmentally immature and undermines the authority of parents. "All this to induce children to prefer foods that may harm their health. It's a creepy and predatory practice that warrants an injunction," he added.

In CSPI's notice letter addressed to Jim Skinner, vice chairman, CEO, and president of McDonald's, and to Jan Fields, the corporation's USA president, Gardner wrote that: "McDonald's marketing has the effect of conscripting America's children into an unpaid drone army of word-of-mouth marketers, causing them to pester their parents to bring them to McDonald's."

The letter goes on to state that McDonald's use of toys to promote its food products is violating state consumer protection laws in Massachusetts, Texas, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and California, and that the company has 30 days to agree to stop the practice before a suit is filed.

Link Between Adverse Childhood Experiences And Frequent Headache In Adults

Children who experience maltreatment such as emotional, physical and sexual abuse are more likely to experience frequent headaches, including chronic migraine, as adults, say scientists presenting data at the American Headache Society's 52nd Annual Scientific Meeting in Los Angeles this week.

Using data from the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study of 17,337 adult members of the Kaiser Health Plan in San Diego, Gretchen E. Tietjen, MD, of the University of Toledo College Of Medicine, and her team found that the number of ACEs showed a graded relationship to the likelihood of experiencing frequent headaches. Her study was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We looked at eight ACEs -- emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, witnessing domestic violence, growing up with mental illness in the home, having household members who were incarcerated or were abusing drugs, and experiencing parental separation or divorce,." said Dr. Tietjen. "Each ACE increased the chance of frequent headache, and as the number of ACEs increased, so did the risk of frequent headache. This 'dose-response' relationship' suggests that ACEs may contribute to the development and frequency of severe headaches later in life."

White House Unveils Consumer Protections In Health Law

New health-law-prompted regulations were released Tuesday, Kaiser Health News reports. The regulations could likely affect a small fraction of the country, but address key insurance concerns:

- Insurers would no longer be able to deny coverage to kids with pre-existing conditions.
- Certain annual and all lifetime limits on benefits would be prohibited.
- Insurers would no longer be allowed to drop coverage when policy holders get sick.

Obama told a White House audience of 160 people that "Insurance companies should see this as an opportunity to improve care and increase competition," MSNBC reports. "The new regulations being implemented by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury, will put in place the strongest consumer protections in the nation's history -- giving Americans 'peace of mind,' Obama said" (Jones, 6/22).

Guidance Aims To Protect Thousands Of Unborn Babies And Small Children From Tobacco Harm

All pregnant women should be encouraged to have their carbon monoxide levels tested to determine whether they smoke, thereby ensuring that pregnant smokers receive appropriate support to quit for the good of their unborn baby. This change to current clinical practice is one of a number of recommendations in new guidance published yesterday (23 June) by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), to help women and their families give up smoking during and after pregnancy.

Smoking during pregnancy can increase the risk of miscarriage, premature birth, still-birth and sudden unexpected death in infancy[1]. Exposure to smoke in the womb is also associated with psychological problems in childhood such as attention and hyperactivity problems[2]. Meanwhile, children of parents who smoke tend to suffer from more respiratory problems like asthma or bronchitis and have problems of the ear, nose and throat, compared to children in non-smoking households. Nearly half of all children in the UK are exposed to tobacco smoke at home[3].

It is thought to cost the NHS between £20 million and £87.5 million each year to treat mothers and small infants under 12 months old with problems caused by smoking in pregnancy[4].

Theory Driven Practice

Theory driven. The first principle related to program design and content is that effective programs are theory driven. Being theory driven takes two forms. First, the components of the program, such as their activities and content, are based on well-established, empirically supported theory (Bond & Hauf, 2004; Borkowski, Akai, & Smith, 2006). The most effective prevention programs use theory to guide program development, assessment, and improvement. To illustrate, using theory can provide insight into what factors a program should address in order to be optimally effective. Such factors often include risk and protective factors or assets that are known to be related to the programs’ outcomes of interest. For example, the Families and Schools Together (FAST) program, an EBP aimed at preventing substance abuse, delinquency, school failure, and child abuse, is guided by three theories common to the family studies field: family stress theory, family systems theory, and social ecological theory (Wisconsin Center for Education Research [WCER], 2007). The influence of these theoretical models can be seen in the program’s core activities as well as in the way the program is structured and implemented. For instance, reflecting social ecological theory, ‘‘positive bonds and social relationships are directly promoted on six distinct levels of the child’s social ecology,’’ and efforts are made to link families to other families and to important social settings (WCER).

Excerpt: Family Relations Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies

Helping Dads Become More Fatherly

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Thursday announced a broad initiative to help fathers become more active and productive members of their families.

The push includes more than a dozen programs aimed at educating and supporting fathers and fathers-to-be, Mr. Bloomberg said.

Programs include parenting classes at public hospitals and homeless shelters, a part-time education program at the City University of New York and the addition of family visiting centers in city prisons.

The city will also soon hire its first citywide fatherhood services coordinator, Mr. Bloomberg said.

The goal, Mr. Bloomberg said at a news conference in Queens, was “to make city services more accessible to fathers and to make city spaces, our housing, schools, hospitals and even our jails, places where fathers can connect with their children.”

To read more visit:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/helping-dads-become-more-fatherly/

Preventing Child Abuse in an Age of Budget Deficits

A Future of Children Event
Tuesday, July 20, 2010, 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm (EST)
The Brookings Institution, Falk Auditorium, 1775 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC
On July 20th, The Future of Children will hold a public event and online webinar to discuss ways that prevention programs can both save money and protect children across a range of social programs if abuse and neglect can be prevented. The event, planned in cooperation with Voices for America's Children, features an expert panel that will focus on both practice and research and draws from the recent The Future of Children volume on this topic. Speakers will also address the prospects that prevention services can be expanded during these difficult economic times.
Panelists will take questions from the audience and online - and include:
Ron Haskins, Moderator
Co-Director, Center on Children and Families
Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
Senior Editor, The Future of Children

Rev. Darrell Armstrong
Pastor, Shiloh Baptist Church
Director, Prevention and Community Partnerships
New Jersey Department of Children and Families

Richard P. Barth
Dean, School of Social Work
University of Maryland - Baltimore

Mary Coogan
Assistant Director
Association for Children of New Jersey

David Olds
Professor of Pediatrics & Director, Prevention Research Center for Family and Child Health
University of Colorado - Denver


More information to follow about how to register for the webinar and/or live event.
The Future of Children is a collaboration of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and the Brookings Institution. For more information, please visit www.futureofchildren.org.

Link Between ADHD, Low Maternal Education, Lone Parents And Welfare Benefits

A major study of more than a million children has found strong links between receiving medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and limited maternal education, single parent families and welfare benefits, according to the June issue of Acta Paediatrica

Swedish experts teamed up to carry out what they believe is the first study of risk factors for ADHD in a national cohort of school children, based on 1.16 million children on the country's Prescribed Drug Register.

Key findings of the Swedish study include:

* Boys were three times more likely to be on ADHD medication than girls, with medication use highest in boys aged between 10 and 15.
* Women who had only received the most basic education were 130 per cent more likely to have a child on ADHD medication than women with university degrees.
* Children were 54 per cent more likely to be on ADHD medication if they came from a single parent family rather than having both parents at home.
* Coming from a family on welfare benefits increased the risk of ADHD medication by 135 per cent when compared with households not claiming benefits.
* There were no statistically significant differences between the effects that socioeconomic factors had on boys or girls in the study.

Reforming the Statute of Limitations for Child Sex Abuse: New York's Child Victims Act Shouldn't Be Political, But It Is

By MARCI A. HAMILTON

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Last week, the New York Child Victims Act (available at http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/bill/S5893A) was defeated in the Senate Codes Committee. For New York's children, it was a choice that favors child predators, and therefore a bad day. However, it was an interesting session and the bill will be re-introduced next session -- and every session until it is passed, according to sponsors Assemblywoman Marge Markey and Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson. The only impact is that child predators have one more year to operate under the anonymity afforded by New York's extremely short statutes of limitations for child sex abuse.

The bill embodies the same type of statute of limitations ("SOL") reform that I've advocated in multiple columns here at FindLaw, and in my book Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children. It would create a short 5-year extension for criminal and civil SOLs for child sex abuse, and it would open a "window" of one year for all past victims to come forward without having to worry about expired statutes of limitations. The extension is too short in my view, but the window is absolutely crucial to identifying child predators.

As I've explained, such reform is the only tried-and-true method for identifying hidden child perpetrators, as the enactment of the legislation establishing the California SOL window proved. In this column, I'll further discuss New York's continuing experience with reform for children.

Center on Education Policy’s New Research Findings Examine Male-Female Performance Gaps in Reading and Math

A new study from the Center on Education Policy (CEP) that
analyzes state assessment data by gender finds good news for girls but troubling news for boys. According to CEP’s study, the lagging performance by boys in reading is the most pressing gender-gap issue facing our schools. In some states, the percentage of boys performing at proficient in reading is more than 10 percentage points below that of girls. And that trend is consistent at the elementary, middle, and high school levels, the study finds.

The story is different in math, however. At the proficient level, the number of states in which girls outperformed boys was roughly equal to the number of states in which boys outperformed girls. At the advanced level, 4th-grade boys outperformed girls in most states.

The study, State Test Score Trends Through 2007-08: Are There Differences in Achievement Between Boys and Girls?, analyzed trend lines that began in 2002, where available, and ended in 2008. Trend data were included only where at least three years of comparable test data for a particular subject, grade, and achievement level were available. The study includes data for all 50 states and is the fifth in a 2009-10 series of CEP reports on student achievement results.

“Our analysis suggests that the gap between boys and girls in reading is a cause for concern,” said Jack Jennings, CEP’s president and CEO. “Much greater attention must be paid to giving boys the reading skills they need to succeed in early grades and throughout their education.”

Overall in reading, the CEP study finds that many states have made progress in narrowing gaps between male and female students. For example, gaps in elementary school reading have narrowed in 24 states though they have widened in 14 states. The findings in grade 4 reading also find that while both boys and girls have made progress since 2002, more girls than boys reached all three achievement levels—basic, proficient, and advanced—in 2008.

Teacher Quality Moderates the Genetic Effects on Early Reading

Children’s reading achievement is influenced by genetics as well as by family and school environments. The importance of teacher quality as a specific school environmental influence on reading achievement is unknown. We studied first- and second-grade students in Florida from schools representing diverse environments. Comparison of monozygotic and dizygotic twins, differentiating genetic similarities of 100% and 50%, provided an estimate of genetic variance in reading achievement. Teacher quality was measured by how much reading gain the non-twin classmates achieved. The magnitude of genetic variance associated with twins’ oral reading fluency increased as the quality of their teacher increased. In circumstances where the teachers are all excellent, the variability in student reading achievement may appear to be largely due to genetics. However, poor teaching impedes the ability of children to reach their potential.

Autism Spectrum Disorders in Extremely Preterm Children

Objectives
To investigate the prevalence, correlates, and antecedents of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in extremely preterm children.

Study design
We conducted a prospective study of all births <26 weeks gestation in the United Kingdom and Ireland in 1995. Of 307 survivors at 11 years, 219 (71%) were assessed and compared with 153 term-born classmates. Parents completed the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) to assess autism spectrum symptoms, and ASD were diagnosed by using a psychiatric evaluation. An IQ test and clinical evaluation were also administered. Longitudinal outcome data were available for extremely preterm children.

Results
Extremely preterm children had significantly higher SCQ scores than classmates (mean difference, 4.6 points; 95% CI, 3.4-5.8). Sixteen extremely preterm children (8%) were assigned an ASD diagnosis, compared with none of the classmates. By hospital discharge, male sex, lower gestation, vaginal breech delivery, abnormal cerebral ultrasound scanning results, and not having had breast milk were independently associated with autism spectrum symptoms. By 6 years, independent associates were cognitive impairment, inattention and peer problems, withdrawn behavior at 2.5 years, and not having had breast milk.

Conclusions
Extremely preterm children are at increased risk for autism spectrum symptoms and ASD in middle childhood. These symptoms and disorders were associated with neurocognitive outcomes, suggesting that ASD may result from abnormal brain development in this population.

Sports Participation and Problem Alcohol Use: A Multi-Wave National Sample of Adolescents

Background
Sports participation, though offering numerous developmental benefits for youths, has been associated with adolescent alcohol use. Differences also exist between men/boys and women/girls in both sports participation and patterns of alcohol-related behaviors, but there are few longitudinal investigations of this relationship.

Purpose
This study investigated the relationship between school-based sports participation and alcohol-related behaviors using data from a multiwave national study of adolescent men/boys and women/girls.

Methods
Nationally representative data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, collected between 1994 and 2001, were analyzed in 2009 (n=8271). Latent growth modeling, accommodating the complex sampling design, was applied to examine whether participation in school-based sports was associated with initial levels and change in problem alcohol use over three waves of data collection.

Results
After taking into account time-invariant covariates including demographics and other predictors of alcohol use, greater involvement in sports during adolescence was associated with faster average acceleration in problem alcohol use over time among youths who took part in only sports. The findings suggest, however, that the relationship between sports participation and problem alcohol use depends on participation in sports in combination with other activities, but it does not differ between men/boys and women/girls.

Conclusions
Sports may represent an important and efficient context for selective interventions to prevent problem alcohol use and negative consequences of alcohol use among adolescents.

Barriers To Obesity Prevention In Head Start

Head Start provides early childhood education to nearly one million low-income children, through federal grants to more than 2,000 local programs. About one-third of children who enter Head Start are overweight or obese. But program directors face difficulty in implementing policies and practices to address obesity—and in our national survey, they identified the key barriers as lack of time, money, and knowledge. Also, parents and staff sometimes shared cultural beliefs that were inconsistent with preventing obesity, such as the belief that heavier children are healthier. Minimizing those barriers will require federal resources to increase staff training and technical assistance, develop staff wellness programs, and provide healthy meals and snacks.

Spanking Kids Can Make Them More Aggressive Later

Children who are spanked frequently at age 3 are more likely to be aggressive when they’re 5, even when you account for possible confounding factors and the child’s level of aggression at age 3. The study, “Mothers’ Spanking of 3-Year-Old Children and Subsequent Risk of Children’s Aggressive Behavior,” in the May issue of Pediatrics (published online April 12), asked nearly 2,500 mothers how often they had spanked their 3-year-old child in the past month, as well as questions about their child’s level of aggression, demographic features such as child gender, and eight maternal parenting risk factors, such as parenting stress, depression, alcohol use, and the presence of other types of aggression within the family. Almost half (45.6 percent) of the mothers reported no spanking in the previous month, while 27.9 percent reported spanking one or two times, and 26.5 percent reported spanking more than twice. Mothers with more parenting risk factors were more likely to spank frequently. However, even after accounting for these potential confounding factors, frequent spanking at age 3 increased the odds of higher levels of aggression at age 5. Despite recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics against spanking, most parents in the U.S. approve of and have used corporal punishment as a form of child discipline. Researchers state that this study suggests that even minor forms of corporal punishment increase the risk for child aggressive behavior.

Underage Drinnking and Associated Risks

Although the minimum legal drinking age is 21 years, alcohol use by youth continues to be a major problem in the United States. Alcohol consumption can interfere with adolescent brain development, and use of alcohol early in life is associated with future alcohol-related problems. The new policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), “Alcohol Use by Youth and Adolescents: A Pediatric Concern,” published in the May issue of Pediatrics (published online April 12), describes risk factors that contribute to youth alcohol use, including having friends who use alcohol, tobacco, or other substances; patterns of use in communities in which alcohol and other drugs are less expensive and easily attainable; and exposure to alcohol advertising. Specific recommendations on management tools and treatment programs will be available in a forthcoming statement from the AAP on substance use screening, intervention, and referral for treatment. The authors recommend additional research into the prevention, screening and identification, brief intervention and management and treatment of alcohol and other substance use by adolescents continues to be needed to improve evidence-based practices.

What Does Our Community's Growing Diversity Have To Do With Evaluation?

The Colorado Trust engages Community Science to help answer this question

Like many areas of the country, Colorado's racial and ethnic populations have grown more diverse, particularly through an increase in immigrants and refugees. The Colorado Trust wanted to ensure that its grant making and evaluations continue to evolve to better serve people of myriad cultures. With that goal in mind, they engaged Community Science to help deepen their understanding about what it takes to do a cross-culturally competent evaluation.

Ensuring a Cross-Culturally Competent Evaluation: The Journey Continues is the second part of a two-part series about such evaluations, funded by The Colorado Trust and written by Community Science's Kien Lee. It offers insights to help guide the complex dynamics between evaluators, funders and stakeholders of different cultures. The report gives useful examples of where cross-cultural competency is critical in evaluation and recommends questions and strategies that an evaluator should consider when practicing this form of cultural competency.

Community Science is committed to evaluations that are responsive to the growing diversity of our communities.

The Colorado Trust has a long-standing commitment to evaluating the effectiveness of its grant making. It has boosted its efforts to incorporate culturally competent practices to reflect a changing population.

To view the report in its entirety, click here

Building Systems of Care for Families & Youth Webinar

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/127103659

System of care is a philosophy that incorporates a broad array of services and supports that is organized into a coordinated network, integrates care planning and management across multiple levels, is culturally and linguistically competent, and builds meaningful partnerships with families and youth at service delivery, management, and policy levels. Participants will gain knowledge about system of care basics and how to incorporate system of care principles to achieve better outcomes for families and youth.

On July 19th 2010 from 2:00-3:30 PM we invite you to join in this webinar. It is important to learn about the importance of partnerships with families and the system of care philosophy.

Family-Driven Practices that Work Webinar

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/166308811

Family-driven means families have a primary decision making role in the care of their own children as well as the policies and procedures
governing care for all children. This webinar will deliver information
on how systems and programs can infuse the family-driven philosophy and principles into practice. In addition, the presentation will include specific techniques to achieve successful collaborations, family engagement, and family involvement.

On June 15th from 2:00-3:30 PM we invite you to join in on this webinar with Brooke Schewe of Families Together in NYS. It is important to reinforce the philosophy of family-driven principles. Come join us to put these principles into practice!

FASD Webinar!

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/199599786

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) refers to the wide range of
physical, cognitive, and behavioral birth defects caused by maternal
alcohol consumption during pregnancy. These effects may include
physical, mental, behavioral, and/or learning disabilities with possible
lifelong implications.

Although 100% preventable, FASD affects as many as 1 in 100 births each year, and the number of women who consume alcohol during pregnancy is still problematic. This presentation will discuss the risks of consuming alcohol during pregnancy; the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure throughout the lifespan; techniques for working with women to reduce risky drinking behaviors; strategies for preventing and/or reducing secondary disabilities; and federal, state and local resources available for professionals and families.

On Thursday July 8, 2010 from 2-3:30 pm we welcome you to join in on this Webinar with Margo Singer of NYS Office of Alcoholism & Substance Abuse

Free Conference: Fostering Success for Children and Youth in Foster Care

Tuesday, June 22, 2010
9:00am to 1:00pm

The Children's Center
492 First Avenue (at 29th Street)
New York, NY

Sponsored by The New York Center for Children in association with Prevent Child Abuse American and NYC Children's Services, including presentations:

• "Permanency:  Buzzword, Building Block, Bottom Line"
• "Innovative Programs Supporting Foster Care Children and Youth"
• "Foster Care Youth Speakers"

Register by calling 212-517-3012 or by emailing ehans@newyorkcenterforchildren.org.

WEBINAR: Strengthening Families Family Child Care Study and Self-Assessment

From Strengthening Families:

DATE: June 16, 2010
TIME: 2:30 PM ET - 4:00 PM EST

Although approximately 22% of children under 6 who attend child care are in family child care settings, we know relatively little about the programs and providers that serve their families.

In 2009, the Center for the Study of Social Policy released the report, "Almost Like Family: Family Child Care," the culmination of a four-state study of family child care programs, their providers, the families that use them, and the systems that support them. The report focuses on the unique needs and challenges of family child care programs and providers, and explores how a Strengthening Families approach, centered on building Protective Factors with families, can benefit the children, parents, and providers in family child care.

This webinar will present the findings from the study and will introduce an adaptation of the Strengthening Families Self-Assessment for family child care homes. Staff from the National Center for Parents as Teachers will share their curriculum for home visitors working with family, friend, and neighbor child care providers, the newest edition of which incorporates the Protective Factors and the Self-Assessment for Family Child Care.

DATE: June 16, 2010
TIME: 2:30 PM ET - 4:00 PM ET

REGISTER NOW!

Teens Training Too Hard, Too Often

(From Boston.com):  Amanda Keane breathes basketball. The Wilmington 17-year-old has been competing four seasons a year since the fifth grade, and has had hip surgery for an overuse injury to prove it.

When school lets out for the summer, she'll ratchet up the ante, adding camps to her team play.  "I wake up," Keane said, "play basketball, go home, and go to bed."

Summertime has become prime time for legions of hyper-competitive young athletes to pound, pitch, and pursue their athletic passions, producing ever more injuries.

Surgeons and physical therapists say they see an epidemic of overuse - fractures, tears, and worn-down joints - in children who are playing at higher intensities and at younger ages.  Surgeries to repair shoulder, elbow, knee, and hip injuries, once thought to be adult fare, are being routinely performed on preteens and teenagers.

Read the article online at:  http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2010/06/01/young_athletes_injuries_on_the_rise/

Fatherhood and Poverty

The number of unwed mothers has increased greatly over the past several decades, particularly in low-income communities. Of course, it follows that the number of unwed fathers has increased also. Yet most people know very little about these men, note Kathryn Edin and Timothy Nelson, Kennedy School sociologists who have focused their research on this group.

Edin, a professor of public policy and management, and Nelson, a lecturer in social policy, last year coauthored (along with Jennifer March Augustine of the University of Texas) a paper titled “Why Do Poor Men Have Children? Fertility Intentions among Low-Income Unmarried U.S. Fathers,” published in the Annals of the American Academy of Political Science. Their study features interviews with 171 men from the Philadelphia area, who speak candidly about their intention to have children, their involvement as parents, and how their children have affected them and their behavior.

“Contrary to the conventional wisdom, the disadvantaged men whose narratives formed this account typically have at least an ambivalent desire to father and perceive considerable benefits in doing so,” write the authors.

Read more by clicking the link above.

Fathers as Family and Community Resources

A recent article in American Humane's Protecting Children describes the impact of fathers in the lives of families involved with the child welfare system, as well as ways to support and promote positive father involvement. The article, "Fathers as Resources in Families Involved in the Child Welfare System," focuses on the evaluation of a model program for low-income families involved with the child welfare system. 

More than 500 families with child welfare involvement were randomly divided among three interventions: a fathers-only group, a couples group, and an information-only (control) session. The fathers and couples groups received 32 hours of group training and discussion over 16 weeks, facilitated by a clinically trained couple using the Supporting Father Involvement curriculum. Before the intervention and 2 and 11 months after the intervention, parents were assessed for mental health and well-being, quality of the couple's relationship, quality of the parent-child relationship, generational transmission of expectations and behaviors, and balance of life stresses and social supports.

Results show the interventions' success in reducing risk factors and increasing protective factors:

• Parents in the couples group showed increased father involvement and decreased personal and parenting distress compared to the control condition.
• Fathers-only participants made slightly fewer gains than the couples participants but showed significant and positive effects on father involvement.
• Children of parents who participated in one of the groups had no increases in problem behaviors, unlike children in the control condition.

In addition, agencies that hosted the fathers-only groups showed improvement in father-inclusive policies and services.

The authors note that this ongoing program is still learning how to best provide parents with the skills and supports that are needed to eradicate old patterns and improve family relationships.

Read more online at:   http://cbexpress.acf.hhs.gov/index.cfm?event=website.viewPrinterFriendly&issueid=117

Involving Dads in Group Decision-Making

Family group decision-making (FGDM), which emphasizes the importance of reaching out to and including all members of a child's family, can be a powerful tool for improving the engagement of fathers and paternal relatives in the lives of children involved with the child welfare system. To support these efforts, American Humane recently published an issue brief that describes how child welfare agencies can use FGDM to locate fathers and more effectively use paternal family members as a resource for children.

Several studies have identified potential barriers to father involvement in child welfare, including workers' biased perceptions of fathers, the perceived difficulty of engaging fathers, and the gender dynamics of a largely female child welfare workforce. The brief highlights FGDM as a way to avoid some of these barriers by using an independent coordinator to organize family meetings and work closely with both the mother and father to reach as many family members as possible. Doing so ensures more family members play a role in determining the best options for the safety and well-being of the child.

The brief pays particular attention to situations in which the mother-father relationship is strained, such as cases of domestic or family violence. Although participants may have safety concerns, the brief describes strategies to minimize those concerns through careful preparation, attention to detail, and follow-through after the meeting.

Read more online at:   http://cbexpress.acf.hhs.gov/index.cfm?event=website.viewPrinterFriendly&issueid=117

Bridging the Child Welfare System and Father-Focused Services

Both the Child and Family Services Reviews and research have highlighted the lack of engagement of nonresident fathers in the child welfare system. The Engaging Fathers project, a collaboration between the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) and Fathers and Families Center (the Center), is taking steps to bridge this gap to improve outcomes for children in Marion County, Indiana. This project, which is one of four subgrants of the National Quality Improvement Center on Non-Resident Fathers and the Child Welfare System (QIC NRF), utilizes a 20-week, peer-led support group curriculum for nonresident fathers that was developed by the QIC NRF.

The Center has a full-time male staff person onsite at the Marion County DCS office to serve as the initial contact for nonresident fathers. This person helps the project—and DCS—locate nonresident fathers and also helps the fathers who come into contact with the agency understand their cases and navigate the child welfare and court systems. Additionally, the staff person provides training and support to DCS staff about father engagement on the project.

Eligible fathers are invited to attend the 20-week peer support group and may also receive other services through the Center, such as job assistance, GED preparation, relationship counseling, and transportation. The project is currently on its ninth cohort of fathers attending support groups, with approximately two to eight fathers in each cohort. The project team reports that the support groups—in addition to providing information about parenting skills, the child welfare system, legal issues, and other areas—have helped empower the fathers and supply a much-needed support network. Within the groups, fathers share the successes and challenges that each has experienced in trying to become a more engaged father.

The collaboration between DCS and the Center has proven beneficial for the partnering organizations as well. The Center's staff have learned more about the child welfare system and are able to offer help in that area to fathers. Center staff now ask fathers whether their children are involved with the child welfare system (and are surprised by the number of fathers with positive responses). Similarly, DCS staff have become more familiar with fatherhood issues and the Center.

Read more online at:   http://cbexpress.acf.hhs.gov/index.cfm?event=website.viewPrinterFriendly&issueid=117

It's Okay for Toddlers to Take Swimming Lessons

(From the Associated Press):  The nation's largest pediatricians group is relaxing its stance against swimming lessons for children younger than 4. In the past, the American Academy of Pediatrics has said swim classes might give toddlers and parents a false sense of security. Now the group says it's fine to enroll children as young as 1. A few small studies suggest toddlers may be less likely to drown if they've had swim lessons. The doctors aren't recommending lessons for every young child. Some parents may feel their little ones aren't ready and that's OK.

Read more online at: http://www.herald-review.com/news/national/article_87e559d6-674c-11df-ba83-001cc4c03286.html

Research Points to New Causes of Autism

(From the Philadelphia Inquirer):  Could delayed childbearing, infertility treatment and premature birth contribute to autism? Research presented recently in Philadelphia suggests the answer is yes. The International Meeting for Autism Research, attended by more than 1,700 scientists and advocates at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, offered provocative findings from studies of large population groups. Such epidemiological research can uncover risk factors that are too subtle to detect in small groups or individuals.

Read more online at:  http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/20100521_Research_points_to_new_causes_of_autism.html

Study: Building Strong Families Evaluation Suggests Stronger Approach is Needed

(FROM HHS):  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today released findings from a study assessing the effectiveness of programs designed to help low-income unmarried parents build and sustain healthy relationships in order to provide their children with stable family lives and the support and involvement of both parents. 

In the Building Strong Families initiative, programs provided relationship and marriage education, case management, and referrals to other services.  Seven of the eight programs evaluated in the initiative failed to yield better outcomes for participants than for a control group that did not have access to the program.  The study measured the living arrangements, relationship status, relationship quality, extent of father involvement with his child, domestic violence and economic well-being of approximately five thousand couples who were randomly assigned to either a control group or a group that had access to a Building Strong Families program.
 
One program did show positive benefits in relationship quality and father involvement for participants compared to a control group.  Furthermore, some benefits appeared among subgroups, including African American couples, couples with better relationship quality at the baseline and couples with low education levels.  Participants in one other program experienced an increase in violence between partners, as well as more break-ups and a decrease in support and affection from their partners. The program subsequently modified several procedures to prevent domestic violence and increase safety.
This report's findings serve to reinforce the need for a more comprehensive approach like the one proposed in the President’s pending Fatherhood, Marriage and Families Innovation Fund.

“These findings are very timely as Congress considers the more comprehensive Fatherhood, Marriage and Families Innovation Fund, proposed in the President’s 2011 budget,” said Carmen R. Nazario, HHS’ assistant secretary for children and families.  “The results of this study show that it is possible to positively influence and strengthen families with support programs, but also suggest that the current approach isn’t adequate.  "Couples often face several compounding challenges.  A broader effort will provide the comprehensive support that parents and couples need to succeed in their relationships as well as in their roles as workers, providers, and engaged parents. Such efforts should be tailored to individual circumstances and extend to include effective mental health resources and services to address domestic violence. That is the approach reflected in the President’s proposed Fatherhood, Marriage and Families Innovation Fund.”
 
The Fund, proposed in the President’s 2011 budget, would focus on comprehensive responsible fatherhood programs, including those with relationship and marriage components.  The current Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood program, through which the Building Strong Families programs were funded, would be redirected to this more comprehensive effort. 
 
“Active and engaged parents are critically important to the healthy development of children” said Assistant Secretary Nazario. “Children raised with involved, supportive fathers are more likely to succeed in school and are less likely to abuse drugs or alcohol or to become parents in their teen years.  The President is committed to helping children reach their full potential by supporting parents in their critical role, working to reduce domestic violence, and promoting healthy relationships and safe and secure households.  Comprehensive responsible fatherhood programs, many with healthy marriage components, will be a major focus of the new Innovation Fund proposed by the President.
 
For the report on Building Strong Families, mothers and fathers were interviewed about 15 months after they volunteered for the program.  The status of these couples and the well-being of their children will be measured again 36 months after they signed up for the program.  The longer-term results are expected in 2012.
 
The full report “Strengthening Unmarried Parents’ Relationships: The Early Impacts of Building Strong Families,” along with a report on implementation of the programs, is available at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/strengthen/build_fam/index.html

CDC Announces New Manual: "Evaluation for Improvement: A Seven-Step Empowerment Evaluation Approach"

This manual is designed to help violence prevention organizations hire an empowerment evaluator who will assist them in building their evaluation capacity through a learn-by-doing process of evaluating their own strategies. It is for state and local leaders and staff members of organizations, coalitions, government agencies, and/or partnerships working to prevent violence. Some parts of the manual may also be useful to empowerment evaluators who work with these organizations. View, download or print at:  http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pub/evaluation_improvement.html