What does it take to develop an asynchronous curriculum for social work students, with attention to precision, policy accuracy, and community accountability? We attempt to answer the question by documenting our process of community collaboration and partnership to develop a gamified case study on the Indian Child Welfare Act. The curriculum was…

Schools are increasingly being leveraged as intervention points to address childhood trauma due to the well-established links between childhood trauma exposure and poor child well-being outcomes. However, although preschool-aged children experience higher rates of trauma, such as maltreatment and violence exposure, than their older counterparts,…

With 8.4 million children in the U.S. spending an average of eight hours a week in afterschool programs, afterschool providers are an important part of the network of caring adults who can help to keep children safe. In addition, afterschool staff are "mandated reporters." Whether or not the laws specifically mention afterschool staff,…

Previous research documents that street-involved youth experience rates of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that are significantly higher than their housed counterparts. Trauma and PTSD are of particular concern for homeless youth as they can negatively affect youths' ability to function adaptively and to transition off the streets.…

Objective: Analysis of the validity and implementation of a child maltreatment actuarial risk assessment model, the California Family Risk Assessment (CFRA). Questions addressed: (1) Is there evidence of the validity of the CFRA under field operating conditions? (2) Do actuarial risk assessment results influence child welfare workers' service…

The birth of a child can be a simultaneously joyous and challenging time for families. Virtually all parents will struggle with the enormous physical and emotional demands of parenting a very young child, but for too many California families those challenges are additionally compounded by poverty, housing instability, lack of social support, or…

In December 2011, the Sierra Health Foundation board of directors approved a framework for a new youth development initiative. The framework built upon the foundation's recently concluded REACH Youth Development Program and incorporated findings and recommendations from the highly regarded "Healthy Youth/Healthy Regions" and…

Purpose: (1) To identify and compare rates of body mass index (BMI) [greater than or equal to] 85% (overweight/obesity) and BMI [greater than or equal to] 95% (obesity) in maltreated versus comparison young adolescents; (2) to determine whether demographic/psychological characteristics are related to high BMI; (3) to determine whether type of…

Lack of progress for improving the lives of kids is unacceptable. All children need stability and a path to opportunity. This is true for nearly half of California's children who live in low-income families, where caregivers struggle to afford the quality support and services they need for their kids. This is also true for the approximately…

California is home to more than 9 million children. With 12 percent of the nation's children, the well-being of California kids has a big impact on the well-being of children nationally. Unfortunately, California recently ranked 38th out of 50 states in children's well-being. Research has shown a strong connection between children's socioeconomic…

Differential response (DR), also referred to as alternative response (AR), family assessment response (FAR), or multiple track response, was developed to incorporate family-centered, strengths-based practices into child protective services (CPS), primarily by diverting lower risk families into an assessment track rather than requiring the…

The purpose of this article is to identify profiles of maltreatment experiences in a sample of high-risk adolescents and to investigate the relationship between the derived profiles and psychological adjustment. Participants are 1,131 youth between the ages of 12 and 18 years involved with publicly funded mental health and social services.…

This study examines the characteristics and patterns of child maltreatment among Cambodian refugee families in Los Angeles and assesses the implications for child welfare practice with Cambodian refugee families. Data were extracted from 243 active Cambodian case files maintained by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services…

Objective: This study examines how the availability of alcohol and illicit drugs (as measured by alcohol outlet density and police incidents of drug sales and possessions) is related to neighborhood rates of child abuse and neglect, controlling for other neighborhood demographic characteristics. Method: Data from substantiated reports of child…

This study determined how multiple ecodevelopmental domains influenced dysphoria in a community sample of Latina adolescents. Risk factors tested include childhood maltreatment, parental alcohol-related problems, and polysubstance problems. Protective factors include general self-efficacy, social conformity, and family connection. Female…