Growing evidence has linked early trauma with severe psychiatric consequences. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a potentially debilitating mental health condition found among some youth in foster care and foster care alumni. However, the current child welfare practice response has not met the demands in both assessment and intervention.…

The 2012 data book explores how our kids have fared during the last decade--some outcomes are positive, some negative. But positive or negative outcomes for kids don't just happen. They are the inevitable results of effective or failed policy choices. The State of Texas Children 2012 combines data and policy to tell the story of Texas kids. It's…

In "Preventing and Reducing Juvenile Delinquency," Howell proposes a female-specific pathway to serious, violent, and chronic offending. Incorporating ideas from feminist research about risk factors for female delinquency, he proposes five distinct and interrelated risk factors--child abuse victimization, mental health problems, running…

This study identified selected child factors (e.g., age, gender, race/ethnicity, disabilities, prior victimization, and relationship to perpetrator of abuse), family risk factors (e.g., substance abuse, domestic violence, inadequate housing, and financial problems), and services provided by child protective services that likely increased reports…

The Houston KIDS COUNT data book examines the status of children in Houston and Harris County and identifies trends in their general welfare. These data provide a portrait of Harris County's children that can be used for developing sound and effective local policy. The report is divided into the following sections: (1) Children in Families; (2)…

The purpose of this study was to explore the difference between the sexual abuse of males and females. The study group was a caseload of clients from the Northside Family Resource Center in the Houston area, a branch of the Mental Health Mental Retardation Association (MHMRA) of Harris County, Texas. The researcher studied 21 children, age 10…

The Group Services for Child Protective Clients Project was established to train child protective services staff members to provide effective group services. The project had four components: (1) group services training; (2) support groups for staff; (3) group services to clients; and (4) planning to continue the project after federal funding…

As part of a nationwide effort to highlight the well-being of children in every state, Texas Kids Count is building a comprehensive database of indicators of child well-being to be used to produce annual data books and other analyses on the status of children in Texas. This report presents, county by county, data on several child well-being…