This dissertation examined disparities in initial placements and Length of Stay in Custody of children in North Carolina experiencing child maltreatment. This research examined how the Length of Stay in Custody and type of initial placement was associated with the age, race, and gender of children who had been removed from the care of their…

The importance of school readiness to both the future of an individual child and society as a whole has given rise to several state-specific indexes designed to measure county-level risk for starting school unprepared to learn. One such index is the Oklahoma School Readiness Risk Index (OK SRRI), comprised of indicators known to be associated with…

Timely and accurate reporting of suspected child abuse and neglect is essential to protect victimized children; however, there are barriers to such reporting. The importance of barriers may be based on organizational theories that suggest structure has an impact on behavior independent of individual factors and on identity theory which suggests…

This study explored the trauma histories of individual students in a population of 78 regular education students who were placed in a countywide alternative program in lieu of expulsion. The study also explores the association between the trauma histories and the behavioral, emotional, and academic impairments of these students. Based on an…