Investigating Allegations of Child Maltreatment:

This article discusses the common strengths and limitations of the major types of risk assessment systems currently implemented in the United States with respect to their effectiveness in assisting child protective services workers in investigating allegations of child maltreatment, documenting current child and family conditions, and predicting the occurrence or re-occurrence of child maltreatment.     

Child Maltreatment and the Acquisition of Identity Capital: A Retrospective Exploration of a Transformative Social Justice Experience

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore whether secondary classes foster the acquisition of certain agentic capacities for formerly maltreated adolescents. We utilized the identity capital model (ICM) to explore the identity capital acquired by a socioeconomically diverse group of 40 Black former students in a mandatory, high school transformative social justice (TSJ) class. All participants disclosed some form of child maltreatment. The most prominent IC acquired for all participants included purpose, social perspective taking, moral-ethical reasoning, and resilience. Implications are discussed.     

A Longitudinal Study of the Effects of Child Maltreatment on Later Outcomes among High-risk Adolescents

The current study longitudinally examines the effects of child maltreatment, parenting, and disadvantaged neighborhood on victimization, delinquency, and well-being via running away and school engagement among a sample of 360 high-risk adolescents. Results of a path analysis revealed that parenting was associated with school engagement, running away, and well-being. Childhood neglect was related to victimization while sexual abuse and living in a more disadvantaged neighborhood were associated with poorer well-being. Greater school engagement was associated with higher levels of well-being and a lower likelihood of delinquency. Finally, running away was positively associated with participating in delinquent activities. In terms of the interactions, results showed that the effect of positive parenting on well-being was significantly stronger for females and the manner in which neglect related to school engagement was greater among males. Additionally, gender significantly moderated the relationship between running away and victimization and between running away and delinquency, both of which the effects were significantly stronger for males. Implications for families and adolescents are addressed.

Ecological Foundations of Practice in Child & Youth Services

No abstract available for this article.     

Distress Intolerance Mediates the Relationship between Child Maltreatment and Nonsuicidal Self-Injury among Chinese Adolescents: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a serious public health concern among adolescents. Identifying risk factors of NSSI is important to effectively prevent or reduce such behavior. Child maltreatment is one of the most widely recognized risk factors for NSSI. How child maltreatment and NSSI is related, however, is still unclear. The present study tested the temporal relationship between physical and emotional abuse and NSSI, with distress intolerance as the potential mediator. Potential gender differences on these associations were also tested. We assessed all study variables among 2259 Chinese adolescents (53.8% females; M_age?=?15.11 years, SD?=?1.57) for three times at 6-month intervals. The results showed that distress intolerance only mediated the relationship between emotional abuse and NSSI, but not between physical abuse and NSSI. In addition, this mediation effect of distress intolerance was significant only for females. The findings of this study can help researchers and practitioners understand pathways by which child maltreatment impacts adolescent NSSI. Implications for preventions and interventions of NSSI were discussed.     

School Climate for Transgender Youth: A Mixed Method Investigation of Student Experiences and School Responses

Transgender youth experience negative school environments and may not benefit directly from interventions defined to support Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) youth. This study utilized a multi-method approach to consider the issues that transgender students encounter in school environments. Using data from two studies, survey data (total n = 2260, 68 transgender youth) from study 1 and focus groups (n = 35) from study 2, we examine transgender youth’s experience of school harassment, school strategies implemented to reduce harassment, the protective role of supportive school personnel, and individual responses to harassment, including dropping out and changing schools. In both studies, we found that school harassment due to transgender identity was pervasive, and this harassment was negatively associated with feelings of safety. When schools took action to reduce harassment, students reported greater connections to school personnel. Those connections were associated with greater feelings of safety. The indirect effects of school strategies to reduce harassment on feelings of safety through connection to adults were also significant. Focus group data illuminate specific processes schools can engage in to benefit youth, and how the youth experience those interventions.     

Competency in Establishing Positive Relationships With Program Youth: The Impact of Organization and Youth Worker Characteristics

Frontline youth workers’ ability to form strong, positive relationships with program youth is a key element in maximizing the benefits of program participation. A recent National Collaboration of Youth (2006 National Collaboration for Youth. ( 2006 ). Capturing promising practices in recruitment and retention of frontline youth workers. Retrieved from http://www.nydic.org/nydic/documents/CompletePublication.pdf  [Google Scholar]) report identified six elements associated with youth workers’ competency to complete their professional roles: compensation, training opportunities, supportive work environment, clear work roles, sense that work is valued, and networking opportunities. The current study investigated whether having these elements predicted 459 youth workers’ self-reported job competency in forming positive relationships with youth. Regression analyses revealed that job efficacy, clarity of work roles, and benefits significantly predicted competency in forming strong relationships with program youth. Findings are discussed in relation to practice implications for the youth work field.     

Unaccompanied Homeless Youth: Intersections of Homelessness,School Experiences and Educational Policy

School districts are faced with the challenge of how best to serve the needs of a growing homeless student population. As the numbers of homeless children and youth continue to rise, it is imperative for educators and others to understand the experiences of unaccompanied homeless youth. A qualitative research project was undertaken to obtain the perspectives of six high school students experiencing homelessness. These perspectives illuminate the various and multiple factors intersecting with student's educational lives. Their narratives uncovered the following themes: (a) Homelessness as a misnomer, (b) Homelessness is not a choice, (c) Caring adults, and (d) Student agency. Their counternarratives challenge adults working with unaccompanied homeless youth to rethink and reimagine the manner in which homelessness is understood and framed; this is especially critical in educational spaces. Schools often are the primary contexts in which youth spend their time and can be instrumental to providing youth experiencing homelessness with the support and resources they identify as being critical to their educational engagement and success.     

Not-Knowing or Knowing Naught: Revisiting the Concept of Collaboration and Expertise in Child and Youth Care Practice

This article discusses the complexities associated with adopting a not-knowing stance in Child and Youth Care practice. By highlighting some of the challenges, it also clarifies the distinctions between practitioner lack of knowing how to proceed and an intentional, uncertain attitude when working with children, youth and families. Recommendations or caveats are provided if a practitioner chooses to adopt this kind of orientation to practice.     

Chapter 10. Patterns of Career Development in Child and Youth Care

Abstract

Patterns of career development in the field of child and youth care are reexamined in relation to roles that involve working directly with children in specific settings as well as in relation to roles that involve working indirectly in support of children through working with other adults, be these parents, other caregivers or professionals. Other career roles involve working in support of human service systems that impact on the care of children and young people and influence family welfare. Finally, some career roles involve working at the macro level to formulate policies that shape the culture of caring communities to support the health and well-being of children. Each career role presents important challenges and offers valuable opportunities for influencing the lives of children, young people and their families.     

少子化时代日本青年就业的现状和问题

目前，没有工作、宅在家里“封闭自我”、精神“内向”的青年无业者已然成为日本严峻的社会问题。 本研究从日本政府为解决少子化时代青年就业问题采取的措施、青年就业与劳动力市场状况、公共和私营部门 面临的青年无业者带来的挑战等方面，探讨日本少子化时代，尤其是近年来青年劳动者的就业现状和未来面临 的问题。研究发现，尽管政府采取了多种措施，但在现实中，有很多生活困窘的年轻人仍未能被就业和生活帮 扶措施覆盖，无法得到相应服务，因此政府还在寻求进一步的改善措施。而要从根本上解决日本少子化时期的 青年就业问题， 还有很长的路要走。     

The Impact of Multiple Types of Child Maltreatment on Subsequent Risk Behaviors Among Women During the Transition from Adolescence to Young Adulthood

The purpose of this study was to investigate how different types of child maltreatment, independently and collectively, impact a wide range of risk behaviors that fall into three domains: sexual risk behaviors, delinquency, and suicidality. Cumulative classification and Expanded Hierarchical Type (EHT) classification approaches were used to categorize various types of maltreatment. Data were derived from Wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Our sample consisted of White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian females ages 18 to 27 (n = 7,576). Experiencing different kinds of maltreatment during childhood led to an extensive range of risk behaviors within the three identified domains. Women experiencing sexual abuse plus other maltreatment types had the poorest outcomes in all three domains. These findings illustrate that it may no longer be appropriate to assume that all types of maltreatment are equivalent in their potential contribution to negative developmental sequelae.     

One Small Step at a Time: Implementing Continuous Quality Improvement in Child and Youth Mental Health Services

Continuous quality improvement (CQI) is increasingly being adopted by health care, including child and youth mental health services. As part of the commitment to ongoing quality improvement, child and youth mental health teams in the Fraser region in British Columbia undertook CQI projects over a one year period (2007–2008). The projects covered a range of domains and service features and staff gained experience in developing projects. Patience, management support and ongoing dialogue were key elements in the implementation of CQI. Three projects are highlighted to illustrate how teams developed their own unique projects and the outcomes.     

“My Kids,They Safe.”: Lived Experiences of Parents Receiving Child Neglect Allegations

Abstract

This study aims to explore parents’ lived experiences of receiving child neglect allegations and how they make sense of these experiences. The sample consists of parents who participated in a family preservation program following allegations of child neglect. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The findings suggest that parents resist neglect allegations, both by denial and minimization, partly due to their lack of clear understanding of what constitutes child neglect. Further, parents in this study tended to be reactive to meanings ascribed to the label of child neglect rather than the allegations per se. They seemed to experience internal conflict between their positive evaluations of their own parenting and what their neglect allegations might imply about their parenting. Parents also experienced emotional distress, such as concern about social stigma and fear of losing their parental rights, as they tried to make sense of their current situations. Suggested implications for practice include exploring parents’ subjective understanding of their allegations and considering their unique familial and sociocultural contexts from the outset of their involvement with child protective services (CPS) in order to build a collaborative working alliance.     

Paying for procreation: Child support arrangements in the UK

Under the present system it is a very good thing to remain happily married, I have to tell you!The authors would like to thank Martin Davey, John Murphy and the reader forFeminist Legal Studies for their comments on earlier drafts.     

The Mobility of Youth in the Justice System: Implications for Recidivism

Both residential mobility and community disadvantage have been shown to be associated with negative outcomes for adolescents generally and juvenile offenders specifically. The current study examines the effects of moving among a large sample (n = 13,096) of previously adjudicated youth (31.6 % female, 41.2 % Black, 16.5 % Hispanic). Additionally, we examine whether moving upward to a more affluent neighborhood, moving downward to an area of greater disadvantage, or moving laterally to a similar neighborhood tempers the effects of residential mobility. We use a combination of analytical techniques, including propensity score matching to untangle the effects of mobility sans pre-existing conditions between movers and non-movers. Results show relocation increases recidivism, irrespective of the direction of the move with regard to socioeconomic context. Moving upward has the most detrimental impact for adjudicated male adolescents, while downward relocations evidenced the largest effect for female youth. Implications for policy and future research needs are discussed.