Listening to children: Participation rights of minors in Italy and the United States

This article compares laws and policies in Italy and the US regarding children's right to be heard and to engage in the life of the community. Italy has adopted a strong children's rights perspective, informed by the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The US, with its pre-modern constitution and resistance to international law, has been slow to recognise children's rights to voice and agency. The US Supreme Court has extended some due process rights to children in criminal court proceedings, but the US lags far behind Italy in recognition of children's rights to participate in civic life and collective decision-making. Child well-being rankings may reflect these differences in attitudes towards children's rights. Italy ranks significantly higher than the US on objective measures of child well-being and Italian children report superior peer and family relationships.     

Acting Like It Matters: A Scoping Review of Simulation in Child Welfare Training

Simulation-based training is often used to prepare health practitioners and is increasingly employed to train child welfare workers. This scoping review systematically searched the published and grey literature for studies that evaluated training for child welfare practitioners and used simulation methods that included standardized actors. Three studies met inclusion criteria, all documenting improvement in participants' use of specific skills. Other outcomes were mixed, possibly reflecting the heterogeneity of samples, study methods, measures, training of actors, theoretical frameworks, and content areas. Though results were mostly positive, the small number of studies indicates a substantial need for further research.     

Enhancing Treatment Outcomes for Male Adolescents with Sexual Behavior Problems: Interactions and Interventions

This exploratory study identifies patterns of multidisciplinary interactions and interventions that aim to improve outcomes for juvenile sex offenders (JSOs). With a response rate of 63.45% at two major statewide conferences in Texas, data from 336 JSO service providers suggest that interactions among service providers should occur before the delivery of interventions. Factor analyses indicated that Protocol (26%), Collaboration (17%), and Role Clarity (15%) explain 58% of the variance in “Multidisciplinary Interactions,” while Counseling (13%), Treatment Placement (11%), and Self-Discipline (10%) explain 34% of the variance in “Interventions.” Treatment staff preferred the implementation of cognitive and person-centered treatment approaches. Additional research is needed to establish objectivity and increase awareness about the importance of service diversity with a common goal within this multidisciplinary community.     

Toward an asymmetric Coase theorem

Various reformulations of the Coase theorem have developed normative corollaries on the choice of optimal remedies in the presence of positive transaction costs. In this article, we consider the extent to which these propositions are affected by the presence of asymmetric transaction costs, and we offer a reformulation of the Coase theorem which takes into account asymmetrical transaction costs. Our analysis combines several insights from the existing literature on property-type vesus liability-type remedies, identifying the conditions for the superiority of each type of remedy. Further, we consider the possible use of mixed remedies and identify the optimal scope of such solution.