Screening for Substance Use Disorders as a Supplement to Caseworker Assessment Among Foster Care–Involved Families

Parental substance abuse is a major factor in families experiencing foster care placement, yet little is known about the potential of screening in determining risk or identifying subpopulations for which elevated risk occurs. One Midwestern state recently implemented screening. This research uses information gathered as part of the screen's implementation to conduct a latent class analysis. The research was extended to provide a detailed examination of differences in child and family characteristics across classes, and to compare the screen results with caseworker impressions. Three distinct typologies emerged, with the high-risk and moderate-risk designations comprising only one quarter of the cases.     

Navigating the System: A How-To Guide for Implementing a Kinship Navigator Program

This article describes key programmatic and evaluation elements that guided the implementation of the San Diego County YMCA Kinship Navigator Program. A 3-year demonstration project funded by the Administration on Children Youth and Families designed to build a regional navigator system in collaboration with the local child welfare agency to support kinship caregivers. Kinship caregivers (relatives and non-relatives) play a significant role in the well-being of the children in their care. The findings suggest that successfully implemented kinship navigator models are a viable preventive intervention for addressing the needs of kinship families.     

Stopping the Cycle of Child Abuse and Neglect: A Call to Action to Focus on Pregnant and Parenting Youth in and Aging Out of the Foster Care System

Each year, a significant number of adolescents become pregnant in the United States, with more than half of these pregnancies resulting in live births. Adolescent parenting is associated with poor outcomes, including increased risk of child maltreatment. Youth “aging out” of the foster care system may be at greater risk of maltreating their children due to their experiences of child maltreatment, a lack of social support, and little preparation for parenthood. This article examines current programs and policies targeting pregnant and parenting youth aging out and presents a research agenda that focuses on pregnancy prevention and positive parenting.     

The Relationship Between Use of Specific Services,Parental Problems,and Reunification With Children Placed in Foster Care

Research studies have found that for parents with children in foster care, use of problem-targeted services increases the likelihood of reunification. However, available research focuses almost entirely on substance abusing mothers, and rarely considers parents' use of parenting classes and counseling, services that are commonly ordered for most reunifying parents. This study examined the effects of parents' use of specific services on reunification. Findings suggest that in addition to parents' use of problem-targeted services, use or compliance with parenting classes and counseling services is also heavily weighted in reunification decision-making. Further research is needed to identify factors associated with service use and advance our understanding of the effectiveness of reunification services.     

浅论监视居住制度及其完善

新《刑事诉讼法》(以下简称新法)出台后,监视居住制度开始承担着独立的刑事诉讼功能。新法对监视居住制度的完善,既健全了刑事强制措施体系,也为侦查部门适用刑事强制措施提供了依据。然而,新法仍缺乏对于被执行人权利的救济和第三人权利的保障,致使对职务犯罪的侦查极易造成监视居住执行时的错位。因此,应构建独立的监视居住平台,赋予职务犯罪侦查部门刑事强制措施执行权,加强检察系统内部职务犯罪侦查部门一体化建设。     

高校思想政治教育中人文关怀与心理疏导研究

党的十七大、十八大报告相继提出"加强和改进思想政治工作,注重人文关怀和心理疏导",丰富了思想政治工作的内涵,拓宽了思想政治工作的视野,也为高校进一步有效开展思想政治工作指明了方向,是高校深入贯彻落实科学发展观、构建和谐校园的根本要求,也是缓解大学生心理压力,做好高校思想政治工作的迫切需要。但是由于受传统思想政治教育观念的影响,高校思想政治教育中存在着人文关怀与心理疏导缺失的问题,具体表现在忽视学生的主体性、忽视学生个性化以及忽视学生内在需要等方面,严重影响了高校思想政治教育的实效性.因此,高校必须通过关注大学生的感受和需要、构建和谐校园等途径加强思想政治教育的人文关怀与心理疏导,提高思想政治教育的效果。     

Synthetic Performance Indicators for Residential Housing Agencies

Many public administrations produce and distribute public services through a number of similar local autonomous organizations, or institutions, operating in different parts of the territory assigned to them under a centralized authority. Examples of this are the public residential housing institutions, the institutions for waste disposal, health care institutions, and education institutions. The problem arises regarding the evaluation of the performance of these local organizations and institutions not in absolute but in relative terms, in order to determine what incentives or sanctions should be meted out to them. This study presents the methodological problems, the data analysis, and the initial results of the method adopted by the Lombardy Region to create a system of performance indicators that will permit an automatic ranking of the Residential Housing Agencies in Lombardy （ALER） according to their performance, based on information from their balance sheets. A performance index was devised by rationally combining the results of three different analyses： position analysis, ranking analysis, and scoring analysis. The results allowed the central administration to： （1） motivate the managers of the local units through a system of performance-based incentives; （2） aggregate poorly performing local units or outsource inefficient functions; and （3） create competition among local units and raise overall performance levels.     

承运人责任基础的新构建——评《鹿特丹规则》下承运人责任基础条款

《鹿特丹规则》有关承运人责任基础的规定,从性质上说,应当属于《汉堡规则》的完全过错责任制,从举证责任的分配分析,更接近于《海牙规则》,从结构的特点看,《鹿特丹规则》用举证责任的归属贯穿责任基础始终。其基本构成是:管货义务、除外风险和适航义务实行不同的举证责任分配,达到三个推定的目的,既体现过错责任制度,又平衡了船货双方的利益。     

论公安民警的身体健康及自我保健

一个时期以来,公安民警积劳成疾、英年早逝的事例时有发生,令人痛心。各地调查发现,公安民警身体健康状况不容乐观,已给我们敲响警钟。造成公安民警身体健康出现问题特别是出现积劳成疾的原因很复杂,其中不健康的生活方式和观念是“头号杀手”。健康是生命的基础,健康水平决定生命的质量。作为公安民警自身来说,要改善健康状况,提高生命质量,提升战斗力,必须构建健康的生活方式。     

EMPLOYMENT AID FOR YOUTH AGING OUT OF FOSTER CARE: EXTENDING ONE-STOP CAREER CENTERS TO INCLUDE A DIVISION FOR FOSTER CARE YOUTH

Every year thousands of children are discharged from the foster care system and find themselves ill prepared for the responsibility of adulthood. Providing enhanced employment opportunities to both current and former foster care youth will allow them to become economically self-sufficient and therefore have an improved transition from foster care. This Note proposes that states incorporate a foster youth employment program in the one-stop career centers mandated by the Workforce Investment Act. Through this program, foster youth will be provided with the tools they need for success while maintaining control over their own future.