Controversies in Family Preservation Programs

Summary

This paper examines the controversies over the use of family preservation policies to prevent and treat child abuse and neglect. Policies that aim to preserve families in which child maltreatment has occurred are at least a century old. However, there is renewed interest in such policies, given the dramatic rise in child abuse and neglect reports and a large number of children who spend time in out-of-home placements. New intensive family preservation services were advanced as able to assure the safety of children while working toward a lasting preservation of the family unit. The paper summarizes the research on intensive family preservation services and reports that such programs do not reduce placements nor do they appear to enhance child safety. The paper concludes by proposing that risk assessments and assessments of readiness to change could improve decision-making regarding which families might be aided by family preservation and which children should be protected by terminating their parents' rights.     

A Comparative Analysis of the Distributive Property in U.S. and Chinese Elementary Mathematics Textbooks

This study examines presentations of the distributive property (DP) in two widely used U.S. elementary text series and one main Chinese text series along three dimensions: problem contexts, typical problem types within each problem context, and variability in using the DP. In general, the two U.S. texts were found to resemble each other but to differ considerably from the Chinese text series. Both U.S. texts are computation-dominated, presenting various strategies centering on “breaking apart a factor to perform multiplication.” These strategies limit the use of the DP mainly with whole numbers and in a regular direction. The underlying principle of these strategies is seldom made explicit. In contrast, the Chinese text approaches focus on the underlying principle and are well aligned with cognitive research suggestions. Multiple-step word problems with particular structures are used in a systematic and hierarchic manner across grades to help students learn and transfer the DP. The Chinese texts also tend to ask students to “compute in convenient ways” involving various numbers (e.g., whole numbers, decimals, fractions, and percents) and using the DP in both regular and opposite directions. The introduction of repeated variables is a timely application of the DP, which provides an entry to algebra (e.g., expressions and equations with repeated variables). The Chinese approaches (e.g., contextual interferences, spaced practice, and encoding variability) suggest alternative insights into developing U.S. students’ understanding of the DP and readying them for algebra.     

Poverty after Birth: How Mothers Experience and Navigate U.S. Safety Net Programs to Address Family Needs

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Although pregnancy and the first year of life are sensitive windows for child development, we know very little about the lived experiences of mothers living in...     

Measurement invariance in mentoring research: A cross-cultural examination across Taiwan and the U.S.

Workplace mentoring in the international context is an emerging research area with significant potential for global integration. However, although measurement equivalence is a prerequisite for examining cross-cultural differences, this assumption has yet to be examined in mentoring research. This study contributes to the mentoring literature by assessing the measurement equivalence of the Mentoring Functions Questionnaire (MFQ-9) across two diverse cultural settings, the U.S. and Taiwan. Results of a series of multi-group confirmatory factor analyses supported full configural invariance, full metric invariance, and partial scalar invariance across the two groups. These findings suggest MFQ-9 may provide acceptable comparisons and meaningful interpretations across cultures. Implications for future international mentoring research and managerial practice are discussed.     

Military Family Advocacy in the U.S. Army: Program Service Outcomes and Family Participation

Violence in military families remains a vexing problem. Since the advent of the Global War on Terror, there is inconsistent evidence that the prevalence of family violence is increasing, particularly during and after military deployments. However, child neglect appears to increase significantly during military deployments. The military has developed family advocacy programs designed to keep families safe and intervene to reduce the deleterious effects of exposure to family violence. This is one of the first studies to examine the quality with which a family advocacy program is implemented and the degree to which families engage with the program. To conduct this study, the case files of 226 families who came in contact with the Army Family Advocacy Program (FAP) and whose cases were closed in 2013 were reviewed and coded across several implementation and service outcomes. These included involvement of qualified staff, whether or not appropriate victim and offender assessments were completed, degree of inter-agency communication, and appropriateness of referrals, among others. Soldier and family member participation in FAP and other Army-sponsored programs designed to reduce violence was also assessed. Generally speaking, the Army Family Advocacy Program was implemented with high quality, established processes and procedures for handling cases were largely followed, and FAP staff responded rapidly and thoroughly to reported abuse. However, family engagement with Army services and supports was low. Developing robust approaches to engaging families in family programming must be a high priority going forward.     

A Comparative Analysis of Ethical and Professional Challenges Experienced by Australian and U.S. Genetic Counselors

Ethical issues are an inevitable part of genetic counseling practice. Prior research identified 16 domains of ethical and professional challenges encountered by practitioners in the United States. In order to further validate these domains, the present study surveyed Australian genetic counselors. Sixty-three respondents rated the frequency with which they encountered each domain, and 39 individuals also provided personal anecdotes detailing their most challenging ethical and professional dilemmas. Every domain reportedly was experienced by the Australian sample. However, there were some differences between Australian respondents and U.S. genetic counselors in frequencies of domain occurrence, and in strategies recommended for resolving them. Several anecdotes illustrate challenging situations due to Australia’s geography, universal healthcare system, and the genetic counseling profession’s evolution in that country. The results generally validate domains identified for U.S. genetic counselors. They further suggest that certain ethical issues may manifest in ways unique to a given country, and therefore they must be addressed in a culturally-appropriate manner.     

Changing Trends in Doctoral Training Programs in Psychology: A Comparative Analysis of Research-Oriented Versus Professional-Applied Programs

Data from the National Research Council's 1995 study of doctoral programs provide a basis for the comparison of research-oriented Ph.D. programs in psychology and Ph.D. programs of professional-applied schools. The latter present a profile of faculty resources, attributes, and activities that differs sharply from that found in the research-oriented programs, and in Ph.D. programs in the other behavioral and social sciences. The difference in profiles suggests that the professional programs conduct Ph.D. training that departs from the training ordinarily regarded as necessary for the award of that degree.     

Integrating Family Therapy Training into Psychiatry Residency Programs: Policy Issues and Alternatives

This article explicates policy issues and alternatives in the integration of family therapy training within general psychiatry residency programs. These issues include controversies about the definition of the field; elective versus required teaching; curriculum content; and when, where, and who should teach family therapy in this context. The article concludes with recommendation for further clarification of this training area.     

美国的科学与反科学:何以重要?

本文围绕"当科学的结论与我们赖以维持一个国家、一个社会、一个世界的观念相冲突时,百姓将遭殃"这一观点,阐述了在美国的科学与反科学的冲突。作者通过对日常生活的分析,得出人们总会陷入简单的将因果关系判断为时序关系误区的结论。又通过描述政府操纵数据而胁迫科学家妥协的行为,来支持其论点。     

Rates and Types of Student Aggression against Teachers: A Comparative Analysis of U.S. Elementary,Middle, and High Schools

Student perpetrated violence against teachers is widespread, yet few studies differentiate teacher experiences of violence by school level (i.e., elementary, middle, and high school). This study, based upon 2,558 pre-kindergarten through 12^th grade teacher survey responses, revealed differences in types of student aggression against teachers by school level. Middle and high school teachers were more likely to report verbal harassment compared to elementary school teachers. Middle school teachers were most likely to report property offenses. Elementary and middle school teachers were more likely to report physical aggression than high school teachers. Demographic predictors of teacher-directed violence were also examined at each school level. Across all school levels, urban teachers had a greater probability of experiencing a violent incident. For elementary teachers, race/ethnicity and teaching experience were also significant risk factors. Future research, policy, and practice implications and recommendations are discussed.