Government Programs for Disabled Children: A Practitioner’s Guide to Policy and Programs in Florida

There are many government programs and benefits available to disabled children in the United States and include income-support programs, educational and therapeutic programs, and health services. This paper provides a practice/policy update for practitioners working with disabled children and their families. Doctors, nurses, counselors, and educators need to understand the rights of disabled children and their families. A short case scenario is presented followed by a summary of the federal and state policies that are available. Finally, sources of funding for each program are presented

Teaching Family Policy: Macro Societal Trends in Family Life

Students in many different fields will inevitably work with families in their professional practices. Successful practice must incorporate an understanding of macro societal trends that impact family life. A course such as Family Policy will train clinical social workers, nurses, educators, public administrators, and many others to understand the larger social systems that may be causing problems for their clients and patients. It will also provide students with an understanding of the key policies that need to be reformed or passed in order to better support families. This article presents techniques for teaching a dynamic course on family policy including reading resources and sample assignments

The Sandwich Generation: A Review of the Literature

Many Americans balance dual caregiving responsibilities for both children and aging family, dubbed the “sandwich genera- tion.” Between 1 out of8 and 1 out of11 households with an adult aged 30 or older is comprised ofdual-earner, sandwiched generation couples. There are psychological, physical, employment, and financial outcomes ofbalancing multiple caregiving duties. The literature shows positive benefits for caregivers too. A review ofliterature in the past 30 years, citing only U.S.- based studies is summarized in this paper. Policy, clinical, and research implications are included. It is possible that multi- generational caregiving responsibilities will continue to rise for the children ofbaby boomers as life expectancies continue to go up, people continue to have children later in life, and continue to support those children to older ages. Policy and clinical supports must be put into place to facilitate the highly necessary and valuable caregiving responsibilities of this population

Denial in Alcohol and Other Drug Use Disorders: A Critique of Theory.

Despite the centrality of the construct in the field of alcohol and other drug (AOD) addiction, denial remains poorly conceptualized. One reason for this narrow conceptualization is the recent unilateral devotion to the Transtheoretical Model (TTM). In an effort to demonstrate denial’s theoretical complexity, the TTM and five additional intuitively appealing theories of denial will be summarized.The strengths and weaknesses of each theory and possible treatment implications based on each theory will also be presented. The article concludes with a recommendation for future research to evaluate multiple theories of denial using consistent and rigorous research methodology in order to develop a comprehensive theory of denial. This will promote evolution of the deductive research process, and eventually lead to the development of empirically generated interventions which address the complex nature and etiology of denial

Material Hardship in Families with Children with Health Conditions: Implications for Practice

Cross-sectional data from the third wave of a ten-year data collection initiative were used to assess the odds of experiencing four material hardships between families who have a child member with a limiting health condition, and families with children who do not have a child member with a limiting health condition. The odds of experiencing material hardship in families with more than one child with a limiting health condition were also assessed. In the multivariable models, having a child in the household with a limiting health condition increases the odds the household will be unable to pay bills, and have their phone service disconnected. Also, having more than one child in a household with a limiting health condition increases the odds of being unable to pay bills, having a phone disconnected, and receiving food stamps. Interventions to assist these vulnerable families are presented

Discerning Reported Suicide Attempts Within a Youthful Offender Population

With suicide being the third leading cause of death among young people, early identification of risk is critical, particularly for those involved with the juvenile courts. In this study of court-involved youth (N = 433) in two Midwest counties, logistic regression analysis identified some expected and unexpected findings of important demographic, educational, mental health, child welfare, and juvenile court-related variables that were linked to reported suicide attempts. Some of the expected suicide attempt risk factors for these youth included prior psychiatric hospitalization and related mental health services, residential placement, and diagnoses of depression and alcohol dependence. However, the most unexpected finding was that a court disposition to shelter care (group home) was related to a nearly tenfold increased risk in reported suicide attempt. These findings are of importance to families, mental health professionals, and juvenile court personnel to identify those youth who are most at risk and subsequently provide appropriate interventions to prevent such outcomes

Net worth of adults approaching retirement age: Personal health, presence of a chronically ill or disabled household member, and out of home caregiving

Using a nationally representative sample of N=3,614 U.S. adults (mean age 55.3 in 2016) from the 2008, 2012, and 2016 rounds of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79), we examine longitudinally the impact of personal health status, caregiving, and presence of a chronically ill or disabled (CIOD) household member on total family net worth (TFNW) while stratifying by marital status. Statistically significant repeated measures analysis finds having a limiting health condition was related to a reduction in TFNW for unmarried ($33.7K) and married respondents ($82.8K), as was having a person with a CIOD in the household ($49.0K decrease for unmarried,$79.7K decrease for married respondents). Conversely, being an out-of-home caregiver was related to an increased mean TFNW for both unmarried ($59.2K) and married ($75.4K) respondents. Our findings suggest an adult is at a greater disadvantage with respect to financial preparedness for retirement if they have both a work-limiting health condition and have a CIOD in their household than if they have only one of these characteristics or have neither characteristic. A unique finding of this study is that families with members who are chronically ill or have disabilities have lower and similar total net worth, whether or not the NLSY79 respondent identifies as a caregiver for that person. Implications for promoting equity based on these findings are discussed

Employment change and the role of the medical home for married and single-mother families with children with special health care needs

One in five U.S. households with children has at least one child with a special health care need (USDHHS, 2004). Like most parents, those with children with special health care needs struggle to balance child-rearing responsibilities with employment demands. This research examines factors affecting married parents' and single-mother's employment change decisions focusing specifically on whether having a medical home influences these decisions. This study includes 38,569 children with special health care needs from birth through age 17 surveyed in the 2005-2006 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs. The employment model is estimated using multinomial logistic regression with the choice of a parent to maintain their current level of employment, reduce work hours, or stop working as the dependent variable. Independent variables are those characterizing the needs of the child, the resources of the family, and the socio-demographic characteristics of the family. Components of the medical home variable include: 1) having a usual source of care; 2) care provided is "family centered"; 3) receipt of care coordination services; and 4) receipt of needed referrals. Half of the children in our sample met criteria in all four facets. If the child has a medical home, the relative risk of a parent choosing to cut hours rather than not change hours decreases by 51%. The relative risk of choosing to stop working rather than not change hours decreases by an estimated 64%. Care coordination services significantly reduce the odds of changing employment status. Our results suggest that the medical home is a moderating factor in parental decisions concerning change in employment status.Medical home Employment Children with special health care needs Out-of-pocket medical costs USA Single-mothers

The role of paid sick leave benefits on employees and public health

There is growing momentum toward mandating paid sick leave benefits in countries without comprehensive social insurance programs. The goal of these mandates is to protect public health and provide employees with ways to manage health and caregiving responsibilities. In an effort to inform the discussion this article reviews all the scholarly evidence on the role of paid sick leave benefits on employees and family health and public health concerns. A systemic review of the literature was conducted identifying 29 relevant articles. The research falls into four broad domains: impact on employment, work/family conflict, public health and worker health. It is clear more research is needed to evaluate the impact of paid sick leave as policy makers and employers contemplate expanding access to this employee health benefit