The Masaryks of Czechoslovakia: Contributions in Sociology, Social Welfare and Politics

This article profiles contributions to sociology, social welfare and politics by members of the Masaryk family of Czechoslovakia, with primary emphasis on the career of Alice G. Masaryk (or Masarykovd), an applied sociologist and founder of Czech social work. As the daughter of Tomdi G. Masaryk, an academic philosopher and early sociologist who became the first President of Czechoslovakia in 1918, her life and work are inextricably linked with the country\u27s history and with one of the remarkable families of their era. Research for this articlei nvolved searchingl iteraturef rom several disciplines and reviewing historical publications and documents from relevant periods. The Masaryk legacy has renewed relevance as social work practice and education become reestablished in the Czech Republic

Grandma\u27s Babies: The Problem of Welfare Eligibility for Children Raised by Relatives

This article provides a brief history of children raised by relatives and examines the welfare eligibility of these families, emphasizing changes under the Personal Responsibility & Work Opportunity Act of 1996 (PR&WOA). The revolution in public welfare places many care-giving relatives atfinancial risk. Depending on their states\u27 plans for implementing the PR& WOA, children and their relative caregivers may lose state support. The article presents the social welfare policy responses of a number of states to the problems of kinship care-giving, formal kinship foster care, the PR&WOA, and other social welfare provisions. Unintended consequences of welfare reform are highlighted

Analysis of an Exploration for Training Materials in Child Welfare

Currently there is a serious gap in the child welfare system in the area of in-service training. As the child welfare system begins to fill this gap, information on what materials are available for training becomes critical. This article reports on an extensive exploration of what is currently available for training in the child welfare field. Several important findings emerged concerning the sources of materials and the lack of training materials for specialized groups

Siblings in Foster Care: Organizational Practice and Staff Attitudes

The University Archives has determined that this item is of continuing value to OSU's history.Presenter: Rebecca L. Hegar, D.S.W., Assistant Professor, School of Social Work and Community Planning, University of Maryland at Baltimore - "Siblings in Foster Care: Organizational Practice and Staff Attitudes".The Ohio State University College of Social Wor

Kinship care and sibling placement: Child behavior, family relationships, and school outcomes

Using Child Protective Services (CPS) and Long Term Foster Care (LTFC) samples from the National Study of Child and Adolescent Well-being (NSCAW), this study examines 2488 observations of 1415 different children to investigate relationships among kinship foster care, sibling placement, and child welfare outcomes, including youth behavior, family and caregiver relationships, and school performance. Although a growing body of literature has addressed issues of kinship placement and sibling placement, no prior studies have examined outcomes of both types of placement, including possible interactions when placements involve kinship foster care of sibling groups. This article first provides an overview of research concerning outcomes of kinship foster care or joint placement of siblings in foster care. Following discussion of the study's samples and variables, the article presents both descriptive and regression analyses of outcomes. It concludes with a discussion of the substantive findings, their implications, and limitations.Foster care Kinship foster care Kinship Siblings Child welfare outcomes Foster care outcomes

Foster children placed with or separated from siblings: Outcomes based on a national sample

This study examines a range of outcomes for children in foster care who have siblings, using a large, national U.S. database. Three types of sibling placements are defined: split (child has no siblings in the home), splintered (at least one sibling in the home), and together (all siblings in the home). The study analyzes records (n = 1701) from the National Study of Child and Adolescent Wellbeing, including Child Protective Services (CPS) and Long-term Foster Care (LTFC) samples. It contributes to the literature in its inclusive definition of siblings, use of three categories for sibling placement status, and use of outcome measures that include the perceptions of foster children. The study reports limited significant findings. Neither foster parents' nor youths' reports of behavioral problems differ by sibling placement status. As rated by teachers, academic performance in the group placed together exceeds that in both of the other groups. For children in kinship homes, teachers also reported less problematic internalizing and externalizing behavior for the splintered and together groups than for the split group. Children in the splintered group also responded more favorably than those in the split group to questions of closeness to the primary caregiver and liking the people in the foster family.Child welfare outcomes Foster care Foster care outcomes Kinship Kinship foster care Siblings

TANF status, ethnicity, and early school success

This article presents a secondary analysis of longitudinal data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten (ECLS-K), conducted by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The ECLS-K data are from a national sample of children who began kindergarten during 1998/9. The article reviews literature about the relationships among poverty, ethnicity, and early success in school, analyses three-year longitudinal data by student ethnicity and TANF status, and provides a discussion of policy implications. The findings suggest that, although many children from non-English-speaking backgrounds catch up with peers during the first three years of school, TANF status remains a good predictor of overall achievement in the third grade.TANF Poverty School achievement ECLS-K