Family to Family: Child Welfare for the 21st Century

Child welfare services have undergone many revisions and transformations since their initiation. Some scholars trace the beginning of child welfare in the United States to events such as a 1655 Massachusetts conviction for maltreatment leading to the death of a 12-year-old boy (Watkins, 1990). The predominant philosophy of child welfare has shifted over time from an early emphasis on child saving, to child protection, to family preservation. Building on family preservation, one of the current transformations in child welfare that is taking place in isolated pockets to whole states, is family-centered, neighborhood-based services. One force behind implementation of this transformation is the Family to Family Initiative of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. This paper places family-centered, neighborhood-based child welfare services within the historical context of development of child welfare and within the recent move to reinvent human services (Adams & Nelson, 1995). Against this backdrop, a locality-based implementation of the Family to Family Initiative is described

The role of networks to overcome large-scale challenges in tomography : the non-clinical tomography users research network

Our ability to visualize and quantify the internal structures of objects via computed tomography (CT) has fundamentally transformed science. As tomographic tools have become more broadly accessible, researchers across diverse disciplines have embraced the ability to investigate the 3D structure-function relationships of an enormous array of items. Whether studying organismal biology, animal models for human health, iterative manufacturing techniques, experimental medical devices, engineering structures, geological and planetary samples, prehistoric artifacts, or fossilized organisms, computed tomography has led to extensive methodological and basic sciences advances and is now a core element in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) research and outreach toolkits. Tomorrow's scientific progress is built upon today's innovations. In our data-rich world, this requires access not only to publications but also to supporting data. Reliance on proprietary technologies, combined with the varied objectives of diverse research groups, has resulted in a fragmented tomography-imaging landscape, one that is functional at the individual lab level yet lacks the standardization needed to support efficient and equitable exchange and reuse of data. Developing standards and pipelines for the creation of new and future data, which can also be applied to existing datasets is a challenge that becomes increasingly difficult as the amount and diversity of legacy data grows. Global networks of CT users have proved an effective approach to addressing this kind of multifaceted challenge across a range of fields. Here we describe ongoing efforts to address barriers to recently proposed FAIR (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, Reuse) and open science principles by assembling interested parties from research and education communities, industry, publishers, and data repositories to approach these issues jointly in a focused, efficient, and practical way. By outlining the benefits of networks, generally, and drawing on examples from efforts by the Non-Clinical Tomography Users Research Network (NoCTURN), specifically, we illustrate how standardization of data and metadata for reuse can foster interdisciplinary collaborations and create new opportunities for future-looking, large-scale data initiatives

Translating Concept into Act forMulti-Cultural Practice: Comparison of Students’ and Field Instructors’ Perceptions of Diversity Training Effectiveness

Education for culturally competent practice increasingly is a responsibility for social work educators.Using data collected for an evaluation of the field education component of a large,Midwestern social work program, the purpose of this study is to shed light on students’ application in the field practicum setting of classroom training in culturally competent practice. Responses were obtained from field instructors (n=76) and students (n=70). Students reported learning in areas dealing with diversity at statistically significant levels; however, instructor ratings of student competence were significantly lower than student ratings. Results are discussed in light of necessary attitudes, knowledge, and skills. Implications for program monitoring and improvement, education, and further research are discussed

Need or availability? Modeling aftercare decisions for psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents

Discharge planning and linkage to appropriate aftercare services are crucial to successful outcomes following inpatient psychiatric care. Yet little is known about how aftercare decisions are made and what factors clinicians consider most important when making decisions about level of aftercare. Using comprehensive medical record data for 508 adolescents enrolled in Medicaid and admitted to three inpatient hospitals, this study examines the influence of both clinical and non-clinical factors on level of aftercare decisions. Results from the multinomial logistic regression analyses indicate that decisions about level of aftercare are largely driven by clinical need factors--illness severity and prior service history. However, non-clinical factors such as race/ethnicity, custody status, availability of services, and hospital provider also strongly influenced aftercare decisions, even after controlling for level of need. Study findings highlight the need for evidence-based decision-making guidelines to improve quality of care and ensure that youths are being referred to clinically effective and appropriate services. Further research is needed to understand how non-clinical factors affect clinical decision-making and the delivery of mental health care.