The Role of Federal Policies in Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Families

Abstract

Grandparents caring for their grandchildren is among the oldest practices in child rearing with roots embedded in the traditions across many cultures. However, in recent years, the issue of “grandparents raising their grandchildren” has garnered the attention of researchers, advocates, service providers and even the popular press. Dynamic changes in family life, related social trends and child welfare policies in the United States have resulted in dramatic growth of intergenerational care giving among this population. The 2000 United States Census shows that there are 6 million children living in grandparent- and other relative-maintained households, which represents a thirty-percent increase from the last Census. This growth has created the need for effective federal policies that support and insure the well-being of these families.

This paper examines some of the reasons grandparents raising grandchildren are capturing public attention, and the growing needs for effective federal policies that support this burgeoning population. We will (1) provide a brief demographic sketch of grandparent-headed families, (2) identify some of the challenges faced by these families, and (3) explore some of the most effective federal public policies, in particular the new National Family Caregiver Support Program, which are emerging from an intergenerational agenda directed at assisting these families. We conclude by noting that the issue of “grandparents raising their grandchildren” presents a unique opportunity to develop coalitions and policies that cross sometimes rigidly defined age-based policy structures.     

Employee Assistance Program Evaluation in a Federal Government Agency

Demonstrating the efficacy of an Employee Assistance Program is an equally important endeavor in public and private sector work organizations. This paper discusses the cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness evaluation that was conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Employee Counseling Services program. Further, it details the components of the 30 month project relative to evaluation design, data collection processes, and strategies used to maintain employee privacy while analyzing personnel data. Results of the evaluation are also presented.     

Federal Government EAPs and Total Quality Management:

In the federal government, total quality management (TQM) principles have been actively supported and encouraged since the Reagan administration. The EAP Consortium administered by Federal Occupational Health, a Division of the U.S. Public Health Service, Region IX, has had unique opportunities to implement total quality improvement principles. In an era of budget constraints and limited resources, it is a never ending dynamic process to achieve a better understanding of Federal agencies and to continually innovate EAP products and processes to remain customer focused. This article explores the challenges of satisfying customer needs and expectations by continuously working across the organization to improve external and internal processes.     

Government Policies and Disabled People in American Indian Communities

Although services and resources for disabled people in the United States have improved greatly as a result of legislation and advocacy efforts, many of the disabled in American Indian communities have yet to benefit from these advances. Inaccessibility to services is often complicated by problems and debates over which agency, state or federal, is responsible or has jurisdiction to provide the services. Meanwhile, Indian communities struggle to accomplish what they can with limited resources.     

Norms and Costs of Government Domestic Violence Policies: A Critical Review

Domestic violence and governmental domestic violence policies impact many families and produce considerable economic costs. This paper reviews literature related to domestic violence including false claims of domestic violence. Domestic violence literature is considered in relation to economic literature on norm theory and the procedural justice concept. Norm theory provides a basis to understand and evaluate domestic violence policies and offer suggestions regarding those policies. Current norms may encourage overly aggressive governmental response to claims of domestic violence, provide an incentive to file false claims in some cases, and provide little if any penalty for filing false claims.     

Estimating the Effects of Parental Divorce and Death With Fixed Effects Models

The authors used child fixed effects models to estimate the effects of parental divorce and death on a variety of outcomes using 2 large national data sets: (a) the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Cohort (kindergarten through the 5th grade) and (b) the National Educational Longitudinal Study (8th grade to the senior year of high school). In both data sets, divorce and death were associated with multiple negative outcomes among children. Although evidence for a causal effect of divorce on children was reasonably strong, effect sizes were small in magnitude. A second analysis revealed a substantial degree of variability in children's outcomes following parental divorce, with some children declining, others improving, and most not changing at all. The estimated effects of divorce appeared to be strongest among children with the highest propensity to experience parental divorce.     

Assimilation and Contrast Effects in General/Specific Questions1

Abstract Data from five surveys that included specific and general questions on a similar topic are examined. Results suggest that when specific and general questions are paired in surveys, significant patterns will appear. In each of the five studies, correlations between pairs of questions were significantly different when the general followed the specific item compared with the general/specific order. But there was no consistent pattern of assimilation (answers to second item agree with the first) or contrast (response to second question opposite that of the first). One study showed clear evidence of assimilation; the other four showed varying degrees of contrast effects.     

美国支持小企业技术创新的政策分析

在美国科技和经济迅猛发展的滚滚潮流中,小企业正扮演着越来越重要的角色,在科技创新方面取得的成就更是令人刮目相看,飞机、光学扫描器、个人计算机、心脏起搏器等当初都是小企业的杰作。目前小企业所完成的创新项目已占全国的70％以上,仅1997年,美国出口的高新技术产品以品种计,70％以上是由小企业提供。美国小企业技术创新之所以能够有如此令人瞩目的成就,在一定程度上与政府扶持密不可分。经过几十年的实践,美国在这方面的政策措施已相当成熟,构建起了比较完备的小企业技术创新政策体系。     

Who Gets What From Government? Distributional Consequences of Child‐Care Assistance Policies

Given the fragmented structure of child‐care assistance in the United States, it has been difficult to obtain accurate estimates of which families are assisted, through which mechanisms, and at what level. Making use of survey data from New York City, we analyze the distribution of several forms of public child‐care assistance. Results suggest that about 40% of all families with young children receive some form of child‐care assistance. Considering all forms of assistance, the distribution of child‐care help is targeted in both expected and some unexpected ways. Implications of these results are discussed in the context of U.S. child‐care policies governing access and benefit levels.     

From the Third Sector to the Big Society: How Changing UK Government Policies Have Eroded Third Sector Trust

This article draws on concepts of trust to analyse recent policies affecting public/third sector relationships, examining competition, ‘command and control’ mechanisms and the community turn in shaping cultures of relationships. Drawing on examples from empirical studies in two English inner-city areas we explore ways in which power and controls exerted through dominant organisational cultures and arrangements undermine independent approaches, innovation and organisational learning across sectors. State bodies have taken trust in their actions as given while shifting responsibilities for service delivery and risks of failure to others. We argue that increasing market cultures and regulation have damaged cross-sector trust promoting divisive interests and risk-averse behaviours, restricting the local autonomy, innovation and community action presumed in the Big Society agenda. We conclude by highlighting issues that need to be addressed to ensure future collaboration with community-based providers; these include a focus on the processes and relational spaces which enable alternatives.     

Labor Market Effects of Immigration Policies Border Enforcement and Amnesty

We explore the effects of tighter border enforcement and an amnesty on the wages and unemployment rates of natives and immigrants. We extend the Mortensen-Pissarides labor market model to include individuals authorized to work and illegal workers in a framework that accounts for voluntary return migration. Furthermore, we study the effects of an amnesty when a proportion of illegal workers pays payroll taxes. Our results show that the effect of changes in border enforcement on the number of illegal workers in the United States is theoretically ambiguous. While tighter border enforcement deters illegal migration of prospective workers, it also changes the incentives of those already in the United States decreasing return migration. If tighter border enforcement increases the number of illegal workers in the economy, it will also increase the wages of natives as market tightness increases. Our findings show that the larger the proportion of illegal workers paying payroll taxes, the larger will be the decrease in wages, and the smaller the increase in unemployment generated by the decrease in the number of illegal workers in the economy that will follow an amnesty.     

The Effects of Organizational Policies on Resident Perceptions of Autonomy in Assisted Living

Abstract

This study examines the effects of organizational policies on resident perceptions of autonomy in assisted living. The sample included 412 residents in 59 facilities. Organizational policies were measured in terms of policies that foster resident choice and control in the facility. Resident autonomy was assessed according to resident perceptions of influence and independence. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine the effects of organizational policies on resident autonomy, controlling for facility size, ownership, and level of care. Higher levels of choice-enhancing policies were related to more favorable resident perceptions of autonomy. These findings suggest that allowing residents more choice in their daily routines may contribute to a greater resident autonomy.     

The Effects of Congressional Appropriation Committee Membership on the Distribution of Federal Research Funding to Universities

Does congressional representation of a university affect the distribution of research funding to universities? This article studies two types of congressional representation: district representation, reflecting interests related to the politician's constituents, and alma mater affiliation, reflecting the politician's personal interests. I find that both types of representation matter and lobbying efforts by public and private universities may differ. Thus this article suggests politics plays a role in diverting funding that might be given to other institutions based under a more objective process, reducing the potential effectiveness of the funding on research activities.