Helping foster youth find a job: a random‐assignment evaluation of an employment assistance programme for emancipating youth

A primary task for youth aging out of foster care is finding and maintaining a job. In recognition of the challenges that foster youth face, employment assistance has become an important part of child welfare agencies' efforts to prepare youth for emancipation. The current study uses random assignment to evaluate the impact of an employment assistance programme for foster youth on the rate of employment, income and other self‐sufficiency outcomes among a group of adolescents in substitute care in Kern County, California. Data were collected via multi‐wave, in‐person interviews of 254 foster youth. At the second follow‐up interview, only two‐fifths of the sample report being employed. However, three‐quarters of the sample are either working or attending school, and a quarter reports both working and attending school. Nevertheless, significant minorities report experiencing financial hardships and receiving financial assistance. No statistically significant impacts of the evaluated programme are found on any measured employment or self‐sufficiency outcome. Implications for child welfare policy are discussed.     

Influence of positive development opportunities on student well-being,depression and suicide risk: the New Zealand Youth Health and Well-being Survey 2012

This study explores the association between neighbourhood opportunities for Positive Youth Development (PYD) and adolescent depressive symptoms, well-being and suicide risk. A 2-stage random sample of 8500 students(years 9–13) from 91 high schools from throughout New Zealand was collected in 2012. Analyses were restricted to neighbourhoods with more than 10 students resulting in a final sample of 5191 adolescents within 266 neighbourhoods. Multilevel models linked data from neighbourhoods to individual student data to explore the association between neighbourhood opportunities for PYD and student depressive symptoms, well-being and suicide risk. Neighbourhoods with a high proportion of students involved in activities that help others, attend church groups, or participate in sports teams were associated with significantly increased well-being among students living in these neighbourhoods. No neighbourhood-level measures were found to significantly alter rates of depressive symptoms or suicide risk. Findings suggest that providing neighbourhood opportunities for PYD may enhance adolescent well-being.     

Restructuring Pay Equity for A Restructured Work Force: Canadian Perspectives

The province of Ontario, Canada, has developed innovative pay and employment equity legislation. The legal challenges over the pay equity legislation have established some important precedents, especially in the area of gender bias and job evaluation schemes. The Employment Equity legislation established important new principles but was repealed only a year after it was passed by a new Conservative government. The government and economic restructuring, however, are rapidly altering both the legislation and the context in which it operates. This paper considers not only the impact of such legislation in the long and short run, but also the possibilities for future legislative intervention in the new political and economic climate. One of the authors has been centrally involved in developing the legislation, in mapping alternatives and in bringing legal challenges under the legislation. The other author has been researching and writing about women’s work for more than twenty years and has served as an expert witness in numerous cases related to the issues of concern here.     

The needs and experiences of injured workers: a participatory research study

This paper reports on the findings of a participatory research study in which 290 injured workers in Ontario, Canada responded to a survey that was developed and administered by a group of university researchers in partnership with injured worker peer researchers. The objectives of the study were to gain a broad view of the needs and experiences of injured workers and to develop strategies for change. Findings indicated that many injured workers experience undue financial, emotional and physical hardship during the compensation, treatment and rehabilitation process. These hardships are experienced due to perceived lack of respect, insufficient information concerning rights and the return-to-work process, and limited opportunities for input into the medical or rehabilitation process. Recommendations for increasing the power of workers and creating a more supportive climate are included.     

Nursing home administrators' views of their own and volunteer resident advocates' enhancement of long-term care

Volunteers perform much of the work of federally mandated state ombudsman programs which may include review of resident care in nursing facilities to protect against abuse and neglect. Although volunteers' activities may take place in the nursing facility, Nursing Home Administrators' (NHAs) views of their work are seldom studied. Data from questionnaires completed by 199 NHAs predicted enhancement (improvement) of long-term care by volunteer resident advocates. Administrators also described their advice for improvement of care. NHAs' perceptions of residents' pleasure and families' satisfaction with volunteers' visits were associated with enhancement of long-term care. Effectiveness attributed to volunteers' protection of rights and resolution of complaints was not related to perceived enhancement of long-term care. Answers to a number of remaining questions could enhance the efforts of volunteers in ombudsman programs, improve long-term care, and diminish opportunities for abuse.     

Foster youth transitions to adulthood: a longitudinal view of youth leaving care

The well-being of youths who age out of the out-of-home care system in the U.S. has long been of great interest to child welfare practitioners and policymakers. In spite of this interest, however, very little is known about how these youths fare when they must make the transition to independence. The Foster Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study is tracking the experiences of 141 young adults who left care in Wisconsin in 1995 and 1996. This article describes these youths and their experiences in the first 12 to 18 months after leaving care. The findings suggest that the transition to independence is a difficult time for youth leaving the out-of-home care system.