First Nations parenting and child reunification: Identifying strengths,barriers, and community needs within the child welfare system

First Nations communities are seeking to improve current service delivery models and create alternative evidence‐based strategies. A First Nations child welfare organization has prioritized further understanding of reunification and parenting, including identification of successes and barriers to reunification, and service needs within communities. These priorities were addressed with a community‐based participatory research model and guided by a Research Advisory. Results were analysed using a blend of grounded theory and thematic analysis techniques. Participants indicated that placing children with extended family or within home communities facilitate best child outcomes. These reunifications could be increased by promoting parental and community capacity. Successes identified within communities included available supports, such as those that increased empowerment and community capacity. Identified barriers within communities were the lack of culturally appropriate services, hesitancy to obtain available support due to fears of child welfare intervention, and mental health difficulties of community member.     

A Biologically-Based Dose—Response Model for Developmental Toxicology

The methods currently used to evaluate the risk of developmental defects in humans from exposure to potential toxic agents do not reflect biological processes in extrapolating estimated risks to low doses and from test species to humans. We develop a mathematical model to describe aspects of the dynamic process of organogenesis, based on branching process models of cell kinetics. The biological information that can be incorporated into the model includes timing and rates of dynamic cell processes such as differentiation, migration, growth, and replication. The dose-response models produced can explain patterns of malformation rates as a function of both dose and time of exposure, resulting in improvements in risk assessment and understanding of the underlying mechanistic processes. To illustrate the use of the model, we apply it to the prediction of the effects of methylmercury on brain development in rats.     

Monitoring antitobacco sentiment among community leaders

Two public health objectives, one methodological and the other substantive, are realized in the present study. First, average survey ratings are replaced by negated mean cumulative logits (MCLs), which have the advantage of interitem commensuration. Second, these negated MCLs improve the analysis of two Florida tobacco control surveys of community leaders. Because of their common logit metric, negated MCLs for different item types are compared on their expressed antitobacco sentiment. They are also averaged to construct a precise indicator of overall sentiment. These results show that in 1998 and 1999, community leaders were most averse to selling to minors, kids buying cigarettes, and restaurant and workplace smoking. The latter aversion anticipated voters' overwhelming support of the 2002 Florida constitutional amendment prohibiting smoking in restaurants and workplaces. The authors hope that this analysis for antitobacco programs will improve other substance-abuse monitoring with surveys whose items are yet unwritten.     

HUMAN SERVICE ORGANISATIONS REVISITED: STILL A USEFUL CONCEPT IN THE 1990S?

Recent changes in the circumstances and operations of human service operations demand a reappraisal of the use of the term ‘human service organisation’. The definitional statements offered a decade ago are re-examined here; and revisions are proposed for all of them to reflect changes in the purposes, value base, resources, accountability, methodology and consumer relations of human service organisations. An additional definitional statement is proposed to refer to the vulnerability of their situation in the present environment. As an alternative to separate categories of organisations, it is suggested that each can be assessed in relation to two criteria, related to their auspices and resources, and the purpose of their operations. On this basis some organisations can still be designated human service organisations, with important implications for their management and governance.     

The confrontation clause and the child victim of sexual abuse

Courtroom proceedings for child sexual abuse often represent a morass of conflicting rights and counterproductive justice. Within this article, conflicting rights of adults and children regarding courtroom testimony are explored with an interest in assessing the effects of testifying for children and addressing the process of making children's testimonies less traumatic and more credible.     

The components of family policy education

The study of family policy in the United States began relatively recently. The academic community increasingly has shown interest in this new policy arena. Much of the conceptual writing on family policy emerged from disciplines such as family studies, social work, political science, economics, and sociology. These academic units have recently modified their course curricula to include more family policy content. These family policy education efforts are discussed in this article. Specific suggestions are made concerning the development and content of family policy education, broader educational training for those who want to pursue a career in family policy, and future goals and directions for family policy education. She received her Ph. D. in Human Development and Family Studies from The Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests are in the family and health policy arenas, with particular focus on ethnically diverse populations. Her most recent research is on homeless children and mothers. She received her Ph.D. in Family Social Science from the University of Minnesota. Her teaching and research interests are workplace and family issues and family policy and impact analysis.