My Home is Not My Castle: Follow-Up of Residents of Shelters for Homeless Youth

The paper presents a follow-up evaluation of Israel’s first two shelters for homeless youth. The main research questions were: (a) Did the youngsters achieve the shelters’ main goal of reaching a normative and suitable post-shelter residence? (b) How do the youngsters evaluate their stay at the shelter and its impact on them? (c) Is there a relationship between youngsters’ post-shelter residence and their evaluation of the shelter stay? Data on 345 youngsters were collected through follow-up telephone interviews with the youngsters, their parents, and community social workers. The findings indicate that the majority of these youngsters left the shelter to living arrangements that were normative but not necessarily fitting with their wishes and needs. Most of the youngsters were satisfied with the shelter, but no relationship was found between general satisfaction and achievement of the shelters’ declared goal. The discussion focuses on the significance of the findings with regard to the declared and operative goals of shelters.     

Nonresident father support and reunification outcomes for children in foster care

Over the past decade an interest in fathers and their contributions to family stability and children's healthy development has heightened the attention paid within the child welfare field to identifying, locating, and involving fathers. The article presents findings from analyses of data on nonresident fathers and child welfare case outcomes for foster children. Using data available from a telephone survey of child welfare caseworkers, together with administrative data on case outcomes, a positive association between nonresident father support and reunification outcomes for foster children is shown. The sample of foster children with nonresident fathers who provided financial support, nonfinancial support, or both types of supports, were far more likely to experience a reunification outcome than children whose fathers did not provide these supports. The findings demonstrate associations between support and reunification but cannot demonstrate causality given the cross-sectional nature of the dataset. More research is needed to better understand the nature of nonresident father support in the lives of foster children, and the quantity and quality of interactions between mothers, nonresident fathers, and their children.     

From surviving to thriving: Understanding reunification among African American mothers with histories of addiction

Child maltreatment cases involving substance abuse have increased. Estimates reveal that between 40% and 80% of all families involved with child protection have substance-abuse issues. Only 12%-20% of substance-abusing families regain custody of their children. Little is known about the factors that contribute to substance-abusing women regaining or losing custody of their children. Using the Multiple Embedded Case Study method, this study illuminates the experiences and feelings of mothers struggling to overcome addiction and highlights the main differences between women who regained custody and those who permanently lost custody of their children. In this study, 50% of the women lost custody and 50% regained custody of their children. The women who lost custody of their children tended to be in survival mode, characterized as going through the motions, engaging in acting-out behaviors, and failing to follow treatment recommendations. The women who regained custody of their children tended to thrive, characterized as having internal motivation, taking responsibility, and engaging the material. This study advances our knowledge of the factors contributing to reunification. Understanding these factors can lead to the development of practices that increase the likelihood of reunification for families struggling to overcome addiction.     

Child safety at reunification: A case-control study of maltreatment recurrence following return home from substitute care

When considering reunification, child welfare caseworkers are faced with the difficult challenge of predicting which caretakers will be able to provide a safe environment for their children once they return home. Unfortunately, although an increasing number of studies have examined maltreatment recurrence during investigation and following case opening, little is known about the factors that predict maltreatment recurrence following reunification. Using a case-control design and information gathered from a child welfare administrative database and client case records, the current study examined the factors that predict short-term (i.e., within 60 days) maltreatment recurrence among 174 families with children returning home from their first stay in substitute care. From a variety of child, caretaker, placement, family environment, and service provision characteristics, seven variables uniquely added to the prediction of maltreatment recurrence: 1) child age, 2) caretaker mental illness, 3) number of placements, 4) type of placement, 5) length of time in placement, 6) number of children in the home at reunification, and 7) the interaction between household structure at reunification and the presence of siblings returned home with the index child. The implications of these findings for child welfare practice and future research are discussed in detail.     

The Cypriot Issue in the Current European Geopolitical Order: Towards a Final Resolution?

The island of Cyprus was divided more than 40 years ago, in 1964, and until now a UN peace-keeping force, the UNFICYP, has been present on the territory to facilitate contacts between both communities, the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots. All the attempts of negotiations during these 40 years have failed, but the newly elected Greek Cypriot President Christofias has reopened a peace dialogue with the Turkish leader Talat, a first step towards reunification. The solution of the Cypriot issue is strictly tied to Turkey’s accession to European Union and it will continue to be an obstacle until its resolution that could actually be reached within 2008. In this way, Turkey will increase its role in the region, creating a new asset in the balance of power of the Central Asian-Mediterranean region.      

Characteristics and factors impacting reunification outcomes among Vietnamese immigrant families in the child welfare system

Using a mixed methods approach, this study examined reunification processes and outcomes among Vietnamese immigrant families involved in the child welfare system. A quantitative design was used to describe characteristics and reunification outcomes of Vietnamese immigrant children and families who are involved in family reunification services. Qualitative methods were used to explore factors that may influence reunification outcomes among Vietnamese families.The quantitative portion of the study included an exploratory design using administrative data from one county in the Northern California. The quantitative sample (N = 32) included children entering the foster care system for 8 or more days between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2007 from child welfare administrative data (CWS/CMS) which was merged with eligibility data (CalWIN) in order to obtain parent and child place of birth to determine country of origin. The qualitative study included an exploratory design using interview data from child welfare workers (N = 8) and Vietnamese immigrant parents who had successfully reunified (N = 7).Quantitative results indicated that the most common type of maltreatment leading to entry into care was caretaker absence or incapacity, an abuse category that is often used in cases of parental substance abuse. 53.8% of Vietnamese immigrant children in the quantitative sample reunified with their parents, which is close to the national rate of reunification. Qualitative findings pointed to the importance of the following factors within reunification: acculturation-related issues, parental substance abuse, child welfare worker cultural competency and issues related to service availability and effectiveness. Implications for social work practice and policy are discussed.     

论民主党派在推进祖国统一大业中的优势及作用

值此中国共产党成立90周年之际,回顾中国共产党与民主党派风雨同舟几十年的合作历史和民主党派的独特优势及作用,总结民主党派参与民主政治以来为促进祖国统一大业所付出的努力及贡献,不难得出：中国共产党是中国各族人民利益的最忠实的代表,是中国特色社会主义事业的根本保证;而作为参政党的民主党派是建设中国特色社会主义、促进祖国和平统一的重要力量。确立和坚持中国共产党领导的多党合作和政治协商制度是历史的必然,新世纪新阶段应充分发挥民主党派在中国民主政治中尤其是推进祖国统一大业中独特的优势和作用。     

邓小平民族团结思想浅析

邓小平民族团结思想是邓小平民族理论的核心部分 ,也是对马列主义、毛泽东思想关于民族团结思想的继承和发展。它是邓小平同志在长期处理民族问题、加强民族团结的实践中形成的 ,具有实事求是、广泛性、系统性等特征。加强民族团结是巩固国防、防止分裂、实现统一的需要 ,是社会主义现代化建设的需要。实现中华民族的大团结 ,必须打好政治、经济、文化基础 ,加强全党的团结、消除大民族主义和狭隘民族主义 ,实现祖国的完全统一