Reaching High Risk Families

Focusing on a program (""Homebuilders"") that has attracted national attention, this book develops implications for family-centered curricula in such areas as social policy, direct practice, program design/management, practice research, theory and prevention.

Focusing on a program ("Homebuilders") that has attracted national attention, this book develops implications for family-centered curricula in such areas as social policy, direct practice, program design/management, practice research, theory and prevention.

Focusing on a program ("Homebuilders") that has attracted national attention, this book develops implications for family-centered curricula in such areas as social policy, direct practice, program design/management, practice research, theory and prevention.

Evidence-based interventions are increasingly being required by third-party payers and an evidence-based orientation has come to define ethical practice. This compendium of short, how-to chapters focuses on the programs and interventions to prevent child maltreatment that have the best scientific evidence supporting their effectiveness. Interventions and programs discussed include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, EMDR, Multisystemic Therapy, Coping Cat, and many more. Busy practitioners will appreciate this book's implementation of evidence-based practices by providing the practical and "what now" rather than using the typical academic approach.

Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the familyâ€"which includes all primary caregiversâ€"are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.

Provides help for educators in meeting the challenge of involving parents and extended families of at-risk children with ideas on how to communicate with low-income, nonwhite, and non-English-speaking parents.