News from the Field Related to Wraparound
Issue Brief: Stamford Public Schools’ Comprehensive Trauma-Informed System
August 7, 2017
This issue brief from Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut (CHDI) describes the approach Stamford Public Schools implemented following a series of suicides and mental health crises among students in 2014. The brief describes the action steps taken and the results of the effort to date.
Research: Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Children with Autism Also Beneficial for Parents
August 4, 2017
In a study recently published in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, researchers with York University’s Faculty of Health looked at the effect on parents who participate in cognitive therapy for their children with autism. The randomized controlled trial surveyed parents before and after the treatment and found improvements in parent mental health and mindful parenting.
Research on Biological Processes Impacted by Loss of a Father
August 2, 2017
Recent research published in the journal Pediatrics identified biological changes correlated with the absence of a father in a child’s life. While the absence of a father, either due to incarceration, death, separation or divorce, is already understood to have adverse consequences for children, this research connected the loss of a father with a change at the cellular level. The children who lost their fathers had shorter telomeres, the protective nucleoprotein end caps of chromosomes and a core biological indicator of health.
National Home Visiting Yearbook 2017
July 31, 2017
The National Home Visiting Resource Center has published the 2017 Home Visiting Yearbook with key data on early childhood home visiting, a service delivery strategy that connects parents-to-be and parents of young children with a designated support person who guides them through the early stages of raising a family. The report includes a history of home visiting in this country, as well as information on workforce development, research in this evidence-based practice, current practice by state and a calculation of the ROI of these programs.
Resource: Family Resilience and Traumatic Stress: Guide for Mental Health Providers
July 27, 2017
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network has published “Family Resilience and Traumatic Stress” a new resource for mental health providers and others who work with families. The five page guide defines family resilience as a “family’s ability to maintain or resume effective functioning—including care of its members—following potentially traumatic events”. It provides recommendations for providers on ways to support families’ resilience.
Bullied Primary School Children are Falling Behind in Learning
July 25, 2017
A recent study published in Academic Pediatrics found that children who experienced bullying had poorer academic performance. The study which included 965 primary school children found the negative impact on academic achievement was greater for girls who reported being bullied than it was for boys.
Guide to Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Programs
July 19, 2017
A new guide, “Navigating Social and Emotional Learning from the Inside Out,” is available online now from Harvard Graduate School of Education. Designed to help schools evaluate existing programs, the guide provides an overview of 25 evidence-based ESL programs and provides guidelines to help school leaders choose the best program for their setting.
Programs that teach emotional intelligence in schools have lasting impact
July 12, 2017
Authors of a new meta-analysis study published in Child Development, looked at results of 82 different school-based social and emotional learning programs involving more than 97,000 students from kindergarten to middle school in the U.S., Europe and the U.K. They found positive outcomes compared to peers who did not participate in the programs, including higher high school and college graduation rates and lower incidence of drug use, arrest and mental health diagnoses.
Resources from CDC to Stop Bullying
June 28, 2017
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published a new resource to help states and communities prevent bullying: A Comprehensive Technical Package for the Prevention of Youth Violence and Associated Risk Behaviors outlines evidence-based strategies for bullying prevention. In addition, CDC is offering an online Bullying Prevention Training Course teaching a public health approach through community-wide prevention strategies.
Research: Quality of Early Family Relationships Affects Children’s Mental Health
June 22, 2017
Researchers from the Academy of Finland conducted a seven-year longitudinal study to investigate the impact that the transition to parenthood has on families and what effect early family relationships have on children’s emotional development. The study included 710 Finnish families during pregnancy, when the children were two months, and again at one year and middle childhood. Researchers identified various family types and found that problematic family types were tied to different emotional regulation problems in middle childhood.