PPN Newsletter December 2010
Listed below are recent updates to the Promising Practices Network on Children, Families and Communities website (http://www.promisingpractices.net).
WHAT'S NEW
Are you a grantmaker? How are the recession and other factors affecting your organization?
Grantmakers for Children, Youth and Families (GCYF) is seeking to better understand the important issues facing organizations that fund activities related to children, youth and families (CYF). GCYF will use this information to plan future programs, better serve its members, and ultimately improve the field of CYF grantmaking. Even if you are not familiar with GCYF or have never used GCYF resources, if you work for a grantmaking organization that makes grants in the CYF topic area in the United States, we hope you will take the time to complete this survey.
To thank you for your time, after completing the survey you will have a chance to enter a random drawing to win one of two $100 American Express gift cards. Your participation is entirely voluntary and anonymous, unless you choose to enter your name and contact information at the end of the survey. This survey is being conducted by PPN on behalf of GCYF.
The survey is now closed. Thank you for your participation!
Family Thriving Program with home visitation is associated with significant improvements in parenting and child stress
The Family Thriving Program (FTP) is an enhancement to established home visitation programs and seeks to improve parenting skills and the parent-child relationship in order to prevent child abuse and neglect. Several rigorous studies of FTP have been conducted among different at-risk populations already receiving Healthy Start home visiting services. The evidence from these studies show that FTP, when combined with home visitation, consistently improves parenting practices relative to home visitation alone. Additionally, a recent article published in Mind, Brain, and Education describes a study which examined levels of the stress hormone cortisol in children who received FTP. Elevated cortisol levels in early life are associated with reduced capacity for learning and memory later in life. The study showed that at one and three years after the FTP intervention, children's cortisol levels were significantly lower in the group that received FTP plus Healthy Start compared to the group that received Healthy Start services alone.
Read the new Family Thriving Program summaryRead the Healthy Start program summary
Read the journal article on FTP at the Mind, Brain, and Education website
Choice of math curriculum in early elementary school can have significant impact on student gains
Mathematica Policy Research (MPR) published a report in November on the impacts of four early elementary math curricula, which represent some of the most widely used approaches to mathematics instruction in the United States. The MPR study was conducted by randomly assigning 110 schools across four states to one of each of four math curricula, and examining the difference in child outcomes after two years of implementation. The study authors found that the curricula "Math Expressions" and "Saxon Math" were so effective in second-grade classrooms compared to the two less-effective curricula that their students' average rankings in mathematics would improve by five to seven percentile points if teachers switched to either of these curricula.
Read the news release at the Mathematica website
RESEARCH IN BRIEF
Listed below are research summaries that have been added to the PPN site this month.
See all in this area » Healthy and Safe Children
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Conduct Disorder, and Young Adult Intimate Partner Violence
— Nov. 2010
Journal abstract at Archives of General Psychiatry website
Co-occurrence of Victimization from Five Subtypes of Bullying: Physical, Verbal, Social Exclusion, Spreading Rumors, and Cyber
— Nov. 2010
Underdiagnosis of Pediatric Obesity During Outpatient Preventive Care Visits
— Nov. 2010
Characteristics of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households: Fiscal Year 2009
— Oct. 2010
Executive summary at U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service website
Efficacy of Schoolwide Programs to Promote Social and Character Development and Reduce Problem Behavior in Elementary School Children
— Oct. 2010
Health Reform: What's in it for Adolescents?
— Oct. 2010
Health Reform: What's in it for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs?
— Oct. 2010
Health Reform: What's in it to Promote the Medical Home?
— Oct. 2010
Lifetime Prevalence of Mental Disorders in U.S. Adolescents: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication—Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A)
— Oct. 2010
Realizing Health Reform's Potential: Young Adults and the Affordable Care Act of 2010
— Oct. 2010
State Disparities in Teenage Birth Rates in the United States
— Oct. 2010
Very Early Predictors of Adolescent Depression and Suicide Attempts in Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
— Oct. 2010
The Effect of the WIC Program on the Health of Newborns
— Aug. 2010
Foundations of Lifelong Health
— July 2010
Child Health USA 2010
— 2010
See all in this area » Children Ready for School
Do Babies Learn From Baby Media?
— Nov. 2010
See all in this area » Children Succeeding in School
Achievement Effects of Four Early Elementary School Math Curricula: Findings for First and Second Graders
— Nov. 2010
Efficacy of Schoolwide Programs to Promote Social and Character Development and Reduce Problem Behavior in Elementary School Children
— Oct. 2010
Minorities in Higher Education 2010 — Twenty-Fourth Status Report
— Oct. 2010
Do Financial Incentives Help Low-Performing Schools Attract and Keep Academically Talented Teachers? Evidence from California
— June 2010
See all in this area » Strong Families
Characteristics of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households: Fiscal Year 2009
— Oct. 2010
Health Reform: What's in it for Adolescents?
— Oct. 2010
Health Reform: What's in it for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs?
— Oct. 2010
Health Reform: What's in it to Promote the Medical Home?
— Oct. 2010
Realizing Health Reform's Potential: Young Adults and the Affordable Care Act of 2010
— Oct. 2010
The Unequal Distribution of Child Poverty: Highest Rates among Young Blacks and Children of Single Mothers in Rural America
— Fall 2010
The Effect of the WIC Program on the Health of Newborns
— Aug. 2010
ABOUT OUR SUPPORTERS
The Promising Practices Network appreciates the generosity of our supporting organizations:
Annie E. Casey Foundation
The California Wellness Foundation
The Community Foundation of Shreveport-Bossier
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
Family Communications, Inc. (FCI)
Family and Community Trust
Georgia Family Connection Partnership
Grantmakers for Children, Youth and Families (GCYF)
Hands On Mississippi
Kansas Action for Children
New York State Office of Children & Family Services
RAND Corporation
The Spencer Foundation
GENERAL INFORMATION
Please forward this newsletter to anyone who is interested in what works for children and families.
To subscribe to this newsletter, please visit our sign up page.
To unsubscribe from this newsletter, please visit our unsubscribe page.
If you have any questions or comments about this message, please send them to promisingpractices@rand.org.
|
The Promising Practices Network is operated by the RAND Corporation,
RAND Corporation, 1776 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401-3208. |