Institutional and Community-Based Strategies to Support Children and Strengthen Families

SUP-211

DRAFT: SOME READINGS WILL CHANGE

SUP-211 INSTITUTIONAL AND COMMUNITY-BASED STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT CHILDREN AND STRENGTHEN FAMILIES Spring 2018 Meets Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:45AM-1:00 PM L-130

Julie Boatright Wilson Faculty Assistant: Gina Abbadessa Taubman - 440 Taubman 485 [email protected] [email protected]

Growing income inequality, changes in the labor market and increasing family instability are challenging the capacities of America’s families and communities to care for their children. State and local governments as well as non-profit organizations are struggling to meet the growing and changing needs of families and communities, often in the face of declining resources. And new research, particularly on adolescent and young adult development, suggests that in some cases what we are able to do may be ineffective at best – and potentially counter-productive. What can we do to better support families and children? The questions this course is designed to address are: What are the challenges today’s children and families are facing? What do we know about the magnitudes of these challenges and how they cluster in individual families and communities? What strategies are being implemented to address them? How effective are they? What are the appropriate roles for public policy in addressing these challenges? What new strategies might we employ? How would we know if they were effective? Audience: There are no prerequisites to SUP-211. The course is designed to provide an overview of major issues and new policy options in the field, so it is appropriate for students with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. Mid-career students and those in the two-year programs are encouraged to consider the course. While the course is focused on families in the United States, it is relevant for students from other countries who are interested in family policy. Course Outline: The course is divided into five parts.

 The first section provides an overview of changing family structures and introduces the primary conceptual frameworks we will use for understanding the challenges families and communities face, setting goals for public policy, and developing criteria for designing new approaches and assessing the effectiveness of interventions.

 The second section, which provides an introduction to child and adolescent development, focuses on the implications of our current understanding of developmental needs for program design, implementation and assessment. We will pay particular attention to designing developmentally appropriate responses to current child, youth and family challenges, measuring the effectiveness of current initiatives, and taking model programs and interventions to scale.

 The third section addresses commonly identified risk and protective factors such as poverty, single- parenthood and family instability, and racial and cultural identity to explore what they do and don’t explain about childhood vulnerability and family well-being. Students will be encouraged to distinguish between risk and protective factors that impact large populations of children and the many factors that shape an individual child’s vulnerability and coping capacities.

 The fourth section, which overlaps somewhat with the third and fifth sections, introduces – or re- introduces – the primary institutions supporting and intervening in families, with some attention to the history of their development over time. We will explore the problems of agencies and systems as they 1 SUP-211

currently operate as well as recent reform efforts and current innovations, focusing on observed or anticipated impacts on child and family well-being.

 The final section focuses on what we are learning about reforming state and local agencies. We will use cases of recent state and local agency reform in child welfare, juvenile justice, and mental health, looking closely at how these reforms influence a family’s capacity to care for itself and a community’s capacity to support its children and families. We will also look at the political and management challenges of designing, managing and sustaining these initiatives. Using video-conferencing, we will interview some of those involved in these reforms to get their views of the challenges they face and how they are addressing them. The course will end with a discussion of potential strategies for addressing newly emerging challenges. Class meetings: This course will meet Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:45-4:00 in L-332. Class sessions will include lectures, discussions, and presentations. We may supplement the class session with optional outside speakers. In past years many ideas for such speakers have come from students in the class who wanted to delve more deeply into a particular topic. Text and Readings: Students should purchase or be certain to have access to: Douglas Davies, Child Development: A Practitioner’s Guide, 3rd edition. London: The Guilford Press, 2011. There are likely to be cheaper used copies of the 2nd edition. It is fine to purchase one of these. The primary difference between the two is a new chapter on brain development in the 3rd edition which you can read in the copy on reserve in the library. That means that the chapter numbers will be different but you will be able to figure out the assignment by the chapter titles. Copies of this book are available at the Harvard Coop, though it may be possible to find a cheaper copy on line. Students who are particularly interested in adolescent development may want to invest in Laurence Steinberg’s Age of Opportunity: Lessons from the New Science of Adolescence. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014. This book provides a very good summary of our current understanding of adolescent and young adult brain development and the implications of this new research for policy. One chapter has been assigned for class 9. I have taken detailed notes on the entire book which I am happy to share with anyone in the class who is interested in having a copy of them. Just send me an e-mail.

All other required readings, with the exception of those with web addresses, will be downloaded on to the canvas website. Students will be expected to have access to the internet for some required reading and are encouraged to surf the Web for other relevant materials. Specific Requirements: Students will be expected to complete three types of assignments. Comments on assigned readings: For most classes, I have sought to pick out 2 to 4 articles or book chapters (OK, sometimes more) that seem particularly helpful in thinking about the issue at hand. I have tried not to make the reading too demanding. (Note: Those students with a background in child and adolescent development will be able to skim the text book; those of you for whom this topic is new will likely need to spend more time reading these materials.) It is absolutely essential that students read the assigned texts in advance of class. One of your assignments is to comment on these readings before class. I ask that prior to class you post on our class canvas website a very brief—no longer than 150 words—communication regarding the readings. In particular, I ask that you not just summarize the readings but, rather, tell us what you took to be the most important insights from the readings, where you might disagree with the authors, and what issues you would particularly like to discuss in class. In the past, students have found it useful to illustrate their points with examples from their previous work or, in some cases, from their personal experiences. Occasionally I may post specific questions for you to answer. There are 25 classes. I will expect students to provide these e-mails for at least 20 of these classes. Comments on reading assignments are due by 4:00 AM the day of class, in order for me to be able to read them before class. Comments should be posted on the class canvas website and I encourage you to build on 2 SUP-211

one another’s comments. If you wish to send personal comments to me, you may do so at [email protected]. Memos: Each student will complete two short memos over the course of the semester. Each of these should be no more than 750 words. You will have three potential topics and dates and may select the assignments based on the topics that interest you or the dates that best fit your schedule. Even though the assignments will not be posted until a week before they are due, you will be able to identify the topics by the materials being discussed in the classes close to the due date. Dates on the syllabus marked with a double asterisk are potential memo dates. Final paper: Each student will be required to write a policy paper that analyzes a specific proposal or policy option, the characteristics of a specific situation or condition and their implications for policy, etc. These papers may be either individual or small group projects. Students writing PAEs or SYPAs may want to use this assignment as an opportunity to delve more deeply into a specific aspect of their PAE or SYPA topic. Others of you may have a particular topic you want to explore, a small study you want to conduct, or may be intrigued by ideas emerging in class. Individually authored papers should be no more than 15 pages in length; group papers may be longer. Papers will be due no later than Tuesday, May 8th at 5:00 PM. More specific information on paper topics will be available on the canvas website. Class Participation: The class syllabus provides study questions for each class. These are designed to stimulate your thinking. On some occasions, additional questions may be posted electronically before class. Class lectures and discussions will rely heavily on the ideas and insights presented in the readings and those that students bring to class. Therefore, it is crucial that students come to class fully prepared to discuss the assigned materials. Students will be evaluated on their use of the readings in class discussion and their ability to move the conversation forward. Participation that indicates lack of awareness of the assigned material and comments that do not move the discussion forward will not be viewed positively. Our class sessions will probe a number of complex, sensitive topics and we will often feel that we need more time to fully explore the challenges and possible policy options. Some students may find particular class sessions personally troubling and may feel uncomfortable joining the class discussion. Sometimes, as a class, we find we do not have enough time in the class session to cover all the ideas and topics we want to probe. In addition, many students report that some of their most creative ideas and most important insights come after they have had an opportunity to reflect on the classroom comments of their fellow students. At the suggestion of students from previous years, we will use our class web page to provide an opportunity for continuing our discussion on line after class. After-class electronic entries will be considered to be part of your classroom participation. Determination of grade: Your grade for the course will be determined as follows: Pre-class comments on readings 20% In-class and post-class comments on readings 15% Short memos (15% each) 30% Final paper 35%

Expectations of Professionalism

• You are expected to abide by the University policies on academic honesty and integrity as laid out in the Student Handbook. Violations of these policies will not be tolerated and are subject to severe sanctions up to and including expulsion from the university. • While study groups are encouraged, their proper purpose is not to do the assignments, but to help you learn the material. Each student is responsible for writing up and submitting the assignments. Separate copies of a group-constructed assignment are not acceptable. (Final papers should, of course, be written by the group if more than one of you is working on the project.)

* * * * * 3 SUP-211

PROBLEM DEFINITIONS AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS During the first four classes, we will focus on gaining an understanding of the challenges policy makers face in protecting children and strengthening families and will develop an understanding of the major conceptual frameworks and theories we will be using throughout the course to organize our thinking.

Class 1: Introduction: The Crises in America’s Families and Neighborhoods Tues. Jan. 23 Readings:

 Scott Allen and Maria Cramer, "Crime consumed a family, and an 8-year-old is lost," The Boston Globe, August 5, 2007, p. A. http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/08/05/crime_consumed_a_family_and_an_8_year_ol d_is_lost/ Data on an extended Boston family will be provided in class.

 Suniya S. Luthar and Adam Goldstein, “Children’s Exposure to Community Violence: Implications for Understanding Risk and Resilience,” Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, (2004) Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 499-505 http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/ehost/detail?sid=9065228f- 9d28-4343-ae2c- 5f4847bff6a6%40sessionmgr111&vid=1&hid=125&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#d b=aph&AN=14048459

 AEI/Brookings Working Group on Poverty and Opportunity, Opportunity, Responsibility, and Security: A Consensus Plan for Reducing Poverty and Restoring the American Dream, 2015, Chapters 1 and 2 (pp. 7- 29. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Full-Report.pdf

 Malcolm Gladwell, “Million-Dollar Murray,” The New Yorker, Feb. 13 and 20, 2006, pages 96- 107. http://gladwell.com/million-dollar-murray/ Questions to consider: 1. What are the multiple levels of the problems the Jefferson family is dealing with? In what ways is it an individual problem? A family problem? A network or peer group problem? A neighborhood problem? A city problem? Society’s problem? 2. I will provide data in class on the Smith family – a multi-generational picture of a family enmeshed in crime, substance abuse, low educational performance, etc. What are the challenges to intervening with families with complex structures and complex sets of needs? To intervening effectively? 3. Sonia Luthar and Adam Goldstein are arguing that independent of family structure and income, place matters. Is their evidence convincing? If so, what does this suggest for how we think about who or which agencies and organizations should be included in a network for developing and implementing policies to support families? 4. How does thinking about these families in terms of a power distribution rather than a normal distribution influence our thinking about policy options? Policy implementation? 5. Who could intervene in families such as these? Who should intervene? Another way of asking this question is: When should we expect families to rely on their own networks for support and when should the “state” provide support? 6. What are the potential points of intervention? What might the models for support be? 7. We often speak in terms of “services,” but the state wields a great deal of power in extending “obligations” to individuals and families. When and how could the state extend “obligations” to families such as these? 4 SUP-211

8. The AEI/Brookings report steps back to lay out questions about values – the values we want to guide our policy development and assessment. Do you think they have laid out the right set of values? In a democratic society, what values should guide our thinking about public policy development and implementation? About program design and implementation?

Class 2: What do we mean by “at risk”? What are the risks that social policy could Thurs. Jan. 25 and should address?

Readings:  Davies, Child Development. Chapter 3. “Risk and Protective Factors: The Child, Family, and Community Contexts.” (For two examples of children at risk and strategies for risk analysis, you may want to read Chapter 4.)

 Parker, S. et al. “Double Jeopardy: The Impact of Poverty on Early Childhood Development,” The Pediatric Clinics of North America. 1988; 35(6); 1227-1240. (On Canvas website) This is an “old,” but important “classic” article.

 Paul Tough, Reporter at Large – The Poverty Clinic: Can a Stressful Childhood Make You a Sick Adult?, The New Yorker, March 31, 2011. http://www.redwillowlearning.org/filelib/635.pdf

 Luthar, Suniya and Becker, Bronwyn, “Privileged but Pressured? A Study of Affluent Youth,” Child Development, September/October 2002, Vol. 73, No. 5, pp 1593-1610. http://www.jstor.org.ezp- prod1.hul.harvard.edu/stable/3696401

 Konnikova, Maria, “How People Learn to Become Resilient,” The New Yorker, Feb. 11, 2016. http://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/the-secret-formula-for-resilience

Questions to consider: 1. What do we mean by “risk”? By “at risk”? At risk of what? You might want to think about the “Smith family” from the first class as you read these articles. You might want to think about children growing up in fragile families as well as children growing up in the privileged families Luthar and Becker describe. Finally, you might also want to think about your own family and the families of friends of yours growing up. 2. What types of models or analytic frameworks might be useful for conceptualizing and measuring risks to children? What do Parker, et al mean by “Double Jeopardy”? What are the implications of this model of risk for policy? 3. What risks should we as policy makers, public officials or non-profit providers be concerned about? Why? Another way of thinking about this is: what are the risks with which we should attempt to intervene vs. leave families and community networks to address? What criteria should we use to determine who is at risk and with whom we should intervene? How might we as policy makers, public officials or non-profit providers support resilience? 4. When news commentators or other public figures speak of children at risk, what do they have in mind? What is their implicit understanding of “at risk”? How does the “general public” think about risk? What are the implications of this understanding for how we articulate challenges and mobilize political or volunteer support? 5. What do we mean by “resilient”? How would you define “resilience”? How might our public and non-profit institutions support resilience or the development of resilience? Help families support resilience among their members? Konnikova suggests that resilience can be taught. What is the implication of these scientific findings for policy?

5 SUP-211

6. If we wanted to change public discourse around resilience, how might we frame the conversation? Shat “stories” might we tell?

Class 3: The biological, developmental and economic arguments for early intervention Tues. Jan. 30

Readings:

 Davies, Child Development. Introduction and Chapters 1, “Attachment as a Context of Development,” and 2, “Brain Development,”pp. 3-60.

 National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, “Early Experiences Can Alter Gene Expression and Affect Long-Term Development,” Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University: Working Paper No. 10, May, 2010. http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/resources/reports_and_working_papers/working_papers/ wp10/

 Benedict Carey, “Shaping the Connection,” The LA Times. March 31, 2002: http://articles.latimes.com/2003/mar/31/health/he-attachment31

 David Dobbs, “The Science of Success,” The Atlantic. December 2009: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/12/the-science-of-success/7761/

 SKIM: James J. Heckman and Dimitriy V. Masterov, “The Productivity Argument for Investing in Young Children,” 2007, pp. 446-477. Review of Agricultural Economics, Vol. 29, No. 3. (Note: This paper generated a great deal of interest among people who are not traditionally focused on issues of children and families. The fact that the authors are economists and reach the same conclusions using their models as child development experts reached from their research generated much public discussion. We will be discussing many of the programs they refer to later in the course – particularly class 5.) http://www.nber.org/papers/w13016 Questions to consider:

1. What do we mean by “attachment”? What other terms might we as policy makers use to describe this relationship between a child and his or her caregiver? 2. How would you describe the concept of “developmental path” or “developmental trajectory”? What does it suggest about the importance of early intervention? About strategies for intervening later in a child’s life? 3. What do each of these authors mean by early intervention? Is there strong empirical evidence for investing in early intervention programs? Based on their arguments, what specifically do we want to invest in? 4. As you think about questions 1 to 3, try to develop a theory of change that would support intervention. If you are unfamiliar with the concept of theory of change, you might want to read this article. We will discuss it in class in case you cannot get to this. Eckhart-Queenan and Matt Forti, “Measurement as Learning: What Nonprofit CEOs, Board Members and Philanthropists Need to Know to Keep Improving,” The Bridgespan Group, January 2011. http://www.bridgespan.org/measurement-as-learning.aspx

Class 4: Creating networks of capacity to strengthen families vs. strengthening Thurs. Feb. 1 Institutions that serve children: Readings:

6 SUP-211

 “Creating Networks of Capacity: The Challenge of Managing Society’s Response to Youth Violence” by Mark H. Moore in Gary Katzmann (ed.). 2002. Securing Our Children’s Future: New Approaches to Juvenile Justice and Youth Violence. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, pp. 338-363. (On Canvas website)

 Frank Furstenberg, “How Families Manage Risk and Opportunity in Dangerous Neighborhoods,” in W.J. Wilson, ed. Sociology in the Public Agenda. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1993, pp.231-258. (On Canvas website) Note: This article is dated but has the advantage of being a reasonably concise presentation of the strategies different families employ to safely and effectively raise their children depending on their capacities as parents, the resources they have to draw on, and the constraints they perceive, many of which are neighborhood-based. For those with particular interest in this topic, a wide range of recent ethnographic studies are available.

 Hargreaves, Margaret, “Evaluating System Change: A Planning Guide,” Mathematica Policy Research, April, 2010. Note: This may be a challenging article for many of you, but it is useful for thinking about the challenges of intervening with a child or family that is involved in a network of relationships as well as having one agency intervene when families are involved in an entire system of institutional relationships. We will discuss it in class.

Questions to consider : 1. What are the particular challenges the “state” faces in trying to support and intervene in families in a democratic society? Why might policy makers want to focus on intervening in the institutions with which families come into contact rather than intervening directly with families? You might want to use the Smith family as a mental example in thinking about these issues. 2. How does being a multi-racial, multi-cultural society complicate the role of the “state” or voluntary organizations in addressing these challenges? How does this diversity inhibit or increase our capacity to intervene in and support families and children? How do class differences contribute to the complication of supporting and intervening? 3. What are the particular challenges posed by a federalist system? What advantages does such a system bring if we are interested in improving the well-being of children and families? What disadvantages does such a system bring? 4. What do we mean by “systems” of care and support? What do your answers to the first three questions suggest for how those of us concerned about child and family policy should think about creating “systems of care and support”? What does it mean to create a “system” of care in our political environment? As we progress in our discussions of challenges and policy options throughout the semester, what criteria might we use to identify important and effective components of such a “system”? How might we measure its effectiveness? 5. Furstenberg and, to some extent, Moore, seem to imply that parenting is somewhat malleable and that parental behavior is sensitive to the environment in which children are being raised. Heckman and Masterov seem more skeptical and choose to focus on a different sort of institutional intervention. What are the merits of each of the arguments presented in these readings? What additional evidence would you want? 6. How would you describe the ecological model? Does it seem like a sensible model? What are its limitations? How does it guide or help us as policy makers?

STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLICATIONS OF DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE FOR PROGRAM DESIGN, MANAGEMENT AND ASSESSMENT

7 SUP-211

One of our goals is to understand the basics of child development in order to design more effective services and supports for children and families. A second goal is to assess current programs in terms of how well they meet these developmental needs. A third, is to identify the signs or signals that could trigger public intervention. Class 5: Stages of development: Infancy Tues. Feb. 6

Readings:

 Davies, Child Development. Introduction to Part 2, “A Developmental Lens on Childhood,” and Chapter 5, “Infant Development,” pp. 127 – 162. You may want to read Chapter 6, which gives an example of infant assessment. o Optional reading: If you want to read an article that is really fun: Paul Bloom, “The Moral Life of Babies,” The New York Times, May 9, 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/magazine/09babies-t.html?_r=0

 Olds, David, “Prenatal and Infancy Home Visiting by Nurses: From Randomized Trials to Community Replication,” Prevention Science, Vol. 3, No. 3, September 2002, pp. 153-172. http://www.fordschool.umich.edu/research/pdf/Olds_paper_1.pdf

 Susan M. Jack and Harriet MacMillan, “Adaptation and evaluation of the Nurse-Family Partnership in Canada,” Early Childhood Matters, June 2014, pp 43-46, http://issuu.com/bernardvanleerfoundation/docs/responsive_parenting_a_strategy_to_

 Harouna Ba and Loulou Bangura, “Home visiting programmes: the evolving use of mobile phones,” Early Childhood Matters, June 2013, pp. 59-60 http://issuu.com/bernardvanleerfoundation/docs/learning_begins_early

 Home visiting strategy: Peru http://ytcembed.com/watch/pTvMOYjSBBM#.VbeFgfmVnhU (this is a 3- minute video)

 Boo, Katherine, “Swamp Nurse: What’s the best hope for the first child of a poor mother?”, The New Yorker, February 6, 2006, pp. 54-65. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/02/06/swamp-nurse You may want to review this article from class three:

 James J. Heckman and Dimitriy V. Masterov, “The Productivity Argument for Investing in Young Children,” 2007, pp. 477-488. http://www.nber.org/papers/w13016

Questions to consider: Background Questions: 1. What are the key stages of development in an infant’s first 12 months of life? What roles do the parents or caretakers play in this development? 2. How would you characterize the types of support an infant needs in order to develop normally over the first 12 months of his or her life? What types of supports do the parents of infants need? 3. What are the characteristics of the households or living situations that put infants “at risk” of not following a normal development trajectory? Which of these characteristics might we as policy makers or service providers (as opposed to parents or neighbors) want to try to influence? 4. What do your responses to the questions above suggest to us, as policy makers, about the types of support we should ensure infants and their parents have or the programs we should make available to infants and their parents? About the manner in which or location where these supports or programs are provided? (We sometimes think of this as “best practice.”) Policy Questions: 8 SUP-211

5. What is the nurse home visiting program? What is the Theory of Change underlying the program? To what extent does it meet your criteria of “best practice” as defined in your answers to the above questions? What are its strengths? Weaknesses? What are the challenges to implementing home visiting programs? 6. Would the nurse home visiting program or another home visiting program have been an effective intervention in the Jefferson or Smith families? Why or why not? How responsive might the families have been? What does this suggest about the challenges of implementing nurse home visiting programs? 7. The program as described is targeted to a specific set of families. Would it make sense to “take it to scale”? If so, what population or populations do you think should receive these services? Why? 8. What are some of the challenges we face when we try to take an evidence-based program to scale and sustain it over time? 9. What strategies other than home visiting might we use to intervene early in an infant’s life? What would be the advantages of community-based strategies? More individualized strategies? What are some of the political and policy challenges inherent in focusing on early intervention?

Class 6: *Stages of development: Toddlerhood Thurs. Feb. 8 Memo #1 handed out

Readings:

 Davies, Child Development. Chapter 7, “Toddler Development.” For an (optional) example of practice with toddlers, see Chapter 8.

 Floyd and Phillips, “Child Care and Other Support Programs,” Future of Children, Vol. 23, No. 2, Fall 2013, pp. 80-94. http://www.princeton.edu/futureofchildren/publications/journals/article/index.xml? journalid=80&articleid=591

 SKIM: Child Care Aware, “Is This the Right Place for my Child: 38 Research-Based Indicators of Quality Child Care” http://childcareaware.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Eng_121m.pdf

 Child Care Aware of America, Parents and the High Cost of Child Care: 2015 Report, pp. 25-33, 53-55 http://usa.childcareaware.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Parents-and-the-High-Cost-of-Child-Care- 2015-FINAL.pdf

 NACCRA, “Child Care in America: 2016 State Fact Sheets,” pp. 1-5. http://usa.childcareaware.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/07/Full-Report_final.pdf

 Optional: If you want to know how child care quality is measured, you might want to look at U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, “Child Care Quality: Does it Matter and Does it Need to be Improved?” https://aspe.hhs.gov/report/child-care-quality-does-it-matter-and-does-it-need-be- improved-full-report Questions to consider: Background questions: 1. What are the key stages of development in toddlerhood? What roles do the parents play in this development? What roles do non-family caretakers play? 2. How would you characterize the types of support a toddler needs in order to develop normally? The types of supports a toddler’s parents need to effectively raise their children? The types of supports non- parent caretakers need?

9 SUP-211

3. What are the primary characteristics of households or living situations of toddlers “at risk” of not following a normal development trajectory? Which of these characteristics might we as policy makers or service providers want to influence? 4. What does this suggest to us as policy makers about the types of support we should ensure toddlers have? The programs we should make available to them, their parents, or other family members? About the manners in which or locations where these supports or programs could be provided? Policy questions: 5. What might the particular risks be for children growing up in military families? 6. The military is a major provider of childcare. Why did it choose to invest so heavily in child care? If you were advising the military, how would you critique their master plan? 7. What parts of the military’s plan could be adopted for civilian childcare? What parts are unique to the military? To think about this, imagine that you are a mayor of a small city. What parts of this plan would you want to replicate? Modify and then implement? Which parts are difficult or impossible for a mayor to implement? How might your responses differ if you were a large employer?

Class 7: Stages of development: Preschool Tues. Feb. 13 Readings:

 Davies, Child Development. Chapter 9, “Preschool Development.” (Optional) For an example of practice with preschoolers, see Chapter 10. Evidence on the benefits of early childhood education

 Rand Corporation, Proven Benefits of Early Childhood Interventions, http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_briefs/2005/RAND_RB9145.pdf, pp. 1-3

 Duncan and Magnuson, “Early Childhood Interventions for Low-Income Children,” Focus, Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Vol. 331, No. 2, Fall/Winter 2014-15, http://www.irp.wisc.edu/publications/focus/pdfs/foc312a.pdf , pp. 1-5

 Snapshots: Anywhere, Anytime Learning, http://www.hfrp.org/complementary-learning/snapshots/brain- building-in-progress , July 2015 A very short description of a Boston initiative to increase early literacy.

 Duncan, et al, “Reducing Poverty through Preschool Interventions,” Future of Children, Vol. 17, No. 2, Fall 2007, http://www.princeton.edu/futureofchildren/publications/docs/17_02_07.pdf , pp. 144-154

 SKIM: Fisch, et al, “The Impact of Sesame Street on Preschool Children: A Review and Synthesis of 30 Years of Research,” Media Psychology, 1:2, 165-190, November 2009. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s1532785xmep0102_5 Optional:

 Magnuson and Waldfogel, “Early Childhood Care and Education: Effects on Ethnic and Racial Gaps in School Readiness,” Future of Children, Vol. 15, No. 1, Spring 2005, pp. 170-188. http://www.princeton.edu/futureofchildren/publications/docs/15_01_09.pdf Two competing views of the effectiveness of the Head Start Program

 Whitehurst, “Is Head Start Working for American Students?” http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/up- front/posts/2010/01/21-head-start-whitehurst

 Burke and Mulhausen, “Head Start Impact Evaluation Report Finally Released,” The Heritage Foundation: Issue Brief No. 3823, January 10, 2013 http://thf_media.s3.amazonaws.com/2013/pdf/ib3823.pdf 10 SUP-211

Questions to consider: Background questions: 1. What are the key stages of development in the preschool years? What roles do parents play in this development? Non-family adults such as caretakers and babysitters? Peers? 2. How would you characterize the types of support a preschooler needs in order to develop normally? 3. What are the characteristics of the households or living situations that put preschool children “at risk” of not following a normal developmental trajectory? Which of these characteristics might we as policy makers or service providers influence? Policy questions: 4. What do your responses to questions 2 and 3 suggest to us, as policy makers and service providers, about the types of support we should ensure preschool children and their families have or the programs we should make available to them? About the manner in which or location where these supports or programs are provided? About the roles we think families could play in designing, operating or assessing supports and interventions to help them care for their children? 5. Based on what we know about child development, how would we characterize high quality preschool or childcare? In what ways might the family or neighborhood characteristics of the children in our program influence the components or dimensions of quality care we delineate? 6. What are the characteristics of the different models of pre-school intervention that have been tried? How successful were they? What are the strategies for providing high quality pre-school at scale? What are the challenges in doing so? What is your assessment of the Head Start program? Of the politics involved in the public discussions of its effectiveness? 7. What strategies would you employ for gaining political support for universal, high-quality pre-school and child care? To what extent should pre-school be linked to the K-12 educational system? What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing so? 8. An alternative or supplemental strategy, which we might call the public health approach, is a universal intervention like Sesame Street. What role has the Sesame Street program played in the lives of young children and their families? What other public health initiatives have been or could be implemented to support pre-school children and their families? Class 8: *Stages of development: Middle Childhood Thurs. Feb. 15 Memo #1 due Readings:

 Davies, Child Development. Chapter 11, “Middle Childhood Development.” For an example of assessment of a school-age child, feel free to read Chapter 12.

 Janice Cooper, et al, “Strengthening Policies to Support Children, Youth, and Families Who Experience Trauma,” National Center for Children in Poverty, July 2007, pp. 6-28 and 55-60 http://www.nccp.org/publications/pub_737.html

 Fianna Sogomonyan and Janice Cooper, “Trauma Faced by Children of Military Families: What Every Policymaker Should Know,” National Center for Children in Poverty, 2010. http://www.nccp.org/publications/pdf/text_938.pdf

 James R. Cook and Ryan P. Kilmer, “Evaluating Systems of Care: Missing Links in Children’s Mental Health Research,” Journal of Community Psychology, Vol. 32, No. 6, 2004. Pp 655-674, (On Canvas website)  Michelle Manno and Louisa Treskon, “Improving Service Delivery for Children Affected by Trauma: An Implementation Study of Children’s Institute, Inc.,” August 2016. Executive Summary, pp. 1-9.

11 SUP-211

Optional Readings: For those with interests in more general childhood disabilities  Halfon, et al, “The Changing Landscape of Disability in Childhood,” Future of Children, Vol. 22, No. 1, Spring 2012, http://www.princeton.edu/futureofchildren/publications/docs/22_01_02.pdf  Cuellar, “Preventing and Treating Child Mental Health Problems,” Future of Children, Vol. 25, No. 1, Spring 2015, http://www.princeton.edu/futureofchildren/publications/docs/25_1_chapter5.pdf  Emily Francis Hartmann and Katherine Schiavoni, “The ‘Stuck Kids’ Problem: An Assessment of the Children’s Mental Health System in Massachusetts,” PAE written for Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services,” 2013.

Questions to consider: 1. What are the key stages of development for children in middle childhood? What roles do the caretakers play in this development? Non-family adults? Peers? 2. How would you characterize the types of support a child in middle childhood needs in order to develop normally? 3. What are the characteristics of their households or living situations that put children in middle childhood “at risk” of not following a normal developmental trajectory? Which of these characteristics might we as policy makers or service providers influence? As you think about these issues, it might be useful to think about several subgroups of children: those who enter middle childhood on track developmentally and whose who, for whatever reason, are not on track developmentally when they reach middle childhood. 4. What do your responses to questions 2 and 3 suggest to us, as policy makers, about the types of support we should ensure children in middle childhood and their families have or the programs we should make available to them, their parents, and other family members? About the manner in which or location where these supports or programs are provided? 5. What are the implications of the readings on the trauma faced by the children of deployed parents for schools and other institutions that regularly work with children and youth? How should we think about preparing those who work with these children and their families to support them? 6. We hear increasingly about the importance of providing trauma-informed care. What does this mean? What are the implications for those working in organizations that work with children and youth? What does the early implementation analysis of the Children’s Institute Initiative suggest?

Class 9: Stages of development: Adolescence: Juvenile Crime and Misbehavior Tues. Feb. 20

Readings:

 Elizabeth Scott and Laurence Steinberg, “Adolescent Development and the Regulation of Youth Crime,” in The Future of Children: Juvenile Justice, vol. 18, No. 2, Fall 2008, pp. 15-34 https://ccoso.org/sites/default/files/import/Adol-dev-and-reg-of-crime.pdf

 Steinberg, Age of Opportunity: Lessons from the New Science of Adolescence, Chapter 4: How Adolescents Think,” New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014, pp. 65-85.

 Jeffrey A. Butts, Gordon Bazemore and Aundra Saa Meroe, Positive Youth Justice: Framing Justice Interventions Using the concepts of Positive Youth Development. Coalition for Juvenile Justice, 2010, pp. 7-33. https://positiveyouthjustice.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/pyj2010.pdf

12 SUP-211

 Case: Missouri DYS: Part 1 (on course canvas website) Those of you particularly interested in adolescent and young adult issues may want to read Laurence Steinberg, The Age of Opportunity, 2014. I took extensive notes on the book and will provide a copy of them to anyone who would like one. Just send mean e-mail.

Questions to consider: 1. What are some of the key issues in adolescent development? What roles do parents or other caretakers play in an adolescent’s development? Non-family adults? Peers? Key individuals in their neighborhoods and in institutions such as schools or religious organizations? Adults running after-school activities? 2. How would you characterize the types of support adolescents need in order to develop normally? What does this suggest to us as policy makers or service providers about the types of support we should ensure they have or the programs we should make available to them, their parents, and other family members? About the types of supports schools, religious organizations and community organizations might benefit from receiving? About the manner in which or location where these supports or programs are provided? 3. What Is the Missouri DYS model? What are its strengths and weaknesses? In what ways does it meet the needs of adolescents? It what ways might it fall short? 4. If you were the new director of the Missouri Department of Youth Services, what changes, if any, would you make? 5. If you were hired as the research director of the Missouri Division of Youth Services, what questions would you want to ask? How would you gather the data to answer them? 6. What are the political challenges to implementing a model like this in other states? Class 10: The “Missouri Model”: Addressing the Next Challenges Thurs. Feb. 22 Guest speaker: Phyllis Becker, the head of the Missouri Department of Youth Services, and possibly others who are involved in the Missouri Juvenile Justice initiative, will talk with us via videoconferencing. Please get questions and comments to me by noon October 2nd so I can share them with the folks in Missouri. Readings:  Wilson, Julie, “Cross-Branch Collaboration: What Can we Learn from the Collaboration between Courts and the Division of Youth Services in Missouri?” http://www.hks.harvard.edu/content/download/67478/1242722/version/1/file/ES-StateCourts-Cross- Branch-Collaboration.pdf  For a description of an alternative strategy in juvenile justice: Walsh, “The Collateral Consequences of the Crimes of Children,” The Atlantic, August 10, 2015. http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/08/the-crimes-of-children/398543/

13 SUP-211

 The Child Trends web site has a lot of excellent but short summaries of research findings on various topics of adolescence. While they have a particular focus on out-of-school time, their short topical papers cover a broad range of topics. They also have a database of programs that do and don’t work for children and youth http://www.childtrends.org/ I have not assigned any readings from this site for the October 3rd class, but you may want to peruse the site.  For a clear and short description of adolescent brain development: http://hrweb.mit.edu/worklife/youngadult/brain.html

 It is possible that Phyllis Becker will send materials based on my report of our discussion in Class 9. If she does, I will post them on the class website and send you an e-mail to let you know they are available.

Questions to Consider: 1. This is your chance to write the questions. I will send your questions to Phyllis early in the afternoon on Sunday. That will give her some time to prepare for her “appearance” in class. You will also have opportunities to ask questions in class.

Class 11: Stages of development: Adolescence: Taking a Public Health Approach To Tues. Feb. 27 Addressing Teen Pregnancy

Readings: • Case: National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. HBS: 9-300-105. • Child Trends, “Sexually Active Teens,” http://www.childtrends.org/?indicators=sexually-active-teens • Child Trends, “Teen Births,” http://www.childtrends.org/?indicators=teen-births • Child Trends, “Teen Abortions,” http://www.childtrends.org/?indicators=teen-abortions • Child Trends, “What Works for Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health: Lessons from Experimental Evaluations of Programs and Interventions,” http://www.childtrends.org/wp- content/uploads/2015/08/2014-64WhatWorksTeenSexualReproHealth2.pdf, particularly pages 1-11. • Frank Furstenberg, Destinies of the Disadvantaged: The Politics of Teen Childbearing, New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2007. Chapter 1, “The History of Teenage Childbearing as a Social Problem,” pp. 1-23. (On Canvas website) • Jennifer S. Manlove, et al, “Outcomes for Children of Teen Mothers from Kindergarten through Adolescence,” in Saul D. Hoffman and Rebecca Maynard, Ed., Kids Having Kids: Economic Costs and Social Consequences of Teen Pregnancy. Second edition. Washington, D.C., The Urban Institute, 2008, pp. 161-169, 182-196. (On Canvas website) • National Vital Statistics Reports, “Births: Final Data for 2014,” pp. 4-5. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr64/nvsr64_12.pdf

Questions:

• When and why is adolescent pregnancy a public policy concern? • What does the public health model suggest about how we might think about policies to prevent adolescent pregnancies and births? About the strategies we might employ? • What are the strengths and weaknesses of the approaches taken by the National Campaign to End Teen Pregnancy? To what extent do you think the National Campaign to End Teen Pregnancy can take credit for the decline in teen pregnancies and births? • The public health model may provide a framework for helping us think about “collective efficacy” – the idea that many organizations with ostensibly different goals each provide part of the effort needed to accomplish large goals, such as reducing teen pregnancy, making driving safer, or ensuring

14 SUP-211

that all children are ready for school when they reach school age. We will talk more about collective efficacy later in the course, but we want to begin thinking about it now.

POTENTIAL RISK AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS: IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY

One of the challenges for policy makers is accurately defining the “problem.” A second is determining how to intervene. A third is determining who should intervene? And there is always the question of whether to intervene.

Class 12: **Complex families as risk factors Thurs. Mar. 1 Memo #2 handed out

Readings:  Adam Thomas and Isabelle Sawhill, “For Love and Money? The Impact of Family Structure on Family Income,” Marriage and Child Wellbeing. The Future of Children, Vol. 15, No. 2, Fall 2005, pp. 57-74. http://www.princeton.edu/futureofchildren/publications/docs/15_02_04.pdf

 Paul Amato, “The Impact of Family Formation Change on the Cognitive, Social and Emotional Well-Being of the Next Generation,” Marriage and Child Wellbeing. The Future of Children, Vol. 15, No. 2, Fall 2005, pp. 75-96. http://www.princeton.edu/futureofchildren/publications/docs/15_02_05.pdf

 Sarah McLanahan and Audrey N. Beck, “Parental Relationships in Fragile Families,” The Future of Children, Vol. 20, No. 2 (Fall 2010). http://www.princeton.edu/futureofchildren/publications/docs/20_02_02.pdf

 AEI/Brookings Working Group on Poverty and Opportunity, Opportunity, Responsibility, and Security: A Consensus Plan for Reducing Poverty and Restoring the American Dream, 2015, Chapter 3 (pp. 30-40). https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Full-Report.pdf

 “Low-Income Fathers.” Annual Review of Sociology. 30:427-51. 2004. http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.soc.29.010202.095947

 U.S Vital Statistics. Births: Final Data for 2014, P. 8 http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr64/nvsr64_12.pdf

 Economix, “Mapping Unwed Motherhood,” The New York Times, May 2, 2013. http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/02/mapping-unwed-motherhood/?_r=0

Questions to consider:

1. What are the factors that determine how children fare in two-parent vs. single-parent families? How do these factors differ at children’s different developmental stages? How do we need to re-think our ideas about the risks these children and youth face and the supports that might be available to them in the increasingly complex dynamics of today’s families? 2. How do children born to unwed mothers fare when compared to children of divorce? How do you explain any differences? To what extent are these differences related to the formality of marriage vs. other factors? 3. What are the important roles fathers play in the lives of their children? What is the implication of father absence for child development and child well-being? How does this differ at various stages of development? 4. What are the particular challenges low-income fathers face in their parenting roles? What are the particular challenges faced by young men with limited or chaotic experiences with their own fathers? 5. Recently welfare reform discussions have begun focusing on fathers, particularly on the question of how to encourage marriage and increase the number of two-parent families supporting children. What are the pros

15 SUP-211

and cons of such a strategy from the perspective of providing support to children? What strategies, short of marriage, might policy makers employ to increase the presence of fathers in their children’s lives? 6. Many of the absent fathers are incarcerated. What programs might we develop for inmates to make it more likely that they will fill their parenting role when they are released? How might we help them think about filling their parental role while they are incarcerated? 7. Should we as policy makers be concerned about the increasing fluidity and complexity of family dynamics? Should we intervene? If so, what could we do? What should we do? What should we refrain from doing?

Class 13 Poverty as a risk factor: How does poverty affect short- and Tues. Mar. 6 long-term outcomes for children? Readings:

 For a description of how poverty is measured and for data on trends in poverty in the U.S., see: http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/about/overview/measure.html

 For the most recent federal data on poverty rates see: https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2014/demo/p60-249.pdf Note particularly the table on page 20 showing poverty rates by demographic and geographic category.

 Kristin Anderson, et al, “Children in Poverty: Trends, Consequences, and Policy Options,” Child Trends, April 2009. http://www.childtrends.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/2009-11ChildreninPoverty.pdf

 Daniel R. Meyer, “Poverty Levels and Trends in Comparative Perspective,” in Changing Poverty, Changing Policies, ed. Maria Cancian and Sheldon Danziger. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2009, pp. 44-57 http://www.irp.wisc.edu/publications/focus/pdfs/foc262b.pdf

 Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and Greg J. Duncan, “The Effects of Poverty on Children,” The Future of Children: Children and Poverty, Vol. 7, No. 2 (Summer/Fall 1997), pp. 55-71. Online: http://www.jstor.org.ezp- prod1.hul.harvard.edu/stable/1602387 (This is dated, but is a very concise summary.)

 Sherylls Valladares and Kristin Moore, “The Strengths of Poor Families,” Child Trends, May 2009. http://www.saintlukesfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Child_Trends- 2009_5_14_RB_poorfamstrengths1.pdf

 Hirokazu Yoshikawa, et al., “Do Pathways Through Low-Wage Work Matter for Children’s Development?”, in Yoshikawa, et al., eds., Making It Work: Low-Wage Employment, Family Life, and Child Development. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2006, pp. 54-74. (On Canvas website).

 AEI/Brookings Working Group on Poverty and Opportunity, Opportunity, Responsibility, and Security: A Consensus Plan for Reducing Poverty and Restoring the American Dream, 2015, Chapter 4: Work (pp. 42- 53). https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Full-Report.pdf  Maurice Lim Miller, “Obstacles to Innovation: Experience of the Family Independence Initiative,” Working Paper, January 2010. http://www.innovations.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/1267029.pdf

 Optional: A fun Ted talk on using photos as data to illustrate poverty: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=vvsAvvKeGhc

1. How do we define poverty? What are the strengths and weaknesses of measuring poverty in this manner? What is the poverty rate in the United States? How has it changed over time? What is the poverty rate of children? How has that changed over time?

16 SUP-211

2. What are the primary ways in which poverty imperils children’s development? In what ways is the potential impact of poverty on children’s development different at different developmental stages? As you think about these questions, consider both direct and indirect impacts. 3. What is the differential impact of short term versus chronic poverty on children’s development? 4. Does childhood poverty “seal” children’s fates? What characteristics of children and their families “protect” children from or lessen the negative impact of poverty? What does this suggest to us about potential policies or points of intervention? 5. How is childhood poverty portrayed in the media? Family poverty? Poverty in general? How has poverty been described in the current presidential campaign? If you were designing a public campaign to reduce poverty or the negative impacts of poverty, what might your messages be? 6. The AEI/Brookings report makes several recommendations for reducing poverty. If you view these recommendations from the perspective of child development, do they seem sensible? What would you change?

Class 14: **Race and Ethnicity as Risk and Protective Factors: The Challenges for Policy Makers Thurs. Mar. 8 And Service Providers Memo #2 Due

Background readings:

 Marcelo Suarez – Orozco, “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Assimilation But Were Afraid to Ask,” Daedalus: Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Fall 2000), Vol.129, No. 4, pp.1-30. Online: ASP at: http://www.jstor.org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/stable/20027662

 Alex R. Piquero, “Disproportionate Minority Contact,” in The Future of Children: Juvenile Justice, vol. 18, No. 2, Fall 2008, pp. 59-79. http://www.jstor.org.ezp- prod1.hul.harvard.edu/stable/pdfplus/20179979.pdf?acceptTC=true

 Jeffrey Passel, “Demography of Immigrant Youth: Past, Present and Future,” The Future of Children: Immigrant Children, Vol. 21, No. 1, Spring 2011, pp. 19-42. http://www.jstor.org.ezp- prod1.hul.harvard.edu/stable/pdfplus/41229010.pdf

 Nancy S. Landale, Kevin J. A. Thomas, and Jennifer Van Hook, “The Living Arrangements of Children of Immigrants,” The Future of Children: Immigrant Children, Vol. 21, No. 1, Spring 2011, pp. 43-70. http://www.jstor.org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/stable/pdfplus/41229011.pdf  Optional: For those interested in American Indian family issues: Besaw, Amy, et al, “The Context and Meaning of Family Strengthening in Indian America,” http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED485942.pdf  Optional: Here are two short research summaries you may be interested in: o Tawana Bandy and Kristin Moore, “What works for African American Children and Adolescents: Lessons from Experimental Evaluations of Programs and Interventions.” Child Trends, February 2011. http://www.childtrends.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/2011- 04WhatWorkAAChildren.pdf o Tawana Bandy and Kristin Moore, “What works for Latino/Hispanic Children and Adolescents: Lessons from Experimental Evaluations of Programs and Interventions.” Child Trends, February 2011 http://www.childtrends.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Child_Trends- 2011_02_01_RB_WW4LatinoChildren.pdf  If you want to explore the geographic patterns of racial/ethnic and income diversity in the US, you might want to check this site: http://www.censusscope.org/us/map_common_race.html If you have other interesting sites, please share them with the class.

17 SUP-211

Questions to consider: 1. Many of us have strong and important racial or cultural identities. How are these formed? What are the strengths for children of having such identities? The challenges? 2. Race, and sometimes ethnicity, is often used as indicators of risk. In what ways or in what situations are race and ethnicity “markers” or correlates of higher than average risk? With what is race correlated? Ethnicity? In what ways or in what situations are race and ethnicity “markers” or correlates of higher than average protective factors? 3. In what ways, if any, are race and ethnicity determinants of outcomes? As you think about this, consider both direct and indirect paths to outcomes. 4. How do race and ethnicity “matter” to a child at different stages of his or her development? How do cultural identities “matter” at different stages of development? 5. Some children of color, particularly African American and American Indian children and youth, are more likely to get caught in the child protective and juvenile justice systems and when in the care of the child welfare or juvenile justice systems are more likely to be placed in out-of-home care and stay there longer than white children and youth. What are the causes of this? What should policy makers do to reduce or eliminate disproportionality? (Note: We will come back to this question many times later in the course in the context of specific government agencies or specific age groups of children and youth. For now, we want to begin thinking about what criteria we might use to assess the appropriateness or fairness of the policies and practices and what interventions we might propose where we observe inappropriate inequity.) 6. For those of you who read this: The Beesaw, et al, review shows how tribes drew on historic tribal culture to inform program development and encourage participation. What lessons, if any, can we draw from these initiatives that would apply to heterogeneous non-Indian neighborhood initiatives? For those of us with strong ethnic identities and ties, what lessons can we draw from our own experiences? 7. Asians children and youth are under-represented in the child welfare system. Should we be concerned about this? What risks and benefits does being part of the “model minority” bring to Asian children and youth? 8. How might we institute and support a more nuanced discussion on race and ethnicity in policy design, implementation and assessment? More generally?

No Class: Spring Break Mar. 12- Mar. 16

TRENDS IN POLICY AND PRACTICE: INSTITUTIONAL AND COMMUNITY-BASED RESPONSES

Class 15: The origins of social welfare in America and their impact on today’s policies Tues. Mar. 20

Background Readings: The readings for this class are extensive. The first two describe the history, particularly the early history, of services and supports for families and children in the US. The next two talk about the challenges of the complex social support and social services system we now have in place. The final article draws on the immigrant history of the US to explain why the political cultures vary so much across the country. If you are part of a study group, you may want to each read one or two of the articles in depth and skim the others. You can then compare notes.

 Katz, In the Shadow of the Poorhouse: A Social History of Welfare in America, Part II: Building the Semi- Welfare State: o Chapter 5, “Saving Children,” pp. 117 – 150 and o Chapter 9, “The War on Poverty and the Expansion of Social Welfare,” pp. 259 - 281. (On Canvas website)

18 SUP-211

 Richard Weissbourd, “Why Our Efforts to Help Children Fail,” Are We Helping? How Do We Know? The First Annual National Symposium of the Boston Children’s Institute of The Home For Little Wanderers. (On Canvas website).

 Sheila R. Zedlowski, Pamela Holcomb, and Pamela Loprest, “Hard-to-Employ Parents: A Review of Their Characteristics and the Programs Designed to Serve Their Needs,” The Urban Institute, Low-Income Working Families, Paper 9, June 2007, http://www.urban.org/publications/411504.html  Joel Lieske, “Regional Subcultures of the United States,” The Journal of Politics,vol. 55, No. 4 (Nov. 1993), pp. 888-913.

Deep Background:  Optional: If you want to know the details of the federal budget in terms of funds for children and their families see: First Focus, Children’s Budget 2015. This is a long document, but you can browse specific sections or the entire document. http://firstfocus.org/resources/report/childrens-budget-2015/

Study Questions:

1. How has our conceptualization of the role of children and parents and our understanding of the characteristics of effective parent-child relationships changed over time? How has this influenced policy over time? Many people speak of the “path dependence” of social policies, meaning that our current institutions and strategies are often the result of modifying or adding to policies developed decades ago. One question we might ask ourselves is: if we were to “start from scratch,” how might we design institutions or interventions differently? Can we think of any instances in which social policy has taken a radical turn or disrupted movement along its previous path? 2. When we tell the “story” of the United States, we talk about immigration. How, if at all, has our conceptualization of immigrants changed over time? How has our changing understanding of immigrants influenced public policy at the local and national level over time? 3. The United States is a federalist system and states have considerable, though not total, leeway in designing programs for children and families. What are the strengths and weaknesses of a federalist system? What tools does the federal government have to influence policy at the state and local levels? 4. What was the role of public schools in our early history? How, if at all, has that changed? 5. One of the long-standing tensions in social welfare policy in this country has been that between the rights of families to raise children as they wish and the obligation of the state to protect children. Another is the obligation of families to care for themselves vs. the obligation of the state to care for families and children. How has public policy responded to this tension at different periods in our history? 6. How do our early understanding of the origins of poverty and the needs of children influence current thinking? Current programming? 7. What are the basic challenges to democratic governments at all levels in providing services to families and children? In supporting them in other ways? 8. Much attention has recently been given to the geographic differences in political views. What, if anything, do we know about these geographic differences and their origins? Is it possible to have a productive national conversation on child and family economic well-being? If so, how would you start it?

Class 16: Child protective services: Child abuse and neglect, the public Thurs. Mar. 22 response, and the goal of safety

19 SUP-211

Note: Some of the materials for this class, particularly the reports of alleged child abuse and neglect, are difficult to read. You do not need to read the specific case materials to participate in the class. Readings:

 Peter Pecora, et al, The Child Welfare Challenge: Policy, Practice, and Research. New York: Aldine Transaction, 2009, pp. 149 - 166. (On Canvas website)

 Eli Newberger, “The Helping Hand Strikes Again: Unintended Consequences of Child Abuse Reporting,” Journal of Clinical Psychology (Vol. 12, No. 3), 1983, pp. 307-311. Find a link to this article on the class web page. http://www.elinewberger.com/articles/archive/health-policy/helpinghand.html This is an old, but important, article describing the double-edged challenges faced by poor families.

 Julie Wilson, “Reports and Investigations of Alleged Child Abuse and Neglect: Excerpts From One Month of Reports at One Local Agency”, working manuscript, 1994, pp. 1 – 33. (On Canvas website)

 Case: Combating Child Abuse (#692.0). (On Canvas website) Questions to consider: 1. How would you define abuse? Neglect? Why are these sometimes difficult to define? How do our definitions vary with the developmental stage of the child? How might these definitions vary across cultural, income or geographic groups? 1. How would you assess the studies that estimate the incidence of child abuse and neglect that are reported in the Pecora, et al reading? What is your best estimate of the incidence of abuse or neglect? 2. What are the costs of correctly identifying a case of abuse or neglect? Of incorrectly identifying a case as abuse or neglect when it is not? Of failing to identify a case of abuse or neglect? What are the benefits of each of these outcomes? Who or what groups incur the costs and benefits you identified? 3. Which of the costs and benefits matter most? Which do you want to minimize? Maximize? 4. As a policymaker, what would you propose as a vehicle for screening for cases of abuse and neglect? Do you worry more about type I or type II errors? Why? 5. In what ways, if any, does your thinking change when you take into account the neighborhood effects Dorothy Roberts raises? 6. Should we have mandated reporters? What are the strengths of a mandated reporting system? What are the weaknesses?

Class 17: When parents can’t be the answer: Insuring permanency Tues. Mar. 27

Readings:

 Martha Shirk and Gary Stangler, On Their Own: What Happens to Kids When They Age Out of the Foster Care System, Westview Press, 2004. Chapter 1, “A Tale of Three Brothers: Jermaine, Jeffrey, and Lamar Williams, Brooklyn, New York,” and Chapter 3, “’All My Life, I Had Prayed for a Family’: Alfonso Torres, Pembroke Pines, Florida,” and “Conclusion.” (On Canvas website)

 Mark Courtney, et al, “Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth: Outcomes at Age 23: Executive Summary,” Chapin Hall, http://www.chapinhall.org/sites/default/files/Midwest_Study_ES_Age_23_24.pdf

 Alena M. Hadley, Kassim Mbwana, and Elizabeth C. Hair, “What Works for Older Youth During the Transition to Adulthood: Lessons From Experimental Evaluations of Programs and Interventions,” Child

20 SUP-211

Trends, March 2010. http://www.childtrends.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Child_Trends- 2010_03_09_FS_WWOlderYouth.pdf

 Wen, Patricia, “A mother, her sons, and a choice: State child welfare agency pressures woman to decide her future as a mother.” The Boston Globe, August 24, 2003. http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2003/08/24/a_mother_her_sons_and_a_ch oice/?page=full

 Green, Erica, “Thread, a Baltimore nonprofit, weaves students’ lives together,” The Baltimore Sun, April 19, 2015. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-thread-profile- 20150419-story.html

 Elaine Kamarck, Julie Wilson, Mary Eschelbach Hansen and Jeff Katz, “Eliminating Barriers to the Adoption of Children in Foster Care.” (On Canvas website).

 You may want to spend a bit of time on this web site looking at variations across states: http://www.bu.edu/ssw/research/usfostercare/

Optional

 Note: If you want to follow this issue, you might want to check this site: http://www.nrcpfc.org/fostering_connections/index.html

 The state of Wisconsin made a series of short videos of foster parents talking about foster parenting to potential foster parents. You may want to watch these: http://www.wifostercareandadoption.org/GetStarted/MythsAboutFosterCare.aspx

Questions to consider: 1. Based on our readings in the first part of the course, why is it so important that adolescents have permanent supports and “family” when they reach the age of majority? What role do families and support networks play in supporting youth transition to adulthood? What does this suggest for the supports we should provide to older youth in foster care? 2. What are the challenges of transitioning children and youth to permanent settings other than with their family of origin? 3. What kinds of supports should we provide “stranger” and kin families who adopt children from foster care or become their legal guardians? What is the obligation of the state? Of the community? Of non-profits? 4. Should states consider modeling foster care for adolescents on the Missouri Juvenile Justice model? If so, what parts of the model would be particularly effective? Which would not? Would you target such residential placements to specific types of youth? 5. Should DYS youth be placed in individual households like foster youth? What would the strengths of such placements be? The weaknesses? 6. It is important that foster youth – currently in the care of the state or recently emancipated – have access to and supports to succeed in college just as other youth do. What does this suggest for the supports and services colleges and universities should provide? What should Harvard be doing for current and former foster youth in the College, professional schools, and PhD programs?

Class 18: ***Strategies of Reform in Child Protective Services: Thurs. Mar. 29 Getting it right at the level of practice Memo #3 handed out

21 SUP-211

Readings:

 Kamala Allen, “Medicaid Managed Care for Children in Child Welfare.” Center for Health Strategies, Inc. April, 2008. http://www.chcs.org/media/CW_MC_Brief.pdf

 Case: Wraparound Milwaukee (On Canvas website)

 Stephen Goldsmith, et al, The Power of Social Innovation: How Civic Entrepreneurs Ignite Community Networks for Good, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2010. Chapter 6: Turning Risk into Reward. (On Canvas website)

Questions to consider: 1. How would you describe Wraparound Milwaukee? What are the strengths of this model? The weaknesses? 2. What is the “business plan” for Wraparound Milwaukee? 3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a managed care model for children and youth with severe mental and behavioral health challenges? 4. What are the challenges of using this model with different populations such as foster children, other youth in the juvenile justice system or diverted from it, etc.? 5. Should children and youth have to wait until their conditions deteriorate severely to be able to access Wraparound Milwaukee services?

Class 19: Next Challenges for Wraparound Milwaukee Tues. Apr. 3 Guest speaker: Mary Jo Meyers, the current director of Wraparound Milwaukee, and others who are involved in the Wraparound Milwaukee initiative will talk with us via videoconferencing. Please get questions and comments to me by noon November 6th so I can share them with the folks in Milwaukee. Readings:  Rutledge Q. Hutson, “Providing Comprehensive, Integrated Social Services to Vulnerable Children and Families: Are There Legal Barriers at the Federal Level to Moving Forward?” Center for Law and Social Policy; February, 2004. http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/0170.pdf  Child Trends Fact Sheet, “What Works for Female Children and Adolescents: Lessons from Experimental Evaluations of Programs and Interventions,” http://www.childtrends.org/wp- content/uploads/2013/01/Child_Trends-2012_08_20_WW_FemaleChildrenAdol.pdf  Child Trends Fact Sheet, “What Works for Male Children and Adolescents: Lessons from Experimental Evaluations of Programs and Interventions,” http://www.childtrends.org/wp- content/uploads/2013/01/Child_Trends-2012_08_20_WW_MaleChildrenAdol.pdf  Readings may be added by Mary Jo Meyers in response to my reports of our discussion in Class 21

Please use your opportunity for class comments to suggest questions for Mary Jo Meyers. I will send him questions by noon on Monday so that he has time to prepare for Tuesday morning. We can ask additional questions in class.

Class 20: Strategies of Reform in Child Protective Services: Getting it Thurs. Apr. 5 22 SUP-211

“right” at the agency level Tim Decker, Director of Missouri’s Children’s Division, is leading an effort to reform the state’s child welfare agency. Previously Tim was the director of the state’s juvenile justice agency. You may remember that he was featured in both the case and video. Tim is coming to town to talk to our class. This will be a good opportunity to talk with him about the challenges of managing a child welfare agency as well as trying to change the culture and practices of an agency. It will also provide an opportunity to talk about the differences between child welfare and juvenile justice agencies.

Readings:

 Kathleen G. Noonan, Charles F. Sabel, and William H. Simon, “The Rule of Law in the Experimentalist Welfare State: Lessons from Child Welfare Reform,” Columbia Law School Public Law & Legal Theory Working Paper Group, Paper No. 08-162. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1088020

 Tim Decker may send some materials in advance. If so, I will post them on Canvas and let you know they are available. Questions to consider: 1. What are the most important challenges faced by the child protective services agencies? 2. Imagine you have just been appointed commissioner of your state’s child protective services agency. What are the top three items on your agenda for change? Why? 3. Why is it so hard to reform child welfare agencies? What are the challenges at the level of the individual worker? Supervisor? Management? 4. How much public support is there for the work of the agency? What about legislative support? Support from the press and public? 5. What role can a governor play in supporting reform in child welfare? 6. What should Dan Despard do next? How could he improve the quality of casework in the more poorly performing regions? Within regions in the more poorly performing supervisory units?

Class 21: ***Strategies for Reform: Community-based and other Initiatives Tues. Apr. 10 Memo #3 due Readings:

 Ross Thompson, Preventing Child Maltreatment Through Social Support: A Critical Analysis. Sage Publications: Thousand Oaks, CA., 1995, pp. 24-65. o Chapter 2, “The Natural Networks of Social Support” o Chapter 3, “What Is Social Support: Unpacking A Well-known Concept” (On Canvas website)  Robert J. Sampson, “The Community,” in James Q. Wilson, Joan Petersilia, Eds., Crime: Public Policies for Crime Control. Institute for Contemporary Studies Press: Oakland, CA, 2002, pp. 225-252. (On Canvas website)

 Patricia Ayspos, Anne C. Kubisch. Building Knowledge about Community Change: Moving Beyond Evaluations. Chapter 3: What We Need to Know About Community Change: The Critical Role of Community Building, pp. 19-23. http://www.aspeninstitute.org/sites/default/files/content/docs/rcc/BUILDINGKNOWELDGE.pdf

23 SUP-211

 David J. Wright, “Taking Stock: The Bush Faith-Based Initiative and What Lies Ahead,” pg 70-79, 86-89. http://www.rockinst.org/pdf/faith-based_social_services/2009-06-11-taking_stock_faith-based_office.pdf

 See also “Creating Networks of Capacity” from class 2.

 HKS Case: United Way Mass Bay and the Faith & Action Initiative (B): Going for the Gold? C16-04-1760.0 (On Canvas website)

 OPTIONAL BACKGROUND READINGS: United Way Mass Bay and the Faith & Action Initiative (A): Should Faith Be Funded? (On Canvas website)

1. How would you define social networks? In what ways can they be supportive and enriching? In what ways can they make life more difficult for children and families? 2. What, if anything, do we know about developing and nurturing informal social networks? Formal social networks? 3. What do we mean by community-based initiatives or programs? How do we define community? What unifying goals might be effective in uniting diverse communities? 4. What are the particular challenges of funding religious organizations to provide social services? 5. From where does the leadership for community-based initiatives emerge? Who is responsible for nurturing and training community leaders? 6. How would you assess the role the United Way of Mass Bay played in trying to develop and nurture this set of community-based initiatives?

24 SUP-211

Class 22: Collective Efficacy: How can we do a Better Job of Working Together? Thurs. Apr. 12

Readings:  Strive Together: Reinventing the Local Education Ecosystem  John Kania, et al, “Strategic Philanthropy for a Complex World,” Stanford Social Innovation Review, Summer 2014, pp 26-37  John Kania, et al, “Embracing Emergence: How Collective Impact Addresses Complexity,” Stanford Social Innovation Review, 2013, pp. 1-7  Isabelle Brantley and Manuela Carvalho Faria, “Scaling that Works: An Analysis of Successful Propagation Strategies,” PAE written for the Bloomberg Philanthropies, pp. 15- 43.

1. Throughout this course, we have talked about the challenges of encouraging social service providers and other institutions and agencies to work together, to share data, and to build on the work of one another in order to better support children and families. What are the key challenges to such collaboration? What are the characteristics of opportunities to build networks of collaboration? 2. Many are arguing that with political gridlock at the national level, we need to look to local government for innovation. Compared to other initiatives we have discussed in class, what are the innovative characteristics of Cincinnati Strive? In what ways is Strive similar to other innovative programs we have examined? 3. What are the challenges of replicating Cincinnati’s Strive Program in other cities? Could it be replicated at a county or state level? 4. Some might argue that it is not surprising that collective efficacy initiatives would be successful for early and middle childhood because we have a lot of research providing information on what children should be able to do at certain ages. These same individuals might argue that this is more difficult for adolescents and young adults because we don’t have the same capacity to benchmark important milestones. If you were designing an initiative for 14 to 24 year-olds, how would you measure success at the individual and collective levels?

Class 23: The Opioid Crisis: One State’s Response Tues. Apr. 17

Case on Kentucky and background readings to be added.

Class 24: Cambridge: Youth Homelessness in Harvard Square Thurs. Apr. 19

Guests: Sam Greenberg and Sarah Rosenkrantz, Directors of the new youth shelter, Y2Y, in Harvard Square, will be joining us in class. We are hoping to bring a few current or formerly homeless youth to class as well. Any of you who are interested in volunteering at the shelter should talk to Sam and Sarah when they are here.

Readings: • Paving the Path: Helping Young Adults Transition from the Streets to Stability,” Community Development Project, May 2015 • Suniya S. Luthar, “Resilience in Development: A Synthesis of Research Across Five Decades,” in D. Cicchetti and D. J. Cohen, eds. Developmental Psychopathology: Risk, Disorder, and Adaptation, Volume 3, 2nd edition, ed. New York: Wiley. On course canvas website. • Paul Smowkowski, “Prevention and Intervention Strategies for Promoting Resilience in Disadvantaged Children,” The Social Service Review, Vol. 72, No. 3 (Sept. 1998), pp. 337-354. http://www.jstor.org.ezp- prod1.hul.harvard.edu/stable/10.1086/515762

Optional:

25 SUP-211

• “Promising Directions: Meeting the Needs of Homeless Youth in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” Policy Analysis Exercise: Elizabeth Paci and David Tian, April 2013 (on class canvas website) • For those particularly interested in the LGBTQ, YMSM and YWSW populations: Dank, et al, “Surviving the Streets of New York: Experiences of LGBTQ Youth, YMSM, and YWSW Engaged in Survival Sex,” Urban Institute, 2015. http://www.urban.org/research/publication/surviving-streets-new-york-experiences- lgbtq-youth-ymsm-and-ywsw-engaged-survival-sex (This is one of a series of three reports available on the Urban Institute web site.) Questions to consider:  What are the causes of youth homelessness? What does this suggest about which agencies and organizations and which individuals need to be involved in addressing it?  What are the particular needs of the various sub-groups of homeless youth?  What are some of the unique challenges of reaching out to, gaining the trust of, and providing services and supports to this particular group of adolescents and young adults?  What are the important services and supports these youth might need to be connected with? How would you go about helping foster these connections?  How would you measure the effectiveness of Y2Y?

Class 25: Local Governments: What Roles Can they play? Tues. Apr. 24 Background Readings:

 From Class 4: “Creating Networks of Capacity: The Challenge of Managing Society’s Response to Youth Violence” by Mark H. Moore in Gary Katzmann (ed.). 2002. Securing Our Children’s Future: New Approaches to Juvenile Justice and Youth Violence. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, pp. 338- 363. (On Canvas website)

 HKS Case: Examining the Role of Child Welfare in Addressing the Needs of the CSEC Population in Kentucky. (Available on Canvas)  Thorn, Child sex trafficking statistics: https://www.wearethorn.org/child-trafficking-statistics/  Finklea, Kristin, et al, “Sex Trafficking of Children in the United States: Overview and Issues for Congress,” January 28, 2015, pp. 1-10, 27-38.  Truckers against Trafficking: http://www.truckersagainsttrafficking.org/ This training video provides a great deal of information on child sex trafficking in the US and strategies for identifying victims.

Questions to Consider:

1. Child sex trafficking is a major but unrecognized problem in the United States. As a policy maker, how would you “define” the magnitude and composition of the child sex trafficking situation in the United States? 2. How would you describe Kentucky’s response to child sex trafficking in the state? What motivated the legislature to address the issues? Why did it choose to work through the child welfare agency? What are the strengths and weaknesses of such a strategy? 3. If you were advising another state on its CSEC policy, what would your recommendations be? Who should be involved in helping prevent children and youth from being trafficked? In helping identify children and youth who are being trafficked? In responding to children and youth who have been trafficked? 4. Throughout the course we have employed a number of analytic frameworks to help us analyze situations and develop responses. Which are the most useful for thinking about child sexual exploitation and trafficking? 26 SUP-211

Class 26: The Smith Family and today’s fragile families: What Should we do? Thurs. Apr. 26

No readings. Course wrap-up Study questions: 1. What should we do for the Smith family? Fragile families? 2. As you think about what might help struggling families, what do you imagine the role of the federal government to be? State government? Local government? Community institutions such as schools? Non- profit organizations? Voluntary organizations, such as churches? Neighbors and other informal network members? 3. If you were a newly elected mayor, what would your strategy be? Who would you see as your stakeholders? How would you recruit them? How would you measure progress in improving the well-being of your city’s children and families?