Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services

Despite increases in federal allocations, little is known about how to ensure successful implementation of evidence-based programs. This descriptive case study using the Interactive Systems Framework for Dissemination and Implementation illustrates the Prevention Support System (PSS) implemented for one federal evidence-based policy initiative. Exploring perspectives of intermediary organizations, the article describes the impetus for promoting evidence-based programming, multilevel systemic change, and the collaborations to develop strategic partnerships between national and state entities. Two early adopters, Kansas and Nebraska, illustrate the general capacity-building technical assistance activities conducted to build a multilevel PSS. The article concludes with outcomes, lessons learned, and recommendations for building stronger implementation capacity.

This article draws on the unified theory of behavior change to examine adult community members' participation in a collaborative, community-based HIV prevention program for inner-city youth. Specifically, the impact of a training and mentorship process is examined with a sample of parent facilitators hired to deliver an evidence-based HIV prevention program in Bronx, New York. Findings indicate that the training program impacted four of five key constructs (environmental constraints, habitual behavior, social norms, and self-concept) expected to be related to parents' ability to deliver the program constructs significantly beyond any increase evidenced by the control group (HIV knowledge increased in both groups). Community-level training programs may therefore be an effective medium for increasing caregivers' intention to collaborate in community-based prevention programs.

Many families living in rural poverty endure toxic stress and trauma, contributing to challenges in engaging with their children's schools. Rural schools also face challenges in partnering with these families. Family engagement as a prevention approach, implemented by a team of social workers in collaboration with a rural school district, is presented as a case example to describe an emerging model. The conceptual framework, developed through a community-based participatory research approach, is (a) strengths-based, to support and enhance the parents' existing capacity; (b) trauma-informed, to understand and respond to the physiological and psychosocial impact of toxic stress; and (c) systems-focused, to facilitate change within the school system to make it responsive to the families' needs and strengths.

Record numbers of children born outside of marriage reflect a dramatic change in U.S. families; this demographic trend concerns policymakers and service providers because of the fragility of parental relationships. Dissolution of these relationships and growing up in a single-parent household leaves many children at higher risk of living in poverty— initiating a risk chain associated with less favorable academic, social, and cognitive outcomes. This article introduces Strong Couples-Strong Children, an innovative and replicable program designed to support expectant and new parents while their relationships are formative. Lessons learned from program implementation suggest that (a) face-to-face interaction served as the most effective form of recruitment; (b) partnerships with community organizations enabled the program to reach underserved populations; and (c) the family-centered model, working with both parents, required flexibility in programming.

This article focuses on the connection between social work practice and prevention in public health by presenting a study on newborns who may have hearing impairments. Newborn hearing screening records from six hospitals in a large suburban health system were analyzed. Binary logistic regression was used to predict factors related to being fit with hearing aids or loss-to-follow-up. Children with unilateral or conductive losses were less likely to be fit with hearing aids as were children with Medicaid coverage and families living 25 or more miles away from the hearing center. Implications for social work practice are discussed.

Powerful issues, including persistent health inequalities, increasing chronic disease rates, and health reform, have reignited a national conversation on the need for prevention. Despite social work's commitment to promoting well-being, little is known about its involvement in prevention and the extent to which prevention is present in the professional literature. For the present study, a content analysis of Families in Society from 2000 to 2010 was undertaken. Of 649 articles reviewed, 9.2% (n = 60) met the criteria of prevention articles, and a significant increase of prevention content was observed. While still a minority interest area, there appears to be welcome growth of prevention in Families in Society. This important emergent prevention scholarship will help broaden the profession's impact on the many public health issues facing 21st-century families.

Women are being deployed at increasing rates. This article reviews literature related to the risk and protective factors that explain varied levels of adaptation for servicewomen and their families. Implications suggest that clinicians assess risk factors for female soldiers upon return home such as the number and length of deployments, the presence of mental health challenges, physical injuries including traumatic brain injury, the experience of military sexual trauma, a history of childhood or adult sexual trauma, and the pile-up of additional life stressors that can lead to a cumulative negative effect for women and their families. Clinicians are also encouraged to assess and encourage family strengths that foster resilience such as social support, ongoing communication, family structure that is flexible, and positive appraisal.

This study explored factors that Mexican immigrant parents deem necessary to promote the well-being of their families. Mexican immigrant parents participated in focus groups following the passage of SB1070 in Arizona. Findings revealed four interrelated constructs that parents aim for to strengthen their families: family norms and practices; transmitting Latino culture; work and education; and goals and motivation. Participants' responses broaden and contextualize our understanding of Mexican immigrants' family norms. In light of anti-immigrant policies and sentiment, participants stressed maintaining/transmitting their culture, including the Spanish language, to promote their children's ethnic identity development; they also stated that parents' internal drive is crucial to promoting their families' well-being. Opportunities to ground interventions on Mexican family strengths are discussed.

Research suggests that parenting behaviors are consistently related to child well-being and amendable to change via intervention. However, parenting educators have been historically underresourced. The goals of the present study were to (a) better understand the challenges parenting educators face in their efforts to assist parents and (b) explore the ways a university-based center might address these challenges. We conducted 10 focus groups with parenting educators from various regions in Tennessee. Five themes were identified related to common challenges and needs: access to parents, training and materials, policy-related advocacy, operational resources, and networking opportunities. Additionally, a sixth category of unique or creative recommendations for supporting parent education was extracted. Results offer insights for both outreach-oriented university professionals and family service providers.

Parent-to-parent peer interventions are nationally recognized as an important service within children's community-based mental health systems of care. Despite rapid growth, clearly defined models of professional parent services for statewide application do not exist. In this study, concept mapping was used to achieve stakeholder consensus on the core components of the Parent Support and Training (PST) peer intervention model developed within the Kansas community mental health system. Participants rated the importance and observed frequency of 49 distinct statements related to the service and sorted them into conceptual groups. Analyses reflected a high level of agreement across stakeholders on statements identified as most important and most frequently demonstrated in PST services statewide.