Chapin Hall

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Chapin Hall Child and Family Policy Forum At Scale Implementation of Evidence-Based Interventions: Policy, Practice, and Evaluation Perspectives April 29, 2014 While scientific research can suggest solutions to leaders in the child welfare system for improving well-being, the actual process of at scale implementation of evidence-based interventions has many challenges. To improve the well-being of children in the child welfare system, states will have to master the difficult problem of aligning policy, what works clinically, and the needs of highly vulnerable children and families. In this forum, our panel of experts will discuss the challenges of at scale implementation of evidence-based interventions from three perspectives. System leaders have to organize resources behind the structures and processes needed to support proper assessment, treatment planning, and service delivery; treatment developers have to scale interventions with fidelity; and evaluators have to document whether the resulting alignment brings real change in the well-being of children.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Chapin Hall Child and Family Policy Forum Child Well-Being: A Framework for Policy and Practice February 18, 2014 How can the science of child development and well-being be integrated into policy and practice? Recent attention at federal and state levels on “well-being” provides an opportunity to consider what is included in well-being, how to measure it, and the implications for policies and programmatic approaches that improve well-being across child-serving systems. A large body of research and science points to the need to create nurturing environments where children can develop along a healthy trajectory physically, cognitively, emotionally, behaviorally, and socially. When adverse childhood experiences and trauma occur, development can be derailed. Using evidence-based interventions to help children get back on track is important. In this forum, we explore the connection between healthy child development and well-being, provide several frameworks for understanding the domains and measurable indicators of well-being, and consider steps that can be taken to improve well-being and developmental functioning. Several well-being frameworks are presented. Participants explore how policies, practices, assessments, and interventions in their work could be organized around a well-being framework to more effectively ensure a positive life course for children.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Chapin Hall Child and Family Policy Forum How Do We Promote Stability and Self-Sufficiency for Low-Income Families with Safety Net Programs? The University of Chicago January 16, 2014 Low-income families must overcome a number of obstacles in order to achieve economic self-sufficiency--they may have unmet needs for financial stability, nutrition, child care, health care access, education, or employment supports. Since the Great Recession, many low-income families have struggled with sustaining self-sufficiency and achieving economic mobility. At the same time, there has been a resurgence in interest at the federal level in family self-sufficiency research. Yet, in addition to their duties of promoting stability and increasing the safety net for low-income families, describing the nature of "self-sufficiency" presents its own challenge for policymakers. The idea of family self-sufficiency is broad, and success can be defined differently amongst policymakers. For example, is success achieved when families are able to make ends meet, are self-reliant, or no longer require the support of government programs? In this forum we discussed the nature of self-sufficiency and the ways different systems view economic instability. We also discussed the present challenges and opportunities for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners who work to understand the ways that federal policies can affect income instability, and the relationship between employment supports and poverty.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. For nearly four decades, the federal government has been funding services for homeless youth by providing grants to community- and faith-based organizations as well as to local public and tribal agencies that operate emergency shelters, conduct street outreach, and operate transitional living programs. These programs serve a youth population that is diverse with respect to the reasons they are homeless, the types of assistance they need, and the resources they have to draw upon. Although research on homeless youth has contributed to our knowledge about the characteristics of this population, serving homeless youth continues to be a challenge. We do not have reliable information about the number of youth experiencing homelessness and we have limited knowledge about the effectiveness of interventions aimed at improving their outcomes. In this forum, panelists discuss the needs of youth experiencing homelessness, how service providers are addressing those needs, and the challenges associated with serving homeless youth. They also share their thoughts about the federal programs that fund services for homeless youth and how those programs could be improved and augmented.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Whether parents can overcome the problems that lead to abuse and neglect of their children is the essence of questions surrounding efforts to return children to their parents once legal custody of a child has been granted to the child welfare agency. Consistent with a legal and policy framework protecting parental rights in the United States, the threshold for separating a child from his or her parents is set high, and family reunification is the preferred permanency goal for most children who come into the child welfare system. Despite this policy preference, reunification rates are lower than desired, and, even when reunification does happen, some children experience subsequent placements.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Chapin Hall Child and Family Policy Forum Collective Impact to Address Social Challenges: The Role of the Nonprofit Sector April 18, 2013 Achieving positive outcomes for young children and their families requires new thinking in how we conceptualize, address, and finance our interventions. Increasingly, teams of institutions and organizations are working together to establish a common vision and mutually reinforced objectives, rather than individual institutions or agencies focusing on a single set of goals.Within this context, the nonprofit sector has a unique opportunity to advance innovation in program planning -- through the promotion of high-quality program replication and using data to guide collective decision making. Working in partnership with public agencies, the nonprofit sector has the potential to create and test new ideas in ways that can complement and strengthen child and family policy. This forum discussed several examples of how strong leadership within the nonprofit sector is achieving these outcomes in both the United States and Australia, and identifies the challenges the sector faces moving forward.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Chapin Hall Child and Family Policy Forum Collective Impact to Address Social Challenges: The Role of the Nonprofit Sector April 18, 2013 Achieving positive outcomes for young children and their families requires new thinking in how we conceptualize, address, and finance our interventions. Increasingly, teams of institutions and organizations are working together to establish a common vision and mutually reinforced objectives, rather than individual institutions or agencies focusing on a single set of goals.Within this context, the nonprofit sector has a unique opportunity to advance innovation in program planning -- through the promotion of high-quality program replication and using data to guide collective decision making. Working in partnership with public agencies, the nonprofit sector has the potential to create and test new ideas in ways that can complement and strengthen child and family policy. This forum discussed several examples of how strong leadership within the nonprofit sector is achieving these outcomes in both the United States and Australia, and identifies the challenges the sector faces moving forward.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. On March 14, 2013, Chapin Hall hosted a Child & Family Policy Forum at the University of Chicago Gleacher Center titled ”Chapin Hall Child and Family Policy Forum: Collaborative Approaches to Teen Pregnancy Prevention.” Despite overall declining rates of teen births in the United States, there exists significant disparity across race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and youth living in conditions of higher risk. Teen pregnancy and birth rates in the United States are also significantly higher than in other industrialized nations. The social and economic costs of teen pregnancy are high and have a long-term impact on teen parents, their children, and communities. Teen pregnancy is often related to other risky behaviors, and hence its prevention is of paramount importance to the health and quality of life of pregnant and parenting youth. Consequently, it is largely a public health issue.The evidence base indicates that it takes more comprehensive approaches than just sex education to address this issue, including those that address protective factors based on knowledge, skills, beliefs, and attitudes related to teen pregnancy. Additionally, outreach is maximized when these approaches are taken to where the youth are, whether in schools or in community settings. Public health agencies are increasingly forming partnerships with such institutions and organizations, helping them to leverage local resources. They are also supporting evaluation research efforts through local and national initiatives.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. On March 14, 2013, Chapin Hall hosted a Child & Family Policy Forum at the University of Chicago Gleacher Center titled ”Chapin Hall Child and Family Policy Forum: Collaborative Approaches to Teen Pregnancy Prevention.” Despite overall declining rates of teen births in the United States, there exists significant disparity across race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and youth living in conditions of higher risk. Teen pregnancy and birth rates in the United States are also significantly higher than in other industrialized nations. The social and economic costs of teen pregnancy are high and have a long-term impact on teen parents, their children, and communities. Teen pregnancy is often related to other risky behaviors, and hence its prevention is of paramount importance to the health and quality of life of pregnant and parenting youth. Consequently, it is largely a public health issue.The evidence base indicates that it takes more comprehensive approaches than just sex education to address this issue, including those that address protective factors based on knowledge, skills, beliefs, and attitudes related to teen pregnancy. Additionally, outreach is maximized when these approaches are taken to where the youth are, whether in schools or in community settings. Public health agencies are increasingly forming partnerships with such institutions and organizations, helping them to leverage local resources. They are also supporting evaluation research efforts through local and national initiatives.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. On December 6, 2012, Chapin Hall hosted a Child & Family Policy Forum at the University of Chicago Gleacher Center titled ”Beyond School Improvement: Partnering to Strengthen Educational Opportunities for Urban Children and Youth.” The discussion, moderated by Chapin Hall Executive Director Matthew Stagner, explored the role of cross-sector and cross-institutional partnerships in efforts to improve educational outcomes for urban students. Panelists included Lisa Walker (senior researcher, Chapin Hall), Larry Sachs (director of grants management, Research and Development Division, Chicago Police Department), and Victoria May (executive director, Institute for School Partnership, Washington University in St. Louis).

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. On December 6, 2012, Chapin Hall hosted a Child & Family Policy Forum at the University of Chicago Gleacher Center titled ”Beyond School Improvement: Partnering to Strengthen Educational Opportunities for Urban Children and Youth.” The discussion, moderated by Chapin Hall Executive Director Matthew Stagner, explored the role of cross-sector and cross-institutional partnerships in efforts to improve educational outcomes for urban students. Panelists included Lisa Walker (senior researcher, Chapin Hall), Larry Sachs (director of grants management, Research and Development Division, Chicago Police Department), and Victoria May (executive director, Institute for School Partnership, Washington University in St. Louis).

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. On October 17, 2012, a panel of experts met to discuss community-based organizations and outcomes data at an event hosted by Chapin Hall. Community-based organizations require reliable and interpretable data in order to improve services. The need for this has increased as government and foundations require more information about the outcomes of services for children and their families. At the same time, more and more data are becoming available. However, much of it is difficult to read and is fragmented across many organizations at the city, county, state, and federal levels. For example, there is more complex Census data available, but it is challenging to access and understand. Additionally, having greater access to other sources of data on the web presents community-based organizations with much information, but, without dependable analysis, little wisdom. Making sense of a seemingly overwhelming supply of data is critical for effective decision making by policymakers and practitioners invested in child well-being. This forum discussed the challenges community-based organizations face in accessing data and potential strategies for addressing these challenges. Panel: Robert Goerge, Senior Research Fellow, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago Alaina Harkness, Program Officer for Community and Economic Development in US Programs, The MacArthur Foundation Chris Brown, Director, New Communities Program, LISC Chicago Nancy Ronquillo, President and Chief Executive Officer, Children’s Home + Aid Moderator: Matthew Stagner, Executive Director, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago Learn more about Chapin Hall at chapinhall.org

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Experts on employment and public policy in Chicago discuss the workforce development landscape, workforce policies aimed at providing services to job seekers, and research on what influences success among community-based workforce programs. The panel also discusses ways better data can help improve services and how workforce programs can use this data to provide training and employ people.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Experts on employment and public policy in Chicago discuss the workforce development landscape, workforce policies aimed at providing services to job seekers, and research on what influences success among community-based workforce programs. The panel also discusses ways better data can help improve services and how workforce programs can use this data to provide training and employ people.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Experts on child welfare policy discuss the gap between Black and White children in the welfare system. They attempt to answer questions that have arisen from efforts to understand this gap. Does the magnitude of the gap differ in different localities? Do places that have high disparity rates share other characteristics? Are factors such as family structure, unemployment, and parental education levels related in any way to disparity rates? If so, how should what we learn about where disparity is greatest influence public investments designed to promote greater equity for children and families?

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Experts on child welfare policy discuss the gap between Black and White children in the welfare system. They attempt to answer questions that have arisen from efforts to understand this gap. Does the magnitude of the gap differ in different localities? Do places that have high disparity rates share other characteristics? Are factors such as family structure, unemployment, and parental education levels related in any way to disparity rates? If so, how should what we learn about where disparity is greatest influence public investments designed to promote greater equity for children and families?

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Children and youth who experience trauma such as maltreatment are often involved with multiple systems in the public sector, including foster care, education, and juvenile justice. Effective interventions for this vulnerable population require a perspective that is grounded in the understanding of trauma and its effects; comprehensive information about the medical, social, developmental, mental health, and educational status of the child and the adults who figure prominently in the child's life; and collaboration across public systems.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Children and youth who experience trauma such as maltreatment are often involved with multiple systems in the public sector, including foster care, education, and juvenile justice. Effective interventions for this vulnerable population require a perspective that is grounded in the understanding of trauma and its effects; comprehensive information about the medical, social, developmental, mental health, and educational status of the child and the adults who figure prominently in the child's life; and collaboration across public systems.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. The nation’s urban service systems for children and families often struggle with conflicting goals, inadequate resources, and intense but temporary public attention during turmoil and tragedies. This forum will examine the many challenges of systems reform -- through the lenses of education, health care and child welfare -- and the steps, partnerships, and strategies required to help foster the successful development of vulnerable children and families. Join us as we investigate such issues as: What does it take to reform urban systems? What are the lessons for suburban and rural services? What can one service system learn from another? And how can research on practices and policies contribute to reform? Panelists Juanona Brewster, director of Early Childhood Development Projects at the Illinois chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics Olivia Golden, Institute fellow at the Urban Institute and former assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services John Simmons, president of Strategic Learning Initiatives Cheryl Smithgall, research fellow, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago Moderator: Matthew Stagner, executive director, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. State agencies finance and administer a range of services -- from foster care for abused and neglected children to prisons to long-term care of the elderly. How can large public agencies and small community organizations plan better to meet the needs of the people they serve? Traditionally, useful and timely data for planning purposes have been in short supply. Recent research linking data across a number of public agencies has highlighted some significant findings about state services and the people who use them. One study suggests that comparatively few families consume the lion's share of Illinois's service resources. Researchers looked at five services-mental health care, substance abuse treatment, foster care, adult incarceration, and juvenile incarceration-and found that the 23 percent of Illinois families using multiple services accounted for 86 percent of the dollars spent on those services. Another study -- of former prisoners in Illinois -- showed that 52 percent of them went to Chicago, and that 34 percent of those returned to six economically and socially disadvantaged communities. These studies raise important questions for service providers about the needs of the people they help and the allocation of resources to do so. Panelists Thomas Finnegan, executive director, Kaleidoscope Robert Goerge, research fellow, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago Nancy La Vigne, director, Justice Policy Center, Urban Institute Erwin McEwen, director, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Matthew Stagner (moderator), executive director, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Youth violence is a public health crisis in the United States. Based on the most recent statistics, approximately 20 percent of high school students report being bullied at school, and over 30 percent report being in a physical fight. Homicide is the second leading cause of death of young people, with an average of 16 youth murdered every day. There is no simple or single answer to reducing youth violence. The problem is multiply determined and requires coordinated effort at multiple levels and across systems. Because of the complexity of the issue, programs need to address children and families at different developmental ages and engage with youth at varying levels of associated risk and involvement. Efforts should be coordinated among the social systems that have the most direct influence on youth at different stages of development--families, schools, community agencies, and justice--and should focus both on primary prevention and interventions directed toward both high-risk and “deep-end” (those already actively engaged in violence) youth. Most importantly, programs should be based in the best available evidence demonstrating effects on preventing and decreasing youth violence. Panelists Deborah Gorman-Smith, Research Fellow, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, and Principal Investigator and director of the Chicago Center for Youth Violence Prevention Thomas R. Simon, Deputy Associate Director for Science, Division of Violence Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Karen Barbee-Dixon, Chief Operating Officer, Habilitative Systems, Inc (HSI) Moderator, Cheryl Smithgall, Research Fellow, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. America's teen pregnancy rate is among the highest in the developed world, despite consistent declines over the past 15 years. Advances here might be ending, however: the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the rate of teen childbearing increased 3 percent between 2005 and 2006, the first uptick since 1990. Today, three female teenagers out of every ten become pregnant at least once before they turn 20. Teen pregnancy rates are highest among those who are unmarried, and from families that are low-income, minority, and with lower levels of education.This Thursday's Child examines the many costs and varied policy implications of teen motherhood. Panelists discuss the effects teen childbearing has on the life trajectories of the mother and child, the costs to government agencies aiding teens' children, and the increased risks these children face, including maltreatment, being placed into foster care, and incarceration. Private and public programs that reduce teen pregnancy, help teen mothers avoid bearing a second child, and change teen behavior are explored as well.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. On the horizon is a push to monitor outcomes for children and youth across the systems that serve them, including education, child welfare, and healthcare. With healthcare reforms and changes to the No Child Left Behind Act looming, and as state child welfare agencies strive to comply with federal requirements, ideas and insights about performance measurement are especially timely.Please join us to examine the performance measures used by sectors serving children and families. Be part of the discussion as experts explore where intersections might work, where they won't, and why, and drill down on such questions as what are the opportunities for developing more effective program design and service integration through performance monitoring? How can monitoring practices across sectors support fiscal responsibility? Where do federal and state policies on performance measurement converge or diverge? How can a child development perspective enable all sectors to identify outcomes and monitor progress?

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Soon after the new administration begins governing in January, it is expected to propose an ambitious, multipronged urban policy that includes both housing and community-development activities, and the establishment of "Promise Neighborhoods" that provide networks of community-based diversified services for low-income children and youth. Do these two approaches run on parallel tracks, or can they be interwoven so they more effectively stem the cycle of concentrated, intergenerational poverty?This Thursday's Child explores how initiatives that integrate services for high-need young people can complement the kind of comprehensive neighborhood development work now being enacted in Chicago, the San Francisco Bay Area, Detroit, and other cities. Panelists will discuss lessons learned from established community-building initiatives, as well as the research agenda that is still needed to strengthen new and continuing efforts. Speakers examine models of place-based integrative services and analyze how such initiatives can best help young people living in poverty and improve their academic achievement. The role of federal urban policy and programs for children, youth, and families is also discussed.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Youth violence is a public health crisis in the United States. Based on the most recent statistics, approximately 20 percent of high school students report being bullied at school, and over 30 percent report being in a physical fight. Homicide is the second leading cause of death of young people, with an average of 16 youth murdered every day. There is no simple or single answer to reducing youth violence. The problem is multiply determined and requires coordinated effort at multiple levels and across systems. Because of the complexity of the issue, programs need to address children and families at different developmental ages and engage with youth at varying levels of associated risk and involvement. Efforts should be coordinated among the social systems that have the most direct influence on youth at different stages of development--families, schools, community agencies, and justice--and should focus both on primary prevention and interventions directed toward both high-risk and “deep-end” (those already actively engaged in violence) youth. Most importantly, programs should be based in the best available evidence demonstrating effects on preventing and decreasing youth violence. Panelists Deborah Gorman-Smith, Research Fellow, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, and Principal Investigator and director of the Chicago Center for Youth Violence Prevention Thomas R. Simon, Deputy Associate Director for Science, Division of Violence Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Karen Barbee-Dixon, Chief Operating Officer, Habilitative Systems, Inc (HSI) Moderator, Cheryl Smithgall, Research Fellow, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. The nation’s urban service systems for children and families often struggle with conflicting goals, inadequate resources, and intense but temporary public attention during turmoil and tragedies. This forum will examine the many challenges of systems reform -- through the lenses of education, health care and child welfare -- and the steps, partnerships, and strategies required to help foster the successful development of vulnerable children and families. Join us as we investigate such issues as: What does it take to reform urban systems? What are the lessons for suburban and rural services? What can one service system learn from another? And how can research on practices and policies contribute to reform? Panelists Juanona Brewster, director of Early Childhood Development Projects at the Illinois chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics Olivia Golden, Institute fellow at the Urban Institute and former assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services John Simmons, president of Strategic Learning Initiatives Cheryl Smithgall, research fellow, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago Moderator: Matthew Stagner, executive director, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. State agencies finance and administer a range of services -- from foster care for abused and neglected children to prisons to long-term care of the elderly. How can large public agencies and small community organizations plan better to meet the needs of the people they serve? Traditionally, useful and timely data for planning purposes have been in short supply. Recent research linking data across a number of public agencies has highlighted some significant findings about state services and the people who use them. One study suggests that comparatively few families consume the lion's share of Illinois's service resources. Researchers looked at five services-mental health care, substance abuse treatment, foster care, adult incarceration, and juvenile incarceration-and found that the 23 percent of Illinois families using multiple services accounted for 86 percent of the dollars spent on those services. Another study -- of former prisoners in Illinois -- showed that 52 percent of them went to Chicago, and that 34 percent of those returned to six economically and socially disadvantaged communities. These studies raise important questions for service providers about the needs of the people they help and the allocation of resources to do so. Panelists Thomas Finnegan, executive director, Kaleidoscope Robert Goerge, research fellow, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago Nancy La Vigne, director, Justice Policy Center, Urban Institute Erwin McEwen, director, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Matthew Stagner (moderator), executive director, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. One important provision of the 2008 Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act extended federal support for keeping foster youth in care until age 21. The goal is to improve educational and health-related outcomes. This extension of care has significant implications for service providers as they plan adaptations to their programs for a group of older youth who need services that will help prepare them for independence. It has implications as well for the budgets of state agencies and program providers. -Mark Courtney, Ph.D., is Professor, School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago and Affiliated Scholar, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago and Principal Investigator of the Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth. -Angie Schwartz, J.D., is the Policy Director at The Alliance for Children's Rights, where she works to improve the child welfare system through systemic reform. -Miller Anderson is Deputy Director of the Division of Monitoring at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, which has oversight for DCFS's Performance-Based contracts, including Transitional Living and Independent Living Programs. He has a master's degree in Social Work Administration. -Eprise Armstrong is a master's degree student in social work at Washington University's Brown School of Social Work. She spent 13 years in the child welfare system in Indiana and Michigan. -Matthew Stagner, Ph.D., is Executive Director, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago (Moderator).

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. One important provision of the 2008 Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act extended federal support for keeping foster youth in care until age 21. The goal is to improve educational and health-related outcomes. This extension of care has significant implications for service providers as they plan adaptations to their programs for a group of older youth who need services that will help prepare them for independence. It has implications as well for the budgets of state agencies and program providers. -Mark Courtney, Ph.D., is Professor, School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago and Affiliated Scholar, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago and Principal Investigator of the Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth. -Angie Schwartz, J.D., is the Policy Director at The Alliance for Children's Rights, where she works to improve the child welfare system through systemic reform. -Miller Anderson is Deputy Director of the Division of Monitoring at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, which has oversight for DCFS's Performance-Based contracts, including Transitional Living and Independent Living Programs. He has a master's degree in Social Work Administration. -Eprise Armstrong is a master's degree student in social work at Washington University's Brown School of Social Work. She spent 13 years in the child welfare system in Indiana and Michigan. -Matthew Stagner, Ph.D., is Executive Director, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago (Moderator).

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. On the horizon is a push to monitor outcomes for children and youth across the systems that serve them, including education, child welfare, and healthcare. With healthcare reforms and changes to the No Child Left Behind Act looming, and as state child welfare agencies strive to comply with federal requirements, ideas and insights about performance measurement are especially timely.Please join us to examine the performance measures used by sectors serving children and families. Be part of the discussion as experts explore where intersections might work, where they won't, and why, and drill down on such questions as what are the opportunities for developing more effective program design and service integration through performance monitoring? How can monitoring practices across sectors support fiscal responsibility? Where do federal and state policies on performance measurement converge or diverge? How can a child development perspective enable all sectors to identify outcomes and monitor progress?

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. America's teen pregnancy rate is among the highest in the developed world, despite consistent declines over the past 15 years. Advances here might be ending, however: the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the rate of teen childbearing increased 3 percent between 2005 and 2006, the first uptick since 1990. Today, three female teenagers out of every ten become pregnant at least once before they turn 20. Teen pregnancy rates are highest among those who are unmarried, and from families that are low-income, minority, and with lower levels of education.This Thursday's Child examines the many costs and varied policy implications of teen motherhood. Panelists discuss the effects teen childbearing has on the life trajectories of the mother and child, the costs to government agencies aiding teens' children, and the increased risks these children face, including maltreatment, being placed into foster care, and incarceration. Private and public programs that reduce teen pregnancy, help teen mothers avoid bearing a second child, and change teen behavior are explored as well.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Soon after the new administration begins governing in January, it is expected to propose an ambitious, multipronged urban policy that includes both housing and community-development activities, and the establishment of "Promise Neighborhoods" that provide networks of community-based diversified services for low-income children and youth. Do these two approaches run on parallel tracks, or can they be interwoven so they more effectively stem the cycle of concentrated, intergenerational poverty?This Thursday's Child explores how initiatives that integrate services for high-need young people can complement the kind of comprehensive neighborhood development work now being enacted in Chicago, the San Francisco Bay Area, Detroit, and other cities. Panelists will discuss lessons learned from established community-building initiatives, as well as the research agenda that is still needed to strengthen new and continuing efforts. Speakers examine models of place-based integrative services and analyze how such initiatives can best help young people living in poverty and improve their academic achievement. The role of federal urban policy and programs for children, youth, and families is also discussed.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Coauthors of the new book "Child Protection: Using Research to Improve Policy and Practice" talk about research in the first nationally representative data sample of children in the child welfare system. Results indicate the most effective ways to help both children and parents in the system.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. As we explored in our May forum, Americans across the political spectrum embrace universal early childhood education. But what about school-success initiatives that reach back even further to support newborns, toddlers, and their parents? What can be achieved when educators, abuse-prevention experts, parents, government officials, businesses, philanthropies, and community groups collaborate?Panelists will analyze the complexities of enacting effective school-readiness policies and programs. Their observations will address what's behind the latest interest in such initiatives, the social and political environments needed for successful early learning centers and home visitation efforts, the lessons states can draw from Illinois' recent experience; and the importance of integrating home-based and learning-center programs, and providing consistent training and supervision for providers.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Coauthors of the new book "Child Protection: Using Research to Improve Policy and Practice" talk about research in the first nationally representative data sample of children in the child welfare system. Results indicate the most effective ways to help both children and parents in the system.

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. As we explored in our May forum, Americans across the political spectrum embrace universal early childhood education. But what about school-success initiatives that reach back even further to support newborns, toddlers, and their parents? What can be achieved when educators, abuse-prevention experts, parents, government officials, businesses, philanthropies, and community groups collaborate?Panelists will analyze the complexities of enacting effective school-readiness policies and programs. Their observations will address what's behind the latest interest in such initiatives, the social and political environments needed for successful early learning centers and home visitation efforts, the lessons states can draw from Illinois' recent experience; and the importance of integrating home-based and learning-center programs, and providing consistent training and supervision for providers.