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Background: The majority of youth with mental health needs do not receive therapy services to treat their disorder, and unmet need is particularly high among racial and ethnic minorities and economically disadvantaged families in the population at large. Investigating whether these patterns emerge within systems of care can reveal opportunities to expand therapy access and utilization. Objective: This study examines multilevel predictors of receipt of therapy within the Children's Mental Health Initiative (CMHI), the largest federally-funded effort in the United States to serve youth with significant emotional or behavioral disturbance, to determine whether disparities in therapy use persist within this specialized population that has been connected to a service array. Method: Using data from 1604 youth aged 10–17 in 33 CMHI-funded system of care sites, the relationship between youth, family and site-level variables and the receipt of outpatient therapy in the first 6 months of service were examined using a multilevel model. Results: Youth who were African American, had caregivers with less education, were in families at or below the poverty level, or lived in sites that served a higher rate of families below the poverty level were less likely to receive needed therapy services after controlling for age, gender, and symptomatology. Conclusions: Despite the CMHI's success in connecting the majority of enrolled youth to therapy services, treatment disparities persist along racial and socioeconomic lines. These findings identify youth and communities that may require additional strategies and attention to better connect youth to needed therapy services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relevance of gender has been a central debate in the intimate partner violence (IPV) literature. The current qualitative study explored the role of gender in shaping the social context, meaning, and reception of young women’s IPV in the United States. A total of 36 undergraduate women were recruited from a larger sample for in-depth interviews. Emergent themes suggest that women’s violence was construed as nonequivalent to men’s violence, including the perceived triviality of women’s violence, contingencies under which women’s violence is deemed acceptable, and the status of male IPV as unacceptable. Gender was important for participants and bystanders in determining whether they interpreted behaviors as meaningful acts of violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communities across the United States are collaborating to create a coordinated response to intimate partner violence (IPV); ideally, this involves promoting best practices in the justice and human service systems and engaging a broad array of community sectors (e.g., human service; criminal justice; faith; business; education) to promote victim safety and batterer accountability (Pence, ). The current study examined the extent to which Family Violence Coordinating Councils resulted in change in the systems' response to IPV. Specifically, we examined judicial order of protection data from 1990 to 2005 to establish whether the formation and development of councils across the state of Illinois promoted the issuance of plenary orders of protection following the initial granting of emergency orders of protection. Such a pattern would indicate implementation of a best practice in the system response to IPV. Utilizing a multilevel logistic modeling approach, we found that the introduction and development of councils was indeed related to the accessibility of plenary orders of protection. The specific ways in which councils may have influenced such an outcome and the implications of this approach for research on council effectiveness are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaboration is a ubiquitous approach to change, but is notoriously difficult and not definitively linked to desirable outcomes. Not surprisingly, the collaboration literature is replete with numerous facilitators and barriers to collaborative efforts. The current study aimed to develop a parsimonious model of factors influencing the success of collaborative efforts both internal and external to the council, including, (a) features of the council environment, (b) intermediate outcomes including the empowerment of members in the council context and the degree to which councils have generated social capital and (c) the extent to which collaborative efforts are occurring in a community context supportive of their aims. In particular, this study examines whether these factors affect the extent to which councils are positioned to achieve institutionalized change, or changes 'in the text' that govern front line providers' (e.g., police, advocates) practices in the community response to intimate partner violence. Results suggest that perceived member empowerment, generation of social capital, and supportive community context are the most important predictors of the extent to which councils foster shifts in institutionalized change. Features of the council environment are only indirectly related to the degree to which institutionalized change is ultimately fostered as mediated by the generation of social capital. This suggests that the ability of members to act as change agents and the extent to which those in power support council efforts figure more prominently to facilitate or constrain council efforts than council functioning itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social movement theorists have emphasized the important role of meaning-making for social change movements (e.g., D. A. Snow and R. D. Benford, 1992, In: A. D. Morris & C. M. Mueller (Eds.) Frontiers in social movement theory. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, pp 133–155; C. M. Mueller, 1992, In: A. D. Morris & C. M. Mueller (Eds.) Frontiers in social movement theory. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, pp 3–26). Using the domestic violence movement as a case study, this study undertakes a close analysis of advocates’ narratives about the phenomenon of domestic violence. This analysis sheds light on the current status of the movement as a social change movement attempting to promote alternative understandings of domestic violence as a social, rather than individual, problem. Study findings provide some evidence that the domestic violence movement has become increasingly de-politicized by documenting a range of narratives that convey an apolitical, degendered, individual-level analysis of domestic violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community psychologists have a long-standing interest in promoting systems change to improve the lives of individuals and communities. To more fully illuminate a multilevel model of those factors involved in the promotion of systems change, the current study examined individual- and organizational-level characteristics related to health care providers' implementation of a desired reform in the community response to intimate partner violence, namely, universal screening practices. Efforts to reform the health care system's response to domestic violence prove to be difficult. The current study surveyed 209 providers across 12 health care settings to examine those factors related to reform implementation. Findings indicate that individual characteristics (perceived capacity to screen and positive beliefs about screening) and the presence of an organizational climate for implementation (e.g., consequences for implementation or failure to implement, resources to support implementation, policies and procedures consistent with desired practices) affect the extent to which health care providers engage in routine screening practices. The implications of these findings for promoting systems change, in general, and the health care system's response to domestic violence, in particular, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In response to the 2019 novel coronavirus pandemic, portions of the U.S. government implemented social distancing policies that, while necessary, yield unintended consequences. This article explores how risk for gender-based violence (GBV) has been exacerbated across the social-ecological model (SEM; e.g., by increasing economic stress and decreasing social support) and highlights differential impact across social locations (e.g., considering race, gender, social class)., Method: Drawing on gender-based violence prevention and response research, considerations for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners are delineated., Results: A comprehensive framework adapting an intersectional lens and the SEM is used to explain the changes in risk and protective factors for GBV. Policy recommendations that serve to augment (not replace) social distancing policies are proposed., Conclusion: The pandemic has uprooted life in a way that impacts GBV prevention and response. Yet, this is also an opportunity to define a new way forward rather than return to "business as usual"; psychologists should strive to improve social services by utilizing the SEM and intersectionality. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

At least 282 Food Policy Councils (FPCs) are currently working to improve access to healthy foods in their communities by connecting food system sectors, gathering community input, and advising food policy. Empirical research on FPCs is limited. This study empirically evaluates FPCs to better understand the relationships between Organizational Capacity, Social Capital, and Council Effectiveness by testing a FPC Framework adapted from Allen and colleagues (2012). Members of all FPCs in the U.S., Canada, and Native American Tribes and First Nations were invited to complete the Food Policy Council Self-Assessment Tool (FPC-SAT). Structural equation modeling was used to test the FPC Framework. Three hundred and fifty-four FPC members from 95 councils completed the FPC-SAT. After slight modification, a revised FPC Framework was a good fit with the data (χ 2  = 40.085, df = 24, p-value = .021, comparative fit index = 0.988, Tucker Lewis index = 0.982, root mean squared error of approximation = 0.044, p-close = .650). A moderation analysis revealed that community context influences the relationship between Social Capital and Council Effectiveness within the FPC Framework. The FPC Framework can guide capacity building interventions and FPC evaluations. The empirically tested framework can help FPCs efficiently work toward achieving their missions and improving their local food system., (© Society for Community Research and Action 2017.)

Problem: Food Policy Councils (FPCs) are cross-sector collaborations that bring representatives from across the food system together to identify issues, coordinate programs, and inform policy. Little is known about how rural FPCs operate to influence food access in their communities., Purpose: To explore how a rural FPC facilitates cross-sector partnerships and influences food system change through interviews with eight members of the Adam's County FPC., Results: Connections developed through the FPC helped council members work more effectively in their home organizations. Four themes were discussed: council dynamics and structure; sharing resources, expertise, and information; promoting healthy food access through programs; and food policy opportunities and challenges., Conclusions: This case study illustrates connections between FPC members in a rural county and identifies how FPCs can facilitate food system change in their communities. Improving our understanding of how rural FPCs function can help to advance the potential public health impact of councils.

Coordinating councils are frequently formed to promote a coordinated response to complex social issues (e.g., community health, violence prevention). Little is known, to date, however, about council effectiveness. Prior research on council effectiveness and the correlates of effectiveness have typically relied on case studies. While case studies provide rich descriptive information about the functioning and quality of councils, studies of multiple settings are central to understanding what factors explain variability in perceived effectiveness across councils. Further, the relatively few studies that have examined multiple settings often ignore the multi-level nature of studying councils by failing to disaggregate individual and council level effects. To examine councils' perceived effectiveness in attaining their goals and the correlates of council effectiveness across settings, data were gathered from members (N = 511) and leaders (N = 41) of 43 domestic violence coordinating councils regarding their perceived climate, membership, structure, and accomplishments. Study findings suggest that councils were not perceived as uniformly effective. Councils were more likely to be rated as effective by members and leaders when they were characterized by an inclusive climate and diverse active membership.