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Issues discussed concern the effect of parental employment and continuity of public assistance receipt on the rate of high school drop outs in poor families. Studies suggest drop out levels have risen in the 1990s for students with families on welfare, but parental work and transition off public assistance are linked to lower high school drop out rates.

Objectives: The purpose of this systematic review is to examine ways a resilience framework might inform social workers' understanding about how to mitigate risks for youth who use Internet and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Eligibility criteria: This review identified original research published between January 2006 and December 2019 that used a resilience framework to assess outcomes of youth, ages 10–19, who use ICTs. Methods of synthesis: A narrative synthesis grouped articles based on conceptualizations of resilience, risk, and protection; methods; and populations. Results: A search identified 13 peer-reviewed studies that used resilience and its relationship to outcomes. Most studies identified resilience as a mediator or moderator that buffers the effect of harm. Conclusions: Social workers who wish to mitigate risks for youth who use ICTs might focus on interventions that strengthen resilience. Currently, resilience is inconsistently conceptually defined, and more robust research is needed regarding ICT use by marginalized youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Student-mothers from low-income families are three times as likely to drop out of college as female students without children. Yet, the economic and social benefits of postsecondary education for low-income mothers underscore the importance of examining environmental barriers to completing college for these women. Methods: The intent of this study, therefore, is to develop and validate an instrument, the school support scale, aimed at measuring the perception of emotional and tangible college support among student-mothers from low-income families. Results: Findings show excellent reliabilities for emotional (α = .944) and tangible (α = .888) subscales and indicate that student-mothers who perceive faculty and staff as supportive tend to have strong commitments to the institution (p = .01). Applications: The 22-item scale can be used as an “early-warning” tool for college counselors and administrators to support student-mothers in identifying and removing barriers that contribute to problems associated with college retention of low-income mothers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The objective of this study is to establish the factor structure of the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ), an instrument designed to measure parenting practices among parents of elementary school children. Methods: Exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analytic (CFA) procedures are used to validate the APQ with 790 parents of children, ages 6—10. Results: Three subscales emerged representing parenting practices associated with child behavior management (positive reinforcement, positive discipline, and negative discipline). CFA fit indices indicated adequate fit with the model, with all items loading significantly on their respective factors. Conclusion: Findings suggest that the APQ can be used to measure parenting practices associated with child behavior management among parents of children, ages 6—10. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is an exploratory study that makes use of survey research methods and a convenience sample (N = 222) to examine how urban school social workers' perceived knowledge of neighborhood and community risk and protective factors affect their levels of self-reported effectiveness in practice tasks. Using hierarchical multiple regression, the analyses demonstrate that differences in levels of social work licensure, ethnicity, and geographic location of service predict perceived levels of effectiveness in practice tasks. This research highlights a specific area of school social work practice that needs greater focus and research, and the authors discuss implications for school social work practice and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School-based mentoring programs that promote academic success and prosocial behaviors among youths are of interest to school social workers. Because these programs are relatively new, little his been reported on the effectiveness of the services or the benefits to participants. The authors examined outcome evaluations of eight school-based mentoring programs to compare the organizing frameworks, evaluate whether and how best practices were integrated into program service structures, determine evaluation methods, and assess participant outcomes. Most of these programs are guided by a prevention-focused, risk and resilience framework, with a configuration of program services that incorporates recommendations from best practices models. However, questions remain about dosage, program outcomes, and other issues unique to school-based programs. These results also suggest that evidence demonstrating the benefits of school-based mentoring programs among youths is beginning to accumulate. Nonetheless, the next generation of evaluations needs to use more rigorous research methods to confirm these findings. Recommendations to school social workers about program design and evaluation are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public Law 107-110, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), is the most recent in a number of policy initiatives to improve the nation's educational system. A major focus of this legislation is to increase parent involvement in schools, with an emphasis on expanding their roles in macro-level oversight and governance. In preparation for involving parents in safety planning at one suburban elementary school, we conducted a needs assessment to determine similarities and differences bet ween family members and school staff with regard to their perceptions of school and neighborhood factors affecting child safety. This paper describes the results of the needs assessment and how we used these results to develop strategies for engaging parents in the development of a school safety plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides information on a study which examined the relationship among academic achievement, dropout patterns, and welfare reform strategies targeted to the adult participation. Effect of welfare reform on the major populations on welfare; Benefits from welfare reform; Reason for designing local schools; Goal of social programs.

Recent semi-structured interviews with 28 librarians and branch managers on the placement of social workers in public libraries revealed a need for library and information science (LIS) programs to better prepare students for their role as social service information providers and to provide models for working with and supervising social workers in the library. It is clear that libraries are experiencing increasing demands to respond to the social-service information needs that users bring to the library, and the importance of libraries to communities in times of uncertainty and crisis is clear. In response, some libraries are including social workers on staff, but this trend does not completely relieve librarians of the need to serve the public's social-service information needs. LIS students need to understand the professional boundaries of librarianship and social work and to develop the ability to feel confident in their interactions with users who have been traumatized, are in crisis, or are struggling with challenges such as the need for credible health information; home and food insecurity information; legal aid; access to the Internet for individuals and families from low-income situations; accessible adult education programs; and more. Interview participants offered a number of suggestions for how to incorporate social work concepts into LIS education and asked for several specific skills such as training in mental-health first aid, de-escalation techniques, and greater knowledge of social-service resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]