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Media stories have highlighted some devastating consequences of attacks on bodily autonomy (i.e., the fundamental right to make decisions about one's own body without constraints or violence), such as the surging maternal mortality rates among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), a 10-year-old rape victim's travel out of state for an abortion, families' exodus from Texas to avoid child maltreatment charges in response to their children's gender-affirming care, and the dangerous effects of Missouri's ban of gender-affirming care for children and adults. To successfully fight attacks on bodily autonomy, social workers would benefit from applying an intersectional and rights-based, reproductive justice theoretical framework that blends under-explored theories of state violence: biopolitics, necropolitics, and debility. Our resulting framework elucidates the role white supremacy plays in state violence. After providing the theoretical framework, we connect the framework to the modern political landscape's rapidly spreading efforts to limit the sovereignty of People of Color, women, and transgender and non-binary communities in the latest iterations of state violence. Our article provides a necessary lens to understand and address the complex web of implications that emerge from attacks on bodily autonomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PHILADELPHIA -- Sebastian DeSimone was born with 'a little bit of autism,' as he tells it. The 20-year-old, who wants to become a teacher's assistant, enrolled at Gwynedd Mercy University, [...]

Few studies have explored polysubstance use among youths aging out of foster care, despite higher rates of substance misuse for youths exiting foster care than those in the general population. Polysubstance use has been linked to substance use disorders, health problems, cognitive impairment, suicide, and overdose. This study investigates understudied risk and protective factors associated with polysubstance use with data from 384 youth who turned 17 years old between December 1, 2001, and June 30, 2003, and were transitioning out of foster care from the Missouri Children's Division. We conducted bivariate analyses with chi-square tests for categorical variables and Analysis of Variance with continuous independent variables. Then we conducted a multinomial logistic regression to explore differences between individuals who used 1 or no substances, individuals who used only alcohol and marijuana, and individuals who used 2 or more substances. Bivariate analyses found that being white, having deviant peers, and living in a more disordered neighborhood were risk factors for polysubstance use. Multinomial logistic regression results found that being white (RR = 6.89, p <.001), having deviant peers (RR = 1.15, p <.001), and living in a more disordered neighborhood (RR = 1.13, p <.05), increased the risk engaging in polysubstance use. Similar to findings in other studies, we found that deviant peers and neighborhood disorder increase the risk of polysubstance use, but family support, church attendance, and spirituality were not protective against polysubstance use. Interventions should work to reduce deviant peer relationships among foster youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated arts education cultivates creativity, critical thinking, and holistic understanding by seamlessly combining various art forms with traditional subjects, enriching students' learning experiences and fostering well-rounded individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes a study that investigated whether child welfare-involved youths' school engagement affected delinquency after controlling for peer deviance, caregiver closeness, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study used data from 461 11- to 17-year-olds who had substantiated child maltreatment investigations and participated in Wave 1 of the second National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW II). Because there were low rates of delinquency among NSCAW II participants, a negative binomial regression was conducted. The study found that school engagement had a significant effect even after controlling for peer deviance, caregiver closeness, and ADHD. Results also showed that peer deviance increased the count of delinquent acts, whereas caregiver closeness protected against deviance. This study demonstrates the role schools play as a prosocial influence among maltreated youths. Results from this study illuminate key targets for prevention and intervention strategies.

Evaluted the outcomes of the Curriculum Workshop Series for junior faculty participating in the Harbor-UCLA Family Medicine Faculty Development Fellowship. Participants were to create an individual curriculum project using six fundamental steps of curriculum development. Six of eight projects were implemented in residency programs; outside experts concluded a majority of the six steps were addressed by most fellows. (EV)