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Identification of specific and therapeutically actionable vulnerabilities, ideally present across multiple mutational backgrounds, is needed to improve acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients' outcomes. We identify stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD), the key enzyme in fatty acid (FA) desaturation, as prognostic of patients' outcomes and, using the clinical-grade inhibitor SSI-4, show that SCD inhibition (SCDi) is a therapeutic vulnerability across multiple AML models in vitro and in vivo. Multiomic analysis demonstrates that SCDi causes lipotoxicity, which induces AML cell death via pleiotropic effects. Sensitivity to SCDi correlates with AML dependency on FA desaturation regardless of mutational profile and is modulated by FA biosynthesis activity. Finally, we show that lipotoxicity increases chemotherapy-induced DNA damage and standard chemotherapy further sensitizes AML cells to SCDi. Our work supports developing FA desaturase inhibitors in AML while stressing the importance of identifying predictive biomarkers of response and biologically validated combination therapies to realize their full therapeutic potential., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

KMT2A-rearranged (KMT2A-R) is an aggressive and chemo-refractory acute leukemia which mostly affects children. Transcriptomics-based characterization and chemical interrogation identified kinases as key drivers of survival and drug resistance in KMT2A-R leukemia. In contrast, the contribution and regulation of phosphatases is unknown. In this study we uncover the essential role and underlying mechanisms of SET, the endogenous inhibitor of Ser/Thr phosphatase PP2A, in KMT2A-R-leukemia. Investigation of SET expression in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) samples demonstrated that SET is overexpressed, and elevated expression of SET is correlated with poor prognosis and with the expression of MEIS and HOXA genes in AML patients. Silencing SET specifically abolished the clonogenic ability of KMT2A-R leukemic cells and the transcription of KMT2A targets genes HOXA9 and HOXA10. Subsequent mechanistic investigations showed that SET interacts with both KMT2A wild type and fusion proteins, and it is recruited to the HOXA10 promoter. Pharmacological inhibition of SET by FTY720 disrupted SET-PP2A interaction leading to cell cycle arrest and increased sensitivity to chemotherapy in KMT2A-R-leukemic models. Phospho-proteomic analyses revealed that FTY720 reduced the activity of kinases regulated by PP2A, including ERK1, GSK3β, AURB and PLK1 and led to suppression of MYC, supporting the hypothesis of a feedback loop among PP2A, AURB, PLK1, MYC, and SET. Our findings illustrate that SET is a novel player in KMT2A-R leukemia and they provide evidence that SET antagonism could serve as a novel strategy to treat this aggressive leukemia., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Whilst bone marrow adipocytes (BMAd) have long been appreciated by clinical haemato-pathologists, it is only relatively recently, in the face of emerging data, that the adipocytic niche has come under the watchful eye of biologists. There is now mounting evidence to suggest that BMAds are not just a simple structural entity of bone marrow microenvironments but a bona fide driver of physio- and pathophysiological processes relevant to multiple aspects of health and disease. Whilst the truly multifaceted nature of BMAds has only just begun to emerge, paradigms have shifted already for normal, malignant and non-malignant haemopoiesis incorporating a view of adipocyte regulation. Major efforts are ongoing, to delineate the routes by which BMAds participate in health and disease with a final aim of achieving clinical tractability. This review summarises the emerging role of BMAds across the spectrum of normal and pathological haematological conditions with a particular focus on its impact on cancer therapy., (© 2023 The Authors. British Journal of Haematology published by British Society for Haematology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Despite emerging evidence of contracting for evidence-based practices (EBP), little research has studied how managers lead contract-based human service delivery. A 2015 survey of 193 managers from five San Francisco Bay Area county human service departments examined the relationship between contract-based service coordination (i.e., structuring cross-sector services, coordinating client referrals and eligibility, overseeing EBP implementation) and the predictors of managerial role, involvement, and boundary spanning. Multivariate regression results suggested that county managers identified fewer service coordination challenges if they were at the executive and program levels, had greater contract involvement, and engaged in contract-focused boundary spanning. In conclusion, we underscore the organizational and managerial dimensions of contract-based service delivery.

Although a promising technique, phytoextraction has yet to see significant commercialization. Major limitations include metal uptake rates and subsequent processing costs. However, it has been shown that liquid-culture-grown Arabidopsis can take up and store palladium as nanoparticles. The processed plant biomass has catalytic activity comparable to that of commercially available catalysts, creating a product of higher value than extracted bulk metal. We demonstrate that the minimum level of palladium in Arabidopsis dried tissues for catalytic activity comparable to commercially available 3% palladium-on-carbon catalysts was achieved from dried plant biomass containing between 12 and 18 g·kg -1 Pd. To advance this technology, species suitable for in-the-field application: mustard, miscanthus, and 16 willow species and cultivars, were tested. These species were able to grow, and take up, palladium from both synthetic and mine-sourced tailings. Although levels of palladium accumulation in field-suitable species are below that required for commercially available 3% palladium-on-carbon catalysts, this study both sets the target, and is a step toward, the development of field-suitable species that concentrate catalytically active levels of palladium. Life cycle assessment on the phytomining approaches described here indicates that the use of plants to accumulate palladium for industrial applications has the potential to decrease the overall environmental impacts associated with extracting palladium using present-day mining processes.

The HUSK projects, involving collaboration between service users, providers, educators, and researchers, coincided with the reorganization of national government services (NAV). The NAV reorganization brought together employment services, social insurance, and municipal social service benefits, and called for a service model where users would be empowered to influence the provision of services. In this analysis of the HUSK cases the authors focus on the relationship between the service user and the service provider, identifying themes in two broad domains: concepts of the individual that included the service user and the service provider and concepts of the relationship that included power, role, activity, interaction, and communication. Within each theme, the analysis highlights the transition from a traditional or historical state to a new or desired state and draws upon some of the classic literature that frames the encounters between service users and providers.

A growing movement in the United States seeks to improve the outcomes achieved by public agencies through performance measurement strategies. In child welfare policy, a federally mandated performance measurement system has evolved since the 1980s, establishing the federal Child and Family Services Review which uses a series of performance indicators for evaluating the child welfare system. This article reviews the literature on performance measurement and performance management in the public sector in order to develop a conceptual framework for examining the federal child welfare performance measurement system. It briefly summarizes the evolution of federal policy related to performance measurement in child welfare. The framework is then used to guide an analysis of the debate surrounding the establishment of the current child welfare performance measurement system, concluding with recommendations for consideration in future reform efforts.

While family reunification is the primary permanency objective for children who must be placed temporarily outside of their homes, reunification is not possible for all children. For those children who do not return to their parents and cannot find permanent homes with other family members, adoption is the favored outcome. This review examines the composite measure in the federal Child and Family Services Review that measures agency performance related to the timeliness of adoptions of foster children. It summarizes the multiple factors that research has found to be associated with increased risk for adoption delay and disruption. These include child characteristics, family of origin and adoptive family characteristics, and features of child welfare services and systems. Practices that have been broadly linked to adoption timeliness or address risk factors associated with delays in adoption are described, including social worker activities and agency or system-wide practice.

In the context of child welfare, family reunification refers to the services that are provided for purposes of returning children who have been placed in out-of-home care to their families of origin. Family reunification is the primary permanency goal for the majority of children who have been placed temporarily outside of their homes. This literature review focuses on the federal Child and Family Services Review composite outcome indicator that seeks to measure agency performance related to family reunification. It describes factors at the level of the agency/system, the family, and the child that are associated with failure to reunify. Practices that have been linked with successful family reunification are described, with particular attention to the period between removal from the home and reunification. The review concludes with questions intended to promote discussion about the use of evidence to support the reunification process within child welfare agencies.

Re-entry to foster care generally refers to circumstances in which children who have been discharged from foster care to be reunified with their family of origin, adopted, or provided kinship guardianship are returned to foster care. In the context of the federal performance measurement system, re-entry refers specifically to a return to foster care following an unsuccessful reunification. The federal Children and Family Services Review measures re-entry to foster care with a single indicator, called the permanency of reunification indicator, one of four indicators comprising the reunification composite measure. This review focuses on research related to the re-entry indicator, including the characteristics of children, caregivers and families, as well as case and child welfare services that are associated with a higher or lower risk of re-entry to foster care. Promising post-reunification services designed to prevent re-entry to foster care are described.

In the context of the federal child welfare performance measurement system, recurrence of maltreatment refers to circumstances in which children that have previously been substantiated as victims of abuse or neglect experience another incident of substantiated maltreatment. Multiple episodes of maltreatment can lead to: (1) more serious short and long term negative consequences, (2) entry into the juvenile justice system, and (3) juvenile delinquency. In this literature review the authors summarize the research on child, family, and systemic factors related to maltreatment recurrence and promising practices for improving performance. Promising practices aimed at preventing recurrence of maltreatment include interventions at multiple levels (e.g., the child, caregiver, family, and agency) and include a range of service modalities.

The federal child welfare performance measurement system exerts a profound influence over the design, delivery, and evaluation of child welfare services at the local level, with funding contingent upon participation in the federally mandated Child and Family Services Review. In this exploratory study the authors focus on local efforts to respond to and comply with the federal child welfare performance measurement system in 11 northern California counties. The authors review the System Improvement Plans of each county and the findings from focus groups with child welfare staff conducted in five of the counties that included the limitations of federal performance measures, the difficulty using these measures to inform decision making, and the continuing struggle to achieve the major child welfare goals of safety, permanency, and well-being. The implications include the need for: flexibility in the federal performance measurement system, opportunities to integrate local values and priorities, and child well-being measures so that timeliness does not take on more significance than well-being or the quality of relationships among local stakeholders in the child welfare system.

Placement stability as an outcome goal in child welfare performance measurement is grounded in the importance of providing stability for children as they are developing attachments and relationships to caregivers. Research shows that many children are vulnerable to placement instability, especially those who have been in long term foster care. This literature review provides an overview of the federal placement stability measure. It then summarizes the diverse set of factors has been found to be associated with placement instability, including characteristics of the child and family of origin, placement type and quality, and the child welfare system and services. Promising practices aimed at promoting placement stability are summarized, followed by questions designed to foster discussion about the relationship of the evidence to child welfare practice.

Despite the federal emphasis on achieving timely permanency for children who enter foster care, some children continue to remain in foster care for extended periods, with approximately 20,000 children a year "aging out" of foster care into adulthood without having achieved permanency in a family setting ( Dworsky, 2008 ). This literature review focuses on the federal Child and Family Services Review measure that measures agency performance related to achieving permanency for children in foster care for long periods of time. The review summarizes the factors associated with timely discharges from care; while each child and family involved with the child welfare system brings a set of unique challenges and characteristics, research points to common individual and system factors that may be associated with long stays in foster care. Broad strategies that may be linked to achieving permanency are described, followed by explicit models developed to increase the likelihood of timely permanency.

Building on the literature related to evidence-based practice, knowledge management, and learning organizations, this cross-case analysis presents twelve works-in-progress in ten local public human service organizations seeking to develop their own knowledge sharing systems. The data for this cross-case analysis can be found in the various contributions to this Special Issue. The findings feature the developmental aspects of building a learning organization that include knowledge sharing systems featuring transparency, self-assessment, and dissemination and utilization. Implications for practice focus on the structure and processes involved in building knowledge sharing teams inside public human service organizations., (Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC)

One of the biggest challenges facing human service organizations is the proliferation of information from inside and outside the agency that needs to be managed if it is to be of use. The concepts of tacit and explicit knowledge can inform an approach to this challenge. Tacit knowledge is stored in the minds of practitioners (often called practice wisdom) and the explicit knowledge is often found in organizational procedure manuals and educational and training materials. Building on this perspective, this analysis provides a preliminary definition of research-minded practitioners by explicating the elements of curiosity, critical reflection, and critical thinking. The organizational implications of developing a cadre of research-minded practitioners include the commitment of top management to support "link officers", evidence request services, research and development units, and service standards. The challenges include the capacity to identify/support research-minded practitioners, promote an organizational culture of evidence-informed practice, redefine staff development and training, redefine job descriptions, and specify the nature of managerial leadership., (Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC)

Knowledge of organizational history is important for recognizing patterns in effective management and understanding how organizations respond to internal and external challenges. This cross-case analysis of 12 histories of pioneering nonprofit human service organizations contributes an important longitudinal perspective on organizational history, complementing the cross-sectional case studies that dominate the existing research on nonprofit organizations. The literature on organizational growth, including lifecycle models and growth management, is reviewed, along with the literature on organizational resilience. Based on analysis of the 12 organizational histories, a conceptual model is presented that synthesizes key factors in the areas of leadership, internal operations, and external relations that influence organizational growth and resilience to enable nonprofit organizations to survive and thrive over time. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal examples from the organizational histories illustrate the conceptual map. The paper concludes with a discussion of directions for future research on nonprofit organizational history.

The Spanish Speaking Unity Council (Unity Council) is a community development nonprofit organization that was established in 1964, during the civil rights movement, by a group of community members who wanted to ensure the political representation of the Latino community. Over its 45-year history, the Unity Council has grown into a $12 million community development organization that delivers a range of programming, including social services and employment training as well as facilitating the development and support of local businesses, low-income housing, and neighborhood improvement activities. The history of the agency presents the multiple challenges and rewards associated with development in an underserved community and an example of the important role that leadership plays in the growth of a nonprofit.

CompassPoint Nonprofit Services is a nonprofit organization that delivers cutting-edge research and support services to the nonprofit community. Over its 30-year history, CompassPoint has transitioned from a small management support agency into a nationally-recognized leader in nonprofit capacity building and nonprofit management research. Through its strong internal operations and external connections, the agency has been able to stay current on the multiple challenges facing the local and national nonprofit community. CompassPoint has been a valuable resource for the nonprofit sector as it has struggled to retain its identity over the past 30 years, in relation to political and economic changes that have altered the functioning of the sector as a whole.

Asian Community Mental Health Services is a nonprofit organization that delivers mental health services to primarily Asian and Pacific Islander communities. From its early beginnings and over its 35-year history, the agency has had to overcome numerous challenges, including gaining legitimacy as a culturally specific nonprofit, combating stigma surrounding mental health issues within the Asian Pacific Islander community, building resources to fund service delivery, and developing an educated and culturally sensitive workforce. The history of the organization highlights the multiple challenges and rewards of developing a culturally specific nonprofit in an urban area as well as the important role that internal operations play in relation to nonprofit expansion and growth.

BANANAS, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that has provided child care resource and referral services for over 35 years. BANANAS emerged as a grassroots effort initiated by a group of female volunteers who sought to build a network of women with children who needed childcare. As the organization developed, its leaders recognized and responded to additional needs, including resource and information sharing, workshops and classes, and political advocacy. Beginning as a collective, BANANAS has grown into a multifaceted service delivery and advocacy nonprofit operating with an annual budget of $12 million. This history of the agency reflects the development of a unique community-based effort, its challenges and rewards, and the multiple successes that this pioneering nonprofit has experienced.

Larkin Street Youth Services is a pioneering nonprofit organization that was established in 1981 to serve the growing urban homeless and runaway youth population. What began as a neighborhood effort has evolved into a $12 million organization over the course of its 25-year history. Larkin Street Youth Services delivers a continuum of services to homeless youth including counseling, housing, education, employment, and HIV services. The agency has received significant local and national attention for the success of its targeted program model and continuum of care services. The history of Larkin Street Youth Services provides an example of the important role of internal operations in an agency's ability to re-invent itself and respond to a larger community need.

On Lok is a pioneering nonprofit organization that has delivered services to the frail and elderly since its founding in 1971. The agency began as a grassroots effort focused on improving the health care available to older adults living independently in the community. Over its 40-year history, On Lok has evolved into a $70 million nonprofit human service organization with a national reputation for innovation as a leading provider of care to frail elderly. The agency has developed its own model of care that has been replicated in cities around the country. The history of On Lok represents the important impact that donor and community support plays in an organization's long-term success.

The Black Adoption Research and Placement Center is a nonprofit organization delivering culturally specific adoption and foster care services. The organization developed as a response to concerns in the African-American community about the high numbers of African-American children entering and not exiting the public foster care system. The organization has undergone significant transformations over its 25-year history in relation to social, political, and economic changes that have altered the ways that the agency finances and delivers services. The history of Black Adoption Research and Placement Center presents an organization that has weathered many challenges because of its strong leadership, its committed governing body, its external relationships, and its internal operations.

The Bayview Hunters Point Foundation for Community Improvement is a nonprofit organization established in 1971 to defend the legal rights of African-Americans living in its community. Over the years, the agency diversified its services to include mental health and substance abuse treatment, violence prevention, youth programming, and HIV services. The organization has overcome multiple challenges during its 37-year history in relation to social, political, and economic changes that have influenced the way the organization has financed and delivered its services. The history of the organization presents a collaborative approach to community problem-solving and exemplifies the important role that external relationships play in relationship to nonprofit growth and survival.

Jewish Family and Children's Services of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin, and Sonoma Counties is a pioneering nonprofit human service organization that has delivered services for 157 years. Over the course of its history, the organization has transformed itself from an all-volunteer agency delivering aid to immigrant families during the Gold Rush era to a $30 million nonprofit human service organization offering a full-range of services to adults, children, and families. The history of Jewish Family and Children's Services sheds light on the importance of strong leadership, strategic planning, external relationships, and strong donor support.

Girls Incorporated of Alameda County is nonprofit human service organization that has delivered education, counseling, and advocacy services to girls aged 6 to 18 for 50 years. The organization began as a small, local girls club and has grown into a large multi-faceted service delivery organization attached to a national governing body. The history of Girls Incorporated of Alameda County introduces struggles in relation to external and internal factors that altered the way that the agency financed and managed and exemplifies the important role of nonprofit leadership. The organization's many accomplishments have also presented multiple challenges, particularly related to the changing roles of women in American society.

Coleman Advocates for Youth and Children is a pioneering 30-year-old child advocacy organization founded by several affluent community members and children's service professionals to stop housing abused and neglected children in juvenile hall. Today, low-income youth and parents in families of color are now assuming leadership in developing a unique hybrid approach that integrates community organizing with more traditional child advocacy strategies and focuses on increasing affordable housing and improving the city's educational system. The strategies employed by Coleman have also evolved, shifting from insider advocacy with administrative officials to public campaigns targeting the city budget process, to local initiative campaigns, and most recently to electoral politics. This organizational history features the issues mission and structure, leadership, managing issues, advocacy strategies and community relations, and funding.

Shelter Network is a nonprofit organization that delivers a range of services that meet the needs of homeless families and individuals in order to help them achieve stable housing and self-sufficiency. The agency began as a grassroots community effort to respond to the growing problem of homelessness and its relationship with its external community continues to play an important role in its financing, growth, and development. Over its 20-year history, Shelter Network has overcome multiple challenges related to leadership, finance, and community support and has grown from a grassroots agency into an organization with a budget of $7 million.

This analysis provides an overview of the major policy themes and promising practices emerging in recent years as policymakers and researchers struggle to design a long-term care system that meets the needs of an aging population. Themes that have dominated the long-term care policy debates include: recruiting and retaining a qualified long-term care workforce; devising financing mechanisms for those requiring long-term care; and moving away from an institutional-based long-term care system towards more home- and community-based services. Three promising practices that have emerged in the past few decades include: the culture change movement; service integration that combines medical and social care; and various forms of community residential care that bring together housing and services in a more home-like environment. It concludes with long-term care recommendations for policymakers.

Assessment of elder mistreatment is hindered by a myriad of factors, including inconsistent definitions, divergent and untested theories of causation, and limited research attention to the problem. In addition to these difficulties, professionals encounter complex situations requiring considerable clinical assessment skills and decision-making capacity. Adult Protective Services (APS) workers, as well as mandated reporters such as healthcare providers and social workers, need an assessment tool that can reliably and accurately assess for elder mistreatment. Based on a structured review of screening and assessment instruments, this article discusses the psychometric properties of 15 instruments and the relevance to APS. Implications of the findings for future research, practice, and policy are discussed.

The new "Children's and Family Services Reviews" (CFSR) process focuses on the effectiveness of services to children and families by measuring client outcomes. This article reviews the research literature related to child welfare outcomes in order to provide a context for federal accountability efforts. It also summarizes the 2001 federal mandate to hold states accountable for child welfare outcomes and describes California's response to this mandate. Implications of the outcomes literature review and measurement problems in the CFSR process suggest CSFR measures do not always capture meaningful outcomes. Recommendations for change are made.

Racial/ethnic disproportionality in the child welfare system is a complicated social problem that is receiving increasing amounts of attention from researchers and practitioners. This review of the literature examines disproportionality in the front-end of the child welfare system and interventions that may address it. While none of the interventions had evidence suggesting that they reduced disproportionality in child welfare front-end processes, some of the interventions may improve child welfare case processes related to disproportionality and outcomes for families of color.

Evidence-based practice (EBP) seeks to integrate the expertise of individual practitioners with the best available evidence within the context of the values and expectations of clients. Prior to implementing EBP, it is important to understand the significance that organizational change and organizational culture play. This article seeks to explore the literature associated with both organizational change and organizational culture. The analysis of organizational culture and change draw upon findings from both the private, for-profit sector, and the public, non-profit field. It is divided into four sections: organizational change and innovation, organizational culture, managing organizational culture and change, and finally, applying the findings to the implementation of EBP. While the audience for this analysis is managers in public and nonprofit human service organizations who are considering implementing EBP into their work environment, it is not intended to provide a "how to" guide, but rather a framework for critical thinking.

Family assessment instruments can enhance the clinical judgment of child welfare practitioners by structuring decision-making processes and demonstrating the linkages between assessment, service provision, and child and family outcomes. This article describes the concept of family assessment in the child welfare context and provides an overview of the theoretical and disciplinary influences in the family assessment field. Based on a structured review of 85 instruments, the article discusses 21 that appear to the be the most valid and reliable for evaluating four federally-defined domains of family assessment: (1) patterns of social interaction, (2) parenting practices, (3) background and history of the parents or caregivers, and (4) problems in access to basic necessities such as income, employment, and adequate housing. Key measurement criteria as well as practical considerations in the selection and implementation of family assessment instrumentation in child welfare are discussed.

Evidence-based practice (EBP) involves the integration of the expertise of individual practitioners with the best available evidence within the context of values and expectations of clients. Little is known about the implementation of evidence-based practice in the human services. This article is based on a comprehensive search of the literature related to the organizational factors needed to introduce EBP into a human service agency, tools for assessing organizational readiness for EBP, and lessons learned from the current implementation efforts. Three approaches to implementing EBP are investigated: the micro (increasing worker skills), macro (strengthening systems and structures), and the combination (focusing on both aspects). Conclusions and recommendations are drawn from the literature review and framed in the form of a tool for assessing organizational readiness for EBP implementation.

The measurement of child well-being has become increasingly important in child welfare practice in the past ten years with the federal emphasis on measuring positive outcomes for children and families. Practical and methodological barriers to evaluating well-being exist alongside positive developments in the field. This article reviews the research literature related to child and youth well-being, providing a context for the discussion of measurement issues in child welfare settings. Based on a structured review of the literature, the article discusses instruments that appear to be most appropriate for use in a child welfare setting. Instruments are presented within stages of development, including (1) Infancy and Early Childhood, (2) Middle Childhood, and (3) Adolescence. Implications for the design and use of child well-being instruments in child welfare practice are discussed.

Evidence-based practice integrates individual practitioner expertise with the best available evidence while also considering the values and expectations of clients. Research can be categorized into two broad areas: primary (experiments, clinical trials, and surveys) and secondary research (overviews of major studies, practice guidelines, and decision and economic analyses). One of the major challenges to incorporating research evidence into organizational life is the absence of an evidence-based organizational culture within human service agencies. This article identifies multiple strategies and case examples for creating such an organizational culture. Three major implications emerge from this analysis: (a) agency- university partnerships to identify the data to support evidence-based practice, (b) staff training (in the agencies and on campuses) that features problem-based learning approaches to support the introduction and utilization of evidence-based practice, and (c) the modification of agency cultures to support and sustain evidence- based practice.

This analysis describes the nature of a learning organization, defines the boundaries of evidence-informed practice, identifies the elements of knowledge management, and specifies the elements of the transfer of learning. A set of principles are presented to guide managers in transforming human service organizations into learning organizations along with a set of implementation strategies that can inform participants of the values and benefits of knowledge management. This analysis features concepts and principles adapted and synthesized from research in diverse fields, such as evidence-based health care and the for-profit sector related to learning organizations, knowledge management, and the transfer of learning.

Knowledge management has recently taken a more prominent role in the management of organizations as worker knowledge and intellectual capital are recognized as critical to organizational success. This analysis explores the literature of knowledge management including the individual level of tacit and explicit knowledge, the networks and social interactions utilized by workers to create and share new knowledge, and the multiple organizational and managerial factors associated with effective knowledge management systems. Based on the role of organizational culture, structure, leadership, and reward systems, six strategies are identified to assist human service organizations with implementing new knowledge management systems.

The assessment of risk is a critical part of child welfare agency practice. This review of the research literature on different instruments for assessing risk and safety in child welfare focuses on instrument reliability, validity, outcomes, and use with children and families of color. The findings suggest that the current actuarial instruments have stronger predictive validity than consensus-based instruments. This review was limited by the variability in definitions and measures across studies, the relatively small number of studies examining risk assessment instruments, and the lack of studies on case decision points other than the initial investigation.

Social service practitioners and researchers have long been aware of the gap between research and practice. The evidence-based practice movement has brought increasing attention to the role of empirically based interventions within social service practice, however, effective methods of research dissemination and utilization have received relatively little attention. This article describes factors related to dissemination and utilization of research within human service agency settings, including those factors related to: (1) individual practitioners, (2) the organization, (3) the nature of research, and (4) how research is communicated. The implications of these factors for dissemination and utilization of research are also identified. Ultimately, effective dissemination and utilization of research will involve considerable collaboration between researchers and practitioners. If they are to reach the shared goal of improved interventions and client outcomes, effective collaboration will require both practitioners and researchers to make changes to their practice and to their research.

Parent education programs may be offered or mandated at various stages of the child welfare services continuum. However, little is known regarding their efficacy in addressing the parenting problems that bring families to the attention of child welfare services. This article synthesizes outcome data generated from 58 parenting programs with families determined to be at-risk of child maltreatment and/or abusive or neglectful. It places parent education programs within the broader context of research on effective parenting as well as the leading etiological models of child maltreatment to assess the evaluations of these programs with regard to methodological rigor as well as theoretical salience. Practical and theoretical implications are presented along with recommendations for future research.

As child welfare systems across the country face the problem of parental substance abuse, there is an increasing need to understand the types of treatment approaches that are most effective for substance-abusing parents in the child welfare system-the majority of whom are mothers. This structured review of the literature focuses on evidence related to two areas: (1) individual-level interventions designed to assist mothers and women in addressing their substance abuse problems, and (2) system-level interventions designed to improve collaboration and coordination between the child welfare system and the alcohol and other drug system. Overall, research suggests the following program components may be effective with substance-abusing women with children: (1) Women-centered treatment that involves children, (2) Specialized health and mental health services, (3) Home visitation services, (4) Concrete assistance, (5) Short-term targeted interventions, and (6) Comprehensive programs that integrate many of these components. Research also suggests that promising collaborative models between the child welfare system (CWS) and the alcohol and other drug (AOD) system typically include the following core elements: (1) Out-stationing AOD workers in child welfare offices, (2) Joint case planning, (3) Using official committees to guide collaborative efforts, (4) Training and cross-training, (5) Using protocols for sharing confidential information, and (6) Using dependency drug courts. Although more rigorous research is needed on both individual-level and system-level substance abuse interventions for parents involved in the child welfare system, the integration of individual-level interventions and system-level approaches is a potentially useful practice approach with this vulnerable population.

It has long been recognized that children and adults living in poverty are at risk for a number of negative outcomes. As inequality in the distribution of wealth, income and opportunity has grown in the U.S. during the post-welfare reform era, impoverished children and their families have tended to become increasingly concentrated in urban low-income neighborhoods. Research evidence demonstrates that living in these neighborhoods affects family well-being in several key areas: economic and employment opportunity, health and mental health condition, crime and safety, and children's behavioral and educational outcomes. Using the neighborhood indicator approach, public and nonprofit social service agencies will be better positioned to develop a comprehensive and integrated service delivery model at the neighborhood level by using neighborhood assessment to locate services and utilize neighborhood intervention strategies.