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Background: Family involvement is viewed as an important component of the treatment process for children in residential treatment centers, but little is known about the impact of contact with family members on changes in youth functioning. Objective: The goal of this study was to use administrative data to examine the association between family involvement and youth outcomes for a Medicaid-funded residential treatment program in Florida. Differences between in-person and telephone intervention contacts based on the proximity of the family residence to the program were also explored. Methods: The sample was divided into two groups based on the number of family contacts per month during the treatment episode; i.e., number of family contacts equal to or less than the median and number of family contacts greater than the median. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine characteristics related to the percent change in scores on a measure of emotional and behavioral functioning. Results: Results suggest that maternal and paternal contacts, as well as the total number of family contacts, were associated with greater improvements in youth functioning. Youth that resided in a different county than the residential program had greater improvement in behaviors when the family was involved regardless of whether contact was in-person or over the phone. Conclusions: Family involvement, including phone contacts, is associated with improved youth outcomes during the treatment episode.

This article describes a GIS prototype designed to assist with the identification and evaluation of housing that is affordable, safe, and effective in supporting the educational goals and parental status of youth transitioning from foster care following emancipation. Spatial analysis was used to identify rental properties based on three inclusion criteria (affordability, proximity to public transportation, and proximity to grocery stores), three exclusion criteria (areas of high crime, prostitution, and sexual predator residence), and three suitability criteria (proximity to health care, mental health care, and youth serving organizations). The results were applied to four different scenarios to test the utility of the model. Of the 145 affordable rental properties, 27 met the criteria for safe and effective housing. Of these, 19 were located near bus routes with direct service to post-secondary education or vocational training programs. Only 6 were considered appropriate to meet the needs of youth who had children of their own. These outcomes highlight the complexities faced by youth when they attempt to find affordable and suitable housing following emancipation. The LEASE prototype demonstrates that spatial analysis can be a useful tool to assist with planning services for youth making the transition to independent living. (Contains 1 table and 5 figures.)

The effects of combining video modeling by experts with video feedback were analyzed with 4 female competitive gymnasts (7 to 10 years old) in a multiple baseline design across behaviors. During the intervention, after the gymnast performed a specific gymnastics skill, she viewed a video segment showing an expert gymnast performing the same skill and then viewed a video replay of her own performance of the skill. The results showed that all gymnasts demonstrated improved performance across three gymnastics skills following exposure to the intervention. (Contains 2 figures.)

Latino student access to higher education has received significant national attention in recent years. This article describes a theory-based evaluation approach used with ENLACE of Hillsborough, a 5-year project funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for the purpose of increasing Latino student graduation from high school and college. Theory-based evaluation guided planning, implementation as well as evaluation through the process of developing consensus on the Latino population of focus, adoption of culturally appropriate principles and values to guide the project, and identification of strategies to reach, engage, and impact outcomes for Latino students and their families. The approach included interactive development of logic models that focused the scope of interventions and guided evaluation designs for addressing three stages of the initiative. Challenges and opportunities created by the approach are discussed, as well as ways in which the initiative impacted Latino students and collaborating educational institutions. (Contains 4 figures and 1 table.)

Describes a study of the status of special needs services provided at community colleges, focusing on the contract method of funding. Examines the effect of administrative structure on delivery of services, the types of services being offered, and demands for additional information about services to special needs populations. Offers recommendations. (DMM)

A study was conducted (1) to examine characteristics of programs in which students were enrolled, (2) to determine which activities were most effective in dealing with dropouts, and (3) to validate program components that have previously been associated with retentive capacity. Results are reported and discussed. (CT)

This Compendium is a manual of information related to the vocational education of handicapped and disadvantaged students. Section 1, Article Series, reprints fourteen articles published in professional journals. Topics include vocational education's role in career education for handicapped students, personnel development, cooperation of special education and industrial teacher education, individualized education programs, measurement and evaluation, motivating and managing behavior, teaching safety, cooperative work-education, inservice, and individualizing instruction. Section 2, Handicapped Series, includes sections of the manual To Serve Those Who Are Handicapped. Materials address mainstreaming; student recruitment; vocational assessment; vocational counseling; career education programs; support services; individualized instruction; facilities, equipment, and materials modification; placement services; program evaluation; inservice education; and classroom procedures. Section 3, Disadvantaged Series, reprints segments from a book which deal with curriculum adaptations and teaching techniques found effective in working with disadvantaged students. The approximately twenty activities may provide students characteristics, activity description with potential advantages and disadvantages, facilities/equipment, instructional materials, and references. Section 4, Legislative Series, contains summaries of these major pieces of legislation related to serving special needs students: Vocational Education Act, Education for All Handicapped Children Act, and Rehabilitation Act of 1973--Section 504. Section 5, Newsletters/Brochures, provides two Network brochures. (YLB)

The purpose of the Illinois Technical Assistance and Dissemination Network is to provide technical assistance and resources to local school districts for the improvement of vocational education for special needs students. It includes an educational model designed to prevent the long-term personal and economic problems associated with youth unemployment. (LRA)

We investigated maternal perceptions of responsible fathering among pregnant and parenting teenage mothers by interviewing 10 adolescent mothers. Mothers responded to what being a responsible father means to them and described the degree of involvement by the father of their children. Five primary themes emerged as characteristics of responsible fathers: "being there" for the child, helping to take care of the child, loving and caring for the child, providing financial support, and playing with the child. Seven major themes developed in response to mothers' perceptions of their children's fathers' involvement: does not help take care of child, irregular or no contact, does not play with child, incarceration, financial support, left mother and child, and loves and cares for child. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) in Behavioral Health offered by the Florida Mental Health Institute at the University of South Florida with a support from the National Science Foundation in the U.S. REU in Behavioral Health is composed with didactic methods such as seminars, readings, and critique exercises, and experiential opportunities which are combined to provide an intensive program to prepare undergraduates for identifying and reducing potential risks. It states that REU in Behavioral Health also develops sensitivity to broader ethical issues.

The article offers information on the Moms Project, an endowed fund at the University of South Florida started in 2010 by three faculty members to provide financial support to undergraduate research assistantships in the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences.