Papers by Sharon Vandivere
The 2018 Family First Prevention Services Act (Family First Act) provides funding for kinship nav... more The 2018 Family First Prevention Services Act (Family First Act) provides funding for kinship navigator programs that demonstrate evidence of effectiveness. Many agencies believe their kinship navigator programs (see text box) benefit kinship caregivers and their families; however, to qualify for Family First Act funding, stronger research evidence is needed to understand whether and how families benefit. This brief identifies common challenges agencies face in building this evidence and suggests ways to address these challenges, including defining the program model; selecting a comparison group; ensuring an adequate sample size; selecting appropriate outcomes and reliable and valid measures; and collecting data.
Evaluation Review, 2017
Background: Youth who have experienced foster care are at risk of negative outcomes in adulthood.... more Background: Youth who have experienced foster care are at risk of negative outcomes in adulthood. The family finding model aims to promote more positive outcomes by finding and engaging relatives of children in foster care in order to provide options for legal and emotional permanency. Objectives: The present study tested whether family finding, as implemented in North Carolina from 2008 through 2011, improved child welfare outcomes for youth at risk of emancipating foster care without permanency. Research Design: A randomized controlled trial evaluation was carried out in nine counties in North Carolina. All children eligible for intervention services between 2008 and 2011 underwent random assignment. Effects were tested with an intent-to-treat design. Outcome data were obtained for all subjects from child welfare administrative data. Additional outcome data for a subset of older youth came from in-person interviews. Subjects: Subjects included 568 children who were in foster care,...
ABSTRACT Often obscured by the multiple problems that plague some American families is the compel... more ABSTRACT Often obscured by the multiple problems that plague some American families is the compelling evidence that many families have inner strengths that enable them to do a good job of raising their children and supporting one another. Because family strengths are not easily measured, they tend to be overlooked, resulting in a significant gap in the knowledge base on families. This research brief defines the concept of family strengths, identifies the characteristics of strong families from research, and examines several measures of family strengths in two recent national surveys, one dealing with family life of younger children and the other with adolescents. The brief suggests that levels of closeness, concern, caring, and interaction are quite high in contemporary families. Despite the stresses and uncertainties of daily life, most children have parents who report that they feel happy all or most of the time. The data from the two surveys suggest a link between family strengths and child well-being, although further research is needed to determine precisely how they are linked. The brief also suggests some next steps to expand understanding of family strengths and what they mean for the well-being and development of family members. (Contains 34 references.) (Author/KB)
Child Indicators Research, Jan 2, 2009
This exploratory paper conceptualizes, develops, and assesses a potential longitudinal indicator ... more This exploratory paper conceptualizes, develops, and assesses a potential longitudinal indicator of children’s contexts. Three sets of activities are used to create and examine a cumulative, longitudinal measure of turbulence that aggregates children’s experiences with different types of change. The initial step involves conceptualizing a construct based on theory and previous research and distinguishing it from related or similar constructs. A second set of activities involves defining and coding a measure of the construct. A third step involves examining predictive or concurrent validity. Turbulence encompasses varied types of change experienced by a developing child, for example, repeated changes in child care arrangements, family structure, income, residence and schooling. Each has been separately linked to poorer outcomes for children. For this exploratory work, retrospective data collected in Round 1 of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 cohort, were used. A measure was conceptualized and constructed; and the predictive validity of turbulence, over and above background factors, was assessed for a set of adolescent outcomes. Substantively, we conclude that turbulence is an important and measurable construct, but that better data are needed than currently available. The value of the paper is that it illustrates a general approached for conceptualizing, developing, and examining longitudinal, cumulative indicators.
to be published as part of Assessing the New Federalism, a joint project of Child Trends and the ... more to be published as part of Assessing the New Federalism, a joint project of Child Trends and the Urban Institute.
Child Trends, Jun 1, 2008
PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2000
The income-to-poverty ratio of families with children, by income quintile 64 ES 1.3 Children in p... more The income-to-poverty ratio of families with children, by income quintile 64 ES 1.3 Children in poverty 68 ES 1.4 Long-term childhood poverty 78 FINANCIAL SUPPORT ES 2.1 Effect of government cash and near-cash transfer programs on poverty among persons living in families with children under age 18 82 ES 2.2 Means-tested assistance: AFDC and Food Stamps 86 ES 2.3 Long-term welfare dependence 90 ES 2.4 Sources of income and payment of federal taxes for families with children 94 ES 2.5 Child support nonpayment 100 PARENTAL AND YOUTH EMPLOYMENT ES 3.1 Parental labor force participation: Percentage of children with both parents or only resident parent in the labor force 102 ES 3.2 Maternal employment: Percentage of mothers with children under age 18 who are employed, full-time and part-time ES 3.3 Parental labor force detachment: The percentage of children under age 18 with no resident parents in the labor force ES 3.4 Secure parental labor force attachment: Percentage of children with at least one fully employed (full-time, full-year) resident parent ES 3.5 Child care ES 3.6 Detached youth: Percentage of 16-through 19-year-olds not in school and not working CONSUMPTION ES 4.1 Housing problems ES 4.2 Food security ACHIEVEMENT/PROFICIENCY EA 2.1 Reading proficiency for children ages 9, 13, and 17 EA 2.2 Mathematics proficiency for children ages 9, 13, and 17 EA 2.3 Science proficiency for children ages 9, 13, and 17 EA 2.4 Arts proficiency for children in grade 8 RELATED BEHAVIORS AND CHARACTERISTICS EA 3.1 Family-child engagement in literacy activities 452 EA 3.2 Reading habits of children and youth 456 EA 3.3 Parental involvement in child's school 460 EA 3.4 Difficulty speaking English 464 EA 3.5 Student computer use 468
Children's behavior was assessed with 3 cross-sectional random-digit-dial telephone surveys condu... more Children's behavior was assessed with 3 cross-sectional random-digit-dial telephone surveys conducted 11 months before, 4 months after, and 6 months after September 11, 2001. Parents reported fewer behavior problems in children 4 months after the attacks compared with the pre-September 11 baseline. However, 6 months after the attacks, parents' reporting of behavior problems was comparable to pre-September 11 levels. In the 1st few months after a disaster, the identification of children who need mental health treatment may be complicated by a dampened behavioral response or by a decreased sensitivity of parental assessment to behavioral problems.
While most American children are not poor, the proportion of children living in poverty has remai... more While most American children are not poor, the proportion of children living in poverty has remained at or near 20 percent since the early 1980s. Childhood poverty can have short-and long-term negative ,consequences for children. Growing up at or near the poverty line can affect the quality of a family's housing, children's access to nutritious food and adequate health care, and parents' ability to provide toys, books, and recreational or educational opportunities for their children. Poor children are also more likely than children who are not poor to experience difficulties in school, to become teen parents, and, as adults, to earn less and be unemployed more often. The effects of being raised in a family with income substantially below the poverty line are correspondingly more damaging. Until 1997, many poor families with children received cash assistance from Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), a 60-year-old entitlement program. Welfare reform legislation enacted in August 1996 replaced AFDC with the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program, which, among other changes, sets time limits on families' receipt of welfare. Several studies are currently underway to assess the effects of TANF on children's well-being, but it may be some years before researchers can speak definitively to the long-term effects of welfare reform on children. (KB) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
Child Indicator the Child Youth and Family Indicators Newsletter, 2000
This document consists of the single 1999 issue and four 2000 issues of a newsletter to communica... more This document consists of the single 1999 issue and four 2000 issues of a newsletter to communicate the major developments within each sector of the child and youth indicators field. The newsletters feature regular sections on the community, state, and national scenes, and include sections of resources and data. The 1999 premier issue includes articles on the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership; states improving indicators with help from the office of Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation; and key national indicators of child well-being. The Spring 2000 issue includes articles on the Kids Count initiative of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, links between social indicators and social programs in Oregon, mapping youth resources from a youth perspective, and the Healthy People initiative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Summer 2000 issue includes articles on the need for annual evaluation of the social health of the nation, child indicators in policymaking partnership in Maine, measures for community research from the Aspen Institute, and major shifts in the conceptualization of child well-being. The Fall 2000 issue includes articles on the National Education Goals panel, community-level indicators projects, the Center for Child Well-Being, and easy access to juvenile justice data. The Winter 2000 issue includes articles on the 2000 census as a source of child well-being data, availability of state child welfare indicator data online, new indicators of school readiness, local area poverty estimates, and the new Clearinghouse for International Data and Policies on Children, Youth, and their Families. (HTH) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
Child Trends, Mar 1, 2006
Depression can adversely affect just about every aspect of a person's life, but when the depresse... more Depression can adversely affect just about every aspect of a person's life, but when the depressed person is a mother, her children can be affected adversely as well. This brief examines the factors related to depressive symptoms among mothers and explores the implications for acting out behavior in their third grade children. In line with other research, we find that mothers' depressive symptoms are related to more acting out behavior problems in their children. For both mothers in general and also for low-income mothers, one reason that depression appears to increase children's acting out is that depression affects parenting, particularly effective discipline. However, we also find that maternal depressive symptoms are directly related to more acting out behavior. Considering the total effects (the combination of both the indirect and direct effects) of a mother's prior circumstances on a child acting out, we find that maternal depression, welfare receipt, financial problems, longer work hours, and working during the child's preschool years are related to more subsequent acting out behavior among third graders, while higher parental education, being married, better relationship quality with a partner, and higher family income are related to less acting out behavior.
This document is covered by a signed "Reproduction Release (Blanket)" form (on file within the ER... more This document is covered by a signed "Reproduction Release (Blanket)" form (on file within the ERIC system), encompassing all or classes of documents from its source organization and, therefore, does not require a "Specific Document" Release form. This document is Federally-funded, or carries its own permission to reproduce, or is otherwise in the public domain and, therefore, may be reproduced by ERIC without a signed Reproduction Release form (either "Specific Document" or "Blanket").
The National Survey of America's Families (NSAF) includes several questions that can be used to a... more The National Survey of America's Families (NSAF) includes several questions that can be used to assess sociodemographic risk. The NSAF is a national survey of more than 44,000 families, conducted as part of the Assessing the New Federalism project. Measures used to form an index of risk are: (1) single parenthood; (2) four or more children living in the child's household; (3) the lack of a high school diploma or general equivalency diploma by the child's parent; and (4) poverty. Children who experienced three or more risks were classified as having a high level of sociodemographic risk. Nationally in 1997, 8% of children under age 18 experienced high levels of sociodemographic risk. Among the 13 states studied, the proportion of children experiencing high risk ranged from 3 to 17%. Risk factors tended to co-occur; children who experienced one stressful factor were likely to experience others. About half of poor children experienced poverty plus one other risk factor, and 5% experienced all the risk factors. Children who experience high levels of sociodemographic risk are substantially more likely than other children to suffer negative outcomes, such as emotional and behavioral problems and difficulties in school. Implications of NSAF findings for the study of high-risk children are discussed. (SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
The construct of turbulence recognizes the importance of these reinforcing findings-disparate for... more The construct of turbulence recognizes the importance of these reinforcing findings-disparate forms of change may be harmful or risky for children. Furthermore, multiple changes that create instability in several areas of a child's life in a short period of time may be especially damaging (Simmons et al. 1987). The 1997 National Survey of America's Families (NSAF) asked parents 1 of 6-to 17-yearolds several questions in order to assess the degree of turbulence or stability in a child's life. 2 Possible signs of turbulence included:
This brief examines state-level data on social, economic, and child well-being measures at the ou... more This brief examines state-level data on social, economic, and child well-being measures at the outset of welfare reform, highlighting 13 states being studied in-depth. The National Survey of America's Families (NSAF) reveals that social and economic conditions relevant to welfare reform are quite diverse among the 13 states. State differences in child well-being are not as large as those for poverty, welfare dependence, single parenthood, and employment. Nevertheless, outcomes for children vary across states and also differ significantly from the national average in one or two of the indicators of child well-being in each state. For each of five child outcomes measured (behavioral and emotional problems, fair or poor health, low school engagement, skipped school, and suspended or expelled), NSAF data show that American children living in families with characteristics deemed harmful by architects of welfare reform fare significantly worse than other children. After adjusting for ...
Background and Purpose. Child welfare agencies need recruitment strategies to attract or identify... more Background and Purpose. Child welfare agencies need recruitment strategies to attract or identify individuals who are interested in adopting children in foster care, who are able and willing to complete the logistical requirements of the adoption process, and who have the capacity to make a permanent commitment to a child or children. Data on the large number of “waiting” children indicate that, to do this, services as usual have not been sufficient. Despite recent increases in annual adoptions, the number of children waiting to be adopted has consistently exceeded the number of finalized adoptions in each year for which national data are available. To address this problem, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption developed and launched the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids (WWK) child-focused adoption recruitment program in 2004 and contracted with an independent research firm to evaluate the effectiveness of the WWK model. Methods. An experimental impact evaluation was carried out in 25 WWK s...
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Papers by Sharon Vandivere