Table of Contents

PREFACE - Congressman Mark Udall
Ch 1. A Risk and Resilience Framework for Child, Youth, and Family Policy - Jeffrey M. Jenson, Mark W. Fraser
Ch 2. Child Welfare Policies and Programs - Peter J. Pecora
Ch 3. Education Policy for Children, Youth, and Families - Andy Frey, Hill Walker
Ch 4. Child and Youth Mental Health Policy: Promise Without Fulfillment? - Mary E. Fraser
Ch 5. Health Policy for Children and Youth - Kathleen Rounds, Thomas C. Ormsby
Ch 6. Policies and Programs for Children and Youth With Disabilities - Susan L. Parish, Alison I. Whisnant
Ch 7. Policies and Programs for Adolescent Substance Abuse - Jeffrey M. Jenson, Elizabeth K. Anthony, Matthew O. Howard
Ch 8. Juvenile Justice Policies and Programs - William H. Barton
Ch 9. Toward the Integration of Child, Youth, and Family Policy: Applying Principles of Risk, Resilience, and Ecological Theory - Jeffrey M. Jenson, Mark W. Fraser
About the Editors
About the Authors

About the Author

Jeffrey M. Jenson, PhD, is the Philip D. and Eleanor G. Winn Professor for Children and Youth at Risk in the Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver. His research focuses on the application of a public health approach to preventing child and adolescent health and behavior problems and on the evaluation of preventive interventions aimed at promoting positive youth development. Dr. Jenson has published seven books and numerous articles and chapters on topics of prevention and child and adolescent development. His 2014 book (with K. Bender), Preventing Child and Adolescent Problem Behavior: Evidence-based Strategies In Schools, Families, and Communities (Oxford University Press) is a comprehensive review of empirical evidence pertaining to the efficacy of universal, selected, and indicated preventive interventions for children and youth. Dr. Jenson has received several awards for his scholarship, including the Aaron Rosen Award from the Society for Social Work and Research. He is the recipient of Distinguished Scholar and University Lecturer awards from the University of Denver and is a former editor-in-chief of the journal, Social Work Research. Dr. Jenson is a fellow of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare and the Society for Social Work and Research.

Mark W. Fraser, PhD, holds the Tate Distinguished Professorship at the School of Social Work, University of North Carolina where he serves as associate dean for research. He has won numerous awards for research and teaching, including the Aaron Rosen Award and the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Society for Social Work and Research. His work focuses on risk and resilience, child behavior, child and family services, and research methods. Dr. Fraser has published widely, and, in addition to Social Policy for Children and Families, is the co-author or editor of eight books. These include Families in Crisis, a study of intensive family-centered services, and Evaluating Family-Based Services, a text on methods for family research. In Risk and Resilience in Childhood, he and his colleagues describe resilience-based perspectives for child maltreatment, substance abuse, and other social problems. In Making Choices, Dr. Fraser and his co-authors outline a program to help children build sustaining social relationships. In The Context of Youth Violence, he explores violence from the perspective of resilience, risk, and protection, and in Intervention with Children and Adolescents, Dr. Fraser and his colleagues review advances in intervention knowledge for social and health problems. Intervention Research: Developing Social Programs describes the design and development of social programs. His most recent book is Propensity Score Analysis: Statistical Methods and Applications. Dr. Fraser serves as editor of the Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research. He is a fellow of the National Academies of Practice and the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare.

Reviews

"Jenson, Fraser and their impressive contributors have provided us with something all too rare in the child & family services literature: a truly integrative volume. They argue cogently for a cross-systems perspective, an orientation to developmental ′risk′ & ′protective′ factors and a strategic process for identifying most favorable targets for intervention .The summaries of different service domains and the editor′s emphasis on crafting the proper policy context for the integration of ′evidence-based′ practices make this volume a ′must read′ for seasoned policy makers, as well as beginning practitioners. This book will be an important resource for all involved in the kind of creative, science-based innovation so desperately needed in the child & family services field."
*James K. Whittaker*

“What a book! A must read for those who provide services to at-risk children and their families. Jensen and Fraser call attention to the profession’s blatant unwillingness to systematically draw upon existing research, and translate it to policy to advance the design of programs that remediate and prevent mental and physical health problems among the nation′s youth. The application of the public health framework to programs and policies adds value to the usual suspects of perspectives/frameworks drawn upon by the social work profession. This book is very consistent with the ideas expressed in related professional and social science literatures, as well as that of federal and private funding sources. The authors boldly call for the triangulation of relevant theories and models of risk and resilience, and make a major contribution to social work research by advocating for the translation of empirical evidence into practical application.”
*University of Michigan School of Social Work*

"This book uses a unique framework to help readers understand effective public policy development. The authors argue that a public health framework rooted in ecological theory and based on principles of risk, protection, and resilience is essential for successful design of social policy."
*The Source*

"Social Policy for Children and Families is comprehensive, with chapters spanning outcomes including adolescent substance abuse, mental health, health policy, and education policy. Social Policy for Children and Families: A Risk and Resilience Perspective speaks to multiple audiences. This edited volume is an excellent resource for educators. Social Policy for Children and Families provides an impetus for a substantive dialogue about how to translate research on individual-level processes to the community and policy context."
*Shawna J. Lee*