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Low-income Families (low-income + family)
Selected AbstractsPackaging Support for Low-Income Families: Policy Variation across the United StatesJOURNAL OF POLICY ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2001Marcia K. Meyers This paper addresses a gap in state-level comparative social policy research by analyzing policies that support low-income families with children. Variation in state policy "packages" is measured by considering three characteristics of 11 social programs. Individual measures of policy are found to be weakly and inconsistently inter-correlated at the state level, but when cluster analysis is used to analyze multiple dimensions simultaneously, five clusters or regime types are identified that have distinctive policy approaches. These range from the most minimal provisions, to conservative approaches emphasizing private responsibility, to integrated approaches that combine generous direct assistance with employment support and policies that enforce family responsibility. A comparison of a subset of programs at two points in time (1994 and 1998) suggests that states made substantial changes in cash assistance and taxation policies after the 1996 federal welfare reforms. The magnitude and direction of these changes remained consistent with the state clusters identified in 1994. © 2001 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. [source] THE INITIAL IMPACTS OF A MATCHED SAVINGS PROGRAM: THE SAVER PLUS PROGRAMECONOMIC PAPERS: A JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECONOMICS AND POLICY, Issue 1 2006ROSLYN RUSSELL A major emphasis in policy focus in recent years has been to promote greater levels of saving and financial inclusion in Australia. A number of studies have identified that low-income households and households with children have lower saving propensities. This paper explores the effectiveness of a particular matched savings program, Saver Plus, in promoting savings amongst low-income families that are typically at the margin of the financial sector. While noting the limitations of the lack of a formal control group, the results appear to suggest that the Saver Plus program, with its involvement of community groups, a financial education component, and co-contribution arrangements may have been successful in encouraging savings behaviour. [source] Maternal Distress and Parenting in the Context of Cumulative DisadvantageFAMILY PROCESS, Issue 2 2010JOYCE ARDITTI PH.D. To read this article's abstract in both Spanish and Mandarin Chinese, please visit the article's full-text page on Wiley InterScience (http://interscience.wiley.com/journal/famp). This article presents an emergent conceptual model of the features and links between cumulative disadvantage, maternal distress, and parenting practices in low-income families in which parental incarceration has occurred. The model emerged from the integration of extant conceptual and empirical research with grounded theory analysis of longitudinal ethnographic data from Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three-City Study. Fourteen exemplar family cases were used in the analysis. Results indicated that mothers in these families experienced life in the context of cumulative disadvantage, reporting a cascade of difficulties characterized by neighborhood worries, provider concerns, bureaucratic difficulties, violent intimate relationships, and the inability to meet children's needs. Mothers, however, also had an intense desire to protect their children, and to make up for past mistakes. Although, in response to high levels of maternal distress and disadvantage, most mothers exhibited harsh discipline of their children, some mothers transformed their distress by advocating for their children under difficult circumstances. Women's use of harsh discipline and advocacy was not necessarily an "either/or" phenomenon as half of the mothers included in our analysis exhibited both harsh discipline and care/advocacy behaviors. Maternal distress characterized by substance use, while connected to harsh disciplinary behavior, did not preclude mothers engaging in positive parenting behaviors. RESUMEN Este artículo presenta un modelo conceptual emergente de las características y las conexiones entre la desventaja acumulada, la angustia materna, y las prácticas de crianza de los hijos en familias de bajos recursos donde uno de los padres ha estado encarcelado. El modelo surgió de la integración de investigaciones conceptuales y empíricas existentes con un análisis de muestreo teórico de datos etnográficos longitudinales tomados de Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three-City Study ("Bienestar, Niños y Familias: Un estudio en tres ciudades"). En el análisis se usaron catorce casos ejemplares de familias. Los resultados indicaron que las madres de estas familias vivían la vida en el contexto de desventaja acumulada, ya que describieron una cascada de dificultades caracterizadas por preocupaciones con respecto al barrio donde viven, preocupaciones por el sustento económico, dificultades burocráticas, relaciones íntimas violentas y la incapacidad de satisfacer las necesidades de sus hijos. Sin embargo, las madres también tenían un profundo deseo de proteger a sus hijos y de subsanar errores del pasado. Aunque, en respuesta a los niveles altos de angustia materna y desventaja, la mayoría de las madres demostraron una disciplina severa hacia sus hijos, algunas madres transformaron su angustia apoyando a sus hijos en circunstancias difíciles. El uso de disciplina severa y apoyo por parte de las mujeres no fue necesariamente un fenómeno excluyente, ya que la mitad de las madres analizadas demostraron tanto el uso de una disciplina severa como comportamientos de cuidado y apoyo. Si bien la angustia materna caracterizada por el abuso de sustancias estuvo conectada con el uso de una disciplina severa, no excluyó que las madres tuvieran comportamientos positivos en relación con la crianza de sus hijos Palabras clave: desventaja acumulada, angustia materna, crianza de los hijos, encarcelamiento de uno de los padres, disciplina [source] Comparing in-work benefits and the reward to work for families with children in the US and the UKFISCAL STUDIES, Issue 1 2001Mike Brewer Abstract The income transfer systems for low-income families in the US and the UK try both to reduce poverty and to encourage work. In-work benefits are a key part of both countries' strategies through the earned income tax credit and the working families' tax credit (and predecessors) respectively. But tax credits are only one part of the whole tax and welfare system. In-work benefits, taxes and welfare benefits combine in both countries to provide good financial incentives for lone parents to do minimum-wage work, but poorer incentives to increase earnings further. But direct comparisons of budget constraints hide important points of detail. First, not enough is known about what determines take-up of in-work benefits. Second, the considerable differences in assessment and payment mechanisms and frequency between EITC and WFTC mean that low-income families in the US and the UK may respond very differently to apparently similar financial incentives. [source] Examining the Impact of Opportunity Bursaries on the Financial Circumstances and Attitudes of Undergraduate Students in EnglandHIGHER EDUCATION QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2009Anne West Notwithstanding the expansion of higher education across the OECD, there continues to be concern about the levels of participation amongst those from disadvantaged backgrounds. In response to this, a new form of financial support for students from low-income families, the ,opportunity bursary', was introduced for a limited period in England from 2001/02. Surveys of two cohorts of opportunity-bursary applicants were carried out and these suggested possible psychological, behavioural and economic impacts. Fewer opportunity-bursary recipients than non-recipients reported that part-time work had interfered with their studies and more reported that the bursary had made them less worried about meeting the costs of going to university. There was some evidence that the scheme led to increased retention in the first year of university study; it also appeared to lead to lower levels of debt, in particular bank overdrafts or credit card debt. [source] Retrenching or renovating the Australian welfare state: the paradox of the Howard government's neo-liberalismINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE, Issue 1 2009Philip Mendes Most conventional studies of the former Australian Liberal,National Coalition government refer to its neo-liberal ideological agenda: its concern to reduce government interference with free market outcomes by restricting access to social security payments. That analysis suggests a substantial retrenchment of the Australian welfare state based on redirecting responsibility for the disadvantaged from government to corporations, private individuals and families. Yet there is increasing evidence from reliable sources that the government has not reduced social expenditure, and that increasing resources have been directed, particularly via the family payments system, towards some disadvantaged groups such as low-income families and the aged. Utilising the theory of the US political scientist Paul Pierson, this article explores the joint paradox of Australian neo-liberalism: the punitive treatment of some disadvantaged groups such as the disabled and lone parents versus the generosity towards other groups and, more generally, the growth rather than decline in social expenditure. The author asks what this paradox tells us about the likely future of the welfare state in Australia and elsewhere. [source] Comments on Jeff R. Crump's ,The end of public housing as we know it: public housing policy, labor regulation and the US city'INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF URBAN AND REGIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2003Alex SchwartzArticle first published online: 13 MAY 200 Jeff Crump's discussion of housing policy in the United States is highly polemic but not very analytic or informative. Crump argues that federal housing policy is attempting to move people out of public housing and into the private housing market and the lowwage labor force. However, he fails to support his argument with credible evidence. My comments point out the most egregious of Crump's claims. I start with Crump's most extreme contentions that housing policy is coercing public housing residents into the low-wage labor force. I then question his dismissive attitude toward the problems confronted by residents of distressed public housing and policies designed to help low-income families move out of impoverished neighborhoods. I subsequently show how Crump exaggerates the extent to which federal housing policy is clearing central cities of subsidized low-income housing. I conclude with a few words on the serious issues that a more informed critique of US housing policy could have raised. L'exposé de Jeff Crump sur la politique du logement aux Etats-Unis relève principalement de la polémique, plus que de l'analyse ou de l'information. Selon lui, la politique fédérale tente de déplacer la population des logements sociaux vers les marchés de l'habitat privé et de la main-d',uvre à bas salaires. Toutefois, il n'apporte aucune preuve crédible à son propos. Ma réaction porte sur ses arguments les plus insignes, en commençant par ses allégations extrémistes selon lesquelles la politique du logement contraint les habitants des logements publics à des emplois peu rémunérés. Je remets ensuite en cause son dédain à l'égard des difficultés que rencontrent les résidents des logements sociaux insalubres, sans oublier les politiques prévues pour aider les familles à faibles revenus à quitter les quartiers pauvres. En conséquence, à mon avis, Crump exagère la mesure dans laquelle la politique fédérale élimine des centres-villes les habitats à loyer modéré subventionnés. En quelques mots, ma conclusion porte sur les questions graves qu'aurait pu soulever un commentateur mieux documenté sur la politique du logement aux Etats-Unis. [source] Consumer decision making in low-income families: The case of conflict avoidanceJOURNAL OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR, Issue 5 2009Kathy Hamilton This paper explores consumer decision making in low-income families. The focus is on the issue of conflict avoidance within the family when making consumption choices. Whereas previous studies have focused on conflict resolution strategies, this paper considers the ways in which families prevent conflict from arising in the first instance. These include individual control in purchasing and budgeting decisions, giving in to the requests of children and ensuring open communication about the family's financial situation. Importantly, the connections between the poverty narrative and the family decision making narrative are considered as the decision making strategies employed are not only aimed at avoiding conflict but also making experiences of poverty more manageable. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Marriage and Child Well-Being: Research and Policy PerspectivesJOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 5 2010Susan L. Brown Over the past decade, the linkages between marriage and child well-being have attracted the attention of researchers and policy makers alike. Children's living arrangements have become increasingly diverse and unstable, which raises important questions about how and why family structure and stability are related to child outcomes. This article reviews new research on this topic, emphasizing how it can inform policy debates about the role of marriage in reducing poverty and improving child outcomes. It also pays special attention to new scholarship on unmarried, primarily low-income families, the target of recent federal marriage initiatives, to appraise the potential contributions of family research to ongoing policy discussions. [source] The contribution of social support to the material well-being of low-income familiesJOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 1 2005Julia R. Henly We hypothesize that the social support available from low-income networks serves primarily a coping function, rather than a leverage function. Social support and its relationship to material well-being is assessed in a sample of 632 former and current welfare recipients. Respondents report higher levels of perceived emotional, instrumental, and informational support than perceived financial support, and received financial aid is particularly uncommon. Multivariate findings demonstrate that perceived support is unrelated to employment quality, but it reduces the likelihood of living in poverty and is associated with three different measures of coping. These findings generally support the contention that informal aid is important for the everyday survival of low-income families, but is less able to assist with economic mobility. [source] Changes in living arrangements during the late 1990s: Do welfare policies matter?JOURNAL OF POLICY ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2004Gregory Acs Using data from the 1997 and 1999 National Surveys of America's Families, the authors examine the consequences of state welfare policies and practices on the living arrangements of low-income families with children. Results from a multivariate difference-in-difference-in-differences model suggest that more effective collection of child support and family cap policies are correlated with declines in single parenting and increases in dual parenting. Other policies such as sanctions and special restrictions that apply to two-parent families have no clear, consistent association with living arrangements. © 2004 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. [source] Packaging Support for Low-Income Families: Policy Variation across the United StatesJOURNAL OF POLICY ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2001Marcia K. Meyers This paper addresses a gap in state-level comparative social policy research by analyzing policies that support low-income families with children. Variation in state policy "packages" is measured by considering three characteristics of 11 social programs. Individual measures of policy are found to be weakly and inconsistently inter-correlated at the state level, but when cluster analysis is used to analyze multiple dimensions simultaneously, five clusters or regime types are identified that have distinctive policy approaches. These range from the most minimal provisions, to conservative approaches emphasizing private responsibility, to integrated approaches that combine generous direct assistance with employment support and policies that enforce family responsibility. A comparison of a subset of programs at two points in time (1994 and 1998) suggests that states made substantial changes in cash assistance and taxation policies after the 1996 federal welfare reforms. The magnitude and direction of these changes remained consistent with the state clusters identified in 1994. © 2001 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. [source] Motivation for learning science in kindergarten: Is there a gender gap and does integrated inquiry and literacy instruction make a differenceJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 2 2009Helen Patrick Abstract We investigated whether kindergarten girls' and boys' (N,=,162) motivation for science (perceived competence and liking) differed. Children were ethnically and linguistically diverse, primarily from low-income families, and attended one of three schools. One school offered a typical kindergarten science experience. Kindergarteners in the other two schools participated in the Scientific Literacy Project (SLP),a program based on a conceptually coherent sequence of integrated science inquiry and literacy activities. SLP lasted either 5 or 10 weeks. Regardless of sex, both groups of SLP children had greater motivation for science than children who had only the regular science experience. Moreover, children receiving 10 weeks of SLP reported greater science competence than those who received 5 weeks. Boys in regular classrooms reported liking science more than did girls, however there was no sex difference for SLP children. These results are supported by interview data accessing children's ideas about science. The findings suggest that early meaningful participation in science is likely to promote girls' and boys' motivation for science. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 46: 166,191, 2009 [source] LIMITED EXPOSURE: CHILDREN'S ACTIVITIES AND NEIGHBORHOOD EFFECTS IN THE GAUTREAUX TWO HOUSING MOBILITY PROGRAMJOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS, Issue 4 2010ANITA ZUBERI ABSTRACT:,Housing mobility programs intend to improve the well-being of low-income families by changing the neighborhood environment in which they live, and thereby creating access to a new set of opportunities and resources. Using data collected in a study of the Gautreaux Two (G2) Housing Mobility program, which offered housing vouchers to public housing residents in Chicago to move to lower-poverty and less segregated "opportunity" neighborhoods, this article explores families' access to programs and services for their children in the neighborhoods where they move. The analysis is based on a sample of 46 families who moved through the G2 program. Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with mothers in four waves, which started when the family still lived in public housing. The results show that almost three-quarters of the families utilized activities for their children in the baseline neighborhoods, but mothers also expressed concerns about the safety and lack of program variety available in these disadvantaged neighborhoods. After moving through the G2 program, only one-third of the children in these families are using activities. The decline in activity participation is especially steep for children in families that move to areas outside of the city. Although few mothers are concerned with safety or the variety of programs available, several report barriers to activities for children in the new neighborhood, including fewer programs for low-income children, high cost, transportation difficulties, and issues finding daycare or preschool for younger children. Some children continue to use activities in the old neighborhood and some families end up making subsequent moves to nonqualifying neighborhoods. These findings suggest that activity participation is important for many low-income families, and losing access to these activities upon moving through the G2 program may limit children's exposure to the new neighborhood and contribute to subsequent moves. [source] Welfare, Work and Banking: The Use of Consumer Credit by Current and Former TANF Recipients in Charlotte, North CarolinaJOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS, Issue 4 2005Michael A. Stegman Using data from a 2001 North Carolina household survey of low-income households, we analyze banking and credit behavior of current and recent welfare recipients in Charlotte, North Carolina. Other things equal, TANF families are 70% less likely than other low-income families to have a bank account and much more likely to have participated in a credit counseling program. Except for more frequent contact with bill collectors and credit counselors, leavers are no different from other low income families struggling to make ends meet. Race also matters when it comes to accessing mainstream banking and credit systems. Targeted programs help TANF families gain greater access to the financial mainstream. When it comes to specialization programs, however, those involved in the welfare system are not very different from other poor families. However, by virtue of their formal involvement with TANF, this population can be more efficiently served than other low-income populations. For this reason and the desire to keep families from recycling back onto welfare rolls, TANF programs should address banking and credit issues. [source] Dietary aspects of pregnant women in rural areas of Northern IndiaMATERNAL & CHILD NUTRITION, Issue 2 2008Virender P. Gautam Abstract The aim of this article is to document the current dietary profile of pregnant women in rural areas of Delhi. In order to explore the diet the combination of quantitative (24-h recall method) and qualitative methods (food frequency method) were used. The mean intake of macronutrients and micronutrients, namely, iron, folic acid and Vitamin C which play an important role in the pathophysiology of nutritional anaemia during pregnancy was calculated from the foodstuffs, using Nutritive Value of Indian Foods. The preferences and avoidance of various foods by the pregnant women were also elicited. The data were analysed using Epi Info 3.4. The intake of calories, protein, iron, folic acid and Vitamin C was found to be less than the recommended dietary allowance in 100%, 91.2%, 98.2%, 99.1% and 65.8% of pregnant women respectively. Folic acid intakes were significantly lower in younger, primiparous and poorly educated women from low-income families. Vitamin C intake was lower among non-Hindus only. The overall data suggested the presence of food gap rather than isolated deficiency of any particular nutrient. [source] Low-income mothers, nutrition and health: a systematic review of qualitative evidenceMATERNAL & CHILD NUTRITION, Issue 4 2005Pamela Attree phd Abstract Diet is a key issue for UK health policies, particularly in relation to poorer socio-economic groups. From a public health perspective, the government's role is to help low-income families to make healthy food choices, and to create the conditions to enable them to make healthy decisions. Arguably, however, current policy on nutrition and health is influenced by individualist and behavioural perspectives, which fail to take into account the full impact of structural factors on food choices. This paper draws on a systematic review of qualitative studies that prioritize low-income mothers' accounts of ,managing' in poverty, synthesizing a subset of studies that focus on diet, nutrition and health in poor families. Synthesis findings are explored in the context of dominant discourses concerning individual responsibility for health and gendered societal values concerning ,good' mothering. The paper concludes that a shift in emphasis in health policies, affording a higher priority to enabling measures that tackle the underlying determinants of health, would be advantageous in reducing nutritional inequities for low-income mothers and their children. [source] The economic impact of severe asthma to low-income familiesALLERGY, Issue 3 2009R. Franco Background:, To estimate the direct and indirect costs of severe asthma and the economic impact of its management to low-income families in Salvador, Brazil. Methods:, One hundred and ninety-seven patients with severe asthma and referred to a state-funded asthma center providing free treatment were evaluated. At registration, they were asked about family cost-events in the previous year and had a baseline assessment of lung function, symptoms and quality of life. During the subsequent year, they were reassessed prospectively. Results:, One hundred-eighty patients concluded a 12-month follow-up. Eighty-four percent were female patients, and the median family income was US$ 2955/year. Forty-seven percent of family members had lost their jobs because of asthma. Total cost of asthma management took 29% of family income. After proper treatment, asthma control scores improved by 50% and quality of life by 74%. The income of the families increased by US$ 711/year, as their members went back to work. The total cost of asthma to the families was reduced by a median US$ 789/family/year. Consequently, an annual surplus of US$ 1500/family became available. Conclusions:, Family costs of severe asthma consumed over one-fourth of the family income of the underprivileged population in a middle-income country. Adequate management brings major economic benefit to individuals and families. [source] Pathways Among Exposure to Violence, Maternal Depression, Family Structure, and Child Outcomes Through Parenting: A Multigroup AnalysisAMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 3 2010T'Pring R. Westbrook The present study examined the impact of proximal (maternal depression, family structure) and distal (exposure to violence) risk factors on parenting characteristics (warmth, control), which were in turn hypothesized to affect child social-emotional functioning. Using the Family and Child Experiences Study (FACES) 2000 cohort, findings revealed that study variables were significant predictors of child social-emotional functioning. Despite limited significant pathways in the structural equation models, the cumulative effect of the variables resulted in models accounting for 21%,37% of the outcome. Multigroup analysis revealed that although the amount of variance explained varied, the model held across subgroups. Findings support theories such as the family stress model that suggest that family risk factors negatively influencing children's development through influencing parenting behaviors. Findings also support considering both warmth and control as key parenting dimensions. It may be impractical for practitioners to address the myriad of potential risks encountered by low-income families, but parents can be equipped with mental health services, parent education, and other assistance to help them maintain positive parenting practices in the face of challenges. [source] A New Specification of Labour Supply in the MONASH Model with an Illustrative ApplicationTHE AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 1 2003Peter B. Dixon MONASH is a dynamic general equilibrium model of the Australian economy. This article describes a new labour-market specification for MONASH in which people are allocated in year t to categories according to their labourmarket activities in year t , 1. People in each category plan their labour supplies by solving an optimisation problem. Via these problems, we introduce the assumption that people in employment categories supply labour more strongly to employment activities than do people in unemployment categories. Thus we find that employment-stimulating policies in t , 1 increase labour supply in t by shifting the composition of the labour force in t in favour of employment categories and away from unemployment categories. We illustrate this idea by using MONASH to simulate the Dawkins proposal to combine a freeze on award wage rates with tax credits for low-wage workers in low-income families. We find that the Dawkins policy would generate a significant short-run increase in employment. With the increase in employment generating an increase in labour supply, the employment benefits of the policy would persist over many years. However, in the long run, we would expect the effect of the policy on aggregate employment to be small and to depend on how the policy affected the ratio of real after-tax wage rates to unemployment benefits. [source] The Efficacy of a Community-Based Project in a Chinese ContextASIAN SOCIAL WORK AND POLICY REVIEW, Issue 1 2009Joyce L. C. Ma In this paper, the authors report the results of an exploratory study which assessed the service efficacy of a collaborative service initiative developed by a university academic department and a community-based social service agency in a socially deprived and remote community in Hong Kong. The project aimed to foster mutual help and self-help of low-income families and deepen their social connection with the community. Service efficacy was assessed using a structured questionnaire and a focus group interview. After participating in the service project, the well-being of the participants has become better and their family relationships have improved. They have developed a stronger sense of belonging toward the community. The preliminary findings support the importance of creating social network in social work practice for low-income families residing in a deprived and remote neighborhood. [source] Social Welfare Reform Since the 1997 Economic Crisis in Korea: Achievement, Limits, and Future ProspectsASIAN SOCIAL WORK AND POLICY REVIEW, Issue 1 2007Inhoe Ku Social welfare reform has been implemented in Korea since the 1997 financial crisis. A dominant concern of the reform was on equality and social solidarity. A major means to this end was establishing universalistic social insurance programs like those in developed welfare states. The reform efforts produced some positive results but were not greatly successful. Income polarization and the deteriorating economic status of low-income families have become big social issues. Many low-income families have not gained many benefits from the reformed social security system. The rapid aging of the population is creating an exploding demand for social spending, risking the fiscal sustainability of major social insurance programs. The reform experience suggests that a social welfare system based on western-style universal social insurance may be too expensive to sustain and not very effective in protecting disadvantaged families in Korea. More attention is being paid to expenditure control and efficiency. Social insurance programs may need to be leaner than those in traditional welfare states. Targeted programs, such as the "making work pay" policy, are likely to be expanded more broadly to low-income families. The future of the Korean welfare state may hinge on successful employment support for working families and extensive investment in their human capital. [source] Diversification des populations dans la région de Montréal: de nouveaux défis de la gestion urbaineCANADIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION/ADMINISTRATION PUBLIQUE DU CANADA, Issue 2 2002Sylvie Paré Sommaire: Certaines organisations municipales s'efforcent de mieux répondre aux nouveaux besoins associés aux transformations de la population métropolitaine. Une perspective de meilleures pratiques face aux nouveaux défis de la gestion urbaine se dessine progressivement pour les banlieues et anciennes banlieues des villes situées dans les différentes couronnes au Nord et au Sud de Montréal. Après un bref aperçu des transformations de la population, nous examinons les groupes susceptibles d'avoir des besoins particuliers. S'ensuivent un exposé des types d'interventions entreprises par les municipalités québécoises dans ces domaines, puis les objectifs de recherche ainsi que la méthodologie. Finalernent, nous présentons les résultats à partir de l'analyse des données recueillies dans dix-sept municipalités de plus de 3 000 habitants, excluant la Ville de Montréal. Nous avons retenu quatre variables: population immigrante, minorités visibles, familles monoparentales et familles à faible revenu. Les municipalités retenues se situent à un niveau élevé pour l'un ou l'autre de ces fadeurs ou encore pour leur combinaison. Il n'y a pas forcément de liens entre la forte présence des divers sous-groupes et l'existence de politiques et programmes. Un phénomèe intéressant se présente quant à la présence de politiques pour les personnes âgées car la majorité des municipalités font preuve d'innovation à cet égard. Abstract: Some municipalities are adopting initiatives designed to better respond to needs associated with the changing composition of the urban population. This research aims to identify "best practices" of municipal administration in the suburban ring around Montreal, in particular with respect to the development of programs and policies designed to accommodate emerging populations with special needs. After a brief presentation of the changing demographics of such populations, the authors examine in greater detail specific groups that require special attention. They then present the different types of initiatives developed by Quebec municipalities to respond to identified needs discuss the objectives and methods of their research. They analyse data collected in seventeen municipalities in the Montreal area that have at least 3,000 residents, excluding the City of Montreal. Research focuses on four types of sub-populations: immigrants, visible minorities, single-parent families, and low-income families. All of the municipalities included in our study have a higher than average incidence of one or more of these sub-populations. Data does not reveal a strong relationship between municipal initiatives and the presence of the different sub-groups. On the other hand, nearly all municipalities have developed initiatives to respond to the increasing presence of the elderly. [source] Effects of Aggression on Achievement: Does Conflict With the Teacher Make It Worse?CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 6 2008Deborah Stipek This longitudinal study examined different explanations for negative associations between aggression and academic achievement using data collected from 403 children from low-income families followed from kindergarten or first grade (ages 6 and 7 years) through fifth grade (ages 10,11 years). Most results of growth curve analyses examining change over time and path analyses examining associations among the variables within grades were consistent with the hypothesis that the effect of aggression on achievement was partially mediated by the conflictual relationships relatively more aggressive children tended to develop with their teachers and concomitant reductions in engagement in academic tasks. The evidence suggested, however, that the relationship between aggression and achievement is complex and reciprocal. Gender differences were also observed. [source] Living Arrangements and Children's Development in Low-Income White, Black, and Latino FamiliesCHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 6 2007E. Michael Foster This article uses longitudinal data from approximately 2,000 low-income families participating in the national evaluation of the Comprehensive Child Development Program to examine the associations between preschool children's living arrangements and their cognitive achievement and emotional adjustment. The analysis distinguishes families in which children live only with their mothers from children who live in biological father, blended, and multigenerational households. Linkages are examined separately for White, Black, and Latino children. Fixed effects regression techniques reveal few significant associations between living arrangements and child development. These findings suggest that substantial diversity exists in the developmental contexts among children living in the same family structure. Policies seeking to change the living arrangements of low-income children may do little to improve child well-being. [source] How do mothers' childrearing histories, stress and parenting affect children's behavioural outcomes?CHILD: CARE, HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 5 2002M. A. Assel Abstract Background Information is needed to understand the role of low to moderate levels of mothers' emotional stress and child characteristics (i.e. prematurity) on parenting behaviours and their impact on children's behaviour that might be deemed ,challenging' but not ,disordered'. Methods The direct and indirect relations of maternal childrearing history and emotional stress, and observed parenting practices when children were 3 years of age on 4-year child behavioural outcomes was examined in a sample of low-income families with a term (n = 112) or preterm (n = 180) child. Parenting practices included displays of warmth and restrictiveness when interacting with their children. Child outcomes at 4 years included observation of social initiations with their mothers and maternal report of social and attentional problems. Results A Structural Equation Model building approach guided by specific hypotheses indicated that preterm as compared to full-term children had more maternal reported social and attentional problems but did not differ in observed social initiating skills. Greater negative maternal childrearing history indirectly influenced social initiating skills through its direct influence on maternal emotional stress. Greater maternal emotional stress directly influenced mothers' parenting that, in turn, directly influenced social initiating. Prematurity and a more negative childrearing history had a direct negative influence on the maternal report of social and attentional behavioural outcomes. Conclusions These findings delineate the effects of prematurity and maternal parenting on the behaviour of 4-year-old-children and extend current knowledge of the influence of parental emotional stress on parenting. Even milder levels can negatively influence parenting, and in turn, contribute to children's less well developed social skills. The issues raised in this study could help with the identification and prioritization of medical and psychological services. [source] Evaluation of early stimulation programs for enhancing brain developmentACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 7 2008Christine Bonnier Abstract The term ,early intervention' designates educational and neuroprotection strategies aimed at enhancing brain development. Early educational strategies seek to take advantage of cerebral plasticity. Neuroprotection, a term initially used to characterize substances capable of preventing cell death, now encompasses all interventions that promote normal development and prevent disabilities, including organisational, therapeutic and environment-modifying measures, such as early stimulation programs. Early stimulation programs were first devised in the United States for vulnerable children in low-income families; positive effects were recorded regarding school failure rates and social problems. Programs have also been implemented in several countries for premature infants and low-birth-weight infants, who are at high risk for neurodevelopmental abnormalities. The programs target the child, the parents or both. The best evaluated programs are the NIDCAP (Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program) in Sweden for babies <1500 g in neonatal intensive care units and the longitudinal multisite program IHDP (Infant Health and Development Program) created in the United States for infants <37 weeks or <2500 g. Conclusion: Although the NIDCAP and the IHDP targeted different populations, they produced similar effects in several regards: efficacy was greatest with programs involving both the parents and the child; long-term stimulation improved cognitive outcomes and child,parent interactions; cognition showed greater improvements than motor skills and larger benefits were obtained in families that combined several risk factors including low education attainment by the mothers. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||