The Latinx population continues to be underrepresented in higher education.This qualitative study explored the perceptions of 137 Latinx first-year students on factors that affected their college adjustment. Two primary domains emerged through consensual qualitative research analysis: (a) Detrimental Factors (i.e., issues that hindered adjustment)…

This article represents a journey into education undertaken by two Latino educators from diverse generations. Through the content of the narratives, we emphasize that success was achieved within the presence of oppression. The narratives reveal significant constructs that shaped our journey. For the first author, Pablo, role models, pivotal…

This study, focused on five transgender and gay youth of color from San Francisco, explored how family problems, poverty, homophobia, and transphobia propelled them into homelessness and made gay-friendly spaces and resources especially meaningful to them. These young people describe seeking support in San Francisco's well-known gay enclave, the…

Suicide among young people has increased significantly over the past 25 years, and is now the third leading cause of death among young persons 15 to 24 years of age and the second leading cause of death among college students. In California this serious problem was recently addressed through the implementation in 1986 of a 5 year state funded…

ATTEMPTS WERE MADE TO DISCOVER WHETHER THE OBSERVABLE BEHAVIOR SYMPTOMS OF YOUNG CHILDREN IN THE SCHOOL SETTING, WHEN MEASURED BY OBJECTIVE SCREENING METHODS, WILL REFLECT FAMILIES THAT HAVE DISORDERED BEHAVIOR. THE OBJECTIVES INCLUDED TESTING THE VALIDITY OF TWO BEHAVIOR RATING SCALES, DEVELOPING A SINGLE RATING TEST, AND ANALYZING THE…

This paper explores why young people leave home and become homeless. Drawing on life history interviews conducted with 50 homeless youth in Los Angeles, explanations provided by participants for becoming homelessness and how they understand their experiences are presented. In professional discourses, homeless young people are often portrayed as…

Summarizes study to help a local high school locate problem areas among entering high school freshmen and improve environment and curriculum. Survey data from 314 students indicate females share school experiences with their families, but Hispanic males do not. Females have afterschool chores, but males have few chores. Females select positive,…

Intended to heighten public awareness and provide practical information to professionals, this handbook defines and describes child abuse (including sexual abuse) and its associated signs and injuries. The societal and family environments in which child abuse most typically occurs are described, and the California penal code sections pertaining to…

This study reports on the Little Hoover Commission's investigation of California's mechanisms for caring for abused and neglected children. Fourteen major findings and corresponding recommendations for addressing findings are presented. The report begins with a brief executive summary, introduction, and background information. The first section…

This book reports a study of the outcomes of home-based family preservation services for abusive and neglectful families in Los Angeles County. Using the Family Assessment Form, the research project evaluated services provided by two voluntary agencies, and focused on changes in family functioning between the opening and closing of services during…

The multiple-birth family must struggle to cope with extraordinary issues with little or no information or support, and with little understanding from the community at large. This paper describes such issues and their impact on the lives of families of twins, triplets, quadruplets, and quintuplets from conception through adolescence. An…

This publication presents the findings of a California State Legislature task force on the changing needs of that state's families. An introduction summarizes the report's findings and lists five principles to guide the development of public policy. The next section, "Work and Family: The Contemporary Balancing Act," explores…

Hearings were held concerning community-based mental health services for children. In an opening statement, Chairwoman Schroeder discussed issues of children's mental health and suggested that the committee study: (1) the effectiveness of community-based care in a model service system in California; (2) the importance of having service systems in…

This module, which may be used as the basis for a workshop or as a special topic unit in adult basic education or English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) courses, discusses how to access the formalized human service delivery systems in the United States, which often replace the networks of extended families and friends that immigrants relied on in…

This special issue focuses on problems and challenges confronting the California family and on research and extension efforts to provide at least partial answers. Research briefs by staff include "Challenges Confront the California Family" (state trends in poverty, divorce, single-parent families, child abuse, delinquency, teen births,…