Health-Promoting School (HPS) interventions aim to reduce bullying and violence via curriculum, environmental and family/community-engagement components. Despite evidence of their effectiveness, factors influencing the implementation of such interventions are poorly understood. This systematic review aims to examine such factors by assessing…

In this article we review the substantial literature on the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP), the U.S.'s oldest and largest urban school voucher program, and use the review to propose an agenda for second generation school voucher research. We review research on student-level impacts, public school response, parental decision-making,…

Policymakers, child care providers, and parents face tradeoffs in determining how much to spend on child care, including how many hours to purchase, and the features of programs that might influence quality. Given these tradeoffs, it is useful to understand what constitutes quality, the cost of care features associated with quality, the effects of…

An expanding body of research demonstrates that high quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) programmes generate positive outcomes for children; in response, policy makers in a number of countries are making significant programme investments. No research consensus, however, has emerged around the specific types of policy intervention…

The problem of bullying has become a topic of national conversation over the past decades. To address this problem, numerous anti-bullying interventions have been developed and implemented, and advocates have worked to pass state and local laws and policies on bullying. A critical accompaniment to these efforts has been the growing field of…

The complex and extensive deficits associated with Autism Spectrum Disorders, in concert with the substantial increase in prevalence over the last three decades, combine to present a challenge to individuals, families, communities, and government that has few parallels. This challenge is complicated by debate among service providers concerning…

Policy agencies are implementing strategies to increase the use of research in policy decisions. This paper examines the evidence about the effectiveness of these strategies. We conducted an extensive search focused on population health policy and programmes. We classified 106 papers meeting study criteria into research type (conceptual,…

Objectives: This article reviews the available evidence regarding the efficacy, effectiveness, ethics, and sustainability of approaches to strengthen systems to care for and protect children living outside family care in low- and middle-income countries. Method: For trafficked children, children of and on the street, children of conflict/disaster,…

Objectives: Children outside of family care face increased risk of threats to their well-being, have lower educational achievement, and experience adverse developmental outcomes. While it is generally accepted that early response and intervention is critical to reducing the risk of harm for children who have been separated from their families, it…

This report offers information and advice to assist all levels of government in its work to establish evidence-based policies, programs, and practices across the life cycle of disasters. This report provides examples of effective community efforts with respect to people with disabilities, and evaluates many emergency preparedness, disaster relief,…

This publication is part of a toolkit that examines systemic barriers to achieving economic self-sufficiency for court-involved adolescents. It introduces the issue of workforce and youth development for juvenile offenders, discussing exemplary programs and policy initiatives that help court-involved youth become economically self-sufficient. To…

Critically examines the suggestion that unemployment could be reduced by creating jobs in nonprofit organizations, observes trends in the sector's employment and resources, and discusses the conditions in which nonprofit organizations provide social services more efficiently that government and for-profit enterprises. Concludes that this is not a…

Conventional wisdom suggests that the Teaching-Family Model (TFM) approach to treating youthful offenders is not effective in reducing post-treatment recidivism. This article reviews two major studies referenced in support of this widespread perception. Data presented in one widely referenced study are treated with a Cochran-Mantel-Haensel test,…

Critical to the success of initiatives to reform and restructure educational and community services to improve the lives of children is the way in which they are financed. This report explores the movement toward privatization through contracting in managing, financing, and delivering child and family social services and provides a conceptual…

Reviews 10 studies in which psychiatric patients considered seriously ill were randomly assigned to either inpatient care or some alternative mode of outpatient care. Finds that in no case were the outcomes of hospitalization more positive than alternative treatment. (Author/GC)