Data collected by the Massachusetts Department of Education (Department) during the 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) suggest that, despite significant efforts to identify homeless students, many are going undetected by their schools. Since the reauthorization of the McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Education Improvement Act under the No…

This study describes perspectives of participants in a substance abuse and HIV prevention (HIVP) program targeted to middle school students and families in an urban Phoenix, Arizona, school district. Data collection and analyses complement past quasi-experimental, pre/post designs which found the program to be successful in terms of increasing…

When one mother was asked how often she worried about her child's safety, she replied, "Every time she goes out the door." Many parents rely on school abuse prevention programs to teach kids how to stay safe. But what if these programs actually increase the risk of sex crimes that target kids? What happens if parental efforts to safeguard kids…

A history of traumatic experiences has been associated with poor physical health. This study examined associations between trauma and physical health, as well as changes in physical health over time, in women with co-occurring disorders and histories of violence who received either integrated trauma-informed services or usual care. Results…

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the differential effects of multi-types of maltreatment in an adolescent sample. Different combinations of maltreatment (emotional, sexual, physical, neglect) were examined in relation to both negative affect and externalizing symptoms in male and female youth. Method: One thousand four hundred…

Objective: This study examined intermediate outcomes of a faith-based prisoner reentry program by assessing how client spirituality related to client- and program-level characteristics, investigating differences between completers and terminators, and examining how religious preference, religiosity/spirituality, religious salience, and…

This study addresses three questions about the population of children and families served in the highest level of care in the child welfare system in New York State residential treatment centers (RTCs): (1) How prevalent are emotional and behavioral problems in the youth entering RTCs? (2) Has the proportion of youth with such problems increased…

This study of youths and high-risk behavior was designed to explore four issues: (1) the status of substance use and other at-risk behaviors among Iowa youth; (2) important trends in youth substance use and non-use behaviors; (3) major factors involved in encouraging non-use and health-promoting behaviors among Iowa youth; and (4) what the…

The Wake County Public School System used Alcohol and Drug Defense Program (ADD) federal funds in 1994-95 to reduce the impact of drugs and alcohol on the system's 12 high schools by implementing a Student Assistance Program (SAP). SAP provides intervention and support for students identified as being at risk of substance abuse because of academic…

Substance abuse treatment has been demonstrated to be effective in reducing not only substance use, but also the economic, health, and social costs associated with substance abuse. This document examines how health care reform can preserve and enhance community substance abuse services. The cost effectiveness of funding substance abuse prevention…

A collection of 12 lessons, this volume covers a wide range of concerns in mental health counseling. Each piece begins with an editorial comment, followed by an introduction which outlines the scope of the problem under consideration. The main body of each lesson presents an analysis of the subject under consideration. A list of further sources…

Illegal drug use by adolescents is on the rise. This alarming trend was quantified in this national survey of the attitudes of teens and their parents (1,200 teens and 1,166 parents, including 819 sets of teens and parents from the same households) towards cigarettes, alcohol, inhalants, marijuana, LSD, cocaine, heroin, and other illegal drugs.…

A project was conducted to provide adult basic education (ABE) personnel with a better understanding of the special needs of clients suffering from mental health problems and to provide information that will help them to develop agency policies and procedures for this type of client. During the project, four workshops were organized and delivered,…

Keynote addresses, issues forums, workshops, and panel discussions from a conference on making schools and communities drug free are summarized in this document. Keynote addresses by Jonathan Kozol, Protase Woodford, and Jeff Howard are summarized. Issues forums are included on the topics of building successful school and community partnerships;…

This educational program on drugs and alcohol provides a "No-Use" message to students. The curriculum maintains that alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs are unhealthy and harmful, and that society's laws and values are to be respected. The lessons build students' resistance to influences that encourage drug abuse and they promote safe, healthy,…