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Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Families with serious and/or chronic child protection risks often have complex personal and social issues. Statutory child protection services must manage escalating child protection reports with limited resources. Addressing families at immediate risk often takes precedence over comprehensive family assessment and planned intervention, so the child protection issues in the lower priority families persist, and child protection reports continue. The Montrose Home-Based Family Assessment Program assesses Department of Community Services registered families who are at risk of child removal because of chronic and/or severe child protection issues. Using an ecological perspective, the Montrose team conducts a five day comprehensive assessment in the family's home and community, and develops a caseplan to address child protection risks and family support needs. The assessment is voluntary, and the family is encouraged to participate in identifying the child protection issues and developing solutions. The primary goal of this study is to compare child protection outcomes, three years after referral, for 100 families who participated in a Montrose Assessment, and 100 Comparison Group families. The research questions also explore the relationship between demographic, family, parent, child and child protection service factors and child protection outcome. Outcome is measured by Family Outcome, Children's Outcome, Legal Status, Children's Placement, subsequent Child Protection Reports and Substantiated Child Protection Reports, and Type of Abuse. The results suggest that home-based family assessment is a cost-effective model that can measurably reduce the likelihood of further abuse, court intervention and out of home care even for complex, high risk families. The study also identifies specific child, parent and child protection service related variables that are significantly associated with child protection outcome. These findings have major relevance for current child protection policy and practice, and also for broader social policy that impacts on high risk families.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Linköping : Linköpings universitet, 2006. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2006. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--University of South Florida, 2008. / Title from PDF of title page. Document formatted into pages; contains 160 pages. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references.

O objetivo desta pesquisa foi verificar o impacto da participação em um projeto social esportivo em crianças, investigando mudanças no desempenho motor (DM), na percepção de competência (PC) e na rotina de atividades infantis dos participantes identificando possíveis diferenças relacionadas ao sexo nas variáveis analisadas. A amostra foi composta inicialmente por 140 crianças de ambos os sexos com idades entre 5 e 9 anos, alunos de escolas públicas da cidade de Porto Alegre/RS, distribuídas em grupo interventivo (GI) e grupo controle (GC). Onze participantes do GI não participaram do pós-teste sendo assim excluídos do estudo, assim como seus pares no GC, de forma que a amostra final foi composta por 118 crianças. Os instrumentos utilizados na coleta dos dados foram o Teste de Desenvolvimento Motor Grosso (ULRICH, 2000), adaptado e validado para a população brasileira por Valentini e colaboradores (2008), para análise do DM; a escala “Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Acceptance for Young Children” (HARTER; PIKE, 1980) e a Escala de Autopercepção de Harter (1985), validada no Brasil por Valentini e colaboradores (no prelo), para averiguação da PC; questionário de Neto e Serrano (1997), adaptado por Berleze (2002), para avaliar a rotina de atividades infantis dos participantes; e questionário simples elaborado para a pesquisa para investigar a prática de atividade física dos participantes durante o período interventivo. Os resultados indicam: (1) DM inicial abaixo do esperado para ambos os grupos; (2) mudanças positivas e significativas no DM dos participantes de GI e desempenho superior a GC no pós-teste; (3) DM semelhante em relação ao sexo em GI e significativamente diferente em GC, favorável aos meninos; (4) níveis elevados de PC em todos os domínios avaliados; (5) níveis similares de PC entre os grupos no pré e no pós-teste; (6) mudanças positivas na PC atlética, social e na soma das subescalas somente para GI; (7) PC similar entre meninos e meninas; (8) maior envolvimento dos participantes de GI e GC em atividades sedentárias e de movimentação restrita, em detrimento de atividades de ampla movimentação; (9) envolvimento familiar em atividade física mais freqüente entre os irmãos dos participantes; (10) mudanças positivas na rotina de atividades infantis de GI e mudanças negativas na rotina dos participantes de GC; e (11) rotinas semelhantes entre os sexos para os participantes de GI e GC. A participação em um projeto social esportivo baseado em propostas metodológicas eficazes e condizentes com as necessidades dos participantes promoveu mudanças positivas em parâmetros motores e psicológicos e na rotina de atividades das crianças no ambiente familiar, contribuindo assim para o desenvolvimento dos participantes. / This research objective was to evaluate the impact of participating in a sports social project in children by investigating changes in motor performance (MP) in perceived competence (PC) and the changes in routine activities for children, as well as identifying possible differences related to gender in the investigated variables. The original sample consisted of 140 children from both genders, aged between 5 and 9 years old, studying in public schools from Porto Alegre/RS, divided into intervention group (IG) and control group (CG ). Eleven participants in the IG didn’t participate on post-test and was therefore excluded from the study, as well as their peers in the CG, so the final sample comprised 118 children. The instruments used in data collection were the Test of Gross Motor Development (ULRICH, 2000), adapted and validated for the Brazilian population by Valentini et al. (2008) for MP analysis, the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Acceptance for Young Children (HARTER; PIKE, 1980) and the Self-Perception Profile for Children (HARTER, 1985), validated in Brazil by Valentini et al. (in press) to investigate the PC, a questionnaire developed by Neto and Serrano (1997) and adapted by Berleze (2002) to assess participant's routine activities and a questionnaire developed for this research to investigate the participants physical activity during the intervention period. The results indicate: (1) initial MP above than expected for both groups, (2) significant and positive changes in MP from pre- to post-test for the IG and better MP for GI when compared to CG in the post-test; (3) similar MP regarding gender in GI and significantly different MP in CG, for male gender, (4) high levels of PC in all the evaluated subscales, (5) similar levels of PC between the groups in pre-and post- test, (6) positive changes in the athletic and social PC, as in the sum of the subscales, only for GI, (7) similar PC between boys and girls, (8) greater involvement of the participants of the IG and CG in sedentary and movement restricted activities, over broad movement activities, (9) the family involvement in physical activity was more effective among participants’ siblings (10) positive changes in routine activities for IG children and negative changes in CG (11) similar routine activities between genders for the participants of the IG and CG. Engaging in a sport social project based on effective methodological proposals that are suitable for the participants’ needs fosters positive changes in motor and psychological parameters and in the routine activities of children in the family environment, thus contributing to the development of the participants.

xiii, 189 p. A print copy of this title is available through the UO Libraries under the call numbers: KNIGHT LB1573 .G238 2007 / This study uses cost-effectiveness tools to support school site decision-makers. It looks at four reading protocols for first and second graders using common outcomes of early reading proficiency. Similar outcome measures are a requirement of cost-effectiveness analysis but are a common shortcoming of program evaluations as presented in the literature. The comparison of Success For All, a Reading First protocol, and two locally designed instructional protocols gives the reader an opportunity to review the reading alternatives. The review is undertaken to highlight program costs ranging from difficult to discern indirect costs to readily accessible budget expenditures. The qualities of good reading programs are characterized and the essential elements of cost-effectiveness tools delineated before applying their theoretical principles to four schools in a large Northwest city. / Adviser: Gerald Tindal

xiii, 102 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / The purpose of this dissertation study was to examine the effectiveness of an intervention program specifically designed to facilitate social awareness and adjustment to college for Latino/a students enrolled in four-year universities in the Pacific Northwest. I designed an intervention program, the Latino/a Educational Equity Project (LEEP), as a multifaceted prevention intervention to increase student capacities and knowledge of: (a) the importance of building a network of individuals to support their academic endeavors, (b) political awareness of race and higher education and the importance of college retention and completion, (c) awareness of university demands and development of skills that are needed to balance home and university demands, as well as (d) comfort with and increased utilization of campus resources. As identified by the research literature, these components have been associated with both the needs of Latino/a students in higher education and with Latino/a student retention. I utilized quasi-experimental design with between- and within-subject measurement, including assessments at pre- and three-week post-test, to evaluate the effects of the LEEP program in comparison with a no-treatment control condition. The LEEP intervention was conducted at three public universities in the Pacific Northwest. The total sample for the present study was 40 treatment participants and 41 participants in the control condition. A repeated-measures MANCOVA was utilized to assess the effectiveness of the LEEP intervention program. Results demonstrated partial success for the LEEP intervention program. The intervention successfully improved participants' overall adjustment to college in comparison with control condition participants. However, intervention effects for LEEP participants were not statistically different from control participants on outcomes related to increased critical consciousness, collective self-esteem, or enhanced cultural congruity. Initial pre-test scores and lower statistical power than optimal (.35) for this type of study may partially explain why the intervention was not fully successful in these other areas. A discussion of results, strengths, and limitations of the present study and implications for future intervention research and practice and provided. / Committee in charge: Benedict McWhirter, Chairperson, Counseling Psychology and Human Services; Ellen McWhirter, Member, Counseling Psychology and Human Services; Charles Martinez, Member, Educational Methodology, Policy, and Leadership; Brian Klopotek, Outside Member, Anthropology