A secure setting creates a physical perimeter that prevents youth from leaving, which can provide safety for certain troubled youth. But in this totally closed environment, staff bear major responsibility for meeting a youth's developmental needs, a role normally fulfilled by parents. Secure settings often compromise goals of care when safety…

When the first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970, millions of Americans--many of whom were college and university students--participated in an effort that sought to improve the quality of the environment and conserve natural resources. Since then, environmental studies programs have popped up throughout the nation, creating jobs for ecologists,…

Making Connections was the Annie E. Casey Foundation's signature place-based, community-change initiative of the 2000s. It sought to build on previous work and launch an effort focused firmly on the framework of family strengthening. The Foundation started Making Connections in 22 places, focusing eventually on first 10, then seven sites. It…

This article focuses on the author's applied anthropological work with the Ingham County Health Department between 1998 and 2001. Government administrators were reflexively aware that nobody had ever stepped back to assess the area's overall environmental health and rank the issues according to some criteria, such as by the "most urgent…

Environmental allergens are major triggers for pediatric asthma. While children's greatest exposure to indoor allergens is in the home, other public places where children spend a large amount of time, such as school and day care centers, may also be sources of significant allergen encounters. The purpose of this article is to describe schoolroom…