As the first major effort to use a behavioral economics lens to examine human services programs that serve poor and vulnerable families in the United States, the Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) project demonstrated the value of applying behavioral insights to improve the efficacy of human services programs. The BIAS…

A growing body of evidence indicates the critical importance of appropriate supports for children and their families at early ages, as well as the potential for targeted interventions to make meaningful contributions to children's development. Family involvement in the early years of a child's learning and development can serve as a protective…

Services for homeless youth traditionally provided shelter and nourishment but do little to break the cycle of homelessness. A more comprehensive approach to serve homeless youth is the drop-in center model that provides safe and easy-to-find facilities within communities to bridge the gap between the streets and transitional/permanent housing.…

The Administration's May Revision of the 2012-2013 state budget addresses a $15.7 billion shortfall through funding shifts, cuts, and new revenue sources that place children squarely in harms way. California's kids are already grossly underserved relative to the rest of the nation's children. If the May Revise budget is passed by the Legislature,…

With Washington trapped in budget battles and partisan gridlock, cities have emerged as the best source of government innovation. Nowhere is this more visible than in New York City. Since taking office in 2002, Mayor Bloomberg has introduced a steady stream of innovative policies, from a competition to recruit a new applied sciences campus and a…

The purpose of the study was to explore the potential effectiveness of service learning as a pedagogical technique for providing substance abuse education to human services/social work students. Using a quasi-experimental design, the authors assigned 38 human services undergraduate students to experimental and comparison groups on the basis of…

Research centers in schools of social work are growing in number and scope. In this article the authors argue that this increase is in line with the growing recognition that research and science are critical components of the mission of the social work profession. The authors examine the purposes and various models for establishing research…

This report presents findings from a rigorous evaluation of the Life Skills Training Program (LST) in Los Angeles County. LST provides 30 hours of life skills training over five weeks to foster youths ages 16 and older. The classes are held on community college campuses throughout Los Angeles County. The program is staffed by workers tasked with…

Reports on ethnic differences in service utilization, preferences, and delivery concerns among 488 Latinos, European Americans, African Americans, and Asian Americans who were consumers or potential consumers of California family-resource centers providing child, economic, social, and health-related services. Latinos and African Americans were…

This article reports on the findings from two studies conducted in the Los Angeles urban American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) community. The research investigated the relationship between the American Indian and Alaska Native cultural values and the social problems that challenge the urban Native community in the greater Los Angeles and Orange…

Oregon educators, policymakers, and business people are working together to increase the number and quality of Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs in secondary and postsecondary institutions. CTE is an integral component of Oregon's education and workforce development system and prepares students for careers in areas ranging from the…

This report describes California programs which provide alternatives to detention for minors who commit less serious law violations and status offenses. Included are six diversion programs, four youth service bureaus, six home supervision programs, and ten juvenile court work programs. In addition, three detention classification programs and five…

This report presents an assessment of Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (DHEW) services delivery to American Samoans residing in California, Hawaii, and American Samoa. The evaluation includes analyses of human services needs, resources, and delivery. The effectiveness of human services delivery was assessed using interviews with Samoan…

The Local Interagency Needs Assessment Capabilities Program (LINC) was a partnership project to develop and demonstrate a model for interagency cooperation between city government and school districts, specifically in conducting needs assessments and increasing local capabilities for planning to meet human services and educational needs. It…

Correctional services can best be provided through local, community-based programs. The construction and operation of adequate field supervision services must be emphasized in California, corresponding to a de-emphasis of institutionalization. Task force reports on probation and parole are presented separately, giving extensive general and…