The "Youth Villages Transitional Living Evaluation" is testing whether the "Transitional Living" program, operated by the social service organization Youth Villages, makes a difference in the lives of young people with histories of foster care or juvenile justice custody. The program, which was renamed "YVLifeSet" in…

The Youth Villages Transitional Living program is intended to help youth who were formerly in foster care or juvenile justice custody, or who are otherwise unprepared for adult life, to make the transition to independent living. Youth Villages, which serves emotionally and behaviorally troubled young people, operates a number of programs in…

Many youths in juvenile justice are in need of substance use services, yet referral to services is often inadequate. This study examines the ecological factors related to substance use service referrals made through Tennessee's juvenile courts. A series of hierarchical binomial logistic models indicated that individual-level factors accounted for…

"Data Trends" reports present summaries of research on mental health services for children and adolescents and their families. The article summarized in this "Data Trends" describes how an organizational and community intervention model (ARC: Availability, Responsiveness, Continuity) can be used in conjunction with the…

This annual report details the 1996-97 activities of the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth, an independent agency created by the Tennessee General Assembly with the mission of advocating for improvements in the quality of life for Tennessee children and families. Following introductory letters from the commission's chair, Phillip Boyd,…

This hearing focused on youth violence and the importance of developing local and state solutions. Senator Fred Thompson made an introductory statement. This was followed by four panels on each of 2 days of testimony. Day one's first panel included involved students and business people from Memphis, TN. The second panel included two Tennessee…

Drug courts have been recognized and empirically supported as an effective means of reducing recidivism and use of substances for both juveniles and adults. The paper reports the results of an outcome evaluation of a juvenile drug court in the Upper Cumberland area of Middle Tennessee. As with previous studies, the program showed impressive…

Objective: This longitudinal, prospective study examines the role of specialty mental health care as provided by community-based, usual-care practice settings in predicting out-of-home placements among children served by a child welfare and juvenile justice system. Method: The mental health needs of 1,249 children from 22 counties in Tennessee…

This book is about children who are living dangerously close to the edge, the edge of delinquency, mental illness, and poverty. Beginning with a discussion of the role of Joy Dryfoos in the development of comprehensive schools, this work is based on the Full Service Schools program which began in 1998 in three elementary inner-city schools in…

This Kids Count report examines regional differences in the well being of Tennessee's children. The statistical portrait is based on 16 health, social, and economic indicators of child well being: (1) percent of population enrolled in TennCare, state health insurance program; (2) percent of births lacking adequate prenatal care; (3) percent of low…

This Kids Count report is the first to examine the well being of Tennessee's children. The statistical portrait is based on 17 indicators of child well being: (1) children in single-parent families; (2) family income; (3) children living in poverty; (4) children in families receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC); (5) percent of…

This Kids Count report examines statewide trends from 1992 to 1996 in the well being of Tennessee's children. The statistical portrait is based on trends in 16 indicators of child well being: (1) enrollment in state health insurance program; (2) births lacking adequate prenatal care; (3) low-birthweight births; (4) infant mortality rate; (5) child…

This Kids Count report examines trends in the well being of Tennessee's children. The statistical portrait is based on 23 indicators of child well being: (1) single-parent families; (2) family income/poverty; (3) children receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children; (4) students participating in school nutrition programs; (5) teen…

This Kids Count report examines trends in the well being of Tennessee's children. The statistical portrait is based on 23 indicators of child well being: (1) single-parent families; (2) family income/poverty; (3) children receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC); (4) student participation in school nutrition programs; (5) child…

This Kids Count report examines statewide trends in the well-being of Tennessee's children. The statistical portrait is based on 34 indicators of children's well-being in 5 broad areas: (1) infant, child, and teen health, including enrollment in the TennCare (replacement for Tennessee's Medicaid Program) insurance program, prenatal, low…