Epigenetics: rat mum to my Mum?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Wastell ◽  
Sue White
Keyword(s):  
Welfare Policy ◽  
Epigenetic Mechanisms ◽  
Laboratory Studies ◽  
Primary Research ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Thought Style ◽  
Seminal Work ◽  
Licking And Grooming

This chapter explores the epigenetic thought-style in depth, by analysing some of the seminal work on animals. We highlight in particular the work of Michael Meaney and colleagues which has been particularly persuasive in the domain of welfare policy and practice. This work appears to show that rodent mothers who nurture intensively (copious “licking and grooming”) beget more resilient offspring, and that these effects of parenting are mediated by epigenetic mechanisms. Although the meme is potent, we draw attention to some of the flaws in the primary research, and more generally question the degree to which laboratory studies on animals can (ever) be generalized to human parenting. The idea that epigenetic mechanisms transmit permanent changes is inherently contradictory.

Barriers to Employment among TANF Applicants and Their Consequences for Self-Sufficiency

2007 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Dworsky ◽  
Mark E. Courtney
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Welfare Policy ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Potential Barriers ◽  
Milwaukee County ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
Barriers To Employment ◽  
Using Data

This article examines the prevalence of potential barriers to employment using data from a longitudinal study of 1,075 Milwaukee County parents who applied for assistance from Wisconsin's TANF program in 1999. It also examines whether those potential barriers were related to their subsequent employment and earnings. We find that many of these TANF applicants faced significant and often multiple barriers to employment. Moreover, these potential barriers were associated with both a reduction in their likelihood of being employed and lower earnings when they worked. The implications of these findings for welfare policy and practice are discussed.

scholarly journals First Nations Children Count: An Indigenous Envelope for Quantitative Research

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 66-73
Author(s):  
Cindy Blackstock
Keyword(s):  
Child Health ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Welfare Policy ◽  
Indigenous Research ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Indigenous Child ◽  
Policy Goals ◽  
Disaggregated Data

Indigneous peoples have increasingly called for disaggregated data to inform policy and practice and yet there has been very little discourse on how to “Indigenenize” quantitative research. This article provides a synopsis of Indigenous research goals before moving onto describe how quantitative research can be placed in an Indigenous envelope to advance Indigenous child health and welfare policy goals.

Beyond safety and permanency: Making well-being a focus of policy and practice for children in state care

2009 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-20
Author(s):  
Mark E. Courtney
Keyword(s):  
Child Welfare ◽  
Welfare Policy ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Child Safety ◽  
Child Welfare Services ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Child Welfare Policy ◽  
Welfare Services ◽  
Permanency Outcomes

This essay explores some of the reasons why child welfare policy has too often avoided an explicit focus on child well-being. The historical origins of child welfare services contribute to avoidance of child well-being in policy discourse. In addition, program administrators are reluctant to explicitly take responsibility for the well-being of children they serve because of concerns about added liability, the belief that public institutions other than the child welfare system should be held responsible, and the fear that child welfare services will be unable to ameliorate the damage that children often suffer before entering care. Three empirical studies of child welfare populations in the US are used to examine the inextricable links between child safety, permanency and well-being. It is argued that broadening child welfare policy to embrace child well-being as a policy goal will only enhance the likelihood that child welfare agencies will improve child safety and permanency outcomes.

Developing a Measurement of Child Welfare Policy and Practice: Local Supervisory Review Instrument

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haksoon Ahn ◽  
Philip J. Osteen ◽  
Julia O'Connor ◽  
Terry V. Shaw ◽  
Linda Carter
Keyword(s):  
Child Welfare ◽  
Welfare Policy ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Child Welfare Policy

scholarly journals Epigenetic Mechanisms of Genomic Imprinting: Common Themes in the Regulation of Imprinted Regions in Mammals, Plants, and Insects

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. MacDonald
Keyword(s):  
Genomic Imprinting ◽  
Chromosomal Region ◽  
Epigenetic Inheritance ◽  
Imprinted Genes ◽  
Epigenetic Mechanisms ◽  
Research Model ◽  
Primary Research ◽  
Specific Expression ◽  
Broad Variety ◽  
Control Regions

Genomic imprinting is a form of epigenetic inheritance whereby the regulation of a gene or chromosomal region is dependent on the sex of the transmitting parent. During gametogenesis, imprinted regions of DNA are differentially marked in accordance to the sex of the parent, resulting in parent-specific expression. While mice are the primary research model used to study genomic imprinting, imprinted regions have been described in a broad variety of organisms, including other mammals, plants, and insects. Each of these organisms employs multiple, interrelated, epigenetic mechanisms to maintain parent-specific expression. While imprinted genes and imprint control regions are often species and locus-specific, the same suites of epigenetic mechanisms are often used to achieve imprinted expression. This review examines some examples of the epigenetic mechanisms responsible for genomic imprinting in mammals, plants, and insects.

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