Risk of Low Birth Weight According to Household Composition in Brussels and Montreal: Do Income Support Policies Variations Explain the Differences Observed between Both Regions?

Variations in social policy between countries provide opportunities to assess the impact of these policies on health inequities. This study compares the risk of low birth weight in Brussels and Montreal, according to household composition, and discusses the impact of income support policies. For each context, we estimated the impact of income support policies on the extent of poverty of welfare recipients, using the model family method. Based on the differences found, we tested hypotheses on the association between low birth weight and household composition, using administrative data from the birth register and social security in each region. The extent of poverty of welfare families differs according to household composition. In Quebec, the combination of low welfare benefits and larger family allowances widens the gap between households with children and those without children. The risk of LBW also differs between these two contexts according to the number of children. Compared to children born into large welfare families, first-born children are more at risk in Montreal than in Brussels. In addition to the usual comparative studies on the topic, our study highlights the importance of an evaluative perspective that considers the combination of different types of income support measures to better identify the most vulnerable households.

Indigenous mothers’ experiences of power and control in child welfare: Families being heard

Summary There are upward of 11,000 Indigenous children and families in the Manitoba Child and Family Services (CFSs). Many factors coalesce as contributors to these high rates of care, including oppressive histories of Canadian settler colonialism, governmental policies and the Indian Residential Schools, and mass apprehensions of Indigenous children through “the 60’s scoop.” Although a process of “Devolution” began in Manitoba in 1999 to address Indigenous overrepresentation and improve cultural safety for children and families, the voices of women whose children are in care often remain silenced and marginal. Findings Utilizing an Indigenous Research lens, this qualitative study explored the stories and experiences of 12 Indigenous mothers involved with Manitoba CFS. The mothers’ stories revealed dynamics of power and control outlined in five core themes: (1) Being “set up to fail”; (2) Confronting “normalcy” and navigating case plans; (3) Dealing with tactics of intimidation; (4) Experiencing judgment and being labelled; and (5) Emotional politics. The mothers’ stories suggest that the CFS system continues to reflect colonial structures of oppression and that the “Devolution” did not fully have the intended impact on daily practice. Applications The womens' shared experiences highlight several areas for change, such as: enhanced family supports and worker relationships; utilization of capacity building frameworks; better institutional collaborations; increased efforts to maintain family relationships and units; and greater access to and quality of Indigenous cultural supports for mothers and children, including ceremony, healing, and access to Elders. Suggestions for more efficient and family-centered service provision are also offered.

PCIT engagement and persistence among child welfare-involved families: Associations with harsh parenting, physiological reactivity, and social cognitive processes at intake

Parent-Child interaction therapy (PCIT) has been shown to improve positive, responsive parenting and lower risk for child maltreatment (CM), including among families who are already involved in the child welfare system. However, higher risk families show higher rates of treatment attrition, limiting effectiveness. In N = 120 child welfare families randomized to PCIT, we tested behavioral and physiological markers of parent self-regulation and socio-cognitive processes assessed at pre-intervention as predictors of retention in PCIT. Results of multinomial logistic regressions indicate that parents who declined treatment displayed more negative parenting, greater perceptions of child responsibility and control in adult–child transactions, respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) increases to a positive dyadic interaction task, and RSA withdrawal to a challenging, dyadic toy clean-up task. Increased odds of dropout during PCIT's child-directed interaction phase were associated with greater parent attentional bias to angry facial cues on an emotional go/no-go task. Hostile attributions about one's child predicted risk for dropout during the parent-directed interaction phase, and readiness for change scores predicted higher odds of treatment completion. Implications for intervening with child welfare-involved families are discussed along with study limitations.

PCIT engagement and persistence among child welfare-involved families: Associations with harsh parenting, physiological reactivity, and social cognitive processes at intake

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) has been shown to improve positive, responsive parenting and lower risk for child maltreatment (CM), including among families who are already involved in the child welfare system. However, higher-risk families show higher rates of treatment attrition, limiting effectiveness. In N = 120 child welfare families randomized to PCIT, we tested behavioral and physiological markers of parent self-regulation and socio-cognitive processes assessed at pre-intervention as predictors of retention in PCIT. Results of multinomial logistic regressions indicate that parents who declined treatment displayed more negative parenting, greater perceptions of child responsibility and control in adult-child transactions, respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) increases to a positive dyadic interaction task, and RSA withdrawal to a challenging, dyadic toy clean-up task. Increased odds of dropout during PCIT’s Child-Directed Interaction phase were associated with greater parent attentional bias to angry facial cues on an Emotional Go/No-Go task. Hostile attributions about one’s child predicted risk for dropout during the Parent-Directed Interaction phase, and readiness for change scores predicted higher odds of treatment completion. Implications for intervening with child welfare-involved families are discussed along with study limitations.

PCIT engagement and persistence among child welfare-involved families: Associations with harsh parenting, physiological reactivity, and social cognitive processes at intake

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) has been shown to improve positive, responsive parenting and lower risk for child maltreatment (CM), including among families who are already involved in the child welfare system. However, higher-risk families show higher rates of treatment attrition, limiting effectiveness. In N = 120 child welfare families randomized to PCIT, we tested behavioral and physiological markers of parent self-regulation and socio-cognitive processes assessed at pre-intervention as predictors of retention in PCIT. Results of multinomial logistic regressions indicate that parents who declined treatment displayed more negative parenting, greater perceptions of child responsibility and control in adult-child transactions, respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) increases to a positive dyadic interaction task, and RSA withdrawal to a challenging, dyadic toy clean-up task. Increased odds of dropout during PCIT’s Child-Directed Interaction phase were associated with greater parent attentional bias to angry facial cues on an Emotional Go/No-Go task. Hostile attributions about one’s child predicted risk for dropout during the Parent-Directed Interaction phase, and readiness for change scores predicted higher odds of treatment completion. Implications for intervening with child welfare-involved families are discussed along with study limitations.

Poor Policy

Neoliberalism provided the rationale for reviewing public assistance with unintended effects. In anticipation of the 1996 welfare reform, state welfare waivers provided a verdant environment for assessing alternatives to Aid to Families with Dependent Children. Field experiments became the default to determine program efficacy and efficiency. Subsequently, research demonstrated that “work first” was superior to “human capital development” strategies. Virtually all of the research on welfare waivers was conducted by private research firms. Welfare reform had two undesirable consequences: diverting cash from welfare families to professional service providers and denying benefits for families unable to make the transition from welfare to work.

TINGKAT KESEJAHTERAAN PETANI IKAN KERAPU CANTANG (Epinephelus sp) DI DESA LABUHAN KECAMATAN BRONDONG KABUPATEN LAMONGAN

Grouper fish is one of the leading commodities for export. With grouper cultivation, the income earned will be used to meet family needs, so that the level of family welfare increases. This research was conducted with the aim to find out the income and welfare level of the grouper cantang fish farmers. This research was conducted in Labuhan Village, Brondong District, Lamongan Regency. The method used is quantitative and qualitative methods. The results of the research stated that the income was profitable and the welfare level of the farmers was categorized as phase III plus welfare families.

Family as a socio-economic actor in the political economy of welfare

After years of neoliberal restructuring of social welfare, families are under pressure to act more strategically in absorbing the ever-increasing social risks and costs associated with social reproduction. Thus, we consider it imperative to expand our theoretical understanding of the family as a socio-economic actor whose agency extends beyond the realm of care provision. Drawing upon Karl Polanyi’s work on the variety of moral rationalities of economic action and upon critical realist sociological literature on the family as a relational subject this chapter conceptualizes the family as a collective socio-economic actor that deploys a portfolio of moral ‘rationales’ and practices (householding, reciprocity, redistribution and market exchange) to enhance the welfare of its members. We conclude by arguing for a new research agenda that treats the terrain of family’s collective agency as a separate level of analysis, where intersections of class, racial, gender and generational inequalities can be re-imagined in studying how different welfare regimes institutionalize the conditions for families to act as socio-economic agents.