Dr. Rivera publishes article in Child Welfare Journal

Dr. Marny Rivera, Justice faculty, recently published an article in Child Welfare Journal, a publication of the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA).

"Rethinking child welfare to keep families safe and together: Effective housing-based supports to reduce child trauma, maltreatment recidivism, and re-entry to foster care," by Dr. Marny Rivera and Dr. Rita Sullivan. September 2015.

This article describes a collaborative model in Oregon of a continuum of housing-based clinical and support services for the whole family that has safely reduced foster care placement.

The CWLA notes on its website:
The Child Welfare League of American (CWLA) leads and engages its network of public and private agencies and partners to advance policies, best practices and collaborative strategies that result in better outcomes for vulnerable children, youth and families.

Drs. Rosay and Rivera picked as co-conveners for Healthy Alaskans 2020 workgroup

Dr. André Rosay, Justice Center Director, and Dr. Marny Rivera, Justice faculty, have been selected as co-conveners for the Healthy Alaskans 2020 Strategy Workgroup responsible for identifying key strategies and actions steps related to reducing the:

• rate of child maltreatment, 
• rate of rape, and 
• percentage of adolescents who were ever physically hurt on purpose by their boyfriend or girlfriend.

Drs. Rosay and Rivera will be working with content experts over the next several months and will facilitate the discussion and activities of this workgroup.  Results from all the Healthy Alaskans 2020 Workgroups will be submitted by April 2014.

Other UAA participants in the Healthy Alaskans 2020 project include College of Health Dean Bill Hogan, a past member of the Healthy Alaskans 2020 Advisory Team, and Dr. David Driscoll, Director of the Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies, the 2014 UAA representative on the team. The advisory team has been key in establishing the vision, mission, and values of the project; prioritizing health goals; and in 2014 will be finalizing actions for success to reach those goals.

Healthy Alaskans 2020 is a joint effort of the state of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC). Together they have identified 25 Leading Health Indicators — a list of critical health priorities for Alaska.

The 25 leading health indicators include reducing the rates of cancer, suicide, and interpersonal violence and sexual assault. The indicators provide a science-based framework for identifying public health priorities and are designed to guide efforts in Alaska over the next decade to improve health and ensure health equity for all Alaskans.

Selecting the indicators is a collaborative effort among a wide spectrum of partners statewide and was both data‑ and community-driven and involves teams of expert reviewing Alaska-specific quantitative data related to a broad range of health factors. To establish the 25 indicators, the teams look at information gathered from subject matter experts, and input from two public statewide surveys conducted in the fall of 2012 and the spring of 2013.

Childhood trauma expert Dr. Robert Anda discusses his work with the Adverse Childhood Experiences study on October 23 at UAA

Dr. Robert Anda

Childhood trauma expert, Dr. Robert Anda, co-investigator of the Centers for Disease Control Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, will be at UAA on October 23 to describe the ACE study and discuss ways  the University can help address critical issues related to child maltreatment.

This interactive presentation will include a panel discussion about what tomorrow's leaders - our students - need to know to make a difference.  Dean Bill Hogan of the UAA College of Health will be the moderator for this event.

Date: Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: UAA/APU Consortium Library, Room 307, UAA Campus
Cost: FREE - Open to the UAA and Anchorage community

This event is sponsored by the UAA College of Health, the Justice Center, the Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies, the Department of Health Sciences, and the School of Social Work.
 

ALASKA CHILD MALTREATMENT CONFERENCE
Dr. Anda will also be speaking earlier on Tuesday, October 23, at the Alaska Childhood Maltreatment Conference at the Anchorage Hilton. He will be facilitating a workshop presentation, "Barriers to Change: A Public Health Approach to Addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)," that includes 10 state leaders from the fields of behavioral health, public health, public safety, and child welfare. Click here for information on the conference.  The Justice Center, the College of Health (COH) and the COH entities noted above are also sponsors of the conference.

For more information about Dr. Anda and his research, visit his website.

Questions about Dr. Anda's UAA lecture? Please contact the UAA College of Health, Harriet Paule at 786-4852 or email anhrp@uaa.alaska.edu.

Childhood trauma expert Dr. Robert Anda describes his work with the Adverse Childhood Experiences study on October 23 at UAA

Dr. Robert Anda

Childhood trauma expert, Dr. Robert Anda, co-investigator of the Centers for Disease Control Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, will be at UAA on October 23 to describe the ACE study and discuss ways  the University can help address critical issues related to child maltreatment.

This interactive presentation will include a panel discussion about what tomorrow's leaders - our students - need to know to make a difference.  Dean Bill Hogan of the UAA College of Health will be the moderator for this event.

Date: Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Wendy Williamson Auditorium, UAA Campus
Cost: FREE - Open to the UAA and Anchorage community

This event is sponsored by the UAA College of Health, the Justice Center, the Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies, the Department of Health Sciences, and the School of Social Work.
 

 ALASKA CHILD MALTREATMENT CONFERENCE
Dr. Anda will also be speaking earlier on Tuesday, October 23, at the Alaska Childhood Maltreatment Conference at the Anchorage Hilton. He will be facilitating a workshop presentation, "Barriers to Change: A Public Health Approach to Addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)," that includes 10 state leaders from the fields of behavioral health, public health, public safety, and child welfare. Click here for information on the conference.  The Justice Center, the College of Health (COH) and the COH entities noted above are also sponsors of the conference.

For more information about Dr. Anda and his research, visit his website.

Questions about Dr. Anda's UAA lecture? Please contact the UAA College of Health, Harriet Paule at 786-4852 or email anhrp@uaa.alaska.edu.

Dr. Rivera attends symposium on violence against children and other vulnerable people

Dr. Marny Rivera, Justice faculty, attended the "Symposium on Violence against Children and Other Vulnerable People: A Dialogue on Surveillance, Prevention, Recognition, and Long-term Outcomes" sponsored by the Alaska Children's Trust and held July 11 in Anchorage.

The event was part of the efforts of the Alaska Surveillance of Child Abuse Neglect(Alaska SCAN) Program to educate health care providers, research professionals, and the public. Topics included an update on child physical abuse, the child death review process, data collection challenges regarding child maltreatment, prevention efforts, elder abuse and elder fatality reviews, and the links between child abuse, family violence, and elder abuse.

Dr. Rivera evaluates Oregon program for families

Dr. Marny Rivera, Justice faculty, attended a Family Connection Grantee meeting in April in Bethesda, MD as part of her ongoing evaluation of the Family Connections Program in Jackson County, Oregon. The evaluation is a 3-year study. The mission of the Family Connection Grant Program is to help children who are in, or at risk of entering, foster care to reconnect with family members.

The Oregon program is administered by OnTrack, Inc., a local provider, and offers comprehensive services to expedite reunification of families where children have had to be removed temporarily because of safety threats caused by or contributed to by parental substance abuse. A variety of services are provided including residential family treatment and case management to assist families in overcoming barriers to permanency and self-sufficiency. OnTrack, Inc. works in partnership with Oregon Child Welfare, Jackson County Circuit Courts, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), and the Family Nurturing Center.

The evaluation by Dr. Rivera includes comparing child welfare outcomes for a control group of families whose cases have been handled in the standard way, rather than by diversion to this type of family treatment. This program is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children & Families.

Dr. Lu discusses child labor in China

Dr. Lu De-ping, Professor at Tianjin Foreign Studies University, and Justice Center affiliate faculty, presents "Child Labor Issues in China" on Thursday, February 24, 7:00 p.m. in Rasmuson Hall 101.

Dr. Lu is the former Deputy Director for Academy of Youth Development at the China Youth University for Political Science in Beijing. On behalf of the organization, Save the Children, he has researched child labor and the economic factors and social implications of this global issue.

This program is co-sponsored by the UAA College of Arts & Sciences and the UAA Confucius Institute.

Dr. Rivera awarded contract to evaluate programs for families

Dr. Marny Rivera, Justice Center faculty, has been awarded a $75,000 contract by OnTrack Addiction Recovery Programs and Services to provide evaluation services for the Permanency Project and the Family Connections Program in Jackson County, Oregon. These related programs provide drug treatment and comprehensive services for families with child welfare issues (i.e., dependency petition, removal from home, etc.).

The programs and evaluations of them are funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children & Families. The evaluation services will continue over a three-year period.

Dr. Rivera to evaluate Oregon Family Connections Program

Dr. Marny Rivera, Justice Center faculty, will serve as the evaluator for the Family Connections program funded by a Family Connection Discretionary Grant that was recently awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children & Families . The award was made to the drug treatment provider, OnTrack, Inc., located in Jackson County, Oregon. The funding is intended to help children at risk of entering foster care to reconnect with their families by providing a number of services, including residential family drug treatment.