The Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare will receive nearly $500,000 dollars from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Associated Press has reported:

The grant will be used to fund a collaboration with a local treatment facility. The Meta House allows children to enter residential programs with their mothers. That allows the family to remain together while the mother gets substance-abuse treatment.

Officials told the AP that supporting the whole family is important and that, when mothers seek help for addiction, their children are often at risk. The Meta House works to counteract that risk by keeping the family together, they said.

Labels: family, grants, mothers, parental_involvement

The rise in childhood obesity has lead to countless studies, books and articles about proper nutrition. But as Julius Pokomandy reported in a Sept. 9 North Shore News article, childhood eating habits can also affect whether or not young people will engage in adolescent substance abuse:

Studies from the National Center of Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University have been looking at the tremendous impact that family meals have on children. Their research repeatedly shows how children suffer when they don't spend regular, casual time with their families gathered around the dinner table.

Here is a quote from their summary:

"Compared with teens who frequently had dinner with their families (five nights or more per week) those who had dinner with their families only two nights per week or less, were twice as likely to be involved in substance abuse. They were 2.5 times as likely to drink alcohol, and nearly three times as likely to try marijuana."

Family members who eat together also have healthier relationships with each other, Pokomandy wrote, and children in these families report less tension at home.

Labels: communication, family, meals, prevention, substance_abuse

It's no secret that moving is as stressful (if not more so) for children as it is for parents. But a new study has found that it may be far more harmful that previously thought.

The degree to which frequent moves can inflict psychological damage on young people was the topic of a June 26 article by MSNBC.com contributor Linda Carroll:

Psychologists have known for years that moves can be distressing for kids. But a new study shows that the impact on some adolescents may be far more devastating than anyone thought. The study, published in the Archives of Psychiatry, found that kids aged 11 to 17 were twice as likely to attempt suicide if their families moved three or more times compared to those who had never moved.

And, if the family moved more than 10 times, the children were four times as likely to attempt suicide compared to those who had never moved.

For the new study, researchers looked at data from 4,160 Danish children who were brought to hospitals after attempting suicide, as well as 79 who had succeeded in their suicide attempts. These children, all between the ages of 11 and 17, were compared to 124,800 adolescents who had not made suicide attempts.

"Adolescence is an inherently turbulent time for children, and moves may be more traumatic in some cases," the study's lead author, Dr. Ping Qin of the University of Aarhus in Aarhus, Denmark, told MSNBC.

Labels: family, risky_behaviors, suicide

Gang activity in Limerick City, Ireland, isn't much different than it is in the United States. Police officials are seeing an increasing number of disconnected teens drawn into gangs, where they find the sense of belonging and purpose they don't get at home.

"[Chief Superintendent, Willie Keane] said that 'crime gangs are using young people' from dysfunctional families who do not have proper parenting at home, or where no role models exist in the family. He said that, as a result, no sense of responsibility was being instilled in these youths."

One of the greatest concerns is that gang members seem to be getting younger. People who are barely teenagers are being drawn to gangs and taught how to fight and even how to kill. Source: Limerick Post

Labels: family, gangs, relationships

'Tis the Season (or nearly the season) for heavy marketing of all that's "in vogue" in teen fashion, pastimes, and overall trends. The short skirts, low-cut shirts and singers and dolls that make them popular are touted as the main reasons many of our young girls are growing up so fast. But recent research has pointed a finger in a different direction: toward home.

"New research released last week in the journal Child Development found evidence that a family's harmony - how it interacts, addresses conflict and offers support and involvement - correlates with how soon a girl reaches puberty…Girls who hit puberty earlier are more at risk for mood disorders, substance abuse, teen pregnancy and even reproductive cancers as a result of early sexual activity."

The study tracked 227 families and found a marked difference in how soon a girl reached maturity based on parental involvement, stability of resources, and the family's ability to appropriately resolve differences.

If your teenage daughter is heading down the wrong path - either by experimenting with drugs, alcohol, or sex - get her the help she needs at Copper Canyon Academy. Copper Canyon is an all girls school that offers therapy in addition to college prep academics.

Labels: family, maturity, trends

The Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice (Florida) has given a $100,000 grant to the Jewish Family & Children's Services of Sarasota-Manatee. The additional money will fund an expansion of its Brief Strategic Family Therapy Program to all the schools in southern Sarasota County.

"The program targets middle and high school aged youth exposed to problems including domestic violence, bullying, rebellion, peer pressure and early substance abuse."

The program includes hour-long counseling sessions once a week for 15 weeks. Read more at Sun-Herald.com.

Labels: family, schools, therapy