Ramona Denby-Brinson, Judy Tudor, Darla Henry, Stephanie Hodge Wolfe, Efren Gomez, and Keith A. Alford Abstract: Children and youths engaged with the child welfare system can experience grief and loss as a result of trauma, broken relationships, and inadequate attachments. Interventionists are often challenged to implement effective strategies that help youths to reestablish…

Efren Gomez and Molly Latham Abstract: On average, the effects of youth mentoring programs have shown positive outcomes for at-risk youths. Positive outcomes include decreased symptoms of depression or anxiety (DeWit, DuBois, Erdem, Larose, & Lipman, 2016), the potential to increase relational permanency (Avery, 2011), increased short-term educational outcomes (Herrera, Grossman, Kauh…

Dawn L. Davidson and Elizabeth Brogdon Abstract: In 2012, the Clark County Department of Family Services (DFS) was awarded funding from the Administration of Children and Families Children’s Bureau to implement the Determined, Responsible, and Empowered Adolescents Mentoring Relationships (DREAMR) project. One of the goals of the multifaceted DREAMR project was to reduce pregnancy…

Judy Tudor, Efren Gomez, and Ramona W. Denby Abstract: This issue brief explores the benefits and challenges associated with an inter-agency partnership carried out through a federally funded, five-year demonstration project. Reported in this brief are some of the strategies used to overcome implementation barriers and to promote project success. Also, described are the results of…

Ramona Denby-Brinson, Efren Gomez, and Keith A. Alford Abstract: The social service sector conducted an implementation study of a smartphone service for foster youth involved in the federal demonstration project DREAMR. The research team conducted a series of focus groups and in-depth interviews with foster youth, foster parents and relative caregivers, and service providers in order to…

Ramona Denby, Sandra Owens, and Sarah Kern Abstract: About 11.3% of the adult population in Nevada report a past-year mental illness, with nearly 4% of them experiencing disorders serious enough to impair their functionality. Almost 13% of Nevada adults have substance abuse disorders, this is the second highest statewide substance abuse prevalence rate in the country; the District of…

  Shannon M. Monnat, Anna Smedley, and Fatma Nasoz Abstract: This brief presents the results of a partnering survey designed to measure the partnering power of each health, education, and social service non‐profit in southern Nevada indicated by the connections between these organizations. The survey documents which organizations engaged in the most partnering, increasing the…

Ramona Denby, Sandra Owens, and Sarah Kern Abstract: The mental health of children is critical to their growth and development, but when their well-being is considered, discussions more often gravitate toward physical health, nutrition, education, parental influences, and living conditions. While these all represent important indicators of well-being, discussions also need to consider…

Sonya Douglass Horsford and Carrie Sampson Abstract: By increasing the capacity of local child and youth-serving organizations, building a continuum cradle-to-college and career solutions, and integrating programs and respective data systems in ways that leverage existing assets and resources, the Promise Neighborhood model shows promise in our ability to advance educational…

Sonya Douglass Horsford and Tonia Holmes-Sutton Abstract:Parent and family engagement in the educational lives of children and youth positively influence student learning and achievement. While this connection may seem obvious, varying ideals of parent engagement limit the ways in which school communities understand, encourage, and benefit from meaningful school-home-community interactions…

Sonya Douglass Horsford Abstract:School readiness continues to be an area of growing concern in education and public policy circles. The notion that "all children should arrive at school ready for the first day" has important implications not only for parents, early childhood educators, and K-12 schoolteachers, but also policymakers, business owners, and our local and state economies. The…

Denise Tanata-Ashby and Jennifer Pharr Abstract:The health of a community is dependent not only upon the genetics of its residents, but also upon the environment within which those individuals live. A person's health is a product of their environment. As such, a healthy community is one in which all residents have access to a quality education, safe and healthy homes, adequate employment,…