Child and Family Advocacy: Bridging the Gaps Between Research, Practice, and Policy

307 Pages·2013·2.75 MB·English

by  Cynthia Schellenbach Ph.D.

Issues in Clinical Child Psychology
Anne McDonald Culp
Editor
Child and Family
Advocacy
Bridging the Gaps Between
Research, Practice, and Policy
Issues in Clinical Child Psychology
Series Editor: Michael C. Roberts, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas
For further volumes:
http://www.springer.com/series/6082

Anne McDonald Culp
Editor
Child and Family Advocacy
Bridging the Gaps Between
Research, Practice, and Policy
Editor
Anne McDonald Culp
Department of Child, Family, and Community Sciences
University of Central Florida
Orlando , FL , USA
ISSN 1574-0471
ISBN 978-1-4614-7455-5 ISBN 978-1-4614-7456-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-7456-2
Springer New York Heidelberg Dordrecht London
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013940912
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This volume is a product of the Society for Child and Family Policy and Practice
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v

Editorial Board
Sandra J. Bishop-Josef , Ph.D.
Research Scientist , Faculty Affi liate for the The Edward Zigler Center in Child
Development and Social Policy Yale School of Medicine , New Haven , CT
Preston Britner , Ph.D.
Professor , Department of Human Development and Family Studies ,
University of Connecticut , Storrs , CT
Mario Hernandez , Ph.D.
Professor , Department of Child and Family Studies , College of Behavioral
and Community Sciences University of South Florida , Tampa , FL
Jennifer W. Kaminski , Ph.D.
Health Scientist , National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Atlanta , GA
Gerry Koocher , Ph.D., ABPP
Associate Provost and Professor of Psychology , Simmons College , Boston , MA
Gary Melton , Ph.D.
Professor of Pediatrics , Director of Community Engagement Kempe Center for
Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect , University of Colorado ,
Denver , CO
Cindy L. Miller-Perrin , Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology , Frank R. Seaver Endowed Chair in Social Sciences ,
Pepperdine University , Malibu , CA
John P. Murray , Ph.D.
Research Fellow , Dept of Psychology Washington College , Chestertown , MD
Visiting Scholar, Center on Media and Child Health , Children’s Hospital ,
Boston , MA
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viii Editorial Board
Marion O’Brien , Ph.D.
Professor , Department of Human Development and Family Studies ,
University of North Carolina , Greensboro , NC
Sharon G. Portwood , J.D., Ph.D.
Executive Director , I nstitute for Social Capital, Professor of Public Health Sciences. ,
University of North Carolina , Charlotte , NC
Michael C. Roberts , Ph.D.
Professor , Director of Clinical Child Psychology Program, Professor of Psychology ,
University of Kansas , Lawrence , KS
Cynthia Schellenbach , Ph.D.
Associate Professor , Department of Sociology, Anthropology, Social Work,
and Criminal Justice , Oakland University , Rochester , MI
Carolyn S. Schroeder , Ph.D., ABPP
Professor , Clinical Child Psychology Program , University of Kansas , Lawrence , KS
Donald Wertlieb , Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus , Department of Child Development , Tufts University , Medford , MA
Diane J. Willis , Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus of Clinical Psychology , University of Oklahoma Health Sciences
Center , Oklahoma City , OK
Brian L. Wilcox , Ph.D.
Professor , Department of Psychology and Director, Center on Children, Families,
and the Law , University of Nebraska , Lincoln , NE
Preface
Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.
William James
This book is intended to help people become passionate about initiating or renewing
their advocacy skills for children and families in the United States. We as a society
have too many children who live in families that are chronically or temporarily liv-
ing below poverty level; we have too many children who are abused and neglected;
we have too many children who are not receiving the education they need to reach
their potential; in general, we have too many children being ignored in our country
(Children’s Defense Fund, 2012). As a student or professional in the human sci-
ences and services, and a concerned citizen and fellow human, I believe you as a
reader of this book feel a responsibility to do something, yet where do you start?
First and foremost, you must believe that you can improve the lives of children
and families by creating a world where children are safe, that they can grow up
healthy, and that they can be productive citizens as they age to adulthood. Yes, you
want their parents to do the majority of the work of giving their children safe,
healthy, and productive lives. Nonetheless, many parents confront obstacles that
prevent them from providing resources necessary for their children’s healthy devel-
opment (Lieberman & Van Horn, 2009).
When situations are not conducive for parents to give their children safe, healthy,
and productive lives, neighborhoods, communities, state government, federal gov-
ernment, and others step in to make sure that the constitutional rights of every child
are secure. However, the systems and programs, which we as a society put in place,
may not be working out as well as we had hoped. Funding, lack of training, lack of
research, lack of public understanding and education all play a role in our systems
weakening. When this happens, we must expand the arena of “helpers” and we fi nd
ourselves reaching out to citizens, especially those citizens being trained as profes-
sionals working with children, to step up and advocate for the decency of lives—the
unalienable right of children to have safe, healthy, and productive lives in the United
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