skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Poverty in Indiana: Helping Parents Helps the Kids

play audio
Play

Wednesday, November 12, 2014   

INDIANAPOLIS - Young families have a better chance to break the cycle of poverty when there are better-coordinated efforts to help them succeed as a family unit, according to a new Annie E. Casey Foundation report.

The report stresses the need for a "two-generation" approach to policies aimed at lower-income families with young children.

Patrice Cromwell, director of strategic initiatives for the Casey Foundation, said what's needed is to integrate job, education and parenting programs for adults with high-quality early learning for their kids, so the family benefits as a whole.

"It's not enough to invest in early childhood and parenting skills," she said. "We're encouraging states and local practitioners to look at both the parent and child needs together, to help parents bring up their children in a stable environment."

Cromwell said programs and services for children or parents have the best intentions but often are fragmented. She said a more family-centered approach also helps parents set good examples for their children as they work to build a more stable household.

Cromwell said the two-generation approach is based on research that shows beneficial outcomes for children when parents are also supported.

"So, if we can help families become more stable, it leads to lower family stress and increases the opportunity for stronger parent-child relationships," she said.

The Nurse Family Partnership in Indianapolis is a voluntary home-visiting program that provides parenting and child-rearing assistance for families. Cromwell said it's a great example of how the two-generation approach works.

"They've partnered with Goodwill Industries to work with that same parent on building up some of their job readiness and academic skills," she said. "So, when they're ready to go back to work, they'll have advanced and been in a position to move into the labor force."

The report said 228,000 Indiana families with young children are low-income, and in 77 percent of those families, no parent has an associate's degree or higher.

The report, "Creating Opportunity for Families: A Two-Generation Approach," is online at AECF.org.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021