Significant differences in outcomes and characteristics exist between Caucasians and African-Americans in ten Missouri adult drug courts. Caucasians are more likely to graduate and they differ in significant ways from African-Americans in the context in which they lived their lives prior to drug court. Differences were significant between the two groups in employment levels at entry, primary drug of choice, levels of positive family support, and socioeconomic status. Using the evidence from this study, ways that treatment providers can better meet the needs of African-Americans are discussed.

This study examined attributes of parenting that are associated with juvenile delinquency and the related differential life experiences of youth with and without a parental incarceration history. Among 1,112 juveniles, 31% had a parental history of incarceration. Bivariate analysis indicated support for three hypotheses: (a) parents who have experienced incarceration will exhibit lower levels of effective parenting and greater association with factors that can impede their parenting abilities, namely substance abuse and mental illness; (b) youth who have parents with an incarceration history will be more likely to have experienced negative effects of ineffective parenting, namely abuse and out of home placement; and (c) youth with a parental incarceration history will have longer and more serious delinquent histories of their own. Through binary logistic regression analysis, support was not found for the fourth hypothesis that history of parental incarceration predicts delinquent behavior.In recent years, many new initiatives have emerged to respond to the needs of children with parents who are incarcerated. These efforts include enhanced visitation programs in prisons, provision of parenting programs to individuals who were incarcerated, and national attention and support for mentoring programs specific to children with parents who were incarcerated. These responses are not, however, backed by a depth of knowledge about how parental incarceration affects children. Consequently, these initiatives may not be meeting the needs of the children.Most research on parental incarceration is derived from information supplied by parents and caregivers of the children. The children themselves have very little voice in the research for a number of reasons. No system exists to identify the status of children when a parent is arrested and sentenced. Policy makers do not recognize the need for such a system because no public agency is charged with protecting the well-being of this group of children. Children themselves are often reluctant to volunteer the status of their parents or to

In a participatory action research program called Photovoice, Hispanic immigrants in a Midwestern community took photographs to provide researchers with insight regarding family planning. This report describes the Photovoice approach, why the researchers chose it, how they implemented it, what they learned, and the benefits derived for a larger service project.

The heartland of America is experiencing unprecedented demographic changes as more Latino newcomers move to rural communities. Our goal is to understand the factors that contribute to the integration and economic contributions of Latino newcomers to the Midwest, using a sustainable livelihood strategies model to focus especially on the roles of identity, acculturation, social capital, and context of reception. Several preliminary analyses presented in this paper will inform the development of a large-scale household survey of newcomers to examine their settlement patterns and asset accumulation strategies. These analyses are designed to identify factors that facilitate the integration of newcomers, focusing on the immigrants themselves and the resources that they bring to the integration process, using two approaches. The first uses 2000 Census data to explore the impact of acculturation, social capital, and an aspect of context of reception, community climate, on income generation. The second uses focus groups to engage men and women newcomers from communities in three regions of Missouri in an exploration of the context of reception

It is commonly assumed that Hispanic immigrants in the United States subscribe to a patriarchal ideology that keeps women subordinated to men, often through violence and exploitative reproductive behaviors. If this assumption is true, we might expect to find that in the Hispanic culture patriarchal males control decision-making about access to and use of birth control. Structured interviews of 100 Hispanic men and 100 Hispanic women who were recent immigrants to a Midwest community were conducted to examine this assumption. Results did not support this assumption among this study population. We found no patriarchal ideology supporting women's subordination to men, violence as a mechanism of control, reproduction as a way of exploitation, or cultural influences discouraging access to and use of birth control in the Hispanic community. Rather, these immigrants revealed adequate knowledge of birth control use and positive perceptions of gender equality. Gaining a better understanding of the limited influence of patriarchal ideology on the use of birth control and family planning services among this Hispanic community may inform the development of family planning services tailored for new Hispanic immigrants.