NCJ Number
203586
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 38 Issue: 1 Dated: 2003 Pages: 65-73
Date Published
2003
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This article describes full service school environments designed to meet the needs and challenges of children at-risk and their families.
Abstract
The article presents findings from schools in which 85 percent of students are on free or reduced lunch programs, 25 percent of whom will not complete the school year, and have a socioeconomic status of upper-lower. The author contends that although these students have challenges and difficulties and often come from families in which parents are in prison or mental health institutions, their parents do care about their education but do not know how to access the system to make it work for them and their children. The challenge for schools is to regard such students and families as people with problems, not problem people. Full service schools can help these students and families overcome their problems by emphasizing prevention, collaboration, and systems change through a range of services that include corrections, mental health, and welfare. By offering such programming in schools for both children and their families, family interventions are accomplished at the same time as prevention programming is accomplished for children. The article describes the individual variables of at-risk children and then discusses the organizational climate of schools. Next, qualitative research is presented that lends voice to the struggles of at-risk children and their families. Finally, it is stressed that no one program will work for all children and families, thus a full service school offers the best hope for the future of young people and their families. Recommendations are offered for academics, policymakers, and practitioners who want to create a full service school environment. References