Risk Factors

Introduction
Definitions
Programs
Research & Literature

Introduction

This page contains information on topics related to family risk factors. It is essential that professionals understand factors that may have negative or deleterious effects on families and children. In the vast majority of cases, the risk factor impacts the family before it is recognized as impacting the child. Using a holistic or ecological approach, it is important to analyze your communities (or the populations with which you work or serve) in order to develop programming and services that best meet the needs of children and families.
This page contains three sets of tabs covering: Family, Child, and Community risk factors.

Also see the At-Risk Children & Families page on the EC Administration page

Definitions

Defining the Term "At-Risk"
Click Here by Kristin Anderson Moore, Ph.D, Child Trends

Programs

Great Start Readiness Program - Michigan
Click Here

Research & Literature

Are At-Risk Parents Getting What They Need? Perspectives of Parents Involved with Child Protective Services
Click Here Clin Soc Work J (2008) 36:341–354
This qualitative study explores the perspective of 24 parents who were at risk for having their children placed in foster care but ultimately retained custody of their children. We asked participants to reflect on their parenting needs prior to Child and Protective Services involvement and if and/or how they implemented parent education skills post-intervention. Parents most frequently cited stressors such as financial strain and single parenthood as contributing factors associated with their involvement with the child welfare system. Many parents stated that they wanted help with their parenting practices and provided their thoughts about time-out and physical punishment. Implications include assessing parental stress at the onset of services, seeking to understand the unique needs of families, evaluating the impact of length of time services are offered, and helping parents utilize age appropriate discipline strategies.

Family Risk Factors

Abuse and Neglect
Deployment
Divorce
Domestic Violence
Homelessness
Incarceration
Mental Health
Poverty
Substance Abuse

Abuse and Neglect

Deployment

Divorce

Domestic Violence

Homelessness

Criteria and Benchmarks for Achieving the Goal of Ending Family Homelessness Includes tools
Click Here

Early Childhood Homelessness in the United States: 50-State Profile
Click Here, U.S. Interagency Council of Homelessness

Exploring the Lived Experiences of Homeless Families with Young Children
Click Here, Early Childhood Education Journal, (2013) 41:457–463

Fighting Student Homelessness
Click Here, Ed Week Video, PBS News Hour

Guidance for School Districts on Identifying, Serving and Supporting Homeless Preschool Children and Families
Click Here, State of New Jersey, Department of Education

How One District Cut Student Homelessness by 25 Percent
Click Here Education Week

Minnesota’s Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness
Click Here, Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness

National Center on Family Homelessness, The
Click Here

United States Interagency Council on Homelessness
Click Here

Incarceration

Go to the Incarceration page

Mental Health

Poverty

Research & Literature

Becoming Good Human Beings: Low-Income Mothers’ Dreams for Children and Their Insight into Children’s Needs Click Here
Early Childhood Research & Practice, Volume 14, Number 2
Results indicated that the participants’ aspirations for their children included going to college, as has been shown in other studies to be characteristic of middle-class families. Results also suggested that the participants were insightful about child development, young children’s learning, and the needs of young children. Analysis indicated that participants understood the importance of a shared role between families and teachers in their children’s development, and they wanted to work with their children’s teachers in that manner. The participants expected early childhood programs to not only prepare young children for school but to prepare them to negotiate successfully social interactions with both children and adults.

Chaos, poverty, and parenting: Predictors of early language development
Click Here Early Childhood Research Quarterly 27 (2012) 339– 351
Results suggested that after accounting for thirteen covariates like maternal education and poverty, one of two chaos composites (household disorganization) accounted for significant variance in receptive and expressive language. Parenting partially mediated this relationship although household disorganization continued to account for unique variance in predicting early language.

Substance Abuse

Child Risk Factors

ACE Study
Low Birthweight
Special Needs
Trauma

ACE Study

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study
Click Here Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Extremely-Low and Very-Low Birthweight

Long-term cognitive outcomes of extremely low-birth-weight infants: the influence of the maternal educational background
See Brain Development for article. Acta Pædiatrica, 2012, 101, pp. 569–573
Maternal educational background is the strongest predictor of long-term neurodevelopment in ELBW children. The findings emphasize the need for special support and follow-up care services for poorly educated parents.

Parenting Education

Resources, Sharing, Collaborating