Items of Interest

Announcements, publications and items of interest to providers of Positive Alternatives.

2010

  • Tip Sheets for Parents and Caregivers: Bonding With Your Baby, and Issue Brief on Parent Education are available on the Child Welfare Information Gateway Web site. Most of their resources are free.
  • Text4baby is an educational program of the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition. Pregnant women can sign up and receive free text messages that contain useful tips to help women care for their health and give their babies the best possible start in life.
  • Minnesota Parents Know Web website is an information and resources for parents and parent educators. This site also contains a link to the "Help Me Grow" Developmental Milestones site.

2009

  • Predictors and Correlates of Abortion in the Fragile Families and Well-Being Study: Paternal Behavior, Substance Use, and Partner Violence Int. J. Ment. Health Addiction (2009) 7:405-422 This study showed multiple implications for many grantee programs. The abstract concluded "If the father is unavailable, counselors can assist women in identifying other sources of support within and outside the family. " This journal article is available to grantees through the MDH library system.
  • Updated Child Trends Research Brief on Teen Childbearing: Seven years ago, when the teen birth rate had been decreasing for more than a decade, Child Trends released "Ten Reasons to Keep the Focus on Teen Childbearing." With recent news from the federal government that the teen birth rate increased for a second year in a row, Child Trends has released an updated brief, "Ten Reasons to Still Keep the Focus on Teen Childbearing".
  • The report, "A Policy Platform to Promote Health and Success among Young Families," published by the Healthy Teen Network, offers a set of federal policy recommendations aimed at establishing or reforming programs and systems that influence whether young families may achieve health and success after an adolescent birth. The report discusses young families' needs and gaps in resources and services according to seven "life domains.
  • Promoting Healthy Parenting Practices Across Cultural Groups: A CDC Research Brief.
  • Minnesota Vaccines for Children is a website with information and materials on free and low cost immunizations at 800 clinics around the state.

2008