Child, Youth, and Family Policy

Meets for one-half semester and yields half-course credit.

Young people (10-24 years of age) account for 29 percent of the population in low- and middle-income countries. Over 100 countries have a significant expansion in their youth populations and vulnerability in terms of literacy, employability, skill training, life skills, and more. Of special interest in this course are the subset of policies and programs that aim to connect young people to the economic and education mainstream. It is these programs that will be the special but not exclusive focus of this course.

Instructor: Susan Curnan

Provides an overview of populations, social policies, and programs in the United States that affect the well-being of children, youth and families. Human development theory as well as prominent policy and management themes are embedded throughout the course. These include defining and measuring meaningful outcomes for children, youth, and families and using knowledge to advance social justice on behalf of America's diverse populations. The objective of this course is to engage students in critical thinking, dialogue, and debate about the populations, policies, and programs in their chosen field. Provides essential information for understanding the problems, supports, and opportunities related to children, youth, and families in the United States and for considering the policies and programs that have been, or may be, developed to improve the well-being of these populations.

Instructor: Staff

Provides students with information about the health problems that children face from birth to early adulthood and the policies that have been developed to prevent or ameliorate those problems in the United States. Particular attention is paid to the development of federal policies, the agencies that implement them, and the legislation under which they operate. Explores the role of local health initiatives and of the private sector, including providers, advocacy groups, and other not-for-profit organizations.

Instructor: Staff

Draws on a number of social science disciplines and women's studies to explore the construction of public policies that shape the lives of children and families. It will focus on material from the United States and will use examples from other countries for comparative purposes. The course will explore some of the key components of family policy as they have developed in the U.S. and provide a critical examination of the ways in which "the state" may alternately facilitate, control and constrain women's choices about whether and when to have children, and the conditions surrounding the employment and care of children and other family members. It will further consider the current economic and political context and how families strategize to combine jobs and family care.

Instructor: Ann Bookman

Meets for one-half semester and yields half-course credit.

This seminar is offered to both deepen student understanding of one of the great challenges facing our nation and many developing countries and to explore emerging and best practices related to policy, management and systems/program design to address those challenges and create sustainable conditions for preparing youth for college, work, and life.

Instructor: Susan Curnan

Managing human service systems and programs to benefit children, youth, and families in America today means managing people in a time of fiscal constraint and dramatic social, economic, and political change, and on the other hand, in a time of great organizational and civic innovation. Builds on the analytic tools students have begun to hone in the master's program and helps them learn how to apply these tools to effectively implement policies and programs in the not-for-profit sector.

Instructor: Susan Curnan