Hui Huang

Crossover youth are defined as those who have been involved in both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Prior studies indicate that crossover youth have higher rates of reoffending than delinquent youth without a history of child welfare involvement. The Crossover Youth Practice Model (CYPM) is the only existing practice model for serving crossover youth. This study evaluated CYPM using a quasi‐experimental design. Miami‐Dade County (MDC) was selected as the experimental county and Palm Beach County (PBC) as the control county. Administrative data was collected from the juvenile justice and child welfare administrations. Results show that crossover youth from MDC are associated with a lower risk of re‐offending within a year than their peers from PBC, after controlling for the confounding variables. The findings suggest the potential effectiveness of CYPM as a service integration model for crossover youth. The inclusion of service variables in the final regression model attenuated the association between CYPM participation and recidivism. However, the study was not designed to formally test mediation, and the analyses do not provide evidence that service receipt explains the relationship between CYPM participation and reduced recidivism.

This study explored the experiences of child welfare workers and other professionals assisting youth ageing out of out‐of‐home care (OOHC) and identified gaps in transition services and policies for young people ageing out of care. This study interviewed 19 participants who (1) have worked with young people aged 14 and older as they age out of OOHC and (2) have been working with young people for one or more years. Using thematic analysis, three themes were identified, including (1) characteristics of emerging adulthood of young people in OOHC, (2) limitations of current policies and transition services for young people leaving OOHC and (3) recommendations for policies and transition services for young people leaving OOHC. Participants emphasized the importance of supporting youth agency while recognizing the challenge of balancing autonomy with guidance. Participants noted that many young people‐focused policies are neither developmentally nor pragmatically appropriate and highlighted a shortage of practitioners dedicated to this population. The concept of “young people‐led programmes” emerged frequently across interviews. Although child welfare workers recognize the challenges young people face, their services are limited by existing policies such as age cut‐offs for service eligibility. Participants suggested increasing young people‐led programmes and adopting more flexible, developmentally appropriate service models to better support the diverse needs of young people.

Adolescent suicide remains a major public health concern in the United States. Racial/ethnic minority adolescents often experience psychosocial stressors such as discrimination, which may contribute to suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs). This study examined the association between perceived racial discrimination (PRD) and STBs among U.S. racial/ethnic minority adolescents and assessed whether persistent sadness/hopelessness and vaping mediate this association after adjusting for demographic characteristics. Data were drawn from the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The analytic sample included 8,054 racial/ethnic minority adolescents aged 14–18 years (50.8% male). Multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine associations between PRD and suicidal ideation, suicide planning, and suicide attempts. Mediation analyses assessed whether persistent sadness/hopelessness and vaping explained these associations while controlling for demographic characteristics. Approximately 43% of racial/ethnic minority adolescents reported experiencing PRD. Adolescents reporting PRD had higher odds of suicidal ideation (AOR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.20–1.73), suicide planning (AOR = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.02–1.57), and suicide attempts (AOR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.16–1.93). Persistent sadness/hopelessness significantly mediated these associations, accounting for 47.2% of the total effect for suicidal ideation, 44.0% for suicide planning, and 42.3% for suicide attempts. Vaping mediated a smaller proportion of the associations, explaining 18.1%, 17.1%, and 19.0% of the effects for suicidal ideation, suicide planning, and suicide attempts, respectively. Racial discrimination, rather than racial/ethnic identity itself, was associated with increased suicide risk among racial/ethnic minority adolescents. This association is largely explained by feelings of sadness or hopelessness. These findings underscore the importance of addressing racial discrimination and its psychological and behavioral consequences in efforts to reduce suicide risk among racial/ethnic minority adolescents.

The child welfare system is designed to promote child safety, well-being, and permanency, but the high stress and intensity of cases require a specialized workforce. Using a qualitative case study design, this study explored the perspectives of current and former Title IV-E stipend recipients on their preparation and readiness to actively participate in the child welfare workforce. The research team conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 individuals who had participated in a large Title IV-E stipend program in a southern state during a five-year period (2020–2025). Using applied thematic analysis, four main themes emerged: (1) bridging the classroom-practice gap; (2) professional preparation and development; and (3) experiences and future directions for Title IV-E Programs. We explored implications for Title IV-E policies and programs on specific strategies to best prepare the child welfare workforce so that they can best ensure child safety, permanency, and well-being.

In the United States, the lives of millions of children with undocumented parents are overshadowed by the threat of family separation. This qualitative study investigates how parents who have proactively engaged in family deportation planning, such as choosing a standby guardian, communicate these decisions to their children. It draws on in-depth interviews with 27 undocumented parents with at least one U.S. citizen child under 18. Findings reveal that parents' discussions are influenced by the children's age, their experiences with immigration enforcement, and their immigration status. Younger children typically remain unaware of these issues, whereas older children, especially those exposed to enforcement, have a greater understanding. Parents often struggled with the decision to disclose information, balancing the desire to protect their children emotionally with the need to prepare them for potential separations. The study highlights parents' efforts to decriminalize their undocumented status, often using heritage stories and future aspirations to frame their situation positively. Parents also simplified guardianship concepts by introducing the guardian as a trusted figure to reassure their children. These strategies align with professional recommendations for immigration socialization, emphasizing developmentally appropriate discussions about immigration status and family plans. The results underscore the need for tailored support services for undocumented families to help them navigate these complex conversations and prepare for potential disruptions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Parenting in immigrant families is shaped by legal status, social support and economic conditions. Immigration‐related stress may increase parenting stress, but the pathways and moderators of this link remain underexplored. We surveyed 318 legally present immigrant parents in the United States through a national Qualtrics panel in 2023. Guided by Acculturative Stress Theory and Conservation of Resources Theory, we tested mediation and moderated mediation models using structural equation modelling. Key measures included immigration stress, parenting stress, social support and economic self‐sufficiency. Parents with temporary immigration status reported significantly more immigration stress than those with permanent or naturalised status. Immigration‐related stress was a mediator of the relation between immigration status and parenting stress. Although social support was associated with lower overall parenting stress, it did not buffer against immigration‐related stress. Men and those using government benefits reported heightened parenting stress, possibly due to provider pressure, stigma or hindrance in reaching support systems. Financial security did not predict parenting stress. The study reveals that legal vulnerability is a strong predictor of immigrant parents' stress. Programs must extend beyond individual supports to address the structural factors that affect families with temporary legal status.

Suicide attempts among adolescents are an urgent public health crisis in the United States. Traditional statistical methods have limited success in predicting such attempts, as they often overlook complex interactions among diverse risk factors. This study applies four machine learning models —LASSO Logistic Regression, Classification and Regression Trees, Random Forest, and eXtreme Gradient Boosting— to predict suicide attempts using data from the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System. Variables included school safety, substance use, sexual and physical violence, health behaviors, media use, cognitive factors, and demographic characteristics. The primary outcome was adolescents who attempted suicide within the previous year. Sensitivity was used as the primary metric to select the best-performing model, prioritizing the detection of true positive cases.LASSO Logistic Regression demonstrated the highest sensitivity (88.9%) and area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 94.6%, outperforming the tree-based models in true positive detection. The analysis revealed that suicidal ideation, suicide planning, substance use, and feelings of insecurity were the most influential predictors across models. These findings suggest that ML models can improve adolescent suicide risk prediction by incorporating broader behavioral and environmental variables than traditional methods. Enhanced sensitivity in ML models offers a promising tool for developing effective prevention and intervention strategies tailored to high-risk youth populations.