The Harvard Family Research Project separated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education to become the Global Family Research Project as of January 1, 2017. It is no longer affiliated with Harvard University.
Volume XI, Number 4, Winter 2005/2006
Issue Topic: Professional Development
Theory & Practice
Research Bibliography: Relations Between Workforce Development and Child Outcomes in Four Human Service Sectors
Harvard Family Research Project explores connections between workforce development and child outcomes in four human service sectors.
This bibliography was compiled as part of a research review on the effects of workforce development on child outcomes in four human service sectors: child welfare, early childhood education, juvenile justice, and youth development. The review is guided by a broad model of workforce development that includes contextual factors such as workforce characteristics; individual professional development and organizational and policy supports that contribute to a high-quality workforce; and the short- and intermediate-term outcomes leading to improved outcomes for children and youth. Consequently, the articles listed below include research on various components and links in this broad model.
This bibliography includes research reviews and studies primarily published after 1997, with the exception of a few seminal research articles published earlier. All papers were reported in scholarly or peer-reviewed journals and/or authored by leading experts in their respective fields. Studies using experimental and quasi-experimental research designs were sought out for inclusion when available. Finally, studies examining innovative or tested best practices and policies were also included.
We would like to thank Cornerstones for Kids for supporting the development of this resource.
Child Welfare
Briar-Lawson, K. &. Zlotnick, J. L. (2002.) Evaluation Research in Child Welfare: Improving outcomes through university–public agency partnerships. New York: Haworth.
Children and Family Research Center (2000). Measuring success in child welfare—A national study of outcome measurement in public child welfare services: Results and recommendations. Urbana, IL: School of Social Work, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Elliott, M. (2004). Professional organizational culture and retention in child welfare: Implications for continuing education for supervision and professional development. Professional Development, 7(3), 30–38.
Glisson, C., & Hemmelgarn, A. (1998). The effects of organizational climate and interorganizational coordination on the quality and outcomes of children's service systems. Child Abuse & Neglect, 22, 401–421.
U.S. Government Accounting Office. (2003). Child welfare: HHS could play a greater role in helping child welfare agencies recruit and retain staff (GAO-03-357). Washington, DC: Author.
Wulczyn, F., Barth, R. P., Yuan, Y. T., Harden, B. J. & Landsverk, J. (2005). Beyond common sense: Child welfare, child well-being and the evidence for policy reform. New Brunswick, NJ: Aldine Transaction.
Zlotnik, J. L., DePanfilis, D., Daining, C., & Lane, M. M. (2005). Factors influencing retention of child welfare staff: A systematic review of research. Washington DC: Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research
Early Childhood Education
Dickinson, D., & Brady, J. (2005). Toward effective support for language and literacy through professional development. In M. Zaslow & I. Martinez-Beck (Eds.) Critical issues in early childhood professional development (pp. 141–170). Baltimore: Brookes Publishing.
Early, D., Barbarin, O., Bryant, D., Burchinal, M., Chang, F., Clifford, D., et al. (2005). Pre-kindergarten in eleven States: NCEDL's multi-state study of pre-kindergarten and study of state-wide early education programs (SWEEP)—Preliminary descriptive report. Chapel Hill, NC: National Center for Early Development and Learning.
Ginsburg, H. P., Kaplan, R. G., Cannon, J., Cordero, M. I., Eisenband, J. G., & Galanter, M. (2005). Helping early childhood educators to teach mathematics. In M. Zaslow & I. Martinez-Beck (Eds.), Critical issues in early childhood professional development (pp.171–202). Baltimore: Brookes Publishing.
Herzenberg, S., Price, M., & Bradley, D. (2005). Losing ground in early childhood education. New York: Economic Policy Institute in conjunction with the Foundation for Child Development and the Keystone Research Center.
Howes, C., James, J., & Ritchie, S. (2003). Pathways to effective teaching. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 18, 104–120.
Hyson, M. (2003). Preparing early childhood professionals: NAEYC's standards for programs. Washington, DC: NAEYC Press.
Landry, S. H. (2005). Texas Early Education Model (TEEM): Improving school readiness and increasing access to child care for Texas—Year 2 findings. Houston, TX: UT Health Science Center.
Maxwell, K., Field, C., & Clifford, D. (2005). Defining and measuring professional development in early childhood research. In M. Zaslow & I. Martinez-Beck (Eds.) Critical issues in early childhood professional development. Baltimore: Brookes Publishing.
Mulvihill, B., Shearer, D., & Van Horn, M. L. (2002). Training, experience, and child care providers' perceptions of inclusion. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 17, 197–215.
NICHD Early Child Care Research Network (1999). Child outcomes when child care center classes meet recommended standards for quality. American Journal of Public Health, 89, 1072–1077.
Pianta, R. C. (2003). Standardized classroom observations from pre-K to 3rd grade: A mechanism for improving access to consistently high quality classroom experiences and practices during the P–3 years (Working Paper). Charlottesville, VA: Foundation for Child Development, University of Virginia.
Pianta, R. C., Howes, C., Burchinal, M., Bryant, D., Clifford, D., Early, D., et al. (2005). Features of pre-kindergarten programs, classrooms, and teachers: Do they predict observed classroom quality and child–teacher interactions? Applied Developmental Science, 9(3), 144–159.
Pianta, R. C., La Paro, K. M., Payne, C., Cox, M. J., & Bradley, R. (2002). The relation of kindergarten classroom environment to teacher, family, and school characteristics and child outcomes. Elementary School Journal, 102(3), 225–238.
Starkey, P., Klein, A., & Wakeley, A. (2004). Enhancing young children's mathematical knowledge through a pre-kindergarten mathematics intervention. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 19(1), 99–120.
Tout, K., Zaslow, M., & Berry, D. (2005). Quality and qualifications. In M. Zaslow & I. Martinez-Beck (Eds.) Critical issues in early childhood professional development. Baltimore: Brookes Publishing.
Whitebook, M. (2003). Early education quality: Higher teacher qualifications for better learning environments—A review of the literature. Berkeley, CA: Center for the Study of Child Care Employment.
Wishard, A. G., Shivers, E. M., Howes, C., & Ritchie, S. (2003). Childcare program and teacher practices: Associations with quality and children's experiences. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 18, 65–103.
Zaslow, M., & Martinez-Beck. I. (Eds) (2005). Critical issues in early childhood professional development. Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing.
Zill, N., Resnick, G., Kim, K., Hubbell McKey, R., Clark, C., Pai-Samant, S., et al. (2001). Head Start FACES: Longitudinal findings on program performance—Third progress report. Washington, DC: Commissioner's Office of Research and Evaluation Branch and the Head Start Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Juvenile Justice
Alarcon, F. (2002). Programming, staffing, and managing the violent juvenile offender. In American Correctional Association (Ed.), Juvenile Justice Today: Essays on Programs and Policies (pp. 3–11). Lanham, MD: American Correctional Association.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. (2006). Occupational outlook handbook, 2006–07 edition—Correctional officers. Available online at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos156.htm
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. (2006). Occupational outlook handbook, 2006–07 edition—Probation officers and correctional treatment specialists. Available online at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos265.htm
California Board of Corrections, Standards and Training for Corrections Program (no date). Juvenile corrections officer core training course manual. Sacramento, CA: Author.
Doyle, J. (2002). Six elements that form a context for staff safety. In American Correctional Association (Ed.), Juvenile justice today: Essays on programs and policies (pp. 13–18). Lanham, MD: American Correctional Association.
Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (2005, September). Qualifications, screening, salaries, and training affect quality and turnover of juvenile justice employees (Report No. 05-46). Tallahassee, FL: Author.
Howell, J. C. (Ed.). (1995). Guide for implementing the comprehensive strategy for serious, violent, and chronic juvenile offenders. Washington, DC: Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Howell, J. C., & Lipsey, M. W. (2005). A practical approach to evaluating and improving juvenile justice programs. Juvenile and Family Court Journal, 55(1), 35–48.
Hurst, H., III. (1999, November). Workload measurement for juvenile justice system personnel: Practices and needs—Juvenile accountability incentive block grants program bulletin. (NCJ 178895). Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Liou, K. T. (1995, April). Professional orientation and organizational commitment among public employees: An empirical study of detention workers. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 5(2), 231–246.
Lipsey, M. W. (1999). Can intervention rehabilitate serious delinquents? Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 564, 142–166.
Mendel, R. A. (2000). Less hype, more help: Reducing juvenile crime, what works—and what doesn't. Washington, DC: American Youth Policy Forum.
Porpotage, F. M. (1996, July). Training of staff in juvenile detention and correctional facilities (Fact Sheet # 37). Washington: DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Reddington, F. P., & Kreisel, B. W. (2000). Training juvenile probation officers: National trends and patterns. Federal Probation, 64(2), 28–32.
Reddington, F. P., & Kreisel, B. W. (2003). Basic fundamental skills training for juvenile probation officers—Results of a nationwide survey of curriculum content. Federal Probation, 67(1), 41–45.
Rosado, L. M. (2005). Training mental health and juvenile justice professionals in juvenile forensic assessment. In K. Heilbrun, N. E. Sevin Goldstein, & R. E. Redding (Eds.), Juvenile Delinquency (pp. 310–322). New York: Oxford University Press.
Roush, D. W. (1996). Juvenile detention training needs assessment: Research report. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice.
Rust, B. (1999, Fall/Winter). Juvenile jailhouse rocked: Reforming detention in Chicago, Portland, and Sacramento. ADVOCASEY: Documenting Programs that Work for Kids and Families, 1(3), 21–35.
Seward, M. D., & Andrade, A. (2004, August). The Missouri Division of Youth Services' innovative approach to juvenile corrections staffing. Corrections Today, 66(5), 100–103.
Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, Research and Planning Division (2000, August). A study of salaries and turnover rates of juvenile probation department personnel in Texas, fiscal year 1999. Austin, TX: Author.
Torbet, P. M. (1996, March). Juvenile probation: The workhorse of the juvenile justice system (OJDP Juvenile Justice Bulletin). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Torbet, P. M., & Thomas, D. (2005). Advancing competency development: A white paper for Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh, PA: National Center for Juvenile Justice.
Workforce Associates, Inc. (2004). A 21st century workforce for America's correctional profession. Lanham, MD: American Correctional Association.
Youth Development
Borden, L. (2002). Educating youth development professionals: Current realities, future potential. Tuscon, AZ: Institute for Children, Youth, and Families, University of Arizona.
Brown, J. (2002). Washington state early childhood education career and wage ladder pilot project: Evaluation report of Year 1. Seattle, WA: Economic Opportunity Institute.
Center for School and Community Services, Academy for Educational Development (2002). BEST strengthens youth worker practice: An evaluation of Building Exemplary Systems for Training youth workers. New York: Academy for Education Development.
Garza, P. (in press). Capturing promising practices in recruitment and retention of front-line youth workers. Washington, DC: National Youth Development Network.
Girls Incorporated. (1996). Becoming strong, smart and bold: Girls Incorporated program directors as change agents. Indianapolis, IN: Girls Incorporated National Resource Center.
Hall, A. H., & Cassidy, D. J. (2002). An assessment of the North Carolina school-age care accreditation initiative. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 17, 84–96.
Halpern, R., Spielberger, J., & Robb, S. (2001). Evaluation of the MOST (Making the Most of Out-of-School Time) Initiative: Final report and summary of findings. Chicago: Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago.
Huebner, A. J., Walker, J. A., & McFarland, M. (2003). Staff development for the youth development professional: A critical framework for understanding the work, Youth & Society, 35(2), 204–225.
Intercultural Center for Research in Education & National Institute for Out-of School Time. (2005). Massachusetts afterschool research study. Wellesley, MA: Authors. Available at http://www.wcwonline.org/mars/MARSfull.pdf
Larson, R., Walker, K., & Pearce, N. (2005). A comparison of youth-driven and adult-driven youth programs: Balancing inputs from youth and adults. Journal of Community Psychology, 33, 57–74.
Le Menestrel, S. & Dennehy, J. (2003). Building a skilled and stable workforce: Results from an on-line survey of out-of-school time professionals. Wellesley, MA: National Institute for Out-of-School Time. Available at http://niost.skeeydev.net/clearinghouse/
documents/buildskillstablework.pdf
Marzke, C., Pechman, E., Reisner, E, Vandell, D. Pierce, K., & Brown, B. (2002). Study of promising after-school programs: Theory of change guiding the research. Washington, DC: Policy Studies Associates and Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin.
McCain, M., Gill, P., Wills, J., & Larson, M. (2004). Knowledge, skills, and abilities of youth service practitioners: The centerpiece of a successful workforce development system. Washington, DC: National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth. Available at http://www.ncwd-youth.info/assets/background/ksa.pdf
National Institute for Out-of-School Time. (2004). Blueprint for action: Professional development system for the out-of-school time workforce. Wellesley, MA: Author. Available at http://www.niost.org/projects/blueprint.pdf
Partnership for Afterschool Education (1999). Developing the afterschool professional and the profession: Addressing quality and scale—Charles Stewart Mott Foundation Afterschool Training Analysis and Inventory Project final report. New York: Author.
Smith, C. (2005). Evidence of effectiveness for training in the High/Scope participatory learning approach. Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Educational Research Foundation.
Stone, B., Garza, P., & Borden, L. (2004). Attracting, developing, and retaining youth workers for the next generation. Washington, DC: National Collaboration for Youth and National 4-H Headquarters and Tuscon, AZ: University of Arizona.
Vandell, D., Reisner, E., Brown, B., Pierce, K., Dadisman, K., & Pechman, E. (2004). The study of promising after-school programs: Descriptive report of the promising programs. Washington, DC: Policy Studies Associates and Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin. Available at http://www.wcer.wisc.edu
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