Promoting Children's Health: Integrating School, Family, and Community.

Abstract

Reviews the book "Promoting Children's Health: Integrating School, Family, and Community," by Thomas J. Power, George J. DuPaul, Edward S. Shapiro, and Anne E. Kazak (see record 2003-02912-000). This is a text geared toward, and excellent for, doctoral psychology students. Other trainees and early career practitioners may also benefit from its guidance. A strength of the text is that the many case examples illustrate not only the concepts presented but highlight the uniqueness of an individual and his or her family, emphasizing that linkage of care is not through a community algorithm but one family at a time. The text is divided into four parts. Part one, Understanding the Context, describes the lay of the land with concise details of reforms and advances in education, health care, mental health, and public policy. The authors emphasize the role of the child and family in the system, citing how a critical feature of an effective service delivery system is that it be responsive to the needs and values of the families it is designed to serve. Part two, Developing Intervention Strategies, transitions former concepts into practical recommendations, and pragmatic implementation remains a theme throughout the remainder of the text. Part three, Developing Prevention Strategies, proposes an ecological approach with participatory action research methods. The final part, Planning for the Future, has two distinct chapters with a central theme of intradiscipline partnerships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)