Center for Child & Family Policy | Duke University

Nurses Bring In-Home Care, Connections in North Carolina

A model of care for new moms and babies is spreading to communities across the country

Family Connects, a program developed by Kenneth Dodge, former and founding director of the Center, was featured in U.S. News World & Report. Family Connects is a community-wide nurse home visiting program for parents of newborns, with a goal to increase child well-being. “Now more than a decade in, the program is having measurable impacts – and proponents say its model could improve population health in Durham and across the country.”

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Parental incarceration increases children’s risk of substance abuse, anxiety in adulthood

Researchers identify long-lasting effects for children of incarcerated parents

Children of incarcerated parents are six times more likely than other children to develop a substance use disorder as adults and nearly twice as likely to have diagnosable anxiety, according to new research from CCFP.

In addition, the authors, including Beth Gifford, Megan Golonka and Lindsey Kozecke, found children whose parents were incarcerated are more likely to encounter significant hurdles transitioning into adulthood, including being charged with a felony, dropping out of high school, becoming a teenage parent, experiencing financial strain, and being socially isolated, the study found.

• Read the news release
• Read the full report on JAMA Network Open