Validation of a Measure of Foster Home Integration for Foster Youth.

Objectives: This article introduces a youth-reported measure (Essential Youth Experiences [EYE]) developed to assess the experiences of foster youth in their home environment and their critical relationships across a number of service systems. Empirically, the article reports on the psychometric properties of a 9-item scale within the EYE that measures the construct of positive home integration (PHI).

Methods: The EYE was administered to 328 preadolescent and adolescent youth (164 sibling dyads) enrolled in a larger randomized clinical trial.

Network Indicators of the Social Ecology of Adolescents in Relative and Non-Relative Foster Households.

Though the presence, composition, and quality of social relationships-particularly as found in family networks-has an important influence on adolescent well-being, little is known about the social ecology of youth in foster care. This study examined the social networks of foster youth participating in a large RCT of an intervention for siblings in foster care. Youth reported on the people they lived with and the relatives they were in contact with, which provided indicators of network size, composition, and relationship quality.

An intervention to improve sibling relationship quality among youth in foster care: Results of a randomized clinical trial.

Sibling programming is an important part of a prevention framework, particularly for youth in foster care. After children are removed from their families and placed into foster care in the aftermath of maltreatment, the sibling relationship is often the most viable ongoing relationship available to the child, and may be critical to a youth's sense of connection, emotional support, and continuity. The promise of dyadic sibling programming in particular rests on the ability of interventions to enhance the quality of sibling relationships; yet little research exists that suggests that sibling interventions can improve relationship quality among foster youth.

Alcohol and Substance Use in Adolescence and Young Adulthood: The Role of Siblings.

Interpersonal relationships both within and outside the family have been a central part of alcohol and substance use research. Many studies have focused on the role of parents and peers; fewer studies have focused on siblings. This paper examined siblings' roles in ATOD use patterns and trajectories in the context of familial and non-familial factors across time.

Development and feasibility of a sibling intervention for youth in foster care.

Due to their ubiquity and possible influence on youth mental health, academic, and other outcomes, sibling-focused intervention strategies may be important for the development and implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in child welfare. However, there is no rigorous evidence as to either the best methods for, or feasibility of, incorporating the sibling link within existing clinical treatments for foster youth. This paper applies the literature on evidence-based practices (EBP) and implementation research in child welfare to sibling-focused intervention; and presents data concerning the development, delivery, cost, and feasibility of a novel sibling-focused intervention program, Supporting Siblings in Foster Care (SIBS-FC).

Intervening to Improve Outcomes for Siblings in Foster Care: Conceptual, Substantive, and Methodological Dimensions of a Prevention Science Framework.

In recent years, the child welfare field has devoted significant attention to siblings in foster care. Policymakers and practitioners have supported efforts to connect siblings via shared foster placements and visitation while researchers have focused on illuminating the empirical foundations of sibling placement and sibling intervention in child welfare. The current paper synthesizes literature on sibling relationship development and sibling issues in child welfare in the service of presenting a typology of sibling-focused interventions for use with foster youth.

Feasibility of laparoscopic renal cooling with near-freezing saline irrigation delivered with a standard irrigator aspirator.

Objectives: To determine the feasibility of laparoscopic renal cooling with near-freezing saline irrigation in the porcine model delivered using readily available operating room equipment.

Methods: Five pigs underwent laparoscopic renal surgery with temperature sensors placed in the medulla and upper, middle, and lower pole renal cortex. After complete occlusion of the renal artery and vein, near-freezing saline was delivered with a standard irrigator/aspirator onto the renal surface.