法学最新文献

Child welfare caseworkers have significant decision-making authority, ultimately determining if allegations are substantiated, if a case should be opened for ongoing services, and if removal from the parental home is required. This research considers the role of caseworker turnover on these decisions, considering decisions for 372,968 unique screened-in reports assessed by 2,128 unique child welfare caseworkers in Wisconsin. Specifically, this study uses logistic regressions to estimate the likelihood of maltreatment substantiation, case opening, child removal, and the timeliness of the assessment as a function of the caseworker's timeline to departure from the public child welfare field, net of case-related characteristics, caseworker demographics, and county/year fixed effects. Results indicate that the odds of substantiation, case opening, and timely assessment are lower as caseworkers near departure. Findings expand our understanding of the consequences of turnover, highlighting how it influences case decisions and providing insight into effects on child and family well-being.

This article examines how social ties are actively constructed, recalibrated or severed by migrants navigating a reality of double war, defined as the simultaneous exposure to war in both their countries of origin and destination. The study draws on thirty-seven in-depth interviews with migrants from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus who immigrated to Israel between 2022 and 2024 following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and later experienced renewed insecurity during the Israel–Hamas War. Engaging three main bodies of literature, transnationalism, social network theory and migration in contexts of war and displacement, this study explores how migrants manage ties across a geo-social triangle: the origin country, the host country and third countries. The analysis identifies two relational phases: an initial overload and triage of social ties, followed by a phase of relational calibration, in which migrants make strategic and emotionally and morally charged decisions about with whom to connect, support or withdraw from. These findings offer a conceptual understanding of social ties as dynamic and ethically negotiated responses to instability. By positioning migrants' agency under conditions of insecurity, the study contributes new analytic tools for examining how war reshapes relational life across transnational space.

Background: Prescribed safer supply consists of the provision of pharmaceutical alternatives to people who use drugs to reduce reliance on the highly toxic unregulated supply and mitigate risk of overdose. Prescribed safer supply programs (SSP) have recently been scaled-up in some Canadian jurisdictions, including Ontario, showing demonstratable individual and population level benefits. Differences between prior experiences of opioid agonist therapy (OAT) among clients enrolled in the SSP are not well described, including how safer supply programs differ from existing approaches to OAT provision.

Methods: Drawing on qualitative interviews (n=22) with participants of a safer supply program in Kitchener-Waterloo, a mid-sized southwestern Ontario city, we use thematic analysis to examine contrasting experiences of safer supply and OAT among SSP clients.

Results: There were several key differences identified between OAT and safer supply program models on key programmatic elements, particularly the medical management of withdrawal, tolerance, and medication side effects. Additionally, differences in the program model and philosophy of care impacted therapeutic rapport and provided greater autonomy for SSP clients. The greater autonomy for clients within SSP aligned strongly with client goals and helped maximize program retention, which is key to the public health goal of reducing overdose related mortality.

Conclusion: The findings underscore the benefits of - and urgent need for - collaborative decision-making and comprehensive models of care for substance use, including individualized dosing in both OAT and safer supply programs to improve their public health impact. Participants' experiences provide a window into reorienting to substance use care that offers potential solutions to longstanding challenges within existing OAT models that undermine retention and therapeutic benefit.

Studies have shown strong relationships between the presence of kin and children's survival outcomes in historical and contemporary low-income contexts. However, this relationship has never been studied among an enslaved population, who encountered extremely harsh living conditions. Examining this relationship among different populations may reveal similarities and differences across contexts. The present study addresses this gap by examining the life courses of children born between 1830 and 1863 and enslaved in Suriname (n = 19,095 children) and their mothers. For the period 1848‒1863, we can also observe matrilineal kin, including grandmothers, aunts, and uncles (n = 12,020 children). The relationships of matrilineal kin's presence and children's hazard of death from ages 6 months to 12 years were analyzed with Cox proportional hazards models. Experiencing maternal death was related to an increased hazard of death for children throughout childhood, but particularly during infancy (ages 6 months to 1 year; hazard ratio: 6.24, 95% confidence interval: 3.34‒11.66), and it decreased as children aged. The presence of grandmothers was related to a decreased hazard of death among children aged 1‒5, and the presence of aunts and uncles was beneficial to survival for children aged 5‒12. Mothers were especially important to children's survival, particularly during infancy, likely due to the importance of maternal care and breastfeeding on survival. During childhood, however, it appears that the presence of extended kin was also important, implying that children's care could have been provided by other family members once children were weaned. These findings closely align with those of other studies and reflect the importance of extended kin networks on childhood survival across time and space.