We will be providing new tools and resources for how to reframe human services in fall, 2015, but in the meantime, please explore the research that the Frameworks Institute has already completed on a range of human services issues.
Explore a particular issue that you encounter, or explore them all. Frameworks Institute’s website provides a wealth of in-depth information and resources.
BUDGETS & TAXES AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS CRIMINAL JUSTICE & THE “PRISON GEAR” STEM
YOUTH DEVELOPMENT PERSONAL STORIES SOCIAL MOVEMENTS IMMIGRATION INTERGENERATIONAL
FRAMING CHILD AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT: A FRAMEWORKS MESSAGEBRIEF FOR THE NATIONAL COLLABORATION FOR YOUTH
Using this MessageBrief, professionals in the field of early childhood and youth development will be able to better understand how to communicate effectively with the public and with civic leaders about what it takes to maximize positive outcomes for children and youth.
To provide a broad overview of the communications context and challenges for advocates, this document begins with a look at the frames currently in circulation when talking about issues surrounding children and youth. We then identify key concepts that emerge from FrameWorks’ translation of developmental science (such as brain plasticity and resilience) which have proven productive in broadening public understanding of early childhood issues. We offer as well those explanatory metaphors that have emerged from more recent work on school-aged children. Finally, the MessageBrief concludes by offering examples of the most immediately applicable and best-tested strategies for reframing child and youth development.
PAINLESS FRAMING: BUDGETS AND TAXES
To help would-be framers tackle the challenge of communicating about budgets and taxes, FrameWorks has created a series of on-line games called, appropriately, SWAMPED! Here you can: see what “gators” lurk in the swamp of cultural models on budgets and taxes, learn how to navigate that swamp toward better outcomes, and generally improve your framing practice. And it’s fun! Developed with a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, FrameWorks offers several variations on the game for those interested in framing at the cross-section of education and budgets and taxes, and early child development and budgets and taxes. Find them here: http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/interactivegaming.html
SCHOOL’S OUT – NOW WHAT?
Many NHSA members run afterschool and summer programs to keep children charged up for learning. We struggle to deliver quality programs that can keep learning alive for kids during the summer lull. Too often, funders and others default to a line of thought that is more about keeping kids out of harm’s way or out of adults’ way than focusing on how we use out-of-school times and places to extend learning. If you think this sounds like swampy thinking, you are right! Find out how people think about learning space and time in this new set of reports, part of FrameWorks’ Core Story of Education Project: http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/k12-out-of-school-learning-space-and-time.html
HOW THE US GOT STUCK IN THE “PRISON GEAR” AND HOW WE CAN TALK OUR WAY OUT OF IT
A new report from the National Academy of Sciences finds that a near five-fold increase in incarceration has done little to make Americans safer but has taken its toll on our democracy, our pocketbooks and disproportionately on communities of color. For the past three years, with funding from the Ford and Rosenberg Foundations, FrameWorks has been studying attitudes to criminal justice and reframes that get us out of the swamp. Weighing in on this important report, using the FrameWorks’ reframes, is highly recommended for NHSA members — Coming Soon
STEM-MANIA AND ITS FRAMING CHALLENGES
Science-technology-engineering-math: these would seem like “no brainers” to engage Americans in the challenges of 21st century learning. Yet, new FrameWorks research – funded by the Noyce Foundation – shows that the challenge is both real and surmountable. But only if we take those gators in the swamp seriously – Coming Soon
VIVID PERSONAL STORIES: THE DOWN-SIDE
Many of us equate “story” with “personal vignette” – and are encouraged to do so by the reporters with whom we interact. Putting a face on the problem has become an unexamined truism of non-profit communicating. In this short essay, FrameWorks Senior Fellow Frank Gilliam explains why this tactic often backfires, drawing from decades of social science literature. Find out about the Cosby Effect: http://frameworksinstitute.org/assets/files/eZines/vivid_examples_ezine.pdf
YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION
What can NHSA framers learn from the social movements of the past? A lot, it turns out. In this interesting comparison of the Nuclear Freeze and Civil Rights Movements, FrameWorks President Susan Bales explains why a master narrative matters to the long-term sustainability of movement building: http://frameworksinstitute.org/assets/files/eZines/social_movements_eZine.pdf
WEIGHING IN ON IMMIGRATION
The immigration issue seems to wax and wane on the political agenda – but that doesn’t mean that human services framers should opt out until it heats up again. Now is the time to consider the way we are engaging our constituencies in this issue! FrameWorks offers a host of data and reframing advice, thanks to an ongoing grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, including how to talk back to those who oppose comprehensive reform: http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/immigration1.html
INTERGENERATIONAL WARFARE?
Do ordinary Americans really see public policy debates as a tug-of-war between old and young for who gets the goodies? The answer is no, according to a new report from FrameWorks, but along with this good news comes some sobering data: Americans have little understanding of the major demographic shifts that will shape our nation in the coming years. Without this knowledge, there is the potential for myopic policy support. This report, funded by the Generations Initiative and Next Generation, offers important insights for human service organizations that address multiple age groups and must translate their varying needs to legislators and funders: http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/demographic-change1.html
Human Services Policy Network 