Lives In The Balance - A Revolution in Empowering Lives

Are we doing enough to address the needs of individuals struggling with behavioral challenges? Is there a way to create a better world where understanding and support replace judgment and punishment? Lives In The Balance is an organization that is on a mission to revolutionize the way we approach these questions and provide unmatched support to those who need it the most.

Founded by Dr. Ross W. Greene, a renowned clinical child psychologist and author, Lives In The Balance is dedicated to advocating and implementing a collaborative problem-solving approach, known as the Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) model. This innovative method allows individuals and their caregivers to work together, resolve conflicts, and build better lives.

Lives in the Balance: Asylum Adjudication by the Department of Homeland Security

by Philip G. Schrag (Kindle Edition)

5 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	4149 KB
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Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
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Print length	:	288 pages

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The Collaborative & Proactive Solutions Model

The CPS model developed by Dr. Greene provides an alternative to traditional discipline-based approaches that focus on rewards and punishments. Instead, it emphasizes understanding, empathy, and proactive problem-solving.

The approach recognizes that challenging behaviors occur primarily due to lagging skills and unsolved problems, rather than intentional disobedience or maliciousness. By shifting the focus from behaviors to their root causes, the CPS model encourages collaboration between individuals and their caregivers to address these core issues effectively.

The philosophy underlying this model is an undying belief that all individuals want to do well, but they may exhibit challenging behaviors when they lack the skills to handle certain situations. Lives In The Balance aims to equip both individuals and their caregivers with the necessary skills to resolve conflicts and build a healthier, more inclusive environment.

The Three A's: Assessment, Drilling, and Solution Plan

The CPS model prioritizes three fundamental steps to successfully tackle challenging behaviors: Assessment, Drilling, and Solution Plan.

Assessment: This stage involves identifying and understanding the specific unsolved problems or lagging skills contributing to the individual's challenging behaviors. It includes comprehensive assessment tools developed by Lives In The Balance to help caregivers pinpoint the source of the problems accurately.

Drilling: In this step, the focus shifts to equipping individuals with the skills they need to overcome the challenges they face. It involves collaborative discussions and problem-solving sessions where caregivers and individuals work together to identify potential solutions and strategies.

Solution Plan: The final stage emphasizes developing a customized, realistic plan to address the identified problems and implement solutions. This plan is often a collaborative effort between the individual, caregivers, and any other relevant stakeholders, such as educators and therapists.

The Lives In The Balance Platform

Lives In The Balance has developed an extensive online platform that serves as a hub for valuable resources, guidance, and collaborations. The platform provides a range of tools to assist individuals, caregivers, and professionals in implementing the CPS model successfully.

Online courses, webinars, support groups, and an active members' forum are some of the features available. These resources aim to educate and empower individuals to implement CPS effectively and provide support throughout their journey of change.

Impact and Success Stories

Lives In The Balance has made a significant impact on individuals, families, and communities worldwide. By embracing the CPS model, countless lives have been transformed, and useful collaborations have been established.

One success story involves an elementary school that shifted its disciplinary policies and implemented the CPS model, resulting in a significant reduction in suspensions and office referrals. Instead of punitive measures, the school adopted a problem-solving approach that focused on building crucial skills and addressing unsolved problems.

Another inspiring tale revolves around a family that had been struggling with their child's aggressive behaviors for years. By embracing a collaborative and proactive approach through Lives In The Balance resources, they were able to understand their child's challenges better and develop strategies that transformed their family dynamic.

Join the Revolution

If you believe in empowering individuals struggling with behavioral challenges and want to be part of a growing movement that is changing lives every day, Lives In The Balance offers the platform you've been looking for.

Visit livesinthebalance.org today to learn more about their mission, access valuable resources, and join the global network of caregivers and professionals committed to revolutionizing lives.

Lives in the Balance: Asylum Adjudication by the Department of Homeland Security

by Philip G. Schrag (Kindle Edition)

5 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	4149 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
Word Wise	:	Enabled
Screen Reader	:	Supported
Print length	:	288 pages

FREE

Although Americans generally think that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is focused only on preventing terrorism, one office within that agency has a humanitarian mission. Its Asylum Office adjudicates applications from people fleeing persecution in their homelands. Lives in the Balance is a careful empirical analysis of how Homeland Security decided these asylum cases over a recent fourteen-year period.

Day in and day out, asylum officers make decisions with life-or-death consequences: determining which applicants are telling the truth and are at risk of persecution in their home countries, and which are ineligible for refugee status in America. In Lives in the Balance, the authors analyze a database of 383,000 cases provided to them by the government in order to better understand the effect on grant rates of a host of factors unrelated to the merits of asylum claims, including the one-year filing deadline, whether applicants entered the United States with a visa, whether applicants had dependents, whether they were represented, how many asylum cases their adjudicator had previously decided, and whether or not their adjudicator was a lawyer. The authors also examine the degree to which decisions were consistent among the eight regional asylum offices and within each of those offices. The authors’ recommendations­, including repeal of the one-year deadline­, would improve the adjudication process by reducing the impact of non-merits factors on asylum decisions. If adopted by the government, these proposals would improve the accuracy of outcomes for those whose lives hang in the balance.