Authoritative Communities ― The Scientific Case for Nurturing the Whole Child

This unique book offers insight into a new social science concept, authoritative communities. Unlike any other volume, Kline's work facilitates the continuing dialogue about the needs of children and teens and society's responsibility to nurture its greatest human capital. The report that led to the development of this volume, Hardwired to Connect, identified a need in today's children and youth and communicated a solution that society believes is valid.

Kathleen Kovner Kline, M.D., is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and an adjunct faculty member at Dartmouth Medical School. She serves on the Medical Staff of Children’s Hospital in Denver. She is the principal investigator for the Commission on Children at Risk’s Report to the Nation, Hardwired to Connect: the New Scientific Case for Authoritative Communities. She received her M.D. from Yale Medical School, and her Masters of Divinity from Yale Divinity School. She completed her psychiatric training at the Institute of Living/University of Connecticut Psychiatry Program, and her Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship at Dartmouth Medical School. At the University of Colorado and at Dartmouth, she has taught child and adolescent development and psychopathology to medical students, pediatricians, family practitioners, psychiatrists, child and adolescent psychiatry fellows, and trainees in psychology and social work. Her clinical practice has included treating child and adult patients in acute hospital and outpatient settings, directing diagnostic and psychopharmacology clinics, and consultation to treatment centers for delinquent and severely emotionally impaired youth. She has a history of involvement with grass roots, community service, and religious institutions, and a particular interest in the role of character-shaping institutions in the prevention of psychosocial maladjustment.