Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Child Care Self-Sufficiency Scale: Measuring Child Care Funding And Policy Generosity Across States, Karen Tvedt

Dissertations and Theses

Against the backdrop of welfare reform, this study examined the generosity of state child care programs with generosity being defined as the extent to which state funding and policies promote child care availability, affordability, and health and safety for low-income families. Despite variations in Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) implementation, no internally-consistent measure has existed that permits comparisons across the range of funding and policy indicators. This study addressed that gap by constructing a composite scale comprised of 12 indicators that were identified based on existing research and expert opinion to reflect key areas of state funding and policy …

Up A Creek : The Perilous Journey Of Recently Uninsured Low-Income Adults In Oregon, Heidi Allen

Dissertations and Theses

In the United States, having health insurance is considered to be the best guarantee of having access to timely and effective health care services. With millions of uninsured adults in the U.S., many states have moved beyond traditional Medicaid programs and expanded eligibility to low-income adults who are not otherwise eligible for public health insurance. While popular with the public, these programs are vulnerable when states face economic downturns. Even during times of financial stability, Medicaid expansion programs experience significant amounts of program 'churning', and in turn, low-income adults experience health insurance discontinuity. For this reason, it is important to …

Focal Point, Volume 22 Number 02, Portland State University. Regional Research Institute

Research and Training Center - Focal Point

This issue of Focal Point—through a consideration of personal, lived experience as well as practice and research—examines the mutual impact of caregiver and child mental health, and highlights practical strategies to promote positive outcomes for children and caregivers who experience mental health difficulties.

“You’D Be Depressed Too”: Treatment Acceptability Among Mothers Who Are Economically Disadvantaged, L. Kris Gowen

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Although mothers who are economically disadvantaged have high rates of emotional distress, the rate of their use of mental health services is relatively low. What accounts for this underutilization of care? Although there is evidence that insurance coverage and access to care account for some of this disparity, barriers to mental health services reach beyond basic access issues. When considering why some choose to seek mental health care while others do not, it is important to consider treatment acceptability among low-income mothers.

Treatment acceptability is the extent to which recipients of care perceive that care as “reasonable, justified, fair, and …

Attributes Of Effective Head Start Mental Health Consultants : A Mixed Method Study Of Rural And Urban Programs, Mary Dallas Allen

Dissertations and Theses

Early childhood mental health consultation (ECMHC) is the primary strategy implemented by Head Start programs to address the social and emotional needs of children and their families, but little is known about the attributes of early childhood mental health consultants (MHCs) that contribute to consultants' relationships with Head Start staff and to consultation outcomes. The present study examined how attributes of MHCs contribute to positive relationships between the MHCs and Head Start staff and to improved consultation outcomes. Seven attributes of rural and urban mental health consultants were examined: MHC training, supervision, and support; MHC understanding of consultant role; MHC …

Children With Incarcerated Parents : A Longitudinal Study Of The Effect Of Parental Incarceration On Adolescent Externalizing Behaviors, Jean Mollenkamp Kjellstrand

Dissertations and Theses

Over the past two decades, the number of imprisoned adults in the United States has quadrupled. Mirroring this trend is the rapidly increasing population of children with incarcerated parents. The initial findings of research on the effects of parental incarceration on children are disturbing, indicating a vulnerable group of children at risk for poor outcomes. Yet, research on these children remains limited. Several studies have focused on the description of these children, yet few have analyzed the relationship between parental incarceration and child outcomes in conjunction with other risk and protective factors. Understanding these relationships is crucial to the development …

Accessing Substance Abuse Treatment: Issues For Parents Involved With Child Welfare Services, Anna Rockhill, Beth L. Green, Linda Newton-Curtis

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

The complex issues associated with barriers to treatment entry for parents who are involved with child welfare has not been well explored. Accessing timely treatment is now critical for these parents since the introduction of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, limiting the time until a permanency decision is made. Using a longitudinal, qualitative approach, substance-abusing parents from 15 families, their relevant family members, and service providers were interviewed approximately every 3 months over an 18-month period. The experiences of these parents add to our knowledge of the unique barriers this population faces, and expands our understanding of …

Focal Point, Volume 22 Number 01, Portland State University. Regional Research Institute

Research and Training Center - Focal Point

This issue of Focal Point explores how the increasing emphasis on using evidence–based practices and a "system of care" approach is driving changes in jobs and roles related to children's mental health. Articles in the issue describe how agencies and providers of services and supports have responded to these changes by creating new types of positions or by redefining existing roles. The articles also focus on training and other workforce development activities that are required to support these kinds of changes in the workforce.

The Role Of Interagency Collaboration For Substance- Abusing Families Involved With Child Welfare, Beth L. Green, Anna Rockhill, Scott Burns

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Meeting the needs of families involved with the child welfare system because of a substance abuse issue remains a challenge for child welfare practitioners. In order to improve services to these families, there has been an increasing focus on improving collaboration between child welfare, treatment providers, and the court systems. This paper presents the results from qualitative interviews with 104 representatives of these three systems that explore how the collaborative process works to benefit families, as well as the barriers and supports for building successful collaborations. Results indicate that collaboration has at least three major functions: building shared value systems, …

Increased Hiv Risk Associated With Criminal Justice Involvement Among Men On Methadone, Matthew Epperson, Nabila El-Bassel, Louisa Gilbert, E. Roberto Orellana, Mingway Chang

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper examines the relationship between HIV risk and criminal justice involvement among a random sample of 356 men enrolled in methadone maintenance treatment programs in New York City. Bivariate and logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate the associations between measures of criminal justice involvement and participant HIV risk, controlling for socio-demographic variables. A lifetime history of incarceration was significantly associated with being HIV positive (Adjusted OR = 5.08). Recent arrest was associated with unprotected vaginal sex and having multiple female sexual partners. Sex trading was associated with both arrest and incarceration, and the strongest association was found between …

Employees Raising Children With Disabilities: Work-Life Experiences And Strategies For Success, Eileen M. Brennan, Julie M. Rosenzweig, Anna M. Malsch, Lisa Maureen Stewart, John Conley

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

PDF version of a presentation given at the Annual Conference of the Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology at Oregon Health and Sciences University: Work-Family Stress: Implications for Safety and Health, Portland, OR., November 2008.

Rewards And Concerns: Marital Role Quality And Child Mental Health Disorders, Anna M. Malsch, Julie M. Rosenzweig, Eileen M. Brennan, Lisa Maureen Stewart, John Conley

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

PDF version of a presentation given at the 88th Annual Convention of the Western Psychological Association. Irvine, CA, April 2008.

Supporting Families Including Children With Disabilities: A Curriculum Module On Community Integration, Eileen M. Brennan, Julie M. Rosenzweig, Lisa Maureen Stewart

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

PDF version of a presentation given at the Annual Program Meeting of the Council on Social Work Education, Philadelphia, PA, Oct. 2008.

Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation: A Developing Profession, Mary Dallas Allen, Eileen M. Brennan, Beth L. Green, Kathy S. Hepburn, Roxane K. Kaufmann

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

As a career path, early childhood mental health consultation MHC is an emerging and growing work force opportunity. In keeping with the vision of an effective transformed service system expressed in the final report of the Presidents' New Freedom Commission, and communities are expanding capacity to meet the mental health needs of young children and caregivers through mental health sultation. ECMHC supports children in naturalistic community and avoids the excessively ^"expert^" tude⁹ and works through collaboration with families and other providers who care for them. In addition, is growing experience and research evidence to suggest that ECMHC …

Staying Within The Margins: The Educational Stories Of First-Generation, Low-Income College Students, Diane Lyn Cole

Dissertations and Theses

his research addressed educational persistence among first-generation, low-income college students. The educational paths of 22 first-generation, low-income undergraduate students attending a large, urban university in the Northwest region of the United States were examined through a narrative framework. Half of the participants had persisted from year one to year two, and the other half left the university after their first year. Analytic procedures consisted of thematic qualitative coding, an analysis of student trajectories over educational histories, and the reconstruction of narrative stories. Data were used to examine: (1) How first-generation, low-income students understood and described their journey through their first …