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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Sexual Wellness Across Abilities: Reimagining Education For Adults With Disabilities, Damiana Kelsey May 2024

Sexual Wellness Across Abilities: Reimagining Education For Adults With Disabilities, Damiana Kelsey

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Many adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDDs) lack sexuality education and opportunities for personal expression. Because of this, a sexuality education curriculum was developed for Gateway’s program, Without Walls. This program is specifically for adults with Intellectual Disabilities. This curriculum was delivered to 15 students ages 25 to 56. The purpose of this project is to bridge information for this population and make it more accessible. Especially with this group, there is a need for further discussion and a space to ask questions about social-emotional and sexual health. Over the course of 11 classes, the students reported having a …


The Startup Spotlight: Chronicles Of Innovation (2016-2023), Dawn Hightree May 2024

The Startup Spotlight: Chronicles Of Innovation (2016-2023), Dawn Hightree

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The Institute for Innovation and Economic Development (iiED) is a nonprofit organization that has been pivotal in supporting entrepreneurial success in the Monterey Bay Region. The iiED’s programs and services are effective at helping to solve the problem that Too many entrepreneurs lack resources, support, and innovation to effectively start a business in Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito Counties. Nonprofit organizations need to provide adequate proof to all stakeholders of mission fulfillment. Limited staffing, funding dependencies, and entrepreneurs needing substantial business services to meet the companies are contributing factors that can lead to missed opportunities, failed program deliveries, and …


Journalistic Quality In The Digital Age Relating To Newsroom Diversity, Max Guerrera May 2024

Journalistic Quality In The Digital Age Relating To Newsroom Diversity, Max Guerrera

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Traditionally, journalistic quality is determined by the integrity of a piece, along with its contribution to public knowledge. High quality, ethical journalism serves the purpose of holding those in power accountable and ensuring transparency in government actions through factual reporting. Objectivity is a highly emphasized element of American journalism because it allows the audience to form their own opinions and evaluate facts individually. However, as the distribution of media has changed with technological advancements, so have news writing trends. The theory of agenda setting, the concept that the media have the power to shift public opinions and perceptions of the …


Self-Care Techniques To Decrease Special Education Teacher Burnout, Carrie Frost May 2024

Self-Care Techniques To Decrease Special Education Teacher Burnout, Carrie Frost

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The focal topic of my capstone project is special education teacher burnout and how self-care techniques can reduce the likelihood of chronic stress and burnout. The challenges of being a special education teacher include but are not limited to, various disabilities and behaviors, lack of classroom and administration support, and overall management. Research conducted by Emery and Vandenberg (2010) stated that special education teachers often experience burnout, which commonly leads to employee attrition. Burnout and the personal stress that comes with it are the biggest contributors to the shortage of qualified special educators throughout the United States. Their challenges involve …


Teaching Future Educators How To Support Students With Adhd, Rachel Schweikhard May 2024

Teaching Future Educators How To Support Students With Adhd, Rachel Schweikhard

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The topic of my capstone project is teaching future educators how to support school-age students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). ADHD is one of the most common mental disorders of children in the United States. According to the CDC (2023), an estimated 9.8% (6 million) of kids ages 3-17 are diagnosed with ADHD. Because of the difficulties that are symptomatic of ADHD, students with the disorder often fall behind and struggle in school. Many of the symptoms deal with difficulties in executive functions. Executive functioning is the cognitive processes related to skills such as planning, regulation, and memory. These …


Parenting A Child Who Has An Autistic Sibling: Effects On Adjustment And Mental Health, Jess Del Mundo May 2024

Parenting A Child Who Has An Autistic Sibling: Effects On Adjustment And Mental Health, Jess Del Mundo

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This capstone project focuses on informing parents about the challenges and needs of siblings of children with autism. Parenting is a profound and meaningful responsibility, and having children with special needs adds to this daunting job. It is imperative for parents to nurture the development and awareness of all of their children, both neurodivergent and neurotypical. This workshop will give parents the tools to navigate this responsibility. I developed a workshop that first informs parents about the positive outcomes for children who have siblings with autism, such as higher levels of empathy and compassion. Second, I will address the challenges …


Beyond The Field: Exploring Identity, Spiritual Growth, And Community Through The Fellowship Of Christian Athletes, Kyle Barileau May 2024

Beyond The Field: Exploring Identity, Spiritual Growth, And Community Through The Fellowship Of Christian Athletes, Kyle Barileau

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

For this Capstone Project, the researchers investigated Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) representatives’ views on bringing student-athletes to have a relationship with Christ and why they think it is important. Based on an analysis of the data and the relevant research literature, the researchers used what they have learned to formulate an action that responds to improving FCA in a way that inspires, informs, or involves a particular audience. This is important because student-athletes need a sense of community and safe space to express their relationship with God. It is argued that having a relationship with Christ is important, especially …


Implementing An Enhanced Care Management Program Serving Post-Incarcerated Individuals, Brianna Tome May 2024

Implementing An Enhanced Care Management Program Serving Post-Incarcerated Individuals, Brianna Tome

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The post-incarcerated population has poor health and social outcomes in San Benito and Santa Clara counties. Youth Recovery Connections is a nonprofit organization serving individuals with substance use disorders, gang, and justice involved individuals. The Enhanced Care Management program was implemented in the organization with the addition of serving post-incarcerated individuals. Contributing factors that lead to negative health outcomes include lack of case managers with lived experience, lack of self management skills, and instability of care transitions. Consequences that can arise from these factors include increased healthcare costs, recidivism, and lack of stable housing. The identified consequences cause negative health …


Community Benefits Awareness Presentations, Marlene Ramirez May 2024

Community Benefits Awareness Presentations, Marlene Ramirez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Socioeconomic disadvantage significantly impacts educational outcomes, with 81% of Monterey County Office of Education (MCOE) Alternative Education program students facing economic hardships. Serving youth in grades 9-12 and adults in Monterey County, including those within the county jail and juvenile facilities, the MCOE Alternative Education program strives to facilitate high school diploma attainment. This project sought to bridge the knowledge gap surrounding the Medi-Cal, CalFresh, and CalWORKs benefit programs through presentations shared within the MCOE community and partner agencies. A partnership between MCOE and the Monterey County Department of Social Services (MCDSS) was established to further this goal. The anticipated …


The Need For Volunteer Engagement, Brittney Portillo May 2024

The Need For Volunteer Engagement, Brittney Portillo

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Although there are a large number of non-profit organizations and volunteer opportunities available, there is a lack of volunteer engagement within organizations making it difficult to complete mission goals. This project was implemented and completed by Community Builders for Monterey County executive director and intern. Community Builders for Monterey County is a 501c(3) non-profit organization that was created to connect volunteers to different non-profit organizations around Monterey County. This project was created with the purpose of assessing potential volunteer needs in a survey style form in order to better understand how to get volunteers more engaged. The project resulted in …


Allowing Latinx Students’ Voices To Be Heard, Sofie Jamieson May 2024

Allowing Latinx Students’ Voices To Be Heard, Sofie Jamieson

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

There are too many Latinx students falling behind academically, and coming to First Tee helped improve their academic performance. The First Tee of Monterey is a local non-profit organization that was established in 1997 and is based in Salinas, California primarily serving students who come from low-income backgrounds. The agency strives to support Latinx students who are fourth, fifth, and sixth grade who have a language barrier, not enough tutoring support, and not enough parent and teacher involvement. This increases the likelihood of dropout rates, mental health issues, and unemployment. Implementing an evaluation that the students can take part in …


Healthy Teen Dating Relationships, Thalia Hernandez May 2024

Healthy Teen Dating Relationships, Thalia Hernandez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Teen dating violence has become a damaging issue in Salinas, California, which forces the community to find immediate solutions to prevent the devastating aftermath of this problem on adolescents. This paper provides ideas for solving this issue by designing the "That's Not Cool" social campaign that was created to maintain healthy relationships between teens. Coordinated with the STRYVE program of the County of Monterey Health Department, the plan was implemented in the Salinas City High School District, where the population is predominantly Hispanic or Latino. As a result of studies, poverty, cultural beliefs, and poor education have been identified as …


The Importance Of An Operations Manual, Richard Schlotthauer May 2024

The Importance Of An Operations Manual, Richard Schlotthauer

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Without having an operations manual programs are susceptible to misinformation between one another. Partners for Peace is a program that is dedicated to serving Monterey County, and its troubled youth as well as their parents/guardians. Creating an operations manual will help to ensure that all staff members are on the same page when it comes to day to day issues around the office. Every staff member now has a copy of the operations manual, this will ensure that all members of the team will be on the same page when issues arise in and out of the office. In order …


The Importance Of Maintaining Healthy Relationships In Middle Childhood, Hailey Oyoque May 2024

The Importance Of Maintaining Healthy Relationships In Middle Childhood, Hailey Oyoque

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

My Capstone Project focuses on the importance of healthy relationships in middle childhood, ages nine to eleven. Middle childhood is a sensitive time period in the lifespan . Fourth and fifth graders in particular (9-11 years of age) are gaining a greater perception of the world around them as they are anticipating adolescence. These factors can have an influence on their peer relationships. In completing service learning at Henry F. Kammann elementary school in Salinas, California, I have learned that most students have dealt with peer conflicts (bullying, discrimination). As stated in an article called Middle Childhood, “Children in this …


Preventing Homeless Provider Burnout, Airam Gutierrez May 2024

Preventing Homeless Provider Burnout, Airam Gutierrez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

For my capstone project, I focused on bringing awareness to College Corps fellows, ages 20-30, about the causes of homelessness, the costs of burnout, and a few mindfulness practices to prevent burnout. College Corps is a first-of-its-kind initiative launched in partnership with California colleges and universities deploying over 10,000 College Corps Fellows to work in K-12 education, climate action, and food insecurity. These fellows are at high risk for burnout since they are attending college full-time and tackling some issues related to homelessness. I experienced burnout firsthand as a part of the first-ever College Corps cohort 2022-2023. I faced feelings …


Developing Healthy Relationships, Ellie Quintana Dec 2023

Developing Healthy Relationships, Ellie Quintana

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The youth population in the public school system in San Benito County are involved in an increasing number of unhealthy relationships. The Youth Alliance is a non-profit organization located in Hollister, CA. Their mission is to provide innovative and culturally relevant services that strengthen and enrich youth, families and the community. This agency is working together with the elementary, middle and high schools within San Benito County to help support young men and women to create and maintain healthy relationships. The Healthy Relationships Workshop is a workshop-based group held for youth 12 and older at Rancho San Justo Middle School …


Basic Needs Housing Advocate Program, Loyce Jewell Bryant Dec 2023

Basic Needs Housing Advocate Program, Loyce Jewell Bryant

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) students are severely impacted by high priced housing costs. This paper will demonstrate how imperative it is that Basic Needs implements a separate housing infrastructure to help support students with their housing needs during and upon graduation. CSUMB currently houses over 55% of their students and still many students have housing insecurities. To assess the micro-level housing insecurity problem; CSUMB students work with case managers to evaluate their needs. To assess the macro-level housing insecurity problem, a survey was distributed to random students throughout the campus. Of the 6,577 currently enrolled students; 60 students …


Preschool Children Learn About Regulating Emotions, Elisa Camacho Dec 2023

Preschool Children Learn About Regulating Emotions, Elisa Camacho

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This project was done to teach preschool children how to self-regulate, as well as see what they know about self-regulation.


Improving Mental Health In Hispanic Communities, Paola Vargas Dec 2023

Improving Mental Health In Hispanic Communities, Paola Vargas

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

AIM Youth Mental Health is advocating for children who are suffering from lack of resources, guidance, and clinical research. The division implementing this project is the outreach program. The intern and team will passionately work together to make this event successful by creating bilingual fliers that share information about the agency's programs and training. Depression and suicide are the most common issues occurring in Monterey county as of today and has been affecting many families. Providing these resources will unite and educate professionals, parents, and students about school programs available for youths and measures for adults as well. The most …


Enhancing Recovery With The Use Of Animals, Christina Martinez Dec 2023

Enhancing Recovery With The Use Of Animals, Christina Martinez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Avenues is a program designed to help adults lead happier and more productive lives by overcoming mental health and chemical dependency challenges. The problem is, participants are not fully prepared for independent living following these programs. The plan was to provide participants a therapeutic approach to gaining hands-on experience while combating symptoms of mental illness with the use of animals, with hopes that participants would be better prepared for life after leaving the program. If the project met the expected outcome, the agency would see a lower rate of participants returning to the program and a higher success rate of …


Pathways To Success: A Career Insights Event For Youth And Parents, Kendall Perez Dec 2023

Pathways To Success: A Career Insights Event For Youth And Parents, Kendall Perez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Partners for Peace (P4P) is a nonprofit organization in Monterey County focused on enhancing parent-child relationships by offering parent education classes and a youth mentorship program. They serve over 432,000 Monterey County residents, composed of a diverse demographic with a predominantly Hispanic population. The young adults in Monterey County face challenges in transitioning to independent adulthood and achieving self-sufficiency. The contributing factors include underfunded educational systems, low educational attainment, and low financial literacy among youth, undoubtedly resulting in ungainful employment, mental illness, and dependence. P4P's "Pathways to Success" career exploration fair endeavors to boost career awareness and confidence among youth …


Chinatown Outreach - Targeted Resources For The Unhoused Population, Jesus Herrera Dec 2023

Chinatown Outreach - Targeted Resources For The Unhoused Population, Jesus Herrera

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Addressing housing insecurities is one of The Epicenter’s pillars while utilizing a new federal grant. The Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program is the division implementing the project that will consist of outreach through a mobilization team. Housing insecurities are not only a city issue but a statewide one and YHDP is designed to help reduce those insecurities and improve a client’s quality of life while providing food, clothing, hygiene packs, and resource information to improve their livelihood. To assess the effectiveness of our deliverables it consisted of tallying, informal dialogues, and data analysis. The most important measure is that we were …


Informing Adolescents From Latino Immigrant Families About The Effects Of Their Family Responsibilities, Roxanna Emigdio Hernandez Dec 2023

Informing Adolescents From Latino Immigrant Families About The Effects Of Their Family Responsibilities, Roxanna Emigdio Hernandez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This capstone project focuses on the different types of responsibilities that Latino immigrant families give to their adolescents and the effects it may have on them. Children play an active role in many immigrant families because of cultural traditions and immigration challenges (Fuligni & Telzer, 2012). Adolescents of immigrant parents are often involved in responsibilities such as caring for their younger siblings and cousins, cleaning, cooking, and translating for family members. Adolescents are given these duties because their parents often work multiple jobs and long hours to provide for their families. It is also important to note how difficult a …


Umbrella Of Mental Health Resources In Schools, Jennifer Ortiz- Jarquin Dec 2023

Umbrella Of Mental Health Resources In Schools, Jennifer Ortiz- Jarquin

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Mental Health is a worldwide crisis that students face every day, especially in school environments. Having resources available to students in schools could potentially help students to deal and manage mental health. Seaside High School is a public school in Monterey County that provides services for students in grades 9-12. The counseling department is the center in the school that facilitates the educational support that students need in regards to career exploration and further academic concerns. At Seaside High School there is a high rate of students that deal with low mental health. Incorporating support groups can provide assistance and …


Food Insecurity At Los Abuelitos, Rosalina Duran Dec 2023

Food Insecurity At Los Abuelitos, Rosalina Duran

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Food insecurity among the senior population is a social problem that can cause malnutrition, chronic conditions, and death. CHISPA Housing Management and Community Services is a non-profit organization that builds low-income senior housing in Monterey County and provides senior hot lunches to its residents. The causes of food insecurity are a lack of income, chronic conditions, and transportation issues. The consequences of food insecurity are the deterioration of their physical and mental health. This capstone project is an assessment that consists of gathering data on the residents who reside at the Los Abuelitos Townhome housing rather than taking advantage of …


Evaluating Community Based Trauma Among Behavioral Health Workers, Leslie M. Santillan Pina May 2023

Evaluating Community Based Trauma Among Behavioral Health Workers, Leslie M. Santillan Pina

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Due to the national lack of service providers, current providers are experiencing high levels of stress/trauma because of workload, expectations, and the emotional toll these essential jobs have. Monterey County Behavioral Health Bureau is a public government agency that provides mental health services to the community. The purpose of this capstone is to allow clinicians to express the factors that contribute to the stressors of their jobs in hopes of creating change that will alleviate the trauma they experience. This project had three focus group interviews and one key informant interview that gave expected results based on the contributing factors …


Utilizing Social Media To Promote Services, Deysi Castillo May 2023

Utilizing Social Media To Promote Services, Deysi Castillo

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The purpose of this project is to help Valley Health Associates have more outreach with their clients, the community and potential partners. Valley Health Associates is a non profit agency in Monterey and San Benito counties. This project was approved, reviewed and completed with a team made up of the student intern, the mentor, executive director and the peer support specialist in charge of running the social media pages. The purpose of the project is to connect clients and the agency and to help the agency promote their services more effectively. The project did not have a positive impact, only …


Developing The Food Navigator Role At Everyone's Harvest, Chase Rodriguez May 2023

Developing The Food Navigator Role At Everyone's Harvest, Chase Rodriguez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Everyone’s Harvest (EH) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that operates farmers’ markets. In order to reduce hunger in Monterey County, Everyone's Harvest offers several food assistance programs for low-income people including the Market Match (MM) incentive program which matches CalFresh money, modern day food stamps, dollar for dollar. The problem is that in Monterey County 1 in 4 adults and 1 in 3 children are food insecure. The purpose of the Food Navigator (FN) at EH is to engage with the local community and connect low-income people with food assistance resources, primarily the MM program. This project was a role development …


Identification Of Lacking Support Systems Relevant To The Job Performance Of School Counselors, Claire Patricia Selna May 2023

Identification Of Lacking Support Systems Relevant To The Job Performance Of School Counselors, Claire Patricia Selna

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This capstone report displays a comprehensive report about the struggles and demands of school counselors and how various factors such as: the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) code of ethics and standards, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), and school counselor advocacy and support, all play a part in school counselors daily lives. This report also describes the use of intersectionality theory with all of the previously stated factors, allowing researchers to better understand the complexity of the role of school counselor. Knowing these factors, this report asks: What support systems most impact the job performance of school counselors? In order to …


A Cultural Analysis Of Ethnic Identity, Socialization, And Familism From The Perspective Of Latino Csumb Students, Angelica Gutierrez Del Toro May 2023

A Cultural Analysis Of Ethnic Identity, Socialization, And Familism From The Perspective Of Latino Csumb Students, Angelica Gutierrez Del Toro

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This capstone aims to study the gender differences within Latino communities from the perspective of California State University, Monterey Bay students and whether these gender differences affect their ethnic identity/pride. This research intends on exploring two questions 1) Are there gender differences among college-going students and the way they are socialized to understand their ethnic identity? 2) If so, Are the respondents' ethnic identity index score and Familism index scores influenced based on their gender? These research questions will be tested by a convenience sample survey by two replicated survey scales. The first replicated study involved surveying 127 Latino adults …