Eviction In Oregon's Subsidized Affordable Housing, Yi Wang, Lisa Bates, Azad Amir-Ghassemi, Minji Cho, Marisa Zapata, Jacen Greene, Colleen Carroll, Devin Macarthur

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Despite Oregon's expanded investments in affordable housing development and eviction prevention, over 5,400 eviction cases were filed in the state’s subsidized housing from January 2019 to December 2023. This report maps out the landscape of subsidized housing eviction in Oregon and brings attention to the high share of eviction judgments in subsidized eviction cases, the disproportionate rate of eviction filings from housing-authority-contracted management companies and nonprofit housing providers, and the great disparities in legal representation between landlords and tenants.

Msw Portfolio, Briar Gaither

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

A look at my personal journey through the MSW program, what I experienced and learned, and what I gained. Features my many papers and projects from the program

Promoting Cultural Humility, Belonging, And Inclusion To Improve Well-Being Among Direct Care Staff In Oregon Assisted Living, Residential Care, And Memory Care Communities, 2024, Jacklyn Kohon, Dani Himes, Laura Rodriguez, Sarah Dys, Paula Carder, Diana Jacoby, Madeline Fox

Institute on Aging Publications

The voices and experiences of those working and living in assisted living, residential care, and memory care (AL/RC) settings in Oregon are highlighted in this study to understand cultural humility, belonging, inclusion, and intersectional experiences related to sustaining the workforce and promoting quality care. This qualitative study collected data through individual and focus group interviews with a total of 68 people, including 25 direct care staff, voice memos or interviews with 9 former direct care staff, interviews with 9 administrators, interviews with 7 management representatives (owner/operators, human resources specialists, directors of operations, among other titles), and interviews with 18 current …

A Place To Rest My Soul: How A Doctoral Student Of Color Group Utilized A Healing-Centered Space To Navigate Higher Education, Jessica I. Ramirez

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Students of Color have historically faced explicit and implicit forms of discrimination and oppression in educational settings. Unfortunately, not much has changed over the decades as Students of Color continue to experience white supremacy and other systems of oppression. As Students of Color enter graduate school, there are often fewer Students of Color, making these educational settings isolating and hostile. These experiences often encompass white supremacist policies, practices, and remarks that negatively impact Students of Color. With this in mind and as someone who identifies as a Chicana who was once in a doctoral program, I questioned how doctoral Students …

Supporting Resource Equity For Oregon’S Home Visiting Workforce: Exploring Program Model And Regional Differences, Nicole M. Lauzus, Yumi Lee, Beth L. Green, Erin Gaines, Ron Joseph

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Prenatal and early childhood home visiting is an effective strategy for promoting positive birth outcomes, improving family well-being and preventing child abuse and neglect. One key to successful services is having a strong, well-supported home visiting workforce. In Oregon and nationally, this critical workforce is facing a crisis as programs struggle to hire and retain skilled home visitors, and workers face low pay, difficult working conditions and high job stress.

This learning brief is the second in a series to share findings from a 2023 survey of Oregon’s home visiting workforce, which provides a wealth of information about how to …

Supporting Resource Equity For Oregon’S Home Visiting Workforce: Exploring Racial, Ethnic & Linguistic Differences, Beth L. Green, Nicole M. Lauzus, Yumi Lee, Erin Gaines, Ron Joseph

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Home visitors of color—those whose lived experience and background reflect the cultural, racial and linguistic diversity of so many Oregon families—cope with compounding stressors related to structural racism, bias and documented pay inequities.

This learning brief is the first in a series to share findings from a 2023 statewide survey of Oregon’s home visiting workforce. This study has provided a wealth of information about this workforce and how to improve and support its well-being and retention, with a focus on the needs and experiences of home visitors of color and those who speak languages other than English.

Alternative Shelter Evaluation Report, Jacen Greene, Todd Ferry, Emily Leickly, Franklin Holcomb Spurbeck

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

This report summarizes research by Portland State University’s Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative for the Joint Office of Homeless Services on the cost, participant experiences, and client outcomes in village-style and motel shelters as compared to each other and to traditional, congregate shelters.

Unjust And Unsafe: The Eviction Experiences Of Latine Immigrant And Farmworker Tenants In Oregon, Natalie J. Cholula, Lisa Bates, Alex Farrington, Marisa Zapata, Jacen Greene, Azad Amir-Ghassemi, Colleen Carroll

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Latine immigrant households often face housing instability due to language barriers, immigration status, and limited access to government resources. Oregon farmworkers experience additional obstacles to safe and stable housing caused by low wages, a lack of affordable housing options, and social isolation. In light of the identified needs and lack of equitable access to resources that this group experiences, the Evicted in Oregon research team conducted focus groups with Latine immigrant and farmworker tenants in Multnomah, Washington, and Marion Counties. The aim was to gain insight into their experiences with eviction and understand how they navigated through evictions during the …

Love Letters For Liberatory Futures, Jessica Rodriguez-Jenkins, Roberta Hunte, Lakindra Mitchell Dove, Antonia R.G. Alvarez, Alma M. O. Trinidad, Gita Mehrotra

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This collection of letters serves to explore the narratives of a collective of women of color in academia by examining individual, collective, spiritual, and institutional strategies for surviving and transforming our institutional spaces and the ways that White Supremacy has shaped our journeys. Multiple perspectives are viewed, and we have written to our children, our future social work students, our future selves, our BIPOC faculty siblings, and our feared enemies to envision and embody more liberatory futures.

Keywords: liberation, academia, BIPOC faculty, institutional racism, White Supremacy

Re-Imagining Mandatory Reporting: Professionalization's Complicity, Sam Harrell, Stephanie Wahab

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mandatory reporting of child abuse is a part of the civil legal system that can activate a policy cascade disproportionately criminalizing racialized and marginalized communities. While social work scholarship has explored ways to increase provider compliance with mandatory reporting laws, there is a dearth of research focused on how social work education guides future providers towards the praxis of mandatory reporting discourses. This article presents findings from a content analysis of social work textbook excerpts focused on mandatory reporting of child abuse in the U.S. We found that textbooks affirm social work’s loyalty to the State by approaching mandatory reporting …

My Path To Advanced Practice, Hannah Oiselle Knisley

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Stitching The Pieces Together, Julie C. Nissi

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Social Work’S Role In Addressing Police Oppression: Social Workers’ Perspectives, Jess Husband

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Background: Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) and other marginalized identities experience constant oppression by the systems of policing. Based on the NASW Code of Ethics, social workers have an ethical responsibility to challenge social injustices. Because of the interactions between the two professions, social workers are in a unique position to engage in this social justice issue. Objective: This research study explored social workers’ perceptions of their ethical responsibilities in responding to oppressive policing. Methods: This concurrent nested mixed-method study gathered data from 12 participants. Participants were social workers within the state of Texas, recruited through …

Swimming Against The Tide: The Relational Praxis Of Social Justice In Social Work, Samantha Clarke

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Swimming Against the Tide: The Relational Praxis of Social Justice in Social Work

Abstract

This qualitative research study explores the praxis of social justice by social workers who identify as practising social justice–oriented social work in southern Ontario, Canada. The research is set against the backdrop of the evolution of social justice in social work, its practice in the current neoliberal environment, and its continued significance in the profession. The project draws on critical and liberal social justice philosophies to ask the question: “What does social justice praxis look like in the context of contemporary social work?” This is a …

Teaching And Learning Social Change, Amie Thurber, Helen Buckingham, Jordenn Martens, Rebecca Lusk, Darrylann Becker, Stacey Spenser

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

How can social work courses prepare students to be scholars of social movements, and also to act in solidarity with movements for social justice? How can graduate programs reimagine the professional socialization of social work students from aspiring for expertise toward a stance of life-long learning? How can instructors more deeply leverage our teaching practice to advance justice in our communities? This paper traces one attempt to answer these questions through a three-quarter graduate social work course designed to deepen students’ skills and knowledge in practices for social transformation, while amplifying existing social justice movements. Drawing on reflections from the …

Relational Justice And Relational Pedagogy In Professional Social Care Work, Niall Hanlon

Articles

The principle of social justice is central to the newly regulated profession of Social Care Worker [SCW] in Ireland and the language of social justice features in the Standards of Proficiency [SoP] and Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics [CPCE]. This is very welcome given the history of institutional neglect and abuse in Irish social care. However, social care work in Ireland lacks a tradition of social justice in theory and practice, and policy is generally couched in minimalist terms of individual civil and political rights, equality of opportunity, and non-discrimination and is heavily focused on protection and risk management. …

Exploring The Expansive Properties Of Interpretive Description: An Invitation To Anti-Oppressive Researchers, Mia Ocean, Rose Montgomery, Zoe Jamison, Karon Hicks, Sally Thorne

Social Work (Graduate) Faculty Publications

There is an ever-present need to challenge, create, and expand upon qualitative research approaches in the applied and practice disciplines to avoid repeating mistakes of the past and to realize a research agenda for socially just practice. Toward these goals, anti-oppressive researchers engage with a variety of methodologies to co-produce accounts that reflect a comprehensive understanding of social problems with the people who experience them and to enact solutions for real world change. In this article, we reflect on the manner in which Interpretive Description may be a useful option for anti-oppressive researchers to consider as a methodological approach in …

Hygiene, Storage, And Waste Management For The Unsheltered Community: Gaps & Opportunities Analysis, Jacen Greene, Todd Ferry, Lisa Hawash, Marisa Zapata, Nicholas M. Puczkowskyj

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

This study, completed in early February 2022, included focus groups and interviews with 18 government employees and service providers, interviews with 19 people experiencing unsheltered homelessness, a review of research literature and news articles on the topic, and previous surveys and research from Portland State University to better understand gaps and opportunities in providing hygiene, storage and waste management to people living unsheltered.

Gentrification, Amie Thurber, Amy Krings

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Gentrification can be understood as the process through which geographical areas become increasingly exclusive, which disproportionately harms people living in poverty and people of color, as well as the elderly, families, and youth. As such, this article argues that macro social work practitioners should view gentrification as a key concern. Thus, to help guide macro interventions, the article begins by first defining gentrification and describing ways to measure it, while emphasizing its difference from revitalization. Second, the article explores causes of gentrification, including its relationship to systemic racism. Third, the article explores the consequences of gentrification on individuals’ and communities’ …

Can Preference Policies Advance Racial Justice?, Amie Thurber, Lisa Bates, Susan Halverson

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mitigating the harms of gentrification to communities of color is a pressing challenge. One promising approach is preference policies that enable long-term residents to remain in or return to gentrifying neighborhoods. This mixed-methods study evaluates the City of Portland’s “Preference Policy,” which provides targeted affordable rental housing to residents displaced from a historically Black neighborhood. This paper draws on survey, interview, and focus group data to explore resident motivations, changes to well-being, and recommendations for improving the policy. Findings suggest preference policies can enhance well-being, and underscore the need for comprehensive strategies to advance racial justice in gentrifying neighborhoods.

What Makes Inclusion Work: An Autoethnography On Coordinating An Inclusive Youth Advocacy Program, Megan Price

University Honors Theses

In this autoethnographic thesis, I analyze my observations as the co-coordinator of an inclusive youth advocacy program (YAP) to detail what made inclusion successful, and what was ineffective. I had the unique position of facilitating conversations and workshops around social justice issues and how to advocate using self-expression and art. In this thesis, I will reflect on the Inclusive Education Conference (IEC) in Spring of 2019, and the Summer Summit in the summer of 2019, both in Portland, Oregon. At the IEC some of the observations noted as harmful to inclusion included: people wanting to silence the youth, inclusion being …

Reaganism And The Poor Family: Life On Afdc After The Budget Cuts, Norman L. Wyers, Robert C. Holloway

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Recent changes in federal and state welfare policies have had negative consequences for public welfare recipients. This paper summarizes a study which focused on the impact of these policy changes on the AFDC population in the most populous region of Oregon. Of particular importance are the changes in income levels, employment, and social service utilization of recipients. Personal reactions of recipients are also reviewed, as are expectations for the future. The differential economic impact of the policy changes on various categories of recipients is stressed.

Administrative Thinking On Youth And Youth Programs, Norman L. Wyers, John F. Longres

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Administrators have a lot of influence over the nature of youth programs. Because of this, their thinking on the causes of delinquency, the nature of ideal youth programs, and the role of youth workers were tapped. In the past, people in the field of delinquency have been accused of assuming an individual, personal problem or deficiency point of view. This study of administrators in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area suggests that, while some evidence for a more social structural understanding exists, in general the individual problem perspective prevails. An explanation for the persistence of a personal problem perspective is advanced …

Wages, Welfare, Or What? [Statement Of Norman L. Wyers] - Salem, Or, Norman L. Wyers

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

In his testimony to joint hearings before a task force of the welfare reform subcommittee of the US House of Representatives held on November 9, 1977, in Salem, Oregon, as part of a proposed welfare reform bill, H.R. 9030, Professor Norman L. Wyers shared the diverse opinions of participants of Oregon town hall meetings on economic security, entitlement, eligibility and responsibility. The public opinion survey findings revealed Oregonians' support for humanitarian policies, universal benefits, and a focus on job creation over training. Wyers urged policymakers to consider the liberal attitudes uncovered in the survey, emphasizing the need for a steady …

Wages, Welfare, Or What? [Statement Of Norman L. Wyers] - Washington D.C., Norman L. Wyers

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Professor Norman L. Wyers, representing participants of Oregon town hall meetings and the Oregon Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, addressed the joint hearings before a task force of the welfare reform subcommittee of the US House of Representatives in Washington, D.D. In his testimony on welfare reform philosophy, Wyers emphasizes Oregonians' strong support for government-sponsored employment (68%) over income maintenance and preference for job development (42%) as a primary strategy. Surprisingly, 56% favor universal benefits, challenging assumptions about selective programs. Wyers warns against work relief proposals in H.R. 9030, citing historical failures. According to the town meeting …

Shame And Public Dependency: A Literature Review, Norman L. Wyers

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

All research related to under-utilization of income maintenance programs as well as to their impact on recipients has discovered the presence of stigma. A survey of the pertinent literature points out that much is known about stigmatization but that social welfare has been slow to incorporate this knowledge in any attempt to reduce the destructive effect of stigma on program users. Both liberal and radical reform measures are proposed as remedies.