Social Work Commons^™

A Queer Liberation Movement? A Qualitative Content Analysis Of Queer Liberation Organizations, Investigating Whether They Are Building A Separate Social Movement, Joseph Nicholas Defilippis

Dissertations and Theses

In the last forty years, U.S. national and statewide LGBT organizations, in pursuit of "equality" through a limited and focused agenda, have made remarkably swift progress moving that agenda forward. However, their agenda has been frequently criticized as prioritizing the interests of White, middle-class gay men and lesbians and ignoring the needs of other LGBT people. In their shadows have emerged numerous grassroots organizations led by queer people of color, transgender people, and low-income LGBT people. These "queer liberation" groups have often been viewed as the left wing of the GRM, but have not been extensively studied. My research investigated …

The Relationship Between Self-Determination And Client Outcomes Among The Homeless, Samuel M. Hanna

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This paper has attempted to determine if there is a significant relationship between self-determination and client outcomes among the homeless. The study has been based upon the conceptual framework set forth in Self-Determination Theory. The purpose of the study was to explore the relationship between self-determination and client outcomes among the homeless. Using a data collection instrument, based on empirically validated instrumentation, clients from several homeless service providers in the City of San Bernardino were assessed for the level of self-determination and autonomy support they experience within these agencies. Outcome measures included such things as whether the client was going …

The Hear.Us Project - Reducing Anti-Immigrant Sentiment And Myth Through An Online Awareness Intervention, Douglas J. Epps

MSW Capstones

The following is an online awareness intervention designed to reduce anti-immigrant sentiment and myth throughout the greater community by means of an educational toolkit. The foundation of this toolkit was designed using macro level theoretical intervention frameworks. The content is grounded in empirically based interpersonal communication strategies specialized in addressing anti-immigrant sentiment. The goal of this toolkit is to provide a source for humanizing and factual education especially for those who are unfamiliar with immigrant community members. The intervention achieves this goal by means of three specific elements: 1) Humanizing and inspiring personal stories from immigrants in the local community …

An Examination Of South Carolina’S Institutions Of Reform And Their Impact On The Self-Narratives Of African American Men, Ashley E. Krejci-Shaw

Capstone Collection

In the State of South Carolina (SC), African American male adolescents disproportionately face disciplinary action in public schools and other institutions. In 2013, South Carolina’s Department of Juvenile Justice (SCDJJ) released data that listed Black male children comprising 57% of all juvenile referrals in the state. This disproportionate trend is also present in South Carolina’s correctional system. In 2013, South Carolina’s Department of Corrections (SCDOC) reported that out of 20,777 male prisoners, 13,631 were Black. For adolescents or young adults looking to continue their education, alternative programs are available. One program that captures educationally displaced children in South Carolina is …

Incarceration And Reintegration: How It Impacts Mental Health, April M. Marier, Alex Alfredo Reyes

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Background: Previous criminal justice policies have been non-effective leading to overpopulated prisons and unsuccessful reintegration. There is a lack of effective supportive and/or rehabilitative services resulting in high rates of recidivism and mental health implications. Objective: This study investigated the perceived impact that incarceration and reintegration with little to no supportive and/or rehabilitative services has on the mental health status of an individual. The emphasis was on participant perception and not on professional reports because of underreporting and lack of attention to mental health in the criminal justice system. Methods: Focus groups in the Inland Empire and Coachella Valley …

Prison 2 Society, Heidi S. Collins

MSW Capstones

Abstract

Returning to the community from jail is a complex transition for most offenders, as well as for their families and communities. Upon reentering society, former offenders are likely to struggle with substance abuse, lack of adequate education and job skills, limited housing options, and mental health issues. This project illuminates the difficulties that adults face as they transition out of jails back to the community and presents a model of a one-stop-shop that is designed to include all the transition resources an adult may need to successfully re-integrate back to the community after incarceration, all housed at one, easily …

Bridging The Justice Gap: Exploring Approaches For Improving Indigent Access To Civil Counsel, Kelsey Atkinson

Pomona Senior Theses

The United States is among one of the only democratic industrialized nations in the world that does not provide guaranteed access to civil representation in cases involving basic human need. This leaves indigent litigants who are at risk of losing their homes or their children left to seek counsel through insufficient pro-bono programs or limited scope legal self-help centers. This thesis provides a history of the struggle for the right to civil counsel, known as Civil Gideon, and explores a variety of proposed solutions to bridge the justice gap for indigent litigants. Despite considerable support for Civil Gideon among scholars …

Who We Are: Incarcerated Students And The New Prison Literature, 1995-2010, Reilly Hannah N. Lorastein

Honors Projects

This project focuses on American prison writings from the late 1990s to the 2000s. Much has been written about American prison intellectuals such as Malcolm X, George Jackson, Eldridge Cleaver, and Angela Davis, who wrote as active participants in black and brown freedom movements in the United States. However the new prison literature that has emerged over the past two decades through higher education programs within prisons has received little to no attention. This study provides a more nuanced view of the steadily growing silent population in the United States through close readings of Openline, an inter-disciplinary journal featuring …

The Attitudes Of Police Officers Towards Mental Health Services, Rebecca Ann Irwin, Jill Adrianne Kays

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes of police officers toward mental health services and the perceptions of police departments toward the promotion of dependable support systems and mandatory counseling in the work environment. Understanding the culture and norms within a law enforcement agency is critical to the well-being of officers and the communities they serve.

Rural Communities: How Do Individuals Perceive Change When Industry Enters The Area?, Katherine Danielle Ferrari

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As the landscape of the United States changes and world resources face depletion, shale gas development has become a major social justice issue. Social workers may be called upon to help support communities undergoing change from industry as well as the environmental and social justice concerns that are arising in areas with rich natural resource supplies.

This research examines how a rural population perceives change when industry enters an area. It explores community change and social justice concerns that are occurring with shale gas development in order to help determine implications for social work practice.

Using a phenomenological approach, this …

Veterans Court: Towards The Implementation Of A Collaborative Justice Model In San Luis Obispo County, Daniel Smee

Continuing Education (CAPSTONE)

Veterans’ treatment courts represent an emerging trend across the country of collaborative justice designed to deal with criminal justice issues stemming from problems linked to military service. This approach places the veteran in VA (Veterans Affairs) treatment programs as a diversion from incarceration. There are few such courts in California (nine) largely in non-rural counties. This study investigated two rural counties, Tulare and Santa Barbara with Veterans courts to develop a model for such a court in San Luis Obispo County. Early recidivism data at the one-year point for Tulare County showed a zero percent rate of criminal behavior (12 …

Human Trafficking In San Luis Obispo County: Assessing The Local Law Enforcement's Mechanisms For Prevention, Paige K. Wopschall

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Law Enforcement Officers And Child Welfare Social Workers, Cheryl Denise Gonzales, Aida Velia QuiñOnez

Theses Digitization Project

There has been a long established relationship problem between Child Protective Services (CPS) social workers and Law Enforcement (LE) officers. It is an issue of which both sides are aware, but neither has addressed this discord in an effort to improve collaboration between the two agencies. The purpose of this study is to help both Law Enforcement officers and Children Protection Services workers build a strong interdisciplinary relationship in child abuse cases.

Developing Practice Or Management Struggle? Barriers To Effective Youth Work Practice With Young Women Living With Violence [Thesis], Judith Kulisa

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The research process described in this thesis brought to consciousness, for myself, the researcher, and for the youth work practitioners involved, the limitations placed upon their ability to practice effective youth work by the divergent understanding of `youth work' held by those responsible for either managing or funding the services in which they worked. The study set out to discover why youth work practitioners were not identifying or responding to the needs of young women living with violence at home. The study sought to identify the problem and then to formulate practical strategies to enhance youth worker knowledge and skills …

Attitudes And Knowledge Of Law Enforcement Officers Regarding Child Maltreatment, Cathleen May Farrar

Theses Digitization Project

This study was conducted in an effort to explore the attitudes and knowledge held by law enforcement officers regarding child maltreatment. This study was completely exploratory in nature, with no hypothesis about the outcome.

Sexual Boundary Violations Between Peace Officer Agencies And Offenders, Jacqueline Lorraine Goins

Theses Digitization Project

Peace officers across this country have allowed a hostile environment to be created with offenders who are in their custody. An overview of the issues to be addressed in this study will begin with sexual boundary violations among peace officers and offenders, such as physical intimacy and emotional commitment that meets the sexual needs of the peace officer.

A Study Of Variables Associated With Re-Arrest Among Graduates Of A Juvenile Diversion Program, Eileen Gail Holguin, Melody June O'Neill

Theses Digitization Project

The Home Run Program that operates in San Bernardino County was developed to address rehabilitation of high-risk youthful offenders using a Multi-disciplinary Team (MDT) approach to treatment. Despite the fact the program was developed to address recidivism among a delinquent population, recidivism continues to be an issue for participants. This study evaluated specific social and demographic factors and the bearing they had on successful rehabilitation outcome.

Affirmative Action Programs In Social Service Agencies: Status Of The Female M.S.W., Geraldine Ann Berg, Katy Blanche Danner, Eileen Nolan Kressel, Sharon E. La Haie, Ellen Mckeever, Petra Monteblanco, Joan Ann Plushnick, Carolyn V. Wood

Dissertations and Theses

Job status and salary inequities between men and women have only recently been documented (Kravetz 1976). The federal government, over the past few decades, through various acts and executive orders, has created legislation to prohibit discrimination based on race, sex, color, religion or national origin in all employment practices. The question is to what extent this legislation has permeated social service agencies and affected their employment patterns, particularly with respect to administrative positions.

In 1976, the Women's Issues Committee of the Oregon Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), addressed this question by initiating a study of social …

Perceptions Of Indian Tribal Leaders Regarding The Indian Self-Determination Act (Public Law 93-638), Ramona O'Connor

Dissertations and Theses

This study is an analysis of a policy, The Indian Self-Determination Act (Public Law 93-638), and consists of a survey designed to examine the perceptions of selected Indian tribal leaders regarding the policy. The findings of the survey are reviewed and analyzed and the study is concluded with a consideration of the implications of the findings for social work. In general, the study is concerned with an aspect of the social policy process. A specific policy is addressed and a survey of perceptions of people effected by that policy was taken. The policy itself is an indication of a seemingly …

Police Discretion With Respect To The Juvenile Offender, Department Of Public Safety, Multnomah County, Oregon, Muriel Bridges, Monty Merritt

Dissertations and Theses

This is an exploratory study which focuses on the types of information that deputies assigned to the Department of Public Safety, Multnomah County, Oregon, consider important when making a decision regarding the disposition of a juvenile offender.

This empirical study developed as a result of participant observation. The authors spent one year working with deputies as part of police-social worker teams. During the course of the year it became apparent that police use a considerable amount of discretion when determining the disposition of a juvenile offender.

The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate systematically:

1. the types of information …

Selected Attitudes And Perceptions Of Adolescents At The Hood River, Oregon, Attention Home, Marilyn Czerwinski, Linda Olson

Dissertations and Theses

The aim of this study is to report selected perceptions and attitudes of adolescents placed in the “attention home” at Hood River, Oregon, as an early aid towards improved understanding and treatment, and program assessment.

A Study Of The Legal Aid Family Law Center And Its Clients, By Cynthia Ann Thomas [And] Susan Marie Vail, Cynthia Ann Thomas, Susan Marie Vail

Dissertations and Theses

The family is the basic unit in our society. When there is a breakdown in this unit, specifically in the marital relationship, the effect upon the husband, wife, and children can be devastating in terms of poverty, abuse, and cost to society. The frequent inability of the poor to obtain counseling and legal assistance in resolving family relationships perpetuates the social and psychological results of a poor marriage. This study is concerned with poor persons and their ability to receive both legal and counseling services for their family problems 0 Other concerns are with the questions of alternatives to divorce …

An Attitudinal Study Of Selected Groups In The City Of The Dalles Toward The Community Attention Home, David Clitheroe, Garrett Long

Dissertations and Theses

When a family starts to dissolve it frequently comes to the attention of the court or the welfare department and what happens once its members enter the system can be of critical importance. While the number of adults incarcerated is expected to increase slightly, the alarming fact is that if we continue to confine juveniles at the same rate an increase of 70% between 1965 and 1975 can be expected. These data suggest that we should investigate alternatives to detention, not only because of the increasing pressures of space available but, more importantly, because juvenile detention has shown itself to …