Social Work Commons^™

Caregivers Of Dialysis Patients, Alyssa Bousquet, Amelia Murillo

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study explored the stress and coping skills as it relates to the burden of care experienced by Caregivers of Dialysis patient's. Questionnaires were sent out to 100 caregivers currently caring for dialysis patient's. The surveys explored demographics, stress, self-care, and types of care provided. Questionnaires were designed in order to elicit responses associated with perceived burden of care. These questions were also designed to pinpoint areas of exploration for future research based on the responses of the sample.

What Are The Barriers To Seeking Psychotherapy Services Across Different Racial And Ethnic Groups?, Deysee Chavez, Elisa Rodarte

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study explored barriers to seeking psychotherapy services across racial and ethnic groups among adults of 18 years of age or older (2) any individual who has considered, sought, or received mental health services (3) residing in Southern California. The surveys consisted of questions from the Barriers to Mental Health Services Scale Revised (BMHSS-R) sub-scales; Help Seeking, Stigma, Knowledge and Fear of Psychotherapy, Belief about Inability to Find a Psychotherapist, and Belief that Depressive Symptoms are Normal. It was hypothesized that Latino individuals face greater barriers when seeking psychotherapy services as compared to other racial groups. This study consisted of …

Child Maltreatment Primary Prevention Methods In The U.S.: A Systematic Review Of Recent Studies, Maria Godoy-Murillo

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Background: Child maltreatment remains a widespread issue in the United States of America, (U.S.). Identifying effective methods of preventing child maltreatment is key to reducing the prevalence of this issue. Objective: This systematic review provides an overview of contemporary primary child maltreatment prevention methods in the U.S. to investigate their effectiveness. Methods: Using the OneSearch database, the following keywords were included: (“prevention methods” and “child maltreatment”), (“parental leave” and “child maltreatment”), (“primary prevention” and “child maltreatment”), (WIC and “child maltreatment”), (“home visit” and “child maltreatment”), (“child abuse and neglect” and “primary prevention”), (“affordable housing” and prevention and “child maltreatment”), (“early …

Alternative Approaches To Police Interventions When Responding To Mental Health Crises Incidents, Karen Rivera Apolinar

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Purpose: This study explored mental health workers perspectives on alternative approaches in responding to mental health crises.

The study was carried out in Southern California, in collaboration with mental health workers who currently work or previously have worked in mental health crisis. It adopted a post-positivists paradigm and data was gathered through individual interviews with mental health workers who have direct experience with mental health crisis response in the community and with the police. The twenty participants in the study were men and women working in the mental health field, and of various backgrounds, licensures, and ages.

The study found …

The Covid-19 Pandemic And Material Hardships: A Qualitative Study Of Undocumented Immigrants In The United States, Erika Chavez-Marroquin

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The study aimed to recognize the financial impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on the undocumented immigrants living in southern California. Utilizing an exploratory method with a qualitative approach. The research interviewed English and Spanish-speaking participants who are a part of the undocumented population and have employee history. The study utilized a purposive and snowball sampling method and explored the financial impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on participants’ personal finances, resources they were able to access, and gaps in programs or additional resources through federal and state aid. Through the data analysis, the research identified the following themes: limitations on accessible …

Promoting Health Equity Among Racial And Ethnic Minorities During And After The Covid-19 Pandemic, Alexandra Viramontes, Deserry Salgado

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Racial and ethnic minorities experience disproportionate health outcomes during a pandemic, yet preparedness plans have failed to address the social determinants of health that produce the most severe impact. By examining social workers’ perspectives on the health disparities faced by racial and ethnic minorities during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study provides insight into the ways in which services can be improved in a future health crisis. In this exploratory study, a qualitative approach was utilized where social workers were asked to participate in interviews consisting of open-ended questions. The qualitative data was obtained in the form of interview transcripts, which …

Improving Veteran Access; Status Of Operations Of The United States Department Of Veteran Affairs Work-Study Program, Kirk Allen

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The usage status of The U.S. Department Veterans Affairs Work-Study Program is examined. Beneficiary numbers from the Global, Unites States, State, and Local/County perspective are reviewed. While of essential value, the program suffers from a lack of scholarly research and government oversight, and is further hindered by restrictive administrative rules lived first-hand. Research suggests that the program is operating outside of accountability to the taxpayer, presents as unnecessarily/overly-restrictive in accessibility, and is underutilized. The program appears to not be serving all veterans to full potential.

The Work-Study Program is codified in Veterans Benefits', Title 38 United States Code, Part III, …

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Comparing Short-Term, Intensive Therapy To Traditional, Long-Term Therapy, Laura Gonzalez, Sean Kruckenberg

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health diagnosis that occurs following a traumatic event, and military veterans are at higher risk of exposure to hazardous or life-threatening situations that may result in psychological trauma. PTSD sufferers experience symptoms such as distressing memories, nightmares, flashbacks, hypervigilance, and heightened arousal. Individuals with PTSD also experience higher rates of depressive and substance use disorders, involvement with the justice system, and self-harm and suicide. Many agencies, such as the Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) provide treatment PTSD, however most programs experience dropout rates as high as 36%. Recent studies have shown that …

Mental Health, Substance Abuse And Recidivism: Perceptions Of Key Justice System Stakeholders In Southern California, Tabari Zahir

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Despite the 2011 landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court ordering the California authorities to address prison overcrowding, the Golden State still faces significant challenges dealing with the size of its correctional population. Recidivism plays a preponderant role in slowing down the momentum toward overcoming relatively high rates of incarceration across the state. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of key human services stakeholders about the intersection of three major challenges in the California criminal justice system: mental health, substance use, and recidivism. Embracing a continuum of care approach, this study ultimately attempted to explore …

The Utilization Of Mental Health Education In Schools For Prevention Not Just Intervention, Ashley Williams

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The prevalence of mental illness in adolescents is more extensive than in previous years. In schools, social workers have been utilized to address mental health episodes in students, however, they generally do not get involved until the adolescent’s mental health episode is critical and unmanageable without social support. This needs to change. The purpose of this research study is to assess for adolescent’s knowledge of mental illness and mental wellness. The targeted population is school-aged children in grades K through 12, however the respondents of the study were student educators due to the protected status of school-aged children. This study …

Bridging The Gap Between Foster Youth And Higher Education: Perspectives Of Social Workers, Marielena Lozano

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research examined the perceptions of child welfare social workers in their role of supporting foster youth. Specifically, this study will focus on factors contributing to support for foster youth to obtain post-secondary education or vocational training.

This study utilized a qualitative research design. Data were collected from individual, semi-structured interviews with six volunteer participants in Southern and Northern California using a snowball sampling method. Throughout the interviews, the researcher asked current or former child welfare social workers to describe their perceptions and experiences in supporting foster youth in obtaining higher education.

The study found several themes related to the …

Social Worker’S Adjustment And Perception When Dealing With Double-Exposure During A Natural Disaster, Magaly Santos

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Limited research captures the perceptions and adjustments of social workers living and providing treatment in the same communities during a disaster. Few studies have captured the stressors and responsibilities put on social workers during an ongoing disaster. This paper reports the findings of the double-exposure captured using a qualitative approach in collecting interviews from nine mental health professionals who continued working during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. A constructivist paradigm was used to capture each participant’s reality. Participants described the sudden change to remote work as difficult when having to find the balance between work and life demands, providing …

Child Abuse Awareness And Prevention Programs In Elementary Schools: An Educators' Perspective, Sara Headen

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research project focuses on educators’ perceptions regarding implementing a child abuse awareness and prevention program in elementary schools. Participants for this project were teachers who were recruited from an elementary school located in Southern California. This project was completed using a qualitative data gathering method. Interviews were conducted and recorded through a video conferencing software program. The data gathered from the interviews was then transcribed and analyzed. The study found that all the participants were in support of implementing a child abuse awareness and prevention program in elementary schools. Concepts related to educator’s perception included their experience reporting child …

Working With The Homeless Population: An Exploratory Study Of Graduate Social Work Student’S Confidence And Willingness, Ana Rosa Ortiz, Mariam Kiara Lowe

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Homelessness is a multilayered problem that affects hundreds of thousands of people across the United States. The social work profession cannot rest on its laurels when large numbers of individuals and families suffer due to a lack of shelter, a necessity. Historically, social work was at the vanguard of interventions against homelessness. However, over the past 30 years or so, the profession arguably has shifted its focus toward micro practice. As a result, macro issues such as poverty and homelessness have received comparatively less interest in the field. Using an exploratory design, this study examined factors associated with level of …

The Correlation Between County Expenditures And Ab109 Recidivism: A Cross-Sectional Analysis, Maya Crim

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

In response to a federal mandate, California passed Public Safety Realignment policies in 2011 to reduce its prison population. Popularly known as Assembly Bill 109 (AB109), these policies sought to reform the prison system on multiple fronts. One of these fronts is preventing recidivism among offenders. Most studies on recidivism look at individual factors or specific micro interventions. However, the aim of this research was to examine the relationship between external factors and recidivism rates across 55 California counties. Using Spearman’s Correlation, this study tested the hypothesis that external factors such as county funding/expenditure, poverty level, and unemployment level monotonically …

Child Welfare: Trauma Informed Practice At Time Of Child Removal, Ester Garcia

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

As of 2018, approximately 442,995 children are in the foster care system in the United States according to the federal statistics from the Children’s Bureau. Entry into the foster system involves the removal of children from their home, making it a traumatic experience. The purpose of this study was to examine social workers’ perceptions of what trauma informed practice means and what it looks like in child welfare removals. The study also clarifies what trauma informed practice (TIP) is and how it can be applied in child welfare’s organizational structure. This was a qualitative study in which child welfare social …

Accessing Children's Mental Health Services In A Rural Northern California County, Deborah Wingate

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

When children are detained and enter the foster care system, social workers screen them to determine if mental health services are needed. Formal referrals to mental health providers are made, however there is a significant wait time between referral and service delivery.

The focus of this study was to explore these barriers to mental health services in an effort to identify approaches that might improve service access. Qualitative face-to-face interviews were conducted with key stakeholders using an Ecological Systems Theory to fashion a hermeneutic dialect and a joint construct toward a shared action plan. Data was collected from the interviews …

Social Workers' Perception On The Needs And Services For Foster Children With Special Needs, Jessica Joanna Jimenez, Winnie Wing Yang Lee

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Foster children are already at a disadvantage given that they tend to live in a home without their parents. Social workers have direct interactions working with children with special needs, and through interviews with the workers, we aimed to understand whether or not the services available are able to meet foster children’s special needs. The research on special needs children in foster care is quite limited. The purpose of the study was to identify social workers’ perceptions of the needs of special needs foster children and their access to services.

This study used qualitative interviews with open-ended questions to gather …

Social Service Workers Knowledge On The Use Of Technology For Human Trafficking, Raquel Monique Holguin, Athena Noel Barber

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Human Trafficking is the modern-day equivalent of slavery. Those who perpetuate it do so because it is lucrative to invest in a product that can be resold multiple times (Ellis, 2017). The recent advancement of technology has tremendously helped traffickers thrive in the illicit business of Human Trafficking. Social media websites, online classifieds, and mobile applications are quickly becoming some of the major mediums perpetrators utilize to traffick their victims (Latonero, 2012). The purpose of this study was to examine social service workers’ knowledge on the use of technology for Human Trafficking. Face-to-face interviews were conducted and the participants were …

Resilience And Resistance: How The Inland Empire Transgender Community Thrives, Raul Angel Maldonado

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Society’s current focus on the transgender community is complicated, and further heightened by the lack of protections for the transgender community. Current studies only assess the hardships transgender individuals face and the impact they have on their well-being. This study sought to explore what effects the lack of resources and support have on the transgender community in the Inland Empire. This study utilized a qualitative approach incorporating semi-structured interviews of participants. The author also sought to explore how the transgender community in this area are able to mitigate any negative experiences. The qualitative data provided rich grounding in understanding the …

Child Abuse Prevention In Rural Southern California: A Participatory Action Research Project, Nelly Zambrano

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research project examines resources and services to prevent families and children from entering the child welfare system in a rural town in Southern California. There is constant struggle to get the adequate services, resources and trained staff in this rural area because it is isolated and it takes about two hours’ travel time to get to the metropolitan cities. The literature review discusses child welfare services challenges, strengths and social capital to support families and children as well as the child welfare system itself in rural areas. Constructivism is the appropriate framework for this research project, because the goal …

Information And Communication Technologies In Public Child Welfare: A Systematic Literature Review, Stephanie K. Schneider

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This systematic literature review synthesizes findings from empirical studies published between 1989 and 2016 to examine types, use, purpose and implementation of information and communication technology in public child welfare to determine if there are thematic reoccurrences in these arenas. Study results yielded information to the field of social work and public child welfare by determining themes in successful usage, purpose and implementation of information and communication technology in public child welfare to better serve those vulnerable populations. This systematic literature review contextualizes and identifies these themes across the literature. Studies included in this review were analyzed and categorized to …

Latinos' Knowledge And Perceptions Towards Child Protective Services, Ana R. Gracian, Yanni Aguilar

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study examined the knowledge and perceptions of the Latino population in Southern California towards Children Protective Services (CPS). Modern representation of social workers from the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), or Child Protective Services (CPS) often do not complement, support, or value the profession. This is a quantitative study with a sample of 103 Hispanic/Latino individuals ranging from the ages of 18 to over 60. An online Qualtrics survey was disseminated through social media and in person. It included a total of 26 questions measuring knowledge and perceptions. The purpose of this study was to better understand …

A Descriptive Study Of The Elderly In California Substance Abuse Treatment Programs, David Berenschot

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

As gerontologists may know, there are a great deal of studies and a variety of academic literature on the misuse of alcohol and prescription medication amongst the elderly population. While there is a plethora of information on alcohol and prescription misuse, there is little reported data about the prevalence of other substance misuse experienced by this population. This study aims to help to fill that gap in the data by using quantitative methods to describe the scope of substance abuse of individuals 55-years or older. This study utilizes data from the Treatment Data Set Admission (TEDS-A). The TEDS-A is a …

Strategies And Substance Treatment: Perceptions Of Older Adults 60 And Over, Kim Malveo Jones

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gather the perceive strategies and substance treatment needs of adults 60 and over. To examine what recovery treatment models and strategies could be most effective for the age-related complex needs of the 60 and over population who are at risk for substance misuse, use or abuse. In the coming years, there will be a substantial increase in the numbers of older adults with substance misuse and abuse problems. Even though one in five individuals who experience substance abuse are older adults many clinicians remain ill equipped to serve older clientele, and particularly those …

Exit Interviews’ Impact On Veterans’ Reintegration From Combat To Civilian Life: A Social Workers Call To Action, Meghann Doane, Natalie Rivera

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Combat veterans partake in exit interviews that may be inadequate in addressing their health and mental health needs prior to returning to a civilian lifestyle. Exit interviews have not been thoroughly evaluated from the perspective of veterans to determine their helpfulness in meeting the needs of those that have returned home. It is vital to the reintegration process and quality of life of our veterans to assess their needs as a priority over the feedback and inquiry of potential changes the military can make in the future for active military members, considering many veterans suffer from mental and physical illnesses …

Perceived Preparedness Of California Social Workers To Discuss Physician Assisted Death, Shanda Marie Brennan, Meliza Quinonez Kinney

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Effective June 9, 2016, many terminally ill patients residing in the State of California will now have the legal option of terminating their life because of protections offered under The California End of Life Options Act. Social workers whose population of care includes terminally ill patients will likely be engaging in conversations about end of life options, including physician assisted death, with their patients. Little research exists addressing what factors may influence social workers perceived preparedness to discuss physician assisted death with patients, yet the expectation that social workers be prepared to discuss all available end of life options with …

Beliefs About Social Workers Among Black Males, Tavon Antonio Harris

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

It’s been more than a decade since the National Institute of Mental Health (NAMI) initiated its public campaign, ‘Real Men Real Depression.’ Despite increased awareness, research and relevant studies indicate that African American / Black men continue to underutilize mental health treatment while still having the highest all-cause mortality rates of any racial/ ethnic group in the United States. When reading this statement, one must question what impact that the beliefs about ‘social workers’ through the lens of Black males in the United States, may play. This very simply, yet flammable, question not only seems pertinent but also seems to …

Impact Of Reactive Attachment Disorder Training On Perceived Preparedness Of Master Of Social Work Students To Serve Individuals With Reactive Attachment Disorders, Margaret Elizbeth Perez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Common diagnoses have greater emphasis in the Master of Social Work (MSW) Program, yet there is an oversight on other disorders that are just as important to address, such as Reactive Attachment Disorders (RAD). Although researchers have determined a need for additional training and education on RAD, none have measured MSW students’ level of knowledge on RAD and whether or not it influences their perceived preparedness. The purpose of this study was to analyze the perceived preparedness of MSW students to serve children with RAD before and after participating in an educational training. The study consisted of an explanatory quantitative …

Mental Health Practitioner Stigma, Attitude, And Belief: A Multidimensional Study On Marriage And Family Therapists, Clinical Social Workers, And Clinical Psychologists, Jessica Ann De La Rosa, Ruxandra Elena Tanase

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Existing stigma in the form of negative attitudes towards individuals with severe mental illness by mental health practitioners, has the potential to set barriers towards recovery. A survey of 72 mental health practitioners from three disciplines were surveyed, in an attempt to measure mental health practitioner attitudes towards individuals with severe mental illness, and how their attitudes impact their belief in client recovery. This was a quantitative study, based on two Likert Scale surveys and distributed both in paper form and using Survey Monkey. Participants were gathered through a snowball effect, and consisted of 42 social workers, 18 marriage and …