Social Work Commons^™

Parent-Centered Planning: One Approach To Ending Ableism In The Child Welfare System, Gabrielle Heille, Bailey Mcnulty, Jessica Schisel, Bla Yang, Lauren Zappitello

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Parents with disabilities are disproportionately involved in the child welfare system. This is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as the basic human rights of dignity and autonomy. Assessment tools and data collection systems currently utilized by the system fuel discrimination and provide inconsistent reporting. Minnesota needs to implement child welfare practices that center the goals of the parent, fully utilize informal and formal community supports, and make creative accommodations to reduce the number of children removed from their parents on the basis of ability. A lack of existing data indicates that more research is needed, …

Promoting The Well-Being Of People With Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Through Trauma-Informed Supports, Jenny Birkholz, Katy Hemberger, Brianna Jonason, Stephanie Nelson

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Minnesota must take an honest look at the widespread practice of managing the behavior of people with neurodevelopmental and other disabilities (NDD) through Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). This approach fails to honor the unique qualities, ways of knowing, lived experiences, and self-determination of people with NDD. Even though Minnesota aims to provide positive behavioral supports, the focus is still on changing the person who is misbehaving. Neuroscience is changing our understanding of behavior, including how distress, fear, and trauma are expressed. Minnesota must stop using harmful behavior management practices, admit the pain it has caused, and invest in a trauma-informed …

Achieving Equity For African American Children And Families In Minnesota's Child Welfare System: Keeping Families Together, Abigail Kamm, Quincey Krein, Lindsay Simon, Kayla Wolff

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Despite awareness of the disparities in our child protection system for African American children and their families, including increased removal from parental care and placement in non-family foster care, Minnesota has failed to take action to remedy this inequity. Adoption of the provisions in the African American Family Preservation Act is an essential first step toward creating an equitable and accountable child welfare system for African American children and their families.

Modernizing Minnesota's Guardianship Statute: Moving Away From Guardianship To Supported Decision-Making, Anna Ely, Madalyn Johnson, Bethany Mueller, Taylor Steckelberg

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

While guardianship is an important option for people with significant cognitive challenges and high support needs, the process is burdensome, expensive, and most importantly restricts the civil liberties of individuals. Together, we must modernize Minnesota’s guardianship statute and invest in Supported Decision-Making to protect the fundamental rights of the person, increase self-determination, and improve life outcomes.

Moving Beyond A Protective Approach To Stopping Sexual Violence Of People With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Katie Crowell, Jenni Elwer, Beatrice Makori, Laura Schultz

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) have some of the highest rates of sexual violence of any group—at least 7 times the rate for people without disabilities. (6) Attempts to alleviate this problem have been unsuccessful and based on the Medical Model of Disability, which views people with I/DD as inherently vulnerable and in need only of protection. Viewing people with I/DD as inherently vulnerable further stigmatizes them and increases dependency on others, instead of fostering capabilities and independence. Minnesota needs to move beyond taking a protective “recognize, report, and respond” approach, to taking a comprehensive approach to sexual …

In The Child's Best Interests: Preparing Culturally Responsive Guardians Ad Litem In Minnesota, Ashley Brown, Emily Camacho, Taneesha Hunter, Skylar Retterath

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Guardians ad litem (GALs) serve and advocate for the most vulnerable children in Minnesota. These individuals make recommendations to the courts which can impact the amount of time children are placed out of their homes. The Guardian ad Litem Board sets the qualifications and training requirements for Guardians ad Litem in Minnesota. Guardians ad litem are currently required to participate in 3 hours per year of continuing education in cultural awareness topics; this amount of training is not adequate in relation to the diversity of the population with which the GALs are working. The importance of cultural responsiveness is significant …

Creating Healthy Communities Across Minnesota: Investing In Integrated Health Care, Leah Jacobson, Nicole Lidstrom, Jenna Lipovetz, Jamie Schuller

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

In Minnesota, behavioral health homes have become an efficient resource for individu­als on Medical Assistance to receive integrated behavioral and primary health care under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The rising popularity of behav­ioral health homes in Minnesota introduced the concept of integrated medical care with a patient's primary care physician as the "home-base". Figure 1 illustrates the inte­grated approach that supports the patient and their family, provides care that covers an entire continuum of care with a comprehensive care team focused on the whole person, is accessible with short waiting times, and is committed to quality and …

In Search Of A Forever Home: Raising The Standards For Our Kids, Katarina Barrett, Shelby Marx, Moriah Mueller, Christopher Olson, Michelle Olund-Youngberg

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

There are currently 12,167 children in foster care in Minnesota and 32% experienced multiple placements in 2014. Many children are entering foster care due to concerns of child behavior, parental chemical use, or allegations of maltreatment. After an often unexpected separation from their family, children are then expected to adapt to a new foster family with a new set of family norms and rules. Many children are moved between multiple foster homes, or are returned to their caregivers only to be placed back in foster care at a later time. In the wake of media reports revealing stories of child …

Time To Stand Up For Female Vets: Improving Access To Vegerans Administration Health Services For Female Veterans Who Experience Military Sexual Trauma, Rhonda Haugstad, Dana Miller, Michelle Remold

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Military Sexual Trauma (MST), is defined as sexual assault and/or sexual harassment experienced while serving in the United States military. The process of obtaining Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits are difficult for individuals that suffer from MST. MST survivors are faced with delays and numerous barriers in accessing services, including discrimination in seeking compensation. Statistical data from the Department of Defense (DOD) is reviewed highlighting the high rates of sexual assault in the military and addresses concerns about the long-term implications for survivors of MST.

Many female veteran survivors of MST are struggling to access needed services covered by …

Needs Assessment To Explore Support For Spouses Affected By Military Life, Erika Sletten

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Service members and family members currently have more challenging life situations due to multiple wartime deployments (Bowen & Martin, 2011). Spouses of military personnel suffer from problems at home when their loved ones are deployed. Problems may include intermittent single parenting, financial strain, and limited access to resources. These problems can lead to domestic violence, child abuse or neglect, and children’s social or academic decline (Lincoln & Sweeten, 2010).

Evaluation Of Greater Mankato Area United Way's Annual Allocations Process From The Partner Agencies' Perspective, Erin A. Trytten

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This project aims to provide information to GMAUW about the annual allocations process and level of engagement with partners from the partner agencies/programs themselves. GMAUW values their relationship with their partners and realizes the importance of evaluating their own practices to ensure that the relationship remain strong and mutually beneficial. GMAUW has never had the internal capacity to complete an evaluation of this nature and will use the findings to improve their processes.

Research Question: How do GMAUW’s partners view the annual allocations process?

Evidence-Based Strategies For Working With Veterans, Bethany Fopma

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

According to the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), 3.3 million veterans (41%) live in rural areas. Due to geographical barriers, these veterans often lack access to needed services and providers. This research project analyzed studies that utilized telehealth in delivering services to veterans with PTSD. While more research in this area needs to be conducted, telehealth technology shows promising results for improving veterans’ symptoms and providing veterans with satisfactory services. Research Question: Is telehealth medicine an effective intervention in treating veterans with PTSD?

Effective Truancy Prevention Models, Nicole K. Hachfeld

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

In the United States, truancy has been identified as one of today’s top ten educational problems (Zhang, Katsiyannis, Barret& Wilson, 2007). Across the country, every day there are hundreds of thousands truant students (U.S. Department of Education, 1996). Attendance can be influenced by mental health issues, substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, student employment, family responsibilities, teacher attitudes, size of school, and inconsistent application of truancy policies and lack of meaningful consequences for truancy. Family factors that influence attendance include: domestic violence, poverty, lack of supervision, substance abuse, parental attitudes toward school and education (Kim & Streeter, 2006). The purpose of this …

Summer Youth Housing Career Camp, Carol Goodemann

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

With the recent growth of the Hispanic population in Nobles County from 0.6% in 1980 to 18.2% in 2008 and Watonwan County from 1.8% to 18.6% in 2008 (Northwest Area Foundation, 2009), a need to assist in the development of professionals within emerging markets populations was identified as a primary goal of Southern MN Emerging Markets Homeownership Initiative. The Summer Youth Housing Careers Camp was on approach to achieving the goal.

Best Practices For Vulnerable Adult Investigation Policies And Procedures At Blue Earth County, Anna Stindt

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this project is to update the policies and procedures for conducting vulnerable adult investigations in Blue Earth County to reflect changes in the statute and to incorporate current best practices for conducting investigations.

Frequent Users Of The Emergency Department: A Policy Proposal, Tina Ann Olson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Research has extensively documented that a small number of Emergency Department (ED) patients make disproportionate use of emergency services (Okin et al., 2000). The term “Frequent Users” is used to describe patients who utilize ED services more than four times per year (Byrne et al., 2003). Frequent Users are often times patients with chronic medical, mental health, alcohol and drug problems, as well as other psychosocial issues (Fulde & Duffy, 2006). Homeless people also appear to have significantly higher ED rates than the general population (Pope et al., 2000). Immanuel St. Joseph’s-Mayo Health System (ISJ) ED appears to have many …