Social Work Commons^™

Ongoing Genocides And The Need For Healing: The Cases Of Native And African Americans, Benjamin P. Bowser, Carl O. Word, Kate Shaw

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

The elimination of Native peoples and the enslavement of Africans in the U.S. more than qualify as acts of historical state sponsored genocide. A feature of both genocides is that they ended as institutional practices but have continued culturally and psychologically. The primary contemporary legacy of these genocides is racism which reinforces historical trauma and grief. Suggestions are made for how healing for Native and African Americans can begin despite ongoing racism. This includes psychological counseling for White Americans with beliefs in White supremacy. Suggestions are also made for how reconciliation can begin at the county-level between descendants of slave …

Commuters’ Health Certificate As Social Control During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Suprayitno Suprayitno, Rahmi Rahmi, Lydia Christiani

Proceedings from the Document Academy

In Indonesia, a regulation on large-scale social restrictions (“Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar” or PSBB) restricted citizens’ activities in the cultural, social, and economic sectors. These large-scale social restrictions also impact Jakarta’s activities from the commuting communities of Central Java, the Yogyakarta Special Region, and East Java Provinces. As a result, these commuters have become accustomed to travelling back to their hometowns every Friday afternoon. On Sundays, they return to Jakarta and arrive in Jakarta on Monday mornings to go to work. This activity is often referred to as “Pulang Jumat Kembali Ahad” (PJKA) or Going Home Every Friday Evening and …

A Critical Interpretive Synthesis Of Research Linking Hip Hop And Wellbeing In Schools, Alexander Crooke, Cristina Almeida, Rachael Comte

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

Hip Hop is recognized as an agent for youth development in both educational and well-being spaces, yet literature exploring the intersection of the two areas is comparatively underdeveloped. This article presents a critical interpretive synthesis of twenty-two articles investigating school-based well-being interventions which used Hip Hop. The critical stance taken aimed to identify or expose assumptions underpinning this area of scholarship and practice. Our analysis suggested several assumptions operate in this space, including the idea rap represents a default for Hip Hop culture, and the default beneficiaries of Hip Hop-informed interventions are students of color living in underprivileged, inner-city US …

Reproductive Freedom For All: A Policy Brief, Noa J. Cook

The Downtown Review

Reproductive freedom in the United States has been a source of controversy throughout history and current legislation places these rights under attack. Divided into three parts, this policy brief seeks to address the lack of accessible reproductive healthcare for women, with special attention to economic, racial, and ethnic disparities. Part 1 includes a historical overview of abortion access and significant legislation in the U.S., describes the present status of the problem, and the populations affected. In Part 2, the pros and cons of current policies such as the federal contraceptive guarantee of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Hyde Amendment, and …

Technologies And Social Intervention: Ethical Considerations, Sandra Barros

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article addresses the use of Information and Communication Technologies within the Social Work discipline. It highlights the necessity to reanalyze and reconceptualize our intervention strategies, due to the widespread use of digital technologies, and the importance of having academic study plans that include the necessary digital rights and abilities. The challenges associated with the use of Information and Communication Technologies within the current historical-social context demand that we adopt and maintain a critical ethical attitude. Therefore, we emphasize the importance of reassessing available methods and tools to improve social work practice and education.

Digital Social Work: Towards Digital Disruption In Social Work, Joaquín Castillo De Mesa

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The digital transformation is posing a challenge to organizations, professionals, and the scientific community within Social Work. Until now, digital solutions have been incorporated spontaneously and arbitrarily, without models to contemplate and guide their incorporation. This has generated great uncertainty amongst social workers, who do not know what media should be adopted, in what form, and under what circumstances. In this article, we will review three digital solution models which Social Work has been adopting in an evolutionary manner: adaptation, transition, and digital disruption. Digital adaptation has meant spontaneously incorporating digital media which were not specifically intended for professional practice. …

Using Big Data To Manage Social Inclusion Programs, Esther Raya Diez, Manuel Trujillo Carmona, Domingo Carbonero Muñoz

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Technological developments based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and empirical science in all areas of society are opening new opportunities for social work and social inclusion programs. AI relies on Big Data management systems, which in turn provide opportunities for descriptive inference and preventative measures, as well as data-informed decision making.

This article outlines the characteristics of Big Data and describes the process of designing a tool for diagnosing social exclusion, the SiSo scale. The tool consists of a scale that uses 25 variables to assess situations of social difficulty on the inclusion-exclusion spectrum. It is currently being used in the …

Home Visit Training In Social Work With Virtual Reality, Mª Ángeles Minguela Recover, Pedro Hernández Lafuente, José Miguel Mota Macias

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The incorporation of virtual reality and mobile learning methodology in university teaching facilitates the teaching-learning process of concepts and complex visualization processes for students, as is the case in social work. The goal of this article is to present the iSWAPP© application aimed at social work students training in complex skills such as observation, active listening, and interviewing through home visits. Among the results, we find how the student recreates the process of assessing situations of dependence. The main finding is how virtual reality becomes an additional learning tool by allowing students to assume the social worker’s role and design …

Could Whatsapp Be An Intervention Tool For Digital Social Work? A Case Study, Antonio Eito Mateo, María José Gómez Poyato, Antonio Matías Solanilla

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Ensuring that individuals who exhibit difficulties or problems are able to stay in their family and community environments has been an issue of concern for governments and welfare states for several decades. Authorities now seek to reverse the impact of periods or years of institutionalization and concealment of a variety of personal and social realities.

It should be highlighted that two phenomena, in particular, have increased interest in helping to keep individuals in their homes and community. First, aging populations and increased life expectancy, and second, the possibilities afforded by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The aging population is a …

Digital Intervention, Covid-19, And Critical Realism: Toward A Science Of Digital Social Work, Antonio López Peláez, Chaime Marcuello Servós

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The COVID-19 pandemic has sped up the pace of the digital transition process in which we have been immersed. In a context of generalized lockdown, our organizations have been forced to go digital and many of the activities social workers perform must now be done remotely. As a result, e-social work, or digital social work, has gone from being an emerging specialization to a critical specialty across organizations and activities. In this article, we examine some basic scientific and methodological foundations to develop a science of social work from the perspective of critical realism, with special attention to digitalization. Establishing …

An Introduction To The Special Issue, Antonio López Peláez, Héctor Luis Díaz, Chaime Marcuello Servós, Joaquín Castillo De Mesa

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

No abstract provided.

Poverty Simulation, Jennifer Gray

Journal of Interdisciplinary Graduate Research

The School of Social Work at Southern Adventist University has been working alongside the Chattanooga Police Department studying the interactions between police and the communities they serve. This research has led to the question of how law enforcement officers (in Chattanooga) are treating impoverished people of color. Literature suggests that there are not any evidence based interventions to improve the way professionals treat individuals in such circumstances, especially in the law enforcement industry. In a few instances, poverty simulations have been shown to build more empathy and understanding for individuals. The School of Social Work has conducted three simulations that …

Fidelity Monitoring In The Solution Focused Wellness For Hiv (Sfwh) Intervention For Women, Helen Taylor Yates, Spencer Elise Lee

Journal of Solution Focused Practices

Solution Focused methods are often interpreted by different practitioners with a degree of flexibility and adaptation to specific practice settings (Lehmann & Patton, 2012). This flexibility is one of the features that makes SFBT a very client-centered approach and has been highlighted as one of the key aspects of successful co-construction of desired outcomes with clients (Franklin et al., 2017). This collaborative approach is possible due to SFBT’s utilization of social constructionist principals in the solution-building process (Blundo & Simon, 2015). While encouraging flexibility of implementation of SFBT, identifying the main tenets of the therapy, including specific techniques and mindsets …

Leave No Trace, Willful Unknowing, And Implications From The Ethics Of Sustainability For Solution-Focused Practice Outdoors, Stephan Natynczuk, Will W. Dobud

Journal of Solution Focused Practices

Taking talking therapy outdoors is becoming increasingly popular, especially gaining traction in response to COVID restrictions on what can be done face-to-face indoors, and with increasing awareness of benefits from being outdoors in nature (Ewert & Davidson, 2021). In this paper, we draw on ethics of sustainability from the outdoor activity sector to look for metaphors for therapeutic practice outdoors, especially solution-focused brief therapy. We start with what is currently regarded as good practice for the preservation and conservation of the environments and habitats we frequent. We then develop these tenets of ethics, such as Leave No Trace, as metaphors …

Ethnic Variations In Levels Of Conventional Bonding Among Different Black Adolescents In The United States: Implications For Behavioral Resilience, Shantol Mcintosh, Sherri Simmons-Horton, Frank Barnes

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

The quantitative study offers a description of how Caribbean-descended and African American adolescents in a national sample compare on strands of Hirschi’s conventional bond in terms of deviance and justice system involvement. Using a sample of 1,141 adolescents from the National Survey of American Life-Adolescent data, these groups were compared with tests of significance. The results indicate that belief and attachment are the most significant predictors of justice system contact. While Caribbean youth reported more deviance, this was not predictive of more justice system involvement than African Americans. Explanations for these findings and practice implications are offered.

The Overrepresentation Of Youth With Disabilities In The Juvenile Justice System, Keidra Mcgriff

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

This paper discusses the contributing factors and effects of youth[VD(1] with disabilities in the juvenile justice system. The disabilities discussed will be those of social, emotional, learning, and behavioral; presenting disconnections between these children, youth, educational system, and juvenile justice system. [VD(2] The juvenile justice system encompasses youth with behavior attributed to their disability that has been criminalized and thereby labeled as a delinquent. A juvenile delinquent is defined as "a minor who…commits anti-social or criminal acts, like vandalism or violence" (Dictionary.com, 2016). Such behavior could be disorderly conduct or temper tantrums that is criminalized as assault or general …

Miami-Dade County Status Offenders: A Literature Review Of Punishment And Rehabilitation Of Youth, Colette B. Harris

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

The number of juveniles in detention centers has decreased across the United States. Although overall incarceration rates of juveniles in Miami-Dade County have declined, the number of youths at risk for delinquent activity and the number of girls in detention centers has increased. In the last nine years, Florida legislators have created laws to eliminate zero-tolerance policies in county schools, lessened the punishment role of law enforcement officers for in-school behaviors, as well as minimized the presence of law enforcement officers on school grounds. Although Miami-Dade County has been a part of the reformation of the Florida juvenile justice system, …

Severe Emotional And Behavioral Problems: Barriers For Texas Youth Accessing Mental Health Court Programs, Justin Joseph

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

Conduct disorder is a constellation of continuous emotional and behavioral problems observed in children and adolescents, which may involve violent and non-violent antisocial behaviors. The symptomology of this psychological disorder includes: disregarding rules without clear reason, cruel or aggressive behavior toward people or animals (e.g., bullying, fighting, using dangerous weapons, forcing sexual activity, and stealing), skipping school, excessive substance use, pathological lying, manipulation, running away, and vandalism (American Psychiatric Association (APA), 2013). Texas Juvenile Mental Health Courts are designed to reduce the number of detained youth, divert at-risk children, maintain community safety, and utilize multidisciplinary approaches to treat conduct disordered …

Right Against Self-Incrimination: Revealing The Mental Health History Of Justice-Involved Youth, Sesha Kethineni, Colette B. Harris

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

In the last two decades, the juvenile justice system has focused on the early identification of youth mental health to provide timely assessment and needed treatment. However, there are potential risks in divulging youth mental health status because the information is often made available to juvenile courts and probation departments. Many state statutes allow such information to be used in the admission of guilt, adjudication, and dispositional phases. The study reviewed state and federal statutes related to protections against self-incrimination of youth at eight different stages of the juvenile justice system. A systematic content analysis of secondary sources and legislative …

Migrant Misconceptions: A Review Of Literature On National Heritage, Immigration Status, And Juvenile Offending, Serita Whiting

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

In 2020, the Pew Research Center reported over 40 million Latinx adults are immigrants and nearly 23% are U.S.-born adult children of immigrant parents. Some rhetoric that surrounds immigration is indicative of crime, criminals, and the need to build a wall to protect the U.S. border from migrant crossing. In the U.S., immigration policies apply a 'securitized' approach to criminal law enforcement involving Latinos. However, criminological literature indicates immigrants do not pose any more of a threat towards crime than a natural-born citizen. Continued research should be completed to better understand differences among immigrant youth compared to native-born Latino youth.

"We Had To Rely On Each Other": Voices Of Latinx Foster Youth With Experiences In Care With Siblings, Isabella B. Ginsberg

PSU McNair Scholars Online Journal

Relationships between members of sibling groups have been found to impact well-being for children who enter foster care (Herrick & Piccus, 2005). Being placed in stranger foster care is often challenging and can be traumatic with children reporting confusion, worry, and loss of identity and sense of belonging (Herrick & Piccus, 2005, Unrau et al, 2008). While there is some research that explores the experiences of siblings groups in foster care and others separately that examines Latinx children in foster care, there is very little information that looks into the potentially unique experiences of Latinx individuals who were in care …

Testing A Wellness Indicators Measure For People With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Matthew Bogenschutz, Michael Broda, Sarah Lineberry, Parthenia Dinora, Seb Prohn

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Background and Purpose: People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) often have health and wellness issues that are not as good as people without disabilities. States are required to monitor health and wellness for people with IDD who use many disability services. However, there are few ways to monitor wellness between states or at different points in time. In this study, we share a new model that states may use to monitor wellness of people with IDD.

Methods: We used data from a survey called the National Core Indicators (NCI) to develop this model. First, we developed the model using …

Advance Care Planning Within Individualized Care Plans: A Component Of Emergency Preparedness, Heather L. Church, Christina Marsack-Topolewski, Jacqueline M. Mcginley, Victoria Knoke

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Federally-legislated Medicaid requirements for recipients with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD) to have a person-centered plan (PCP) do not specifically require that advanced care plans (ACP) be a component of the plan. However, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has provided a salient reminder of the importance of incorporating ACP within the PCP for people who have IDD. As demonstrated by situations arising from COVID-19, emergencies and crises can dramatically alter access to care for people with IDD. This paper synthesizes results from an environmental scan related to ACP for adults with IDD. Findings suggest that the use of ACP, particularly when …

2020 Membership Profile Of The Financial Therapy Association, Kristy L. Archuleta, Malika Dhakhwa

Journal of Financial Therapy

The Financial Therapy Association (FTA) periodically releases a report of the state of its membership. This report is from membership data collected in 2020 as a follow-up to the 2011 and 2013 reports. Since the 2013 report, FTA developed a code of ethics and professional certification. The current report highlights differences in membership characteristics and perspectives of financial therapy and the developing field and profession.

Ameliorating Stress And Burnout Among Professionals Who Work With Migrants And Refugees, Mark Lusk, Samuel Terrazas

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

Professionals and volunteers who work with refugees and forced migrants experience burnout and secondary stress as a result of exposure to the trauma and adversities confronted by their clients. A pilot project aimed at reducing these problems through the use of group discussion, sharing, guided movement, relaxation techniques, and mindfulness was found to reduce burnout and secondary traumatic stress among participants.

"I Now Feel More Comfortable Advocating For People:" Student Reflections On Service Learning, Elissa Thomann Mitchell, Erin E. Gilles

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

To provide meaningful experiential learning activities for students outside of the classroom, many social work programs are including service learning as a curricular component. Indeed, research shows that service learning is a widespread practice in higher education across academic majors. This study uses qualitative data from from 34 students in two sections of a master’s-level social work course to explore student experiences with service learning. Major themes from the students’ data are presented here. Students reported both liking and being challenged by the freedom to tailor their own experiences, described developing new skills, reported being able to apply course content/learn …

Staffs’ Perceptions Of Sensory-Based Interventions At An Inpatient Hospital: A Case Study, Anthony Zazzarino, Francine Bates, Janet Vlavianos, Aaron Levitt

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

The purpose of this phenomenological, case study is to understand the role of sensory-based interventions and their impact on a single facility on the west coast of the United States. Data was collected from 15 participants using a semi-structured interview and followed a thematic data analysis process, ensuring thematic saturation. The results of this study highlighted major themes regarding the impact of sensory based interventions. This study continues to add to the literature base, supporting sensory-based interventions as an alternative modality to treat individuals with a mental illness. Continuing to understand sensory interventions and its impact on mental health recovery …

Time To Throw Away The Old Economic Development Playbook, Hrishue Mahalaha

eJournal of Public Affairs

Rural communities are struggling to establish a sound economic footing in the age of globalization. The article suggests that community leaders consider a more expansive view on how to recraft a community north star. Based on the work that the author has conducted over the last 5 years in various rural communities in Missouri, the article also summarizes a set of key learnings and practical steps that local leaders can take to catalyze positive change.

A Systematic Review Of Literature: Synthesizing Bullying And Extracurricular Activity Participation Correlations Among Students With And Without Disabilities, Kaycee L. Bills

Journal of Research Initiatives

Social issues about bully victimization are a topic receiving national attention in social work literature. Therefore, social workers must establish potential predictors of bullying victimization to eliminate them among at-risk populations, such as students who have disabilities. Adolescent and teenage students with disabilities are an oppressed population at risk of experiencing higher levels of bullying victimization. In addition, this population also experiences harsher socio-emotional outcomes because of bullying.

The purpose of this study was to synthesize past literature relating to the direct relationship between extracurricular involvement and bullying victimization. Research articles were retrieved across eight databases to assess past research …

Transformative Potential Of Peer-Research: Connecting Theory With Practice, Lea Caragata, Jen Vasic

The Qualitative Report

In this article, we report on follow-up research to the “Lone Mothers: Building Social Inclusion” project, a cross-Canada study which utilized a Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology to investigate the experiences of single mothers on social assistance in a changing socio-political context. We analyzed the study’s peer-interviewing approach in detail. Findings suggest that PAR theory was applied in the Lone Mothers project in ways that cultivated and sustained authentic relationships, contributed to individual and social change, and minimized hierarchy. The effects of this commitment to the epistemology and values of PAR led to a non-linear and organic research process yielding …