Social Work Commons^™

Adults With Intellectual Disability Or Autism Spectrum Disorder. Executive Summary, Kimberly I. Snow Mhsa, Ba, Stuart Bratesman Mpp, Taryn Bowe, Julie T. Fralich Mba

Disability & Aging

This chartbook describes Maine’s historical trends in meeting the needs of adults with ID/ASD through institutional and community based services in comparison to other states; a detailed analysis of the population’s utilization of different types of services and their costs in SFY 2010; the implementation of the Supports Intensity Scale (SIS) as a means of identifying the supports needs of the adults with ID/ASD; and the complement of providers serving this population in Maine.

Ending Poverty In Mongolia: From Socialism To Social Development, Richard J. Smith

Social Work Faculty Publications

While recent literature on social welfare has included Asian countries, less is known about low-income and former socialist countries in Central Asia. This article combines a documentary-historical method with a value-critical approach to analyze Mongolia’s social policy response to poverty. Mongolia is unique in Asia because it transformed from nomadic pastoralism to socialism without a phase of capitalist industrial development. The case study found that Mongolia lost social welfare when it transitioned from socialism, a statist model, to market liberalism and multiparty democracy. In the 21st century, Mongolia has been aspiring to promote social development by redirecting mining revenues to …

Universities Need To Do More To Prevent Heterosexism To Support Lgb Students’ Academic Success, M.R. Woodford

Clear Language Summaries

Heterosexism can affect lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) students’ academic success. Peer-group support and general faculty support do not protect students from the impacts of heterosexism, but is still important. To prevent poor academic outcomes, campuses must have spaces in which students feel safe to come out and heterosexism needs to be eliminated on campus.

Development And Validation Of An Instrument To Assess Imminent Risk Of Homelessness Among Veterans, Ann Elizabeth Montgomery, Jamison Fargo, Vincent Kane, Dennis P. Culhane

Dennis P. Culhane

Conditional Cash Transfers, Community, And Empowerment Of Women In Colombia, Harlan Downs-Tepper

21st Century Social Justice

In 2001, the Colombian government initiated an experiment in poverty alleviation called Familias en Acción. This conditional cash transfer (CCT) program takes a novel approach to poverty reduction by addressing short- and long-term factors contributing to poverty. Though Colombia’s CCT program is just one of a wave of similar initiatives, its unique context and unexpected social effects, beyond the primary intentions of program designers, differentiate it from other such programs. Drawing on 200 interviews and focus group discussions which he conducted with academic experts, program beneficiaries and program administrators in three Colombian cities, the author finds that an unexpected …

Focal Point, Volume 28, Portland State University. Regional Research Institute

Research and Training Center - Focal Point

Between one–third and one–half of young adults with mental health challenges have co-occurring substance use issues. This issue of Focal Point examines treatments and supports for this population.

A Bottom-Up Definition Of Self-Sufficiency: Voices From Low-Income Jobseekers., Philip Young P. Hong, Vamadu A. Sheriff, Sandra R. Naeger

Philip Hong

Self-sufficiency (SS) is the epitome of America’s ‘reluctant’welfare state. It is generally accepted in social welfare policycircles as a concept related to independence and financialstability. Nevertheless, SS is not a term agreed upon inpractice by policymakers, researchers, or service providersand is frequently used without a clear common definition.In this sense, the purpose of this study is to explore the extentto which the top-down definition of ‘economic’ SS as thesocial policy goal is consistent with how the clients of job training programs perceive the term. Using a groundedtheory approach, a bottom-up definition of SS was derivedfrom a focus group of low-income …

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 …

Negotiating Invisibility: Addressing Lgbt Prejudice In China, Hong Kong, And Thailand, Hunter Gray

Master's Capstone Projects

This research serves as a consolidation of information regarding the global response to LGBT prejudice, and in particular, the response of organizations situated in China, Hong Kong, and Thailand. Interviews with activists and researchers from organizations that address LGBT prejudice served as the main form of data. Findings and subsequent analysis point to the ways in which organizations respond to the lack of visibility of the LGBT community, and how this invisibility is related to various manifestations of LGBT prejudice. Strategies that organizations have developed to respond to LGBT prejudice reveal how organizations negotiate contextual variables in their attempts to …

Combating Autism Reauthorization Act Of 2014, Kassandra Mores

Policy Analysis

On May 9, 2014, Representative Smith (R-NJ) and Representative Doyle (D-PA) introduced a bill to reauthorize the Combating Autism Act (H.R. 4631) for five years. Senator Menendez (D-NJ) and Senator Enzi (R-WY) are planning to introduce a Senate bill of the Combating Autism Reauthorization Act. The Combating Autism Act of 2011, due to sunset September 30, 2014, provides federal funding for autism research, public education, and early detection and intervention in Maine. We are hoping that you will consider voting in support of the Combating Autism Reauthorization Act.

E-Advocacy In Human Services, Lauri Goldkind

Social Service Faculty Publications

E-advocacy, or the constellation of electronic tools used for policy advocacy, offer cost-effective approaches for engaging constituents to create social change. Providers of human services may face challenges when trying to implement these tools. While many electronic tools have low barriers for entry, other factors may inhibit their use in agencies. This article explores the organizational characteristics related to the use of electronic advocacy strategies. Based on a survey of nonprofit executives, the study uses path modeling to describe the connections between organizational characteristics and the use of electronic advocacy tools. Implications of these findings are discussed.

E-Advocacy In Human Services: The Impact Of Organizational Conditions And Characteristics On Electronic Advocacy Activities Among Nonprofits, Lauri Goldkind

Social Service Faculty Publications

E-advocacy, or the constellation of electronic tools used for policy advocacy, offer cost-effective approaches for engaging constituents to create social change. Providers of human services may face challenges when trying to implement these tools. While many electronic tools have low barriers for entry, other factors may inhibit their use in agencies. This article explores the organizational characteristics related to the use of electronic advocacy strategies. Based on a survey of nonprofit executives, the study uses path modeling to describe the connections between organizational characteristics and the use of electronic advocacy tools. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Institutionalization Of Children In The Czech Republic: A Case Of Path Dependency, Victoria Schmidt, Jo Daugherty Bailey

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Despite the development of alternative forms of care, international and domestic pressures for change, and over 20 years of efforts at deinstitutionalization, the Czech Republic has one of the highest rates of institutionalization of children in Europe (UNICEF, 2012). The continuing reliance upon residential care for children by the child protection system, particularly for children who are disabled or of Roma descent, demonstrates a case of path dependency in which a solidification of the system’s response is rooted in its past. Understanding the impact of historical precedence is key to reforming the current system.

State Child Welfare Policy: Causes And Consequences, Dana D. Connelly

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

On any given day almost 400,000 children in the United States are living in an out-of-home care placement due to government intervention. Federal law allows for substantial variance in state child welfare policy on a number of topics. These policy decisions, however, are understudied both in terms of the forces driving them and also the impacts the policies have on actual outcomes for children in care.

Utilizing a unique panel data set comprised of thirteen child welfare policies that vary both between states and over time we examine how well redistributive theory (constituent, institutional, paternalistic and resource pressures) explains state …

Pathologies Of The Poor: What Do The War On Drugs And Welfare Reform Have In Common?, Kalynn Amundson, Anna M. Zajicek, Valerie H. Hunt

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) authorized drug testing of welfare recipients as a criterion for assistance eligibility. This raises the question of a possible confluence of War on Drugs and Welfare Reform policies, as indicated by continuity in policymakers’ rhetoric. We examine federal-level policymakers’ debates surrounding the authorization of drug testing welfare recipients. The analysis reveals that themes of social pathology were present in both policy areas. Crime, drug addiction, welfare dependency, and drug testing themes are comparable in both debates. Teen pregnancy, out-of-wedlock birth, and female-headed households themes were more prevalent in Welfare …

Protocol For Culturally Responsive Organizations, Ann Curry-Stevens, Marie-Elena Reyes, Coalition Of Communities Of Color

Center to Advance Racial Equity Publications and Reports

Communities of color have long been marginalized in mainstream service delivery – invisible in terms of their access to resources and services, the adequacy of such services, and in the types of interventions available to members of the community. When available, organizations have been ripe with inequitable outcomes. Today, greater attention to racial equity exists, with local leaders of color having been able to leverage influence to ensure that stronger accountability exists among mainstream organizations in terms of how well communities of color are served, with heightened emphasis on the cultural responsiveness of the entire organization. At the request of …

Protocol For Culturally Responsive Organizations: Literature Review And Standards For Performance, Marie-Elena Reyes, Ann Curry-Stevens

Center to Advance Racial Equity Publications and Reports

At the request of the Coalition of Communities of Color, the Center to Advance Racial Equity (CARE) was asked to assist in the development of a Protocol for Culturally Responsive Organizations (also called the Protocol) that it would use to improve the quality of services available to communities of color in mainstream health and human services. To achieve this, we have researched the literature available that provides evidence of the effectiveness of various interventions. Priority has been given to the literatures on culturally-responsive service delivery (which has been thin) and culturally-competent services (which while abundantly written about, relatively little exists …