Social Work Commons^™

The Seed For Oklahoma Kids Child Development Account Experiment: Accounts, Assets, Earnings, And Savings, Sondra G. Beverly, Margaret M. Clancy, Jin Huang, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

This brief presents the latest results from SEED for Oklahoma Kids, a pathbreaking randomized experiment to test the effects of automatic, universal, and progressive Child Development Accounts (CDAs) in a statewide sample. Key features of the CDA are automatic opening of a 529 account and an automatic initial $1,000 deposit. The results show that CDAs with automatic deposits invested in a 529 plan may enable children to accumulate meaningful levels of assets over time, even if their families do not contribute to the accounts. As the brief indicates, the new results also have key implications for public policy.

Evaluation Of The Demographics, Socioeconomics, And Satisfaction Levels Of Recipients At A Rural Food Bank, Michael J. Lyman Msw, Ph.D., Jeongah Seo Bsw

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

The present study assesses the demographics, socioeconomics, behaviors, environment, and satisfaction of food bank clients as a way to inform food bank administrators about where their services could be more efficiently focused. Unfortunately, very little has been published in the research literature about levels of recipient satisfaction at food banks in any settings, but especially in rural settings. This descriptive study used existing demographic and socioeconomic data from intake forms at a rural food bank, in addition to the responses of a convenience sample of 44 foodbank recipients to the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8). The data were used to assess …

Impacts Of Financial Inclusion On Youth Development: Findings From The Ghana Youthsave Experiment, Gina Chowa, Rainier Masa, David Ansong, Mat Despard, Shiyou Wu, Deborah Hughes, Isaac Osei-Akoto, Stephanie Afranie, Naa Adjorkor Mark-Sowah, Charles Ofori-Acquah, Yungsoo Lee, Lissa Johnson, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

The Ghana YouthSave Experiment investigated whether and how youth savings accounts affect financial capability; psychosocial, education, and health outcomes; and economic well-being of Ghanaian youth and their households. The research rigor in the Ghana experiment is unprecedented in resource-limited countries; therefore, it offers an opportunity to posit causal relationships between savings and youth development. This endline report, which comes three years after the baseline report, describes the Ghana experiment and presents experimental findings of YouthSave. The key research questions this report aims to answer is whether the Ghana experiment improved (1) savings patterns and performance for low-income youth; (2) low-income …

Beliefs About The Effects Of Children Witnessing Domestic Violence Among Title Iv-E Students, Lawanda Robinson, Ramon Enrique Suarez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study analyzed the beliefs about the effects of children witnessing domestic violence among Title IV-E students at California State University San Bernardino. The study sample consists of eight Title IV-E students with at least one year of experience working in child welfare. Utilizing knowledge gained from various studies an instrument was developed to interview participants. In analyzing the responses, six core themes emerged as dominant beliefs about the effects of children witnessing domestic violence. Respondents indicated that mental illness, parental attachment, improving treatment, negative effects, external behaviors, and coping mechanisms are issues to consider when discussing the effects of …

Custodial Grandmothers Raising Children With Disabilities And The Stressors They Face, Kanika Oni Kisero

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Stressors that custodial grandmothers face while raising children with disabilities can be more overwhelming compared to stressors experienced by grandmothers of non-disabled children. Strategies and various supports were looked into in order to determine how custodial grandmothers practice self-care so they may experience positive mental health outcomes. A purposive sample of custodial grandmothers was surveyed and the results obtained provided some support on how self-care is and is not practiced in order to manage stress. This study resulted in non-significant findings, which did not support the hypotheses. Additional analysis was used to gauge levels of stress, but could not …

Reducing Stress And Increasing Hope Among Typhoon Yolanda Survivors, Maria Victoria Del Fierro, Mary Elizabeth Huxster

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Hundreds of thousands of people are affected by natural disasters every year. Many of these people face mental and emotional consequences from the traumatic experience. Research indicates that the aftereffects of such experiences can result in social, familial, and educational impairments in children. The current study tested the efficacy of a brief cognitive behavioral intervention on elementary school aged children intended to alleviate the mental and emotional consequences following a natural disaster. The study applied quantitative methods through pre and post intervention assessments measuring stress and hope. The participants assessed included 18 Filipino children between the ages of 10-12 years, …

Head Start Family Financial Capability: 2013–2014 Annual Report Of The Asset Project, Jami Curley, Anne S. Robertson

Center for Social Development Research

Head Start Family Financial Capability: 2013–2014 Annual Report of the Asset Project

Caregivers’ Perceptions Of Day Treatment Programs, Julie Lochen

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

This paper addresses the mental health concerns of millions of children across the United States; especially those with diagnosis of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. This researcher used a qualitative research design to obtain the perceptions of caregivers who have children placed in day treatment programs. This researcher used an exploratory design with action research theory. Action research theory was used in the hopes that clinicians would empower clients, caregivers, and families. The researcher used an open-ended interview technique to collect data through a qualitative questionnaire with participants, lasting about 15 minutes. The questions that were asked pertained to the perceptions …

Perceived Effectiveness Of Group Therapy In Elementary School Settings With Children Experiencing Parental Divorce, Jennifer L. Kronenberg

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

This research explored the perceived effectiveness of group work for children experiencing parental divorce in elementary school settings. This research collected qualitative data from eight school social workers in the state of Minnesota. The workers ranged in years of practice, licensure level and size of district. This research found that immediacy of intervention, length and time in group, closed membership and varied activities all greatly contributed to overall effectiveness. In addition, this research found noteworthy effectiveness including positive emotional and behavioral outcomes, emotional expression, increased self-esteem and identified positive supports. The findings of this research did not support the involvement …

Parents Perceptions Of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Katelyn Retaskie

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

This study examines the parents of children with autism spectrum disorder perspectives on the initial diagnosis. This research is of qualitative design in which four mothers of children with autism were asked a series of interview questions. The results indicate an emotional impact on not only the mothers, but the family as a whole. In addition the results indicate a need for more education around the topic of autism itself. Implications for social work indicate a need for change at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels.

The Commonalities And Shared Experiences Of Female Prostitutes Who Were Sexually Exploited As Children: The Perspectives Of Clinical Social Workers, Heather Wilmes

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LICSW) provide services to vulnerable populations. As the number of sexually exploited women in Minnesota and the United States grows, so does the number of women needing services from social workers. It is important that LICSWs understand the population of women who have engaged in prostitution that were victims of sexual exploitation as children. If LICSWs are knowledgeable about the commonalities and shared experiences of the women they serve, they may be able to identify common risk factors and provide appropriate services. This research study sought to identify the commonalities and shared experiences of female prostitutes …

Beyond Ferguson: Empowering Low-Income People To Build The Future Of Their Communities, Dorothy Stoneman

Center for Social Development Research

Beyond Ferguson: Empowering Low-Income People to Build the Future of Their Communities

To Those Who Know A Hurting Child, Tara Boer

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Current research tells us that kids who witness or experience hard things actually lose some ability to make good choices. It’s not that they won’t or don’t want to make the good choice…sometimes they just can’t. When kids are chronically exposed to trauma the part of their brain that helps them with language, flexibility, and mood regulation actually shrinks. ... The good news is that God made our brains so thoughtfully that they can actually grow and change."

Posting about children and trauma and what we can do about it from In All Things - an online hub committed to …

(Un)Safe At School: Parents' Work Of Securing Nursing Care And Coordinating School Health Support Services Delivery For Children With Diabetes In Ontario Schools, Lisa Watt

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Using institutional ethnography and its approach to mapping institutional sequences (Smith, 2005; Turner, 2006), this paper examines the social organization of School Health Support Services (SHSS) for children with diabetes in Ontario schools. The inquiry starts with my own situated experience as a mother of a child with diabetes starting kindergarten, and the trouble of securing the health supports necessary to care for my child’s health and safety while she is at school. The paper takes up two specific texts—the Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) Referral Form and the CCAC Medical Orders for Services at School—to explore and describe how …

Teaching Is So Weird, David F. Lancy

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Direct active teaching by parents is largely absent in children’s lives until the rise of WEIRD (Western, educated, industrialized rich, democratic) society. However, as mothers become schooled and missionized – like Kline’s Fijian subjects – they adopt “modern” parenting practices, including teaching. There is great variability, even within WEIRD society, of parental teaching, suggesting that teaching itself must be culturally transmitted.

Playing With Knives: The Socialization Of Self-Initiated Learners, David F. Lancy

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Since Margaret Mead's field studies in the South Pacific a century ago, there has been the tacit understanding that as culture varies, so too must the socialization of children to become competent culture users and bearers. More recently, the work of anthropologists has been mined to find broader patterns that may be common to childhood across a range of societies. One improbable commonality has been the tolerance, even encouragement, of toddler behavior that is patently risky, such as playing with or attempting to use a sharp-edged tool. This laissez faire approach to socialization follows from a reliance on children as …

Children As A Reserve Labor Force, David F. Lancy

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Human life history is unique in the great length of the juvenile or immature period. The lengthened period is often attributed to the time required for youth to master the culture, particularly subsistence and survival skills. But an increasing number of studies show that children become skilled well before they gain complete independence and the status of adults. It seems, as they learn through play and participation in the domestic economy, children are acquiring a “reserve capacity” of skills and knowledge, which they may not fully employ for many years. The theory offered here to resolve this paradox poses that, …