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.

The Early Good News About Child Development Accounts, Sondra G. Beverly, Margaret Clancy, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

This brief summary of early research findings from the SEED for Oklahoma Kids experiment may help Child Development Account (CDA) proponents communicate the value of such accounts to policymakers, educators and others.

Policy Update: Federal And State Legislation To Support Grandfamilies, Ana Beltran

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

Building on the progress of the last 20 years, helpful federal and state legislation continues to be pursued on behalf of grandfamilies. This update summarizes policy efforts during the last year and looks ahead to what is on the horizon. At the federal level, legislative efforts are focused on grandfamilies who are involved with the child welfare system. States are responding to federal activity by enacting policies to place more children with relatives and better serve grandfamilies who come into contact with the system, including “family finding” laws and including fictive kin as “relatives.” State policymakers are also striving to …

I Didn't Consent To That: Secondary Analysis Of Discrimination Against Bdsm Identified Individuals, Larry Iannotti

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Sadomasochism (BDSM) sexual behavior is an understudied phenomenon within the social sciences generally, and social work in particular. While BESM sexuality encompasses a wide variety of activities a community of individuals interested in BDSM is identifiable and has coalesced around organized groups, events, political activism, and shared sexual interests. This community has experienced discrimination, violence, and harassment (DVH) as a result of social approbation and stigma associated with BDSM practices. The study examines results of a secondary analysis of data from the Survey of Violence & Discrimination against Sexual Minorities, conducted in 2008. Severity and frequency of various types …

Social Challenges And Policy Innovations By Social Workers In Australia, Manohar Pawar

Center for Social Development Research

By summarizing the social challenges in the contemporary Australian context, this article aims to discuss policy innovations by Australian social workers. Acknowledging that the concept of policy innovation is broad and sometimes ambiguous, it looks at four examples by social workers. Drawing on secondary data analysis, it discusses how social workers played an important role in introducing legislative changes/amendments to protect children in difficult circumstances, resisted a refugee policy that incarcerates innocent children, challenged and changed procedures and policies within an organization, and influenced policymakers to revert budgetary decisions to enhance access to services. These examples show the social workers’ …

Where Are All The Services?: An Administrators Perspective On Homeless Services In Western Riverside County, Sarah Crane

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The focus of this study was to better understand the state of homeless services in Western Riverside County’s unincorporated areas and cities. Though various services are available to the homeless in these areas, the distance between the appropriate services and some residential parts of the county can be vast. This study sought to obtain an understanding from the administrators of homeless services providers on the deficiencies in services across the county, striving to understand where and what type of increased services are needed.

This study used a qualitative research design. Data were collected from nine homeless service administrators from around …

Experiences Of Lgsws In Working With Sex Workers, Megan A. Week

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

There are various factors that influence the lives of sex workers, especially as they are trying to exit sex work. Frequently these factors lead these women to interact with social workers. The purpose of this project was to examine the experiences and preparedness/comfort level of LGSWs in working with sex workers. It also examined the perceived barriers to exiting sex work. Using a mixed methods survey, 61 LGSWs in Minnesota were surveyed about their preparedness to work with this population and their beliefs about the barriers to exiting. Data were analyzed using both descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. The findings …

Research Summary: Testing Universal College Savings Accounts At Birth: Early Research From Seed For Oklahoma Kids, Sondra G. Beverly, Margaret M. Clancy, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

SEED for Oklahoma Kids is a large-scale policy test of automatic and progressive Child Development Accounts (CDAs), and it is the first truly universal model in the United States. The SEED OK CDA is universal in that it opens an Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan (OK 529) account on behalf of every infant in the treatment group. This report summarizes key findings and conclusions from SEED for Oklahoma Kids research. Even at this early stage, SEED OK research is informing policy and the design of college savings plans at the state level. Amore recent summary of SEED OK research is …

Automatic Deposits For All At Birth: Maine's Harold Alfond College Challenge, Margaret M. Clancy, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

The first statewide Child Development Account (CDA) in the United States announced a major change in strategy to automatically enroll all newborns. Evidence from CDA research has contributed to the decision by the College Challenge to remove its original opt-in requirement—in which parents must enroll their newborns in the state’s 529 college savings plan to receive a $500 grant—in favor of universal enrollment—in which every child is enrolled automatically at birth with a $500 grant.

Building A Lifetime Of Economic Security: Mobilizing For Change, Center For Social Development

Center for Social Development Research

Building a Lifetime of Economic Security: Mobilizing for Change

Put Him In Grandma's House: Investigating Variation In Kinship Policy And Procedure Across Ohio's County-Based Child Welfare System, Andreja M. Siliunas

Senior Independent Study Theses

Since 1980, the U.S. child welfare system has exhibited an increasing reliance upon kinship caregivers as a resource for children who have been removed from the homes of their birthparents due to allegations of abuse or neglect. Literature suggests that agencies differ considerably in their treatment of kinship care providers; however, limited research has been conducted examining the causes and implications of this variation, especially in the case of Ohio’s county-based system. The current study thus aims to define the distinguishing characteristics of kinship policies and procedures of child welfare agencies across Ohio, and to consider the impact of various …

Identifying Appropriate Sanctions For Youth Sexual Behavior: The Impact Of Age, Gender, And Sexual Orientation, Erin B. Comartin, Poco D. Kernsmith, Roger M. Kernsmith

Social Work Faculty Publications

Although statutory rape laws were initially developed to protect youth from coercion by adults, youth are sometimes also prosecuted under these laws. This article investigates public attitudes regarding sanctions for youth engaging in sexual behaviors with peers. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to determine if age and gender of the offending youth, and sexual orientation of the relationship,has an impact on the public's level of agreement for sanctioning youth for three types of sexual behavior: intercourse, oral sex, or touching. The study participants (N= 757) were drawn from the general population of adult Michigan residents; the sample was racially representative …

Bridging The Justice Gap: Exploring Approaches For Improving Indigent Access To Civil Counsel, Kelsey Atkinson

Pomona Senior Theses

The United States is among one of the only democratic industrialized nations in the world that does not provide guaranteed access to civil representation in cases involving basic human need. This leaves indigent litigants who are at risk of losing their homes or their children left to seek counsel through insufficient pro-bono programs or limited scope legal self-help centers. This thesis provides a history of the struggle for the right to civil counsel, known as Civil Gideon, and explores a variety of proposed solutions to bridge the justice gap for indigent litigants. Despite considerable support for Civil Gideon among scholars …

Correlates Of Job Burnout Among Human Services Workers: Implications For Workforce Retention, Madhavappallil Thomas, Vandana Kohli, Jong Choi

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Job burnout has impacted workers and negatively transformed the social agency and its clients. This study examined the correlates of job burnout among human service workers in a non-urban setting in Central California. Using a convenience sample, researchers collected responses from 288 participants on a 13 item burnout scale. Findings indicated that workers experienced moderate to high levels of job burnout. Several scale items, including caseload size, age, gender, education, and experience, were significantly correlated with burnout. In addition, regression analyses revealed that caseload size was the most significant predictor of job burnout among human service workers. Implications for workforce …

Legalization Of Medical Marijuana In Minnesota: Implications For Rural Substance Treatment Centers, Ann Przybilla

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this project was to identify the anticipated impacts of legalization of medical marijuana (cannabis) in Minnesota on rural substance abuse treatment center professionals. The goal is to utilize the implications of those impacts to guide the implementation of the recently passed legislation and to provide recommendations for future policy regarding medical marijuana in Minnesota.

“IʼM A Leader Of All Of Them To Tell The Truth”: Participatory Action Principles For Uplifting Social Work Research Partnersʼ Identities, Katherine Mccrea

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

Identity, understood from many vantage points, is continually evolving based on relationship experiences, including those relationships established in social and behavioral research. Whether rendered anonymous in large quantitatively-studied samples, or intimately known in qualitative studies, those contributing to science in a role termed “subject” receive, through the research, definitions of their identities. Because those identities are part of published social research, identities created in the research process become part of the public discourse about persons in the “subjects’” situations, and also influence policies that in turn influence persons’ lives. For their part, the identities of social and behavioral researchers also …