Social Work Commons^™

Qualitative Study Exploring The Risk Factors Of Burnout: Pennsylvania Social Work Professionals In Child Welfare, Nicole Ukaegbu

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

Burnout is a concern that impacts many professionals in the workplace. This study focused on the risk factors of burnout for social work professionals in Pennsylvania’s child welfare industry. The study was conducted with 10 professionals at children and youth services (CYS) agencies in Pennsylvania, where each of the professionals were interviewed to gain perspective on the problem of burnout. This study used a qualitative approach and was rooted in grounded theory to unravel the findings.

Four risk factor themes, nine risk factor subthemes, and two additional findings themes were generated during the data analysis process. Findings from the 10 …

Social Work Supervision Education: Pennsylvania Social Workers Reflect On Education And Supervisory Competence, Morgan Ann Daugherty

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

Supervision is an essential component of social work education and ongoing professional development for those employed at all levels of practice, having been identified as a protective factor against compassion fatigue, burnout, and secondary trauma. Supervision education encompasses the direct training of students in how to be a supervisor to include knowledge, skills, and abilities of effective application. Supervision education is taught via multiple methods such as supervision education courses, supervision education embedded into the curriculum, post-degree certificate programs, continuing education coursework, including field educator training and on-the-job training. With vague competency expectations outlined by the Council on Social Work …

School Social Work And Autism Competency: A Mixed-Methods Assessment Of Pennsylvania School Social Workers, Jami Imhof

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder which currently affects 1 in 44 individuals in the United States. Autism manifests as symptoms that impact the areas of communication, social interaction, and behavior (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). Symptoms may create challenges in the school setting, requiring social work intervention. School social workers must be knowledgeable about autism as well as how to best support autistic students. A mixed methods study was conducted among 84 school social workers in Pennsylvania to understand current autism knowledge via an online survey. Ways in which social workers have learned about autism, as well as …

Social Work Best Practices In Schools: Effect Of Family-Focused Case Management On Rural School Students’ Success, Sheryl L. Mcklveen

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

Rural families and children have historically been challenged by a lack of public investment in their communities. Over generations, such deprivation created cycles of pervasive, persistent behavioral health and well-being disparities that negatively impact contemporary families and children, and threaten the socioeconomic future of America (Branson, 2019; Showalter et al., 2019; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.). The purpose of this dissertation was to build a model of school social work best practices employing strategies intended to break cycles of unmet needs by reducing social determinant of health (SDOH) risks in rural environments, thereby enhancing the health and …

Relational Connections For Youth Aging Out Of Foster Care: A Policy Content Analysis, Heather Miller

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

Social work professionals and policymakers are faced with the dilemma of older youth exiting foster care each year with poor outcomes, lacking resources and supports that make successful transitions a challenge. Research suggests that youth who have a supportive relationship with a consistent and trusted adult to help navigate the transition to adulthood supports a youth’s successful transition from care. The Federal John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood, initially birthed from the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 and revised through the Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018, provides states with funding and guidance …

Assessing Clinical Social Workers’ Self-Efficacy Regarding Perinatal Mental Health Disorders, Ashley Sullivan

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation sought to explore social workers’ perceived levels of knowledge, self-efficacy, and awareness of perinatal mental health. This study looked at how identifying as a parent, different social work licensures, and having additional training on perinatal mental health affect social workers' knowledge, self-efficacy, and awareness responses. Utilizing a quantitative survey, this dissertation found having additional training on perinatal mental health to have a significant impact on social workers’ knowledge, self-efficacy, and awareness.

Exploring social workers’ knowledge, self-efficacy, and awareness of perinatal mental health allows for self-reflection of one's own ability to assist this vulnerable population. Continued research in this …

Without A Village: Motherhood, Child Care And Covid-19, Bailey Higgins

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

As part of a feminist hermeneutic phenomenological study, mothers of children who had not yet entered kindergarten and who had used child care outside of the home during the COVID-19 pandemic were interviewed about their experiences of motherhood, use of child care, and COVID-19 after the US lockdown orders were lifted in late 2020. Informed by the matricentric feminist perspective, which promotes the enfranchisement of mothers, the study aimed to inform social work practice for mothers and advocacy for employed mothers of young children.

Exploring the experiences of mothers was completed by collecting narratives utilizing a semi-structured interview. Findings from …

Liberating Self: An Autoethnographic Inquiry Into Black Male Mental Health, Phillip J. Roundtree Sr., Dsw, Lcsw, Ms

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

This autoethnography offers a first-person perspective on Black male mental health experiences. It incorporates personal narratives and academic research to explore the intersectionality of race, gender, and mental health, as well as the impact of historical and contemporary systemic racism and discrimination on Black males' psychological and emotional well-being.

The Black Liberation Psychology theoretical framework and Africana Studies Conceptual framework examined how cultural norms, hip-hop culture, stigma, and societal factors, including racism, discrimination, and stereotypes about Black masculinity, shape Black male mental health experiences. The study also highlights Black males' development of coping mechanisms and resilience strategies to navigate these …

“We're Not Thriving, But We're Trying.” Exploring Undergraduate Students' Resilience During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Kelly Smith

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

Undergraduate college students found their lives upended when Covid-19 pandemic mitigation efforts mandated them to leave their school settings and continue their education on virtual platforms. Research on the pandemic and related mitigation efforts has found undergraduate students to be negatively impacted. Today’s undergraduate students are primarily made up of Generation Z who are identified as having a higher reported incidence of mental health issues and have been described as less resilient when compared to other generations. Resilience is integral to undergraduate students’ mental health and educational persistence. This study sought to explore the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on …

Social Work Experiences Of Moral Distress Amid Covid-19, Megan Tritt

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

Social work professionals often experience stressful and emotional situations while also facing organizational barriers. The social work profession is empowered by an ethical commitment to diffuse tensions that emerge between competing values in conflict. Many of these situations are complicated by ethical concerns and constraints related to the very institutions that are designed to help. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has transformed the framework through which we view ethical dilemmas and presented morally challenging dilemmas out of the control of any professional in service to people during this time. The term moral distress was popularized in the field of …

Herstory: Women And Drugs. Women In The Environment Perspective Using Meta-Ethnography, Tammy Ann Shay

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

Women are underrepresented in drug and alcohol treatment programs globally. Socio-economic inequities and stigma continue to plague women seeking treatment. The macro and mezzo environments are often ignored, with more of a focus on women "choosing" drugs over traditional feminine roles. Social consequences and punishment are used to deter rather than to treat. Meta-ethnography is a seven-phase qualitative evidence synthesis valuable method for social research. Meta-ethnography was used to explore the treatment barriers involved with women seeking drug treatment. Qualitative studies were examined from EBSCO, PubMed, ProQuest, JSTOR, PubPsych, ResearchGate, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and Sage, yielding 422 peer-reviewed records. Inclusion …

The Development Of The Police Department Wellness Survey (Pdws), Tia White

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

Police officers dedicate their careers to serving and protecting the communities they work in. Research is finding that the intensity of demands put on their mental health has turned suicide rates amongst police officers is at critical levels and has been declared by experts to be a ‘pandemic’ in the population (Wylie, 2020). There are very few researchers who broach police officers’ mental health. Social workers’ education and values make them uniquely qualified to engage in this study. The literature in policing supports that there are no assessments designed specifically for police and there are no known measures that provide …

Human Behavior In The Political Environment: A Content Analysis Of Political Content In Hbse Textbooks, Brendan Young

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

To address the problem that social workers feel inadequately prepared to engage in the political system, the current study utilizes a content analysis approach to review political participation content in Human Behavior in the Social Environment (HBSE) textbooks. Thus, this study seeks to address the question: How do HBSE textbooks address political components of CSWE EPAS Competency 5: Engage in Policy Practice? Initially, literature regarding social work political participation and political practice in social work curriculum as well as an overview of competency-based education is provided. Additionally, a review of the Civic Volunteerism Model, Systems Theory, and Bloom’s Taxonomy is …

African-American Pastors' Mental Health Literacy, Leadership And Counsel: A Systematic Review, Michelle A. Townsend

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

The African-American pastor is a trusted provider of leadership and counseling within the Black church and community. Pastors and ministry leaders are often the first responders of mental health issues faced by their congregants and community members. As a trusted and sought-after source for counseling, the African-American Pastor is a mental health provider to a community who often does not pursue professional mental health counseling. Although the community is susceptible to the same mental illness as other ethnic groups, there is mistrust for the medical and mental health community and inequality in the available resources. This study 1) examined what …

Who Do We Think We Are? A Qualitative Exploration Of Social Work Identity, Michael W. Hassler

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

Since the inception of the profession, social workers have struggled to identify a common understanding of social work, its fundamental activity, and the role of the worker. Utilizing a phenomenological approach, this qualitative study explored the following questions: 1) What is the participant’s lived experience of social work identity? and 2) How is this understanding of identity similar to or different from that of other helping professionals who perform similar activities? Semi-structured interviews, conducted with 22 social workers in the field, diverse in education, practice area, and experience, highlighted parallels among the various experiences, and advanced the exploration of the …

School Social Workers And Threat Assessment Teams: Exploring Roles, Perceptions, And Outcomes, Alicia Chico

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

The sordid history of school shootings has changed the school environment and the education system forever. While school shootings are considered a rarity, violence in schools is not. Many entities and agencies work to create safety techniques, procedures, and protocols to keep all students safe, the goal of threat assessment teams is to prevent school violence while supporting the students. In many states, school social workers operate on the fringe of school safety and threat assessment teams. The purpose of this mixed-methods, descriptive study, was to assess the roles of school social workers on threat assessment teams through a researcher-generated …

Awareness Of And Value Placed On School Social Work: A Study Of Pennsylvania’S Public School Administrators, Jen Marshall

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

Social workers have been a part of the school community for over 100 years and, although they have proven integral in the lives of students and families, their roles and functions are not clearly understood by their chief school administrators. Administrators’ awareness of the role and function of school social workers holds implications for the delivery of these services. This study explored administrators’ level of awareness and the level of value placed on the role and function of school social workers based on the three components of the School Social Work Practice Model developed by the School Social Workers Association …

Effectiveness Of A Social Work Informed Casework Training Curriculum For Paraprofessionals In Non-Profit Social Service Agencies, Mindy L. Mccormick

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

This work presents a comprehensive study of the effectiveness of a social work informed casework training curriculum specifically developed for use with paraprofessionals, those without a four-year degree, working in a social service agency. Many studies have been written outlining the benefits of paraprofessional support in social service agencies, but little exists in how to properly train and support those paraprofessionals in their job roles. This study was designed to evaluate a new training curriculum to be utilized in meeting that need within the field. Multiple inferential analyses were conducted using pre-/post-test scores of 143 participants working in a national …

The Real Child Welfare System, Najee Williams

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

Child welfare began as a series of different policies created to ensure children and families could receive aid when needed. The well-intentioned program has saved countless children and families. Yet we have somehow arrived at a time where if the child welfare program is mentioned it leaves a bitter taste in our mouth. Delving into this I aspire to educate others on the hardships of child welfare and where the tainted image derived from. Finding no singular source, I raise questions such as the following to gain different forms of clarity. Should the parents deemed unfit be a source of …

Mental Health And Its Wicked Factors, Michael Schuler

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

Mental health has long since been an issue in not just our society, but worldwide. While it is difficult to determine exactly what factors affect mental health, there has been significant research done within the past 30 years to show that major factors that affect mental health can be mitigated. Things such as poverty, physical health, and community outreach can all be linked to mental health issues. There are some solutions that will mitigate these factors that can be explored. These solutions can include things like raising awareness for mental illnesses in order to reduce stigma, getting more mental health …

United States Police & Society Reform, Madisen Sterner

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

For many years, people of color have had an unsteady relationship with police departments and law enforcement due to police misconduct, use of force, and police brutality. We’ve had many of the same conversations over and over again about what we can do to bring upon change within our departments, but no true, consistent action has been taken. In this paper we discuss multiple solutions to help address the issue of police misconduct, the need for police and society reform, and ways we can work towards mending the relationship between citizens and our police departments. In today’s society, change is …

Caseworker Turnover: Why Do Child Welfare Caseworkers Want To Leave Their Jobs And What Makes Them Stay?, Bonnie C. Marsh

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT

When the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania revised its child protective services law (CPSL) in 2014 in response to highly publicized child abuse incidents, the impact on public child welfare agencies was often negative. The child welfare system faced increased referrals without enough staff to handle the workload and numerous caseworkers began to leave their jobs. Caseworker turnover has a negative impact on children and families because excessive workloads dilutes the quality of services clients receive. Turnover may have lifelong implications for children in the child welfare system, such as delaying family reunifications, adoptions, or other permanency options. Changes in the …

Understanding Effective Supervision And The Relationship Between Supervision Effectiveness And Education, Rachel S. Bernini

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

Supervision is a function at the core of the social work profession. The goal of social work supervision is to provide practitioners with the needed support, oversight, and education so that practitioners can ultimately render efficient and effective services. Despite positive outcomes, little is empirically known about effective supervision and its relationship with educational background. Recognizing the lack of empirical evidence regarding effective supervision practices within the social work profession, this study examined the delivery of supervision within a large Pennsylvania human service organization delivering fee for service case management. Using the MCSS-26©, supervisees rated their experiences of supervision; then …

"We Are Forgotten." Framing Disaster Via Twitter In The Aftermath Of Hurricane Maria: Implications For Social Work Policy Practice, Barbe A. Fogarty

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

This work presents a comprehensive study of the disaster discourses generated by key social media user groups in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Hurricane Maria, the third most destructive hurricane in American history, resulted in billions of dollars in damage and the loss of nearly 3,000 lives. Disasters result in widespread geophysical impacts as well as social, political, and economic upheavals for individuals, families, communities, and nation-states in the storm’s wake. The discourses that emerge on social media are significant in how they frame public narratives in the aftermath of disaster. The social construction of disaster points …

The Perceived Impact Of Basic Need Insecurity On Social Work Student Success, Amy B. Downes

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore the lived experiences of undergraduate social work students who self-identify with struggling to meet their basic needs. Through individual in-depth semi-structured interviews coupled with photo-elicitation, several important considerations for social work educators and leaders emerged including: how undergraduate social work students define success; academic, social and financial barriers to learning; work-school balance; strategies for coping; messages for social work faculty and college/university administrators about their experience; adverse childhood events; and, the role of the academic advisor. The findings of this study can be utilized to help inform social work faculty …

School Social Work: A Curriculum Analysis, Nikki Snyder

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

School social workers, although typically underutilized, provide extremely valuable services to school-aged children and their families, entire school districts, and communities. The purpose of this research was to study the level of compliance by MSW programs offering School Social Work with the National Association of Social Worker’s (2012) Standards for School Social Work Practice, identify curricular gaps, and discover curricular areas implemented in these programs that are outside the NASW (2012) standards. The researcher asked the following questions (1) What is the level of compliance with the National Association of Social Worker’s (2012) Standards for School Social Work Practice by …

Social Work Educators' Perceptions Of Their Leadership And Management Competencies, Leah K. Lazzaro Dsw

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

Higher education, like many industries, is facing a staggering leadership gap as many educators plan to retire (Bailyn, 2014). As a result, social work education is called upon to respond to the need for emerging social workers to help fill the leadership positions as executive leadership retires en masse(Stewart, 2016). Leadership and management competencies are two separate and often competing skillsets. Managers plan and complete tasks related to an organization’s goals, while leaders inspire people and communicate a vision (Weinbach & Taylor, 2015; Wimpfheimer, 2004). Social work educators need both management and leadership skills to be prepared to face …

Social Work’S Contribution To Research Regarding Suicide Among African Americans, Darius Reed

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

Suicide among African Americans has increased significantly in the past 15 years, yet it remains a neglected topic in social work research. Social workers are the largest direct provider of mental health services in the United States. However their valuable person-in-environment perspective has not been incorporated into research to provide insight on ways to decrease incidents of suicide among African Americans. This systematic review examines social work’s contribution to suicide research while focusing on the social context in which African Americans live. The systematic review also examines protective factors specific to African Americans that can be used to mitigate suicide …

Intervention Research For The Education And Empowerment Of Families Experiencing Homelessness: Exploring Knowledge Of Tenant Rights And Perceptions Of Personal Empowerment, Diane J. Irish Dsw, Lsw

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

Family homelessness emerged as a social issue in the United States in the 1980s and has since established itself as a pervasive social problem. The issue of family homelessness is complex and multifaceted with multiple social, political, and economic contributing factors. Historically, society at large has been apt to attribute homelessness to individual faults and deficits, but the fact that family homelessness has only emerged and persisted as a notable social problem in recent decades hints at political and economic mechanisms at work that serve to complicate and perpetuate the problem. Tenant eviction is one such mechanism that appears to …

Exploring The Relationships Of Email Overload, Stress And Burnout In Social Workers, Lisa M. Lowrie

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

Technostress is the inability to cope with information and communication technology which may result in stress and burnout. Email overload, stress, and burnout among social workers is a phenomenon that may impact retention in social and human service organizations. This mixed methods design uses the transactional theory of stress as the theoretical framework for measuring the relationship of email overload (email invasion, email volume, and email rapid response extraction) to stress and burnout in the social work workforce. This dissertation also explores the generational cohort, gender, and social work degree as predictors of email overload. Participants in this study were …