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Full-Text Articles in Social Work

African American Grandmothers Providing Extensive Care To Their Grandchildren: Socio-Demographic And Health Determinants Of Life Satisfaction, Dorothy Smith-Ruiz Dec 2008

African American Grandmothers Providing Extensive Care To Their Grandchildren: Socio-Demographic And Health Determinants Of Life Satisfaction, Dorothy Smith-Ruiz

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The article explores the relationships between grandmothers' socioeconomic and health characteristics in relation to life satisfaction. Reasons for caregiving, assumption of the caregiver role, and grandmothers'attitudes and experiences in custodial caregiving were discussed qualitatively from data gathered in detailed interviews of a convenience sample of 99 custodial African American grandmothers caringf or one or more grandchildreny ounger than 18 in North Carolina. Most grandmothers in this sample reported mixed feelings toward custodial caregiving, both as a burden as well as a blessing. They also reported a weak support system and relied on their faith more than family and friends to …


Racial/Ethnic Differences In Religious Congregation-Based Social Service Delivery Efforts, R. Khari Brown Dec 2008

Racial/Ethnic Differences In Religious Congregation-Based Social Service Delivery Efforts, R. Khari Brown

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The current study utilizes Swidler's (1986) cultural toolkit theory to explain racial/ethnic differences in American religious congregations' provision of social service programs. This study suggests that black Americans' reliance upon structural tools to assess poverty contributes to their congregations being more heavily involved than majority white congregations in the provision of social services that attempt to make a longer-term impact on community life (i.e. academic tutoring and job training). In contrast, white Americans' greater reliance upon individualistic tools to understand poverty arguably contributes to their congregations being more heavily involved in the provision of programs that have a shorter- term …


A Boiling Pot Of Animosity Or An Alliance Of Kindred Spirits? Exploring Connections Between Native Americans And African Americans, Hilary N. Weaver Dec 2008

A Boiling Pot Of Animosity Or An Alliance Of Kindred Spirits? Exploring Connections Between Native Americans And African Americans, Hilary N. Weaver

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The relationship between indigenous people and people of African heritage in the United States is a long and complex one. An examination of historical and contemporary connections between indigenous persons and African Americans not only clarifies complex and frequently overlooked parts of American history but sets the stage for examining future possibilities. It is useful for helping professionals to understand these relationships since this history may serve as the basis for positive connections or animosities between clients and professionals. This article begins with a discussion of selected historical intersections between these populations that highlight the complex and varied nature of …


The Emerging New Human Being, The Culture-In-The-Self, And Ahp's New Multidimensional Intercultural Initiative, Carroy U. Ferguson Jun 2008

The Emerging New Human Being, The Culture-In-The-Self, And Ahp's New Multidimensional Intercultural Initiative, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

The emerging New Human Being will need to explore and come to terms with a phenomenon, operating deeply, uniquely, and diversely at a core level of all human beings on the planet. I call this phenomenon the “culture-in-the-Self,” a term coined some years ago by cofounders of Interculture Inc. What we commonly think of as culture is just the surface of this phenomenon, often appearing outwardly in the diverse “forms” of cultural scripts, beliefs, values, behaviors, and customs). I want to call attention to what goes on beneath surface culture(s), and how AHP intends to play a primary role in …


Transforming Caregiving: African American Custodial Grandmothers And The Child Welfare System, S. Yvette Murphy, Andrea G. Hunter, Deborah J. Johnson Jun 2008

Transforming Caregiving: African American Custodial Grandmothers And The Child Welfare System, S. Yvette Murphy, Andrea G. Hunter, Deborah J. Johnson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Growing numbers of African American grandmothers are raising grandchildren under the auspices of the child welfare system; however, little is known about the manner in which child welfare policies and practices impact custodial grandparenting. Based on focus groups with African American grandmothers who are raising grandchildren as formal kinship caregivers, this study explored the ways in which the new formalized relationship between the child welfare system and African American custodial grandmothers is transforming the meanings and practices related to intergenerational caregiving in African American families. Drawing on cultural and historical traditions, grandmothers forge a transformative partnership with child welfare that …


A Primary Human Challenge, Carroy U. Ferguson Apr 2008

A Primary Human Challenge, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

We may ask why, at both the individual and collective levels, it has seemed so difficult for us to choose to evolve our human games with Joy. There is no one answer for such a question, for each of us has the gift of free will. I will suggest, however, that built into our human games is what I call a primary human challenge. That primary human challenge is a dynamic tension, flowing from our creative urge for the freedom “to be” who we really are in our current physical form, and simultaneously to embrace our responsibility for our Being-ness.


Being Accountable: Overrepresentation Of Children Of Color In The Child Welfare System, Victoria Lee Scheele, Juliana Francesca Simixhi Jan 2008

Being Accountable: Overrepresentation Of Children Of Color In The Child Welfare System, Victoria Lee Scheele, Juliana Francesca Simixhi

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to examine the ethnic composition of families enrolled in Voluntary Family Services (VFS) as well as service delivery and service completion rates among the various ethnic groups utilizing these services.


Down Syndrome: Parental Strategies For Stress Among Cultures, Claudia Edith Campos, Lizbeth Anahi Corrales Jan 2008

Down Syndrome: Parental Strategies For Stress Among Cultures, Claudia Edith Campos, Lizbeth Anahi Corrales

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this research was to examine the perceptions of parents of different cultures on how to cope with stress in relation to caring for a child with Down syndrome. This study targeted parents that attend Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles (DSALA) support groups. DSALA has support groups all over Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. The sample of participants consisted of nine Caucasian, eight Latino, and three multiethnic mothers for a total of twenty.


Obstacles And Aspirations Amongst Hispanics And African Americans In Pursuing A College Education, Monica Avina Jan 2008

Obstacles And Aspirations Amongst Hispanics And African Americans In Pursuing A College Education, Monica Avina

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to identify the obstacles faced by African American and Hispanic students as well as the motivations that help them thrive in today's society through a college education. This is important for social workers who work with ethnic minorities because by learning about ways in which these two groups are still being oppressed, they can find ways of empowering them to overcome barriers to accessing higher education. 85 students from Hispanic and African American descent at California State University San Bernardino were surveyed.


Social Workers' Views About Disproportionality Among African American Children In Child Welfare, Hortense Granderson Jan 2008

Social Workers' Views About Disproportionality Among African American Children In Child Welfare, Hortense Granderson

Theses Digitization Project

This study explored social workers' views (attitudes and perceptions) on reasons and causes for disproportionality among African American children in the child welfare system. This study contributed to social work practice, policy, and research because it is the first study of its kind for Riverside County where information is readily available to understand the reasons and causes for disproportionality among these children according to social workers.