Digital Commons Network^™

Helping Parents Navigate The Child Welfare System: Partnering With Casa To Create Self-Advocacy Resource Kits, Amanda Warnock

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

There are 442,995 children in contact with child welfare systems in the U.S. today (HHS, 2018). While some children represented in this statistic were victims of abuse, such as physical (12%) or sexual abuse (4%), many of these children and their families come to the attention of child protection authorities because of neglect (62%), meaning that their parents/caregivers lack adequate resources to properly provide and care for their dependent children (HHS, 2018). For some families, involvement with child protection authorities means being separated–with children placed in foster care and parents working through the court-mandated requirements in order to be reunified …

Financially Vulnerable Families Reap Multiple Benefits From Child Development Accounts, Jin Huang, Sondra G. Beverly, Youngmi Kim, Margaret M. Clancy, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Financially vulnerable families face numerous challenges that can adversely affect their children’s development. This brief reports on the effects of Child Development Accounts (CDAs), a financial capability intervention, in families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or Head Start. The results show that CDAs positively shape several financial and nonfinancial outcomes for these families.

Will I Be Able To Cast My Ballot? Race, Income, And Voting Access On Election Day, Gena Gunn Mcclendon, Kyle A. Pitzer, Michael Sherraden, Aura Aguilar

Center for Social Development Research

A multimethod study of electoral process and access among registered voters in St. Louis City and County.

This quantitative and qualitative study examines differences in electoral process and access, and how these differences may affect the participation of registered voters, with particular attention to race and income. Disparities in the voting process and access are understood as a form of voter suppression, whether intended or not. The research is community grounded, building on strong researcher–community relationships. Data were collected at a sample of polling locations during the November 2018 elections in St. Louis City and St. Louis County. The analysis …

Healing Policies For Black Boys And Young Men In St. Louis: Priorities In 2019, Sean Joe, Robert Motley, Alexandra Ivory, Alyssa Finner, Janet Frederick

Center for Social Development Research

What policy reforms are needed to remove the structural barriers that make it difficult for Black boys and young men to thrive in St. Louis?

Presenting findings from research with social service providers, this Brief Report from the Race and Opportunity Lab’s HomeGrown STL project seeks to inform policy decisions, advocacy efforts, and collective impact strategies in order to improve outcomes for Black boys and young men in the St. Louis region.

Race, Income, And Voting Access On Election Day, Aura Aguilar, Gena Gunn Mcclendon, Michael Sherraden, Kyle A. Pitzer

Center for Social Development Research

This Fact Sheet summarizes findings and recommendations from Will I Be Able to Cast My Ballot? Race, Income, and Voting Access on Election Day, a Research Report from the Voter Access and Engagement initiative’s multimethod study of electoral process and access among registered voters in St. Louis City and County.

Preparing Researchers To Conduct Interdisciplinary, Multi-Method Qualitative Research, Kathryn Roulston

The Qualitative Report

In this paper I outline ideas for how qualitative research methods might be taught in ways that value difference, promote dialogue, and encourage graduates to engage actively in their disciplines to promote the benefits of qualitative inquiry, locally, nationally and globally. I argue for approaches to teach qualitative inquiry in ways that value (1) interdisciplinarity, in that teaching draws on multiple epistemologies and theoretical approaches to inquiry developed across disciplines; (2) diversity in methodological approaches, in that teaching explores multiple methods to respond to research questions that are continually subject to revision, innovation, and critical analysis; and (3) the knowledge …

Recent Trends, Current Research In Cyberpsychology: A Literature Review, Amarjit Kumar Singh, Pawan Kumar Singh

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Cyberpsychology refers to the study of the mind and behavior in the context of interactions with technology. It is an emerging branch, which has focused on the psychological aspects connected to the increasing presence and usages of technology in modern lives. This paper traces recent advancement and trends of Cyberpsychology is an emerging domain of knowledge and goes on the give a literature review of the same. An analysis of the recent research and literature covering 300 most relevant research papers from the period of 2012 to 15, August 2019 was conducted to determine and shape the research pattern based …

Who Will Help Children? Building Brain Regimes, William F. Tate Iv

Center for Social Development Research

“Why can’t we organize public–private partnerships to protect and to nurture the brains of our children?”

In this Perspective, William Tate IV makes the case for constructing brain regimes—public–private partnerships designed to nurture and support the healthy development of children. Illuminating the ways in which communities and schools shape individual outcomes in Missouri, he offers seven evidence-based recommendations for fostering brain development and positive outcomes.

Who Will Help Children? Building Regional Brain Regimes is based in part on “Beyond Education Triage: Building Brain Regimes in Metropolitan America,” Chapter 11 in Facing Segregation: Housing Policy Solutions for a Stronger Society …

Opioid And Stimulant Use Among A Sample Of Corrections-Involved Drug Users : Seeking An Understanding Of High-Risk Drug Decisions Within A System Of Constraint., Kirsten Elin Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, high-risk drug use remains a significant social problem. Opioids and stimulants are two drug classes that have contributed to substantial recent increases in drug-related arrests, overdose, and mortality. Kentucky has been particularly devastated by high rates of opioid and stimulant use. Opioid and stimulant effects, while highly rewarding, can result in adverse consequences. Still, some people choose to use these drugs, and choose to continue using even after experiencing adverse consequences, such as incarceration. The aim of this study was to explore high-risk drug use among a sample of corrections-involved adults in Kentucky and to identify …

Volunteering And Measures Of Human Development, Benjamin J. Lough Phd

Center for Social Development Research

Through volunteering, millions of people actively participate in the work of overcoming challenges to human development. But how do differences in income, gender, access to education, labor-force participation, and other factors influence people’s participation in volunteering? Created as part of a global research agenda to inform connections between volunteering and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, this brief reports results on correlations between national rates of volunteering (both formal and informal) and key indicators of human development. The findings suggest that differences in levels of human development, standards of living, and other key indicators play roles in whether a nation’s …

Wood County Project Connect: Final Report For Event Held October 17, 2018, Mamta Ojha, Melissa W. Burek, Marisa Hutchinson, Sierra Leone Cunningham, Michelle N. Blue, Deborah D. Rayford

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study Of Clinicians’ Use Of Psychotherapy Techniques During 5 Years Of A System-Wide Effort To Implement Evidence-Based Practices In Philadelphia, Nathaniel J. Williams

Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Little work investigates the effect of behavioral health system efforts to increase use of evidence-based practices or how organizational characteristics moderate the effect of these efforts. The objective of this study was to investigate clinician practice change in a system encouraging implementation of evidence-based practices over 5 years and how organizational characteristics moderate this effect. We hypothesized that evidence-based techniques would increase over time, whereas use of non-evidence-based techniques would remain static.

Method: Using a repeated cross-sectional design, data were collected three times from 2013 to 2017 in Philadelphia’s public behavioral health system. Clinicians from 20 behavioral health outpatient …

Commencement Program 2019, Loma Linda University

Commencement Programs

CONTENTS

1 | Message from the President

3 | 2019 Events of Commencement

5 | The Academic Procession

7 | Significance of Academic Regalia

9 | The Good Samaritan

10 | University History Highlights

12 | Loma Linda University Song - "Healing Love"

13 | Criteria for Institutional Awards—Loma Linda University and Loma Linda University Health

15 | Loma Linda University Health and Loma Linda University Honorees

34 | The Programs, The School Honorees, and The Speakers

• School of Medicine, 35
• School of Pharmacy, 66
• School of Dentistry, 79
• School of Allied Health Professions - Allied Health Studies, Cardiopulmonary Sciences, …

Mental Health Services In An Exclusive Latino Community Versus A Diverse Community, Karina Amador, Natalie Salas

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study examined whether Latino immigrants’ community environment influenced perceptions about the meaning of mental health and accessing mental health services. The two environments analyzed in were an exclusively Latino community (primarily Latino members) and a diverse community (composed of different ethnicities including Latinos). The research method used in this study was a qualitative survey design. A semi-structured interview guideline with questions on the meaning of mental health, mental health services access, and community norms on mental health was utilized with 24 respondents. Responses were then analyzed to find themes. Findings from this study found similarities as well as differences …

Promoting Awareness Of Self: Cultural Immersion And Service-Learning Experiences Of Counselors-In-Training, Rose Helen Merrell-James, Marcy J. Douglass, Matthew R. Shupp

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Promoting Awareness-of-Self: Cultural Immersion and Service-Learning experiences

Abstract

Counselor education is committed to exploring innovative pedagogy to provide opportunities for counselor trainees to increase multicultural competence. International cultural immersion and service –learning create an environment for counselors-in-training to explore their cultural competence through cultural interactions, relationships, and heightened self-awareness. This exploratory, qualitative, phenomenological study using focus group data collection investigated the lived experience of counselors-in-training through international cultural immersion and service-learning. Awareness-of-self emerged as the overarching theme which included themes of personal and national privilege, cultural encapsulation, sense of belonging, and racism. Subthemes include attitudes and beliefs, cultural norms, time, …

Art Therapy As A Tool For Enhancing Adolescent Identity Formation, Self-Knowing, And Empowerment., Victoria Force

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Adolescence is a pivotally important developmental stage for individuals. During this time, adolescents begin the journey of discovering the many facets of their identities. This capstone thesis explores how the discipline of art therapy can aid adolescents in the formation of their understanding of specific parts of their identities. Workshops offered at a community mental health organization collected data via surveys, observable experiences, and art. These workshops offered clients a safe space to artistically express their identity. Results of the exercise provide indications that art therapy could be used as a positive aid in adolescent identity formation.

How Internalized And Externalized Behaviors In Adolescents Impact Academic Achievement In Faith-Based Institutions, Subira Brown, Chioma Tait, Jade Callahan, Deyana Cox

Adventist Human-Subject Researchers Association

The purpose of this literature review is to address how internalized and externalized behaviors in adolescents impact academic achievement in faith-based institutions. This research intends to bring awareness to the prevalence of mental health concerns faced by adolescents, as well as the need for mental health services in the education system. This research will also identify the relationship between internalizing and externalizing behaviors, and academic achievement. Based on the findings, the next steps will be to evaluate the deficits within the Adventist school system and begin developing programs and resources necessary to support the mental health needs of children and …

Lessons Of A Failed Study: Lone Research, Media Analysis, And The Limitations Of Bracketing, Katherine Gregory

Publications and Research

Failed research can function as the underbelly of all qualitative research projects that come to fruition. These shadow projects offer invaluable insights to future research and researchers alike. In this article, I trace a failed life history of sex offenders project from its conceptualization to its abandonment, after conducting a series of searches on the online National Sex Offender Registry database. Through the use of preliminary field notes and an analysis of media representations, I examine the role of bracketing of the topic, as a by-product of the phenomenological tradition, and other methodological issues such as physical and emotional vulnerability …

Segregation And A Path Forward To Inclusion In St. Louis, Henry S. Webber

Center for Social Development Research

Segregation and a Path Forward to Inclusion in St. Louis is adapted from an address given during Facing Segregation: Building Strategies in Every Neighborhood, the 2019 annual conference of the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing and Opportunity Council, on April 12, 2019, at Central Baptist Church, St. Louis, Missouri. This Perspective is presented here through a partnership between the Center for Social Development and the council.

Affecting Social Change For Transgender And Gender-Expansive Children: Exploring Advocates' Perspectives, Cortny Stark

Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

This interpretive case study explored the experience of advocates as they pursue social change for transgender and gender-expansive children (ages 4-12). The aim of the study is to improve current understanding of the process of advocacy for this population, as well as the context in which advocacy efforts occur. Data consisted of hour long interviews, advocacy artifacts as recommended by participants, and the researcher’s field journal. Participants included 12 advocates from a variety of backgrounds and geographic locations within the United States, to include educators, community advocates, and helping professionals. Implications of this study may include increased understanding of the …

The Impact Organizational Factors Have On Role Ambiguity Amongst School Social Workers, Melissa Kichura

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore what organizational factors increase or decrease role ambiguity amongst school social workers. This study attempted to provide practical information for schools on the influence of specific organizational factors on role ambiguity so that they can provide a supportive work environment for school social workers and students. A cross-sectional survey design was used to provide a snapshot of the current organizational factors impacting the ambiguity of school social work roles from a sample of 73 members of the School Social Work Association of America. Some findings were not congruent with the literature. The …

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 …

A Time Of Opportunity, Angela Glover Blackwell

Center for Social Development Research

A Time of Opportunity is adapted from the keynote address given during Race at the Forefront: Sharpening a Focus on Race in Applied Research, the inaugural conference of the Collaboration on Race, Inequality, and Social Mobility in America, at Washington University on March 28, 2019.

Social Care Workers’ Experiences Of Supporting The Mental Health Needs Of Young People With Hearing Difficulties, Niall Ivory

Journal of Social Care

This study examines the experiences of social care workers working with deaf young people presenting with mental health issues in a residential setting. A qualitative research methodology was implemented to gather the data. Four participants engaged in semi-structured interviews. The data collected was analysed using thematic analysis. The research findings identified three themes that were relevant to the research aim. The participants described experiencing issues of anxiety, self-harm and suicidal ideation among their clients. The findings acknowledge the significant impact sign language has in mitigating mental health issues and how isolation due to communication issues among the hearing community can …

Giving Voice To Women In The Sex Industry: A Voice-Centred Relational Model Based Qualitative Study, Leigh-Ann Sweeney, Jane Sixsmith, Michal Molcho

Journal of Social Care

This qualitative, exploratory research examines the barriers that prevent women in sex work in Ireland from accessing co-ordinated health and social care services. Using an adapted voice centred relational model (VCRM), the study examines the experiences of women engaged in sex work. The study underpins a feminist standpoint epistemology theoretical framework, and gives voice to minority groups who remain excluded from research, policy and practice. The findings indicate that women involved in sex work are primarily working indoors, hold precarious legal status and are in Ireland as a response to global migration and economic necessity. Street based sex work too, …

An Exploration Of Social Care Workers Experiences Of Emotional Labour And Professional Burnout In Domestic Violence Refuges, Elizabeth M. Molloy Ms

Journal of Social Care

Emotional labour is associated with human service work as workers have to express different emotions than those felt or suppress felt emotion. Human service work such as social care is also associated with stress and burnout due to being exposed to the distress of clients. This study explored social care workers’ experiences of emotional labour and professional burnout in domestic violence refuges. The perspectives of workers were examined in relation to the emotional demands and challenges placed on them in their work supporting women and children living in these refuges. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four female social care workers. …

Falling On Deaf Ears: Social Workers’ Attitudes About Deafness, Hearing Loss, And Deaf Cultural Competence, Esperanza J. Garibay

LSU Master's Theses

D/deaf and hard of hearing people have lower health literacy and higher rates of misdiagnosis of serious illnesses than their hearing counterparts (Sheier, 2009). This is, in part, a result of the inaccessible and culturally incompetent care provided to d/Deaf and hard of hearing individuals (Kuenburg, Fellinger & Fellinger, 2016; Hoang, LaHousse, Nakaji & Sadler, 2010 Sheier, 2009). Inaccessible and culturally incompetent care may be byproducts of human service providers’ attitudes towards d/Deaf and hard of hearing people (Ulloa, 2014; Cooper, Mason & Rose, 2005), and providers’ level of competence with properly caring for d/Deaf and hard of hearing clients …

Understanding The Role Of Relationship Maintenance In Enduring Couple Partnerships In Later Adulthood, Jill M. Chonody, Jacqui Gabb

Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Intimate relationships in later adulthood are understudied despite their positive association with health and well-being. This cross-sectional mixed methods study sought to redress this gap by investigating relationship maintenance in later adulthood. Our international sub-sample comprised 1,565 participants aged 55 + and in an ongoing relationship. Results from hierarchical multiple regression indicated that overall happiness with the relationship had the largest effect size on relationship maintenance, with 53% of the variance explained. Content analyses of open-ended questions identified companionship and laughter as some of the “best liked” aspects of the relationship. Housework/cooking and saying “I love you” were among the …

Seed For Oklahoma Kids Wave 3: Extending Rigorous Research And A Successful Policy Model, Margaret M. Clancy, Michael Sherraden, Sondra G. Beverly

Center for Social Development Research

With support from philanthropists, the Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis (CSD) is conducting a third wave of research in the SEED for Oklahoma Kids (SEED OK) experiment. A research study of exceptional quality, SEED OK represents an opportunity to assess the long-term potential of Child Development Accounts (CDAS)—a national system of asset-building accounts for children and youth.1 Wave 3, taking place in 2019 and 2020, expands the original CDA in SEED OK with an automatic progressive deposit, and extends the longitudinal research to examine the impacts of the CDA when the children are in middle …

A Bill To Create The Bright Futures Plan Task Force: Testimony On H.B. 2389 Before The House Education Committee, Oregon State Legislature, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Legislation introduced in the Oregon House of Representatives early in 2019 proposed the creation of a task force to develop recommendations for increasing the number of children with savings for postsecondary education. The proposed Oregon Bright Futures Task Force would be obligated to submit its recommendations by January 2020. This document presents remarks prepared by Michael Sherraden and Margaret Clancy. Presented by Sherraden in testimony before the House Committee on Education on March 13, 2019, the remarks identify key design elements of Child Development Account policies and note experiences gained from research and as well as other policy engagements.