Digital Commons Network^™

Responses To Environmental Change, Lisa Reyes Mason, Susan P. Kemp, Lawrence A. Palinkas, Amy Krings

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

Communities worldwide are facing environmental crises such as air pollution, water shortages, climate change, and other forms of environmental change and degradation. While technical solutions for environmental change are essential, so too are solutions that consider social acceptability, value cultural relevance, and prioritize equity and social justice. Social work has a critical and urgent role in creating and implementing macrolevel social responses to environmental change. The key concepts of environmental change, environmental and ecological justice, social vulnerability, and social responses are discussed. A description of the roles and skills unique to macro social workers for this effort is given, followed …

Gentrification, Amie Thurber, Amy Krings

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

Gentrification can be understood as the process through which geographical areas become increasingly exclusive, which disproportionately harms people living in poverty and people of color, as well as the elderly, families, and youth. As such, this article argues that macro social work practitioners should view gentrification as a key concern. Thus, to help guide macro interventions, the article begins by first defining gentrification and describing ways to measure it, while emphasizing its difference from revitalization. Second, the article explores causes of gentrification, including its relationship to systemic racism. Third, the article explores the consequences of gentrification on individuals’ and communities’ …

Gentrification, Amie Thurber, Amy Krings

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Gentrification can be understood as the process through which geographical areas become increasingly exclusive, which disproportionately harms people living in poverty and people of color, as well as the elderly, families, and youth. As such, this article argues that macro social work practitioners should view gentrification as a key concern. Thus, to help guide macro interventions, the article begins by first defining gentrification and describing ways to measure it, while emphasizing its difference from revitalization. Second, the article explores causes of gentrification, including its relationship to systemic racism. Third, the article explores the consequences of gentrification on individuals’ and communities’ …

The Need For Financial Literacy In Social Work Education: A Descriptive Study, Tara Mchenry, Belinda Pacheco

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Although extensively researched over the last twenty years, financial literacy is yet to make its way into mainstream social work curricula. This is puzzling because social workers, in general, work with a clientele that consists predominantly of poor and low-income populations. The profession of social work has the unique opportunity to equip its members with tools to educate and assist clients around topics of personal finance and financial insecurity. Using a purposive sampling method, this study explored the need for a financial literacy course as part of the social work curriculum among 102 undergraduate and graduate students in a large, …

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 …

Internationalization Of Environmental Education For Global Citizenship, Bowen Mcbeath, Qing Tian, Chen Wang, Bin Xu

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

We present a teaching-and-learning case study of a 2018–2019 university-based summer institute in Beijing, China that concerned environmental education in support of global citizenship, involving Chinese and international faculty from education, social work, and related disciplines. The case study identifies: (1) the context of the summer institute; (2) its goals, design, and basic content; and (3) lessons learned for social work education. Specific attention is paid to: the importance of connecting university-based ecosocial work education with community-based practice in a Chinese context; addressing global social and environmental justice concerns through rural collaborative problem-solving; and navigating disciplinary boundaries involving social work …

An Ethical Framework For Interprofessional Social Work Education And Practice With Clients And Professionals, Misty G. Smith, Felicia Law Murray

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

Social work students must interface with other professionals amid diverse disciplines and settings. While aspects of their work requires independent practice, students also encounter practice environments that require cross-system approaches that can create ethical conflicts and dilemmas. Interprofessional collaboration and ethical decision making are specific behavioral outcomes students must demonstrate to achieve competency upon social work degree completion. In social work education, scholarship that highlights the benefits of exposing students to interprofessional education (IPE) is an emerging area. Gastmans’ Dignity Enhancing Care Model and the Generalist Social Work Practice Framework have been adapted to create an integrated framework, the Generalist …

In The Community: Over 25 Years Of Inquiry, Innovation, And Impact, Center For Social Development, Washington University In St. Louis

Center for Social Development Research

This report marks over 25 years of innovative applied research and the effects of those efforts in society. Founded in 1994, the Center for Social Development continues to generate pathbreaking innovations that broaden opportunity, especially for the marginalized. The report also looks ahead, discussing emerging engagements and potential lines for new inquiry.

Swk 340: Syllabus, Erin Stevenson

SWK 340: Social Work Research Methods OER Collection

Syllabus for SWK 340: Social Work Research Methods course.

Designed around the open access textbook Scientific Inquiry in Social Work, by Dr. Matthew DeCarlo

Swk 225: Syllabus, Erin Stevenson

SWK 225: Human Behavior in the Social Environment OER Collection

Syllabus for SWK 225: Human Behavior in the Social Environment course.

Designed around the open access textbook Human Behavior and the Social Environment I, by Dr. Susan Tyler.

Swk 225: Module 8. Generalist Social Work Perspective On Theories Of Human Behavior Connecting The Dots [Powerpoint], Erin Stevenson

SWK 225: Human Behavior in the Social Environment OER Collection

Powerpoint slideshow for Module 8 " Generalist Social Work Perspective on Theories of Human Behavior Connecting the Dots."

Designed around the open access textbook Human Behavior and the Social Environment I, by Dr. Susan Tyler.

Review Of South Bronx Battles: Stories Of Resistance, Resilience, And Renewal. By Carolyn Mclaughlin, Sarah Taylor

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

No abstract provided.

Who Benefits From Brownfield Cleanup And Gentrification? Evidence From Chicago, Richard Melstrom, Rose Mohammadi, Tania Schusler, Amy Krings

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

This paper presents research on the distribution of economic benefits from brownfield cleanup and land development. There is growing concern that cleaning up blighted areas, including brownfields, can entrench inequality by disproportionately benefiting some demographic groups more than others. We look for evidence of disproportionate benefits by relating changes in move decisions to land use activity in Chicago using a heterogeneous sorting model. Our research produces two key insights: first, Black and Hispanic households benefit less than White households from brownfield cleanup and vacant land development. Second, owners appear to benefit more than renters from cleanup and development. Overall, these …

Social Worker Perceptions Of Lgbt Cultural Competent Practice Within Hospitals, Ronald Davis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Social work cultural competence within a hospital setting has gained importance due to the various changes to how health care is delivered within the United States hospital system. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) individuals seeking care have reported negative experiences and discrimination, adversely impacting their treatment in a hospital setting. Those experiences have resulted in decreased use of medical treatment. Researchers have established the need for increased levels of cultural competence from social workers within hospital settings to develop rapport with LGBT individuals when delivering social work services as a part of the hospital treatment team. With cultural humility …

Grief, Loss, And Climate Change: Validation Of A Solastalgia Scale, Claire Luce

Theses and Dissertations

Climate change has been identified as a defining issue of this century (United Nations, n.d.). Climate change impacts human wellbeing including mental health. While much research has focused on the way that the effects of climate change cause increases in common mental disorders, mental health is not just the absence of these disorders (World Health Organization, 2014). Non-pathologized mental health responses to climate change, such as the grief and loss that results from climate change impacts, are a growing consideration for researchers. Solastalgia, or the distress experienced in the absence of the solace once provided by the environment in the …

Public Library-Based Social Work Field Placements: Guidance For Public Libraries Planning To Become A Social Work Practicum Site, Elizabeth A. Wahler, Jacob D. Ressler, Sarah C. Johnson, Colleen Rortvedt, Tasha Saecker, John Helling, Michael A. Williams, Danielle Hoover

Publications and Research

Public libraries are increasingly faced with patron psychosocial needs, including mental health problems, substance use, homelessness, or poverty-related needs. Since library staff are often not trained to address these needs, many are choosing to host on-site social work practicum students to provide information and referrals for patrons presenting with psychosocial needs. However, little existing guidance is available about initiating a social work practicum placement, which can leave libraries unprepared and often “reinventing the wheel”. This manuscript provides guidance on the steps that should be considered by libraries intending to host their first social work practicum student.

Environmental Justice Organizing In A Gentrifying Community: Navigating Dilemmas Of Representation, Issue Selection, And Recruitment, Amy Krings, Colette Copic

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

Environmental justice organizations aim to secure an equitable distribution of environmental resources through the participation and self-determination of affected people, particularly communities of color. Yet organizing in a market economy is complicated: As communities become greener, gentrification can follow, thereby inadvertently displacing low-income communities of color and reproducing environmental injustices. This study informs antiracist community practice methods by examining strategic and ethical dilemmas embedded within an environmental justice organization that is located in a gentrifying Mexican American neighborhood in Chicago. Drawing from interviews, we examine members’ perceptions relating to representation, recruitment, and issue selection. We reveal key considerations for community …

Human Rights And Social, Economic, & Environmental Justice: Ethics Of Samfundssind & Agape, Claire L. Dente

Sustainability Research & Practice Seminar Presentations

No abstract provided.

The Four Pandemics, Joshua Miller

School for Social Work: Faculty Publications

COVID 19 interacts with white supremacy, economic insecurity and politcal terrorism, adversely affecting many people and populations. This article considers the consequences of these four interacting pandemics and suggests that social work, particularly clinical social work, requires radical revisioning and decolonizing to be able to ethically and adequately serve affected people.

Equity In Sustainable Development: Community Responses To Environmental Gentrification, Amy Krings, Tania Schusler

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

Sustainable development aims to address economic, social, and environmental imperatives; yet, in practice, it often embodies a neoliberal market logic that reinforces inequalities. Thus, as the social work profession grapples with its role in advancing environmental sustainability, practice models must explicitly attend to social and economic justice. For example, environmental gentrification refers to situations in which the cleanup of contaminated land or the installation of environmental amenities intentionally or unintentionally catalyzes increased housing costs, thereby contributing to the displacement of vulnerable residents. With the goal of contributing to practice knowledge, we conducted a systematic review of peer‐reviewed articles (1997−2017) to …

Research‐Based Knowledge About Social Work And Sustainability, Aila‐Leena Matthies, Amy Krings, Ingo Stamm

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

No abstract provided.

Environmental Gentrification In Chicago: Perceptions, Dilemmas And Paths Forward, Colette Copic, Tania Schusler, Amy Krings

School of Environmental Sustainability: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This research sheds light on perceptions of environmental gentrification in Chicago. It also identifies policies and practices that hold potential to promote environmentally healthy neighborhoods and equitable development without displacement.

Executive Summary

Purpose

Access to greenspace, clean air, water, food, and safe, affordable, and stable housing are all important to good health. Yet, low income and communities of color endure disproportionate pollution burdens that negatively affect health. While cleaning up contamination or implementing “green” improvements like parks, playgrounds, bike trails, and other greenspaces can reduce health disparities, these environmental improvements sometimes contribute to rising rents and property values, which can …

Advanced Generalist Field Work Iii & Iv, Shyra Harris

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

This syllabus is the prototype for SW 6083 & SW 6084, revitalized advanced generalist field social work courses that will first be taught in the semester system. The format is a departure from the quarter system format and the process of development involved all faculty.

Generalist Field Work I & Ii, Rachel Allinson

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

This syllabus is the prototype for SW 6081 & SW 6082, revitalized generalist field social work courses that will first be taught in the semester system. The format is a departure from the quarter system format and the process of development involved all faculty.

Fear Of Blackness And Gentrification Of Black And Brown Neighborhoods In Chicago, Vanessa Ann Hentz

Social Work Theses - Archive

The gentrification of Black and Brown neighborhoods in Chicago is an ongoing process that deserves attention and analysis. The purpose of this scoping review was to determine the factors contributing to the gentrification of Chicago neighborhoods. The purpose included investigating if there is a fear of Blackness associated with the gentrification of Black and Brown neighborhoods. The methodology followed for the scoping review included the recommendations from Arskey & O’Malley’s (1994) Scoping Studies: Towards a Methodological Framework. This methodology included using the research question to gather the relevant articles to chart, summarize, and analyze the results (Arskey & O’Malley 1994). …

Planning, Participation, And Power In A Shrinking City: The Detroit Works Project, Gregory B. Markus, Amy Krings

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

Scholars and practitioners have argued that authentic public participation is crucial in developing strategic plans for so-called shrinking cities, not only for informing the content of the resulting plans but also for fostering public support, civic capacity, and equitable outcomes. The Detroit Works Project, launched in 2010, provided an opportunity to examine the crafting of a high-profile strategic plan for a major U.S. city challenged by decades of population loss and disinvestment. We find that the project was yet another instance of urban planning that began with an assurance that public involvement would play a central role but then failed …

White Supremacy Culture And Capitalism As Co-Dependent Systems Of Oppression, Allegra Kistler Ellis

Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to discuss questions surrounding the intricacies and intertwining narratives of white supremacy culture and capitalism, and other systems of oppression that they fuel. For my research, I intentionally used anecdotes, essays, poems, books, and social media posts by primarily queer, trans, Black and Indigenous women and femmes. In doing so, I delve into the inherent relationship between whiteness, white exploitative institutions, and power. I discuss the history of the two systems of oppression in the United States through analyzing pillars and characteristics of white supremacy culture and capitalism, western colonized science and research, sexism, white feminism, fatphobia, …

Sw5900: Social Welfare And American Indians/Alaska Natives Course Syllabus, Deirdre Lanesskog

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

This syllabus is the prototype for SW5900, a new specialized topics course on the Social Welfare and American Indians/Alaska Natives. Portions of the course content were piloted in the quarter system. The semester format and the service learning components of the course were developed for the semester system and the process of development involved all faculty.

Macro Social Work (Sw 6061) Syllabus, Laurie Smith

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

This syllabus is the prototype for SW 6061 a revitalized generalist macro social work course that will first be taught in the semester system. The format is a departure from the quarter system format and the process of development involved all faculty.

Tiny Homes As A Method To Increase Equitable Housing: Tiny Homes Detroit And Kalamazoo, Katie Kozlowski

Honors Theses

This thesis assesses the relative merits of housing programs such as Tiny Homes Detroit for other places where equitable and affordable housing is in short supply such as Kalamazoo, MI. For context, prior to information on Tiny Homes, and Tiny Homes in Detroit, information about the forces that shaped the contemporary housing crisis in both Detroit and Kalamazoo are provided. Topics in these preliminary sections include information on Redlining, Subprime Mortgages, Equitable Development, and Gentrification. For a variety of factors summarized in the thesis, Tiny Home Communities are a possible solution that, on a micro scale, can provide the most …