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Life Domain Research Report Series: Youth And Parent Health And Well Being (2010 Update), Michele Preyde, Karen Frensch, Gary Cameron, Lirondel Hazineh

Partnerships for Children and Families Project

Children and youth who have participated in children’s mental health services often continue to live with a variety of emotional and behavioural challenges after service involvement has ended (Cameron, de Boer, Frensch, & Adams, 2003). A key consideration in understanding the long term community adaptation of these children and youth is the ongoing management of emotional and behavioural challenges and the impact these challenges have in the daily lives of youth and their families. Several standardized measures of mental health, physical health, stress, and quality of life were used to assess parental and youth functioning in the life domain of …

Working Report #7: Helping Relationships In Child Welfare (Parent Perspectives), Lirondel Hazineh, Gary Cameron, Karen Frensch

Partnerships for Children and Families Project

This report examines the nature of first contacts in child welfare, the level of contact between families and service providers, and the quality of relationships over time across central, integrated, and accessible service delivery models.

I. First Contacts Clarity, consultation, use of power, and positive shifts in perception were central issues identified by parents when discussing their experiences of first contacts with child welfare. More parents in accessible sites had experiences with workers who were clear and provided a sense that they would be supported. Within the accessible sites a strong philosophy of collaboration emerged between worker and participant. Participants …

Life Domain Research Report Series: Family (2010 Update), Gary Cameron, Lirondel Hazineh, Karen Frensch, Michele Preyde

Partnerships for Children and Families Project

A key consideration in understanding the long term community adaptation of children and youth involved with residential treatment or intensive family services is the role that family plays in sustaining or eroding gains made by children and youth in treatment (Frensch & Cameron, 2002). This report includes a summary of family descriptive information, the nature of family relationships, and indicators of family functioning for children and youth who have participated in children’s mental health services.

Data were collected about youth who had been involved with children’s mental health residential treatment (RT) or intensive family service programs (IFS), designed as an …

Measuring Graduating M.S.W. Students' Knowledge Of The Steps Of Evidence-Based Practice, Kellie D. Cody Jr.

Dissertations

Knowledge of evidence-based practice (EBP) is essential to social workers entering the workforce. The literature review revealed no studies that have measured the knowledge students have of the steps of EBP in the final semester of their master's of social work (M.S.W.) degree programs.

The purpose of this study was to administer a newly validated instrument to graduating M.S.W. students to measure their knowledge of the steps of EBP. Eighty-six students in four schools in Michigan completed the instrument and scored a mean of 6.23 out of a possible score of 15. An ANOVA showed no statistically significant difference in …

Dreams Deferred: Disability Definitions, Data, Models, And Perspectives, Barbara Barton

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

When Ed Roberts, who had polio, forged new ground for people with disabilities by developing the first Center for Independent Living in 1972, the stage was set for people with disabilities and advocates to join together in a new civil rights movement. 'Invisible' no more, the disability community started what was expected to be a stratospheric leap into community inclusion. There was substantial hope held in the anticipated impact of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990 (P.L. 101-336, 104 statute 327). For millions of Americans, it appeared that the ADA would provide avenues for increased …

Dimensions Of Loss From Mental Illness, Amy E. Z. Baker, Nicholas Procter, Tony Gibbons

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This review explores the nature, scope and consequences of loss resulting from mental illness. Losses are described within four key themes: self and identity, work and employment opportunities, relationships, and future-oriented losses. In reflecting upon review findings, several assumptions about loss are illuminated. Findings are situated within the cornerstones of recent mental health reform, specifically a recovery-oriented approach and social inclusion. Particular attention is directed towards notions of risk and responsibility and tensions in realizing the impact of loss within an individualized recovery framework. Implications and recommendations for policy and practice are highlighted.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 36, No. 4 (December 2009)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

SPECIAL ISSUE ON PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND SOCIAL WELFARE

• INTRODUCTION TO THE SPECIAL ISSUE - Barbara Barton, Guest Editor
• DREAMS DEFERRED: DISABILITY DEFINITIONS, DATA, MODELS, AND PERSPECTIVES - Barbara Barton, Guest Editor
• DIMENSIONS OF LOSS FROM MENTAL ILLNESS - Amy E. Z. Baker, Nicholas Procter, and Tony Gibbons
• INFLUENCES ON JOB RETENTION AMONG HOMELESS PERSONS WITH SUBSTANCE ABUSE OR PSYCHIATRIC DISABILITIES - Russell K. Schutt and Norman C. Hursh
• E-THERAPY AS A MEANS FOR ADDRESSING BARRIERS TO SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER TREATMENT FOR PERSONS WHO ARE DEAF - Dennis Moore, Debra Guthmann, Nikki Rogers, Susan Fraker, and Jared Embree
• CONNECTING YOUTH …

Influences On Job Retention Among Homeless Persons With Substance Abuse Or Psychiatric Disabilities, Russell K. Schutt, Norman C. Hursh

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Job retention is an important psychosocial rehabilitation goal, but one that is not often achieved. We investigate facilitators of and barriers to employment retention among homeless individuals with psychiatric and substance abuse diagnoses who were re-interviewed eight or more years after participating in a traditional vocational rehabilitation program. Most program graduates who maintained employment had secured social support from a variety of sources; personal motivation was also a critical element in job retention and compensated in some cases for an absence of social support. Both the availability of social support contacts and personal motivation influenced likelihood of maintaining sobriety. Physical …

Connecting Youth And Communities: Customized Career Planning For Youth With Psychiatric Disabilities, Kim Brown

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Young people with psychiatric disabilities are significantly overrepresented in the juvenile justice system, tend to be employed sporadically if at all, and frequently have negative connections within and to their communities. Recent research conducted in Montana with youth who have developmental and/or physical disabilities demonstrates the effectiveness of using a customized career planning model to increase linkages to resources and access to community- based employment. Side benefits include improved self-esteem and positive community connections. The customization model holds promise as a way to reduce the risk factors young people with psychiatric disabilitiesf ace and increase the resiliency factors that can …

Does The Gi Bill Support Educational Attainment For Veterans With Disabilities? Implications For Current Veterans In Resuming Civilian Life, Alexa Smith-Osborne

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A secondary data analysis of the 2001 National Survey of Veterans (NSV) for 2075 Gulf War-era veterans was conducted to investigate whether the GI Bill (the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, most recent provisions of which have been entitled the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post 9/11 GI Bill), considered as a social welfare policy, demonstrated protective effects for veterans with disabilities in terms of successful re-entry and sustained enrollment in higher education. Regression analyses to test the mediation effects of use of the GI Bill, use of non-Veterans' Administration (VA)financial aid, and use of VA health services suggested mediation …

E-Therapy As A Means For Addressing Barriers To Substance Use Disorder Treatment For Persons Who Are Deaf, Dennis Moore, Debra Guthmann, Nikki Rogers, Susan Frake, Jared Embree

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Persons who are deaf face a number of challenges with regard to vulnerability for substance use disorders. Moreover, accessible treatment for this condition can be difficult to establish and maintain. The Deaf community may be one of the most disenfranchised groups in America in regard to appropriate access to substance use disorder (SUD) prevention and treatment services. This article reviews findings related to substance use disorder and treatment for this condition among persons who are deaf. It also reviews a promising approach for addressing treatment needs via e-therapy, and it highlights the challenges and concerns regarding e-therapy for this population. …

Parental Cognitive Disabilities And Child Protection Services: The Need For Human Capacity Building, Sandra T. Azar, Kristin N. Read

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Theories regarding the social cognitive origins of parenting risk have recently emerged. This work not only has implications for the nature of interventions with parents, but also for the approaches taken by the social service systems that work with them. This paper reviews the evidence that there is a significant number of parents with cognitive disabilities within child protection caseloads and outlines the types of human capacity building and organizational development that are needed to support the parents' needs. Such capacity building will not only increase the effectiveness of child protection interventions with parents with cognitive disabilities (PCD), but will …

Reaching Beyond The "Moron": Eugenic Control Of Secondary Disability Groups, Gerald V. O'Brien, Meghan E. Bundy

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

While much has been published about the American eugenics movement, few authors have considered the relative status of various disability populations as targets of eugenic control. While many writers focus on persons diagnosed as feeble-minded as the central focus of control, little has been written regarding the status of additional disability groups. This is important since, as described here, a central component of coming to understand past social injustices against marginalized groups and the contemporary relevance of such injustices is gaining an awareness of why specific populations were accepted by control authorities as appropriate or viable targets for control measures.

Parental Income, Assets, And Borrowing Constraints And Children's Post-Secondary Education, Jin Huang, Baorong Guo, Youngmi Kim, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

This study is a test of two theoretical models linking parental economic resources to children’s post-secondary education, namely, short-term borrowing constraints and long-term family background. a series of structural equation models (SEM) are tested using data from a sample of young adults (N=650) in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). To further understand the role of parental resources in children’s education, analyses are conducted for both income and assets, with assets measured by liquid assets and net worth. Findings indicate that both income and assets have consistent long-term associations with children’s college entry. When measures of household wealth are …

Robust Protective Factors That Help Youths With A Parent Experiencing Depression Achieve Positive Adjustment, Hsing-Jung Chen

Theses and Dissertations

Based on a resilience framework, the purpose of this study was to address knowledge gaps about minority youths who lived in rural and poor areas, had a primary caregiver with a diagnosis of depression, and faced multiple psychosocial stressors. Three research objectives included: 1) To explore the association between ecological protective factors and four developmental outcomes-emotional adjustment, behavioral adjustment, school performance, and educational aspiration; 2) To identify the robust protective factors; and 3) To explore the interactive relationships between risk and robust protective factors. Families (N=126) where the primary caregiver had a diagnosis of major depression and had a child …

Assets And Child Well-Being In Developed Countries, Trina Williams Shanks, Youngmi Kim, Vernon Loke, Mesmin Destin

Center for Social Development Research

Although there is no universal approach to offering Child Development Accounts (CDAs), this paper introduces a framework for an age-based conceptual model that describes how such accounts might influence indicators of child wellbeing. With a focus on optimal age-appropriate development beginning at birth and ranging through young adulthood, the model incorporates research from multiple disciplines to include direct effects, indirect effects and critical milestones. We review empirical evidence from national datasets (primarily from the United States, but including research from other developed countries) to provide a context for this framework. This conceptual and empirical backdrop provides a starting point from …

Assets And Liabilities, Educational Expectations, And Children's College Degree Attainment, Min Zhan, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Assets and Liabilities, Educational Expectations, and Children's College Degree Attainment

Life Domain Research Report Series: Social Connections And Community Conduct (2010 Update), Lirondel Hazineh, Karen Frensch, Michele Preyde, Gary Cameron

Partnerships for Children and Families Project

Understanding how youth participate in social networks with peers and friends, engage in social or leisure activities, and more generally forge healthy relationships with others are key considerations in assessing overall well being of youth. Among a variety of emotional and behavioural challenges faced by children and youth involved with residential treatment or intensive family services may be their ability to negotiate relationships within social contexts (Cameron, de Boer, Frensch, & Adams, 2003).

Data were collected about youth who had been involved with children’s mental health residential treatment (RT) or intensive family service programs (IFS), designed as an alternative to …

Assets And Liabilities, Educational Expectations, And Children's College Degree Attainment, Min Zhan, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

This research examines relationships among household assets and liabilities, educational expectations of children and parents, and children’s college degree attainment. Special attention is paid to influences of different asset types (financial vs. nonfinancial assets) and liabilities (secured vs. unsecured debt). Results indicate that, after controlling for family income and other parent/child characteristics, financial and nonfinancial assets are positively related to, and unsecured debt is negatively related to, children’s college completion. Furthermore, there is evidence that financial assets are positively associated with the education expectations of parents and children. Policy directions are suggested.

Life Domain Research Report Series: School And Employment (2010 Update), Karen Frensch, Lirondel Hazineh, Gary Cameron, Michele Preyde

Partnerships for Children and Families Project

Earlier research by the Partnerships for Children and Families Project on the daily living realities of youth and children involved with mental health services, particularly residential treatment, revealed the ongoing and pervasive nature of difficulties youth and children experienced in their academic functioning (Cameron, de Boer, Frensch, & Adams, 2003). As the education experience is such a large part of youth and children’s lives, we sought to better document how children and youth were performing in school in the current study.

Data were collected about youth who had been involved with children’s mental health residential treatment (RT) or intensive family …

Commercialism, Materialism And The Drive To Fulfill Beauty Ideals In The United States, Katie Hickey

Social Work Theses

I surveyed 90 students on the amount of money they spend on beauty products and procedures and simultaneously tested their level of body dissatisfaction.

Improving The Quality Of Spiritual Care As A Dimension Of Palliative Care: The Report Of The Consensus Conference, Christina Puchalski, Betty Ferrell, Rose Virani, Shirley Otis-Green, Pamela Baird, Janet Bull, Harvey Chochinov, George Handzo, Holly Nelson-Becker, Maryjo Prince-Paul, Karen Pugliese, Daniel Sulmasy

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

A Consensus Conference sponsored by the Archstone Foundation of Long Beach, California, was held February 17–18, 2009, in Pasadena, California. The Conference was based on the belief that spiritual care is a fundamental component of quality palliative care. This document and the conference recommendations it includes builds upon prior literature, the National Consensus Project Guidelines, and the National Quality Forum Preferred Practices and Conference proceedings.

Children On The Margins: A Case Study Of I Care's Hope Centre For Street Children In Durban, South Africa, Morgan Sullivan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Seeing street children was a new concept to me, but all too familiar to Durban, South Africa. It is something that had struck me and bothered me from my arrival here in South Africa and an issue that will trouble me for a lifetime. Working with I Care at the Hope Centre allowed me to get an inside look at the lives of some of these street children while building positive relationships with both the staff and the children alike. I began to see the children as children and saw past their rugged, stone-faced exteriors deep down to their desperate, …

Attachment: The Antidote To Trauma, Joshua Straub

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Trauma and loss in life are inevitable. And all too often the traumatic experience itself can be enough to paralyze the mental, emotional, and spiritual state of any given person. Unable to interpret the traumatic experience, many instead are left defined by it. Helping clients discern the objective experience and their subjective reactions to it will help free them from the emotions and beliefs that subsequently control their lives. Based on the most relevant attachment theory research and clinical techniques, this workshop teaches the attentional strategies necessary to helping clients overcome trauma.

Wealth Effects Of An Asset-Building Intervention Among Rural Households In Sub-Saharan Africa, Gina A. N. Chowa, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Asset development is a key strategy to promote economic and social development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Research has found associations between asset ownership and household well-being. However, to date there has been little rigorous research on impacts of asset-building interventions for families in SSA. In this study, we analyze wealth outcomes of a matched savings intervention among rural households in Masindi, Uganda. Using propensity score matching and difference-in-differences, significant differences are found on the adjusted means for financial assets ($1,323.01), total wealth ($1,72.18), and net worth ($2,048.20). Overall, results show that asset-building interventions have potential utility as a policy solution for …

Child Development Accounts And Saving For Children's Future: Do Financial Incentives Matter?, Lisa Reyes Mason, Yunju Nam, Margaret Clancy, Youngmi Kim, Vernon Loke

Center for Social Development Research

This study examines savings outcomes in the first large-scale demonstration of Child Development Accounts (CDAs) in the United States—the Saving for Education, Entrepreneurship, and Downpayment (SEED) initiative. It is also the first empirical study, to our knowledge, to investigate associations between savings outcomes and incentives in an asset-building program for children. This study enhances knowledge about saving in CDAs, incentives in public policy in general, and incentives in savings policy in particular. Results can inform CDA policy design.

Overview Of Child Development Accounts In Developing Countries, Jeff Meyer, Rainier D. Masa, Jamie M. Zimmerman

Center for Social Development Research

Child Development Accounts (CDAs) as a matter of policy have existed for some time, though predominantly in developed countries. While there are at least a few government social programs with CDA components in the developing world, such policies have yet to gain significant traction. This paper finds that despite this lack of policy movement, CDAs do exist in developing countries in a variety of forms and delivered by a diverse group of institutions. Government-linked institutions (such as savings and post banks); non-governmental institutions (such as credit unions and NGOs); and commercial financial institutions are all innovating in CDA design and …

Institutions And Savings In Low-Income Households, Jami Curley, Fred Ssewamala, Michael Sherraden

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper examines the influence of structured savings program arrangements on the saving performance of low-income households in individual development accounts (IDAs). Data are drawn from the American Dream Demonstration (1997-2004), which looked at the saving performance of low-income households in matched savings accounts across the United States. Hierarchical multivariate regression is used to identify which specific structural program arrangements are important in influencing the saving performance of low-income families. Findings suggest that overall, structured program arrangements, including financial education, peer mentoring groups and saving targets are important in influencing people's saving performance-including low-income families.

Rescuing Children And Punishing Poor Families: Housing Related Decisions, Corey Shdaimah

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Child welfare policy is not self implementing; an understanding of child welfare policy must therefore include the decision making practices by those whom Michael Lipsky (1980) has called "streetlevel bureaucrats." This article reports data from a qualitative study exploring perceptions of child welfare professionals about housing-related child welfare decisions. Interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 18 child welfare lawyers, judges, and masters level social workers from a large city in the mid-Atlantic U.S. All agreed that there is insufficient affordable adequate housing. They held conflicting views, however, on: 1) the standard for adequate housing in the absence of …

A Mixed Methods Analysis Of Social Capital Of Liberian Refugee Women In Ghana, Alice Boateng

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article reports on a mixed methods study of Liberian refugee women at the Buduburam refugee camp in Ghana. The study examined the role and impact of social capital on the women's well-being. Three types of social capital - bonding, bridging, and linking - were examined. The study's findings revealed that although the women had some bonding social capital, they possessed very little bridging social capital, and linking social capital was non-existent. These findings suggest that the refugee women may benefit from national and internationalp olicies andp rograms that seek to both strengthen existing and create new sources of social …