Digital Commons Network^™

Morale And The Mental Health Worker: Burnout In The Department Of Behavioral Health, Karen Lee Banker

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

African American Children In The Child Welfare System: An American Tragedy, Dana Claire Cunningham

Theses Digitization Project

The enormous amount of African American children in the foster care system is a concern for many professional social workers, and others who are interested in this issue.

A Comparison Of Re-Entry And Traditional Students Needs And Issues, Jacky Linn Patt, Gloria Ann Stickler

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Child Protective Investigations On Families, Children, And Workers In Unsubstantiated Cases, Tara Elizabeth Agajanian

Theses Digitization Project

The objective of this study was to determine some of the effects of child protective service investigations on families, children and the workers, when the allegations are determined to be unfounded and no abuse and/or neglect is further suspected.

A Program Evaluation Of The Adolescent Family Life Program, Tricia Rachelle Licon

Theses Digitization Project

The focus of the study was an evaluation of a pregnancy prevention program. The study was designed to look at the adolescent pregnant and parenting population in the Adolescent Family Life Program, which serves about 300 clients in Southern California.

School Retention And Academic Self-Efficacy With Elementary Students, Cheryl Anne Spiro, Karen Monique Frazier

Theses Digitization Project

The significance of this project was to incorporate specific tasks into a classroom setting that would be used to enhance retained student's self-regulatory efficacy. The interns hypothesized that group interventions could help children who were retained to increase their belief in themselves and their abilities.

Effects Of Head Start Participation On Cognitive And Social Functioning Of Children In The United States, Anshumala Ram

Theses Digitization Project

This study examined the effects of Head Start participation on the cognitive and social functioning of children 6 to 14 years of age in the United States.

Domestic Violence, Conflict Resolution Skills, And Alcoholism: Treatment Recommendations, Julio Merlan

Theses Digitization Project

Researchers agree that there is a relationship between alcoholism and domestic violence but theoretical perspectives have not established a correlation between the variables. Alcoholism and domestic violence are a manifestation of a complex system of family interactions characterized by inadequate communication skills.

Expanding A Gang Tattoo Removal Program For San Bernardino County, Appannagari M.D. Gnanadev

Theses Digitization Project

This thesis covers the background and history of cultural attitudes towards body art, scarification and tattoos, the history of street gangs and their influence and impact on Southern California communities, and an in-depth program analysis of the "Gang Tattoo Removal Program" established at the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC).

The Incidence And Diversion Of People With Mental Illness In The Kent County Correctional Facility, Marleah Bevelacqua

Masters Theses

Many individuals with mental illness are arrested specifically due to symptoms of their mental illness for charges such as trespassing or disorderly conduct. This study involves several facets of determining an appropriate diversion program for Kent County Correctional Facility to place people in community based treatment programs rather than jail. The quantitative portion of the study was to replicate an earlier study performed in 1994 to determine an accurate number of persons with mental illness incarcerated in the facility. The remainder of the study was more qualitative in nature, studying jail diversion programs in other areas to determine similarities and …

Evaluating The Engagement Process Of Involuntary Male Clients In A Court-Ordered Domestic Abuse Program, Colleen Cunningham

Theses and Graduate Projects

The purpose of this quantitative study is to investigate the level of resistance in involuntary clients participating in a domestic abuse treatment program. Using a time-series design, the study explores at which point in treatment, if at all, these clients become engaged in the treatment process. Twenty-one men attending a domestic violence program participated in the study. Survey questionnaires were administered to study participants at weeks one, three, and five of the treatment program. The survey focused on the level of resistance to treatment each man displayed. In addition, the survey explored the level of accountability program participants exhibited for …

The Development Of A Support Group Curriculum For Parents Of Infants Hospitalized In A Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Pamela L. Dehkes

Theses and Graduate Projects

The birth of a premature infant can be an emotionally devastating experience for most families. The separation of caregiver and child during tnis time can also inhibit behaviors that facilitate healthy parent-child attachment. Research suggests that adequate parental support during the time of hospitalization can significantly reduce the negative effects of an NICU experience, which can reduce the likelihood of later parent-child attachment issues and foster better developmental outcomes for the child. The focus of this thesis is a support group curriculum, which has been developed using both the research regarding the NICU experience, and a parent survey taken in …

Assessment Of Clinical Partner Violence Screening Tools, Ann L. Coker, Brian O. Pope, Paige H. Smith, Maureen Sanderson, James R. Hussey

CRVAW Faculty Journal Articles

Objective: to compare the Women’s Experience with Battering Scale (WEB) with the Index of Spouse Abuse-Physical Scale (ISA-P) as screening tools to identify intimate partner violence (IPV).

Methods: We conducted a large cross-sectional survey of women age 18 to 65 attending one of two family practice clinics from 1997 to 1998. All women completed both the WEB and the ISA-P and a telephone interview. We figured agreement estimates between the two tools, used stratified analyses to evaluate attributes of those more likely to screen as battered or physically assaulted, and compared associations between the WEB and ISA-P and a range …

The Social Construction Of Sexuality: Deconstructing Masters And Johnson, Jason Kennedy Kae-Smith

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Welfare Reform On American Indian Reservations: Initial Experience Of Service Providers And Recipients On Reservations In Arizona, Shanta Pandey, Eddie Brown, Leslie Scheuler-Whitaker

Buder Center for American Indian Studies Research

In this article we document trends in welfare caseloads and some initial experiences of service providers and welfare recipients on reservations within Arizona under Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). We document the issues and concerns of state and tribal service providers as they implement the legislation on reservations that are often geographically isolated and which lack infrastructure, jobs, childcare and transportation.

We also record experiences of women with children on reservations with the 1996 federal welfare legislation. These families experience similar barriers when trying to move from welfare to work as do their counterparts across the country; however, these …

Social Work Practitioners And Technology Transfer, Anna M. Scheyett, Amelia C. Roberts, Raymond Kirk

Faculty and Staff Publications

The application of new skills and interventions into the practice community is often slow and haphazard. A coaching intervention is proposed to augment traditional social work education techniques and maximize the integration of new knowledge into social work practice. This coaching model includes assessment of a practitioner's readiness for change, stage-wise coaching interventions, assessment of organizational barriers to the transfer of new information, and development of strategies to address these barriers. Implications for social work professionals development and future research are discussed.

El Impacto De Las Nuevas Technologias En El Futuro De Las Technicas De Evaluacion Psicologica Clinica, Richard H. Dana, Isidro A. E. Sanz, Barry A. Ritzler, Jan Ivanouw

Regional Research Institute for Human Services

En este trabajo se presentan reflexiones desde distintas perspectivas acerca del futuro de la Evaluación Psicológica y el papel que las tecnologías informáticas tendráen ella. En la actualidad, es innegable la importancia que ha alcanzado la informática dentro de las actividades académicas y profesionales en tomo a la Evaluación Psicológica. La capacidad cada vez mayor de las computadoras facilitó las tareas de investigación, desarrollo, y aplicación de tests psicológicos. Parece altamente previsible que en el futuro la informática tendrá un lugar aún mayor en el auxilio del psicógicos evaluador. Algunas posibles consecuencias futuras son expuestas y debatidas por los diferentes …

Exploring The Inequalities Between Men And Women In Relation To Marriage: A Feminist Analysis Of Women In Social Work's Experiences Of Marriage, Natalie Mccormac

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In this thesis I explore the inequalities between men and women in relation to marriage and the impact ofexternal pressures on women and their choices within their marriages. I interviewed five married women and one woman in a common-law relationship about the story of their marriage. I used narrative analysis to interpret the verbatim transcriptions of each interview. In the findings I present portions of each woman’s story in her words along with my own interpretative comments. The findings indicated that women are experiencing indirect pressure from extemal sources within regard to their individual choices and their choices within their …

The Leap Of Faith Exploring Social Workers' Role In Therapeutic Foster Care And The Impact Of Implementing The Strengths Perspective, Joshua M. Kent

Theses and Graduate Projects

The strengths perspective has received significant attention in recent years in both academic and practice settings. Examining its implementation will provide important information about how it can function as a practice model, and therefore facilitate the development of this emergent model. The present study focuses on the implementation of a pilot project designed to incorporate the strengths perspective in therapeutic foster care. The study examines how the strengths perspective affects social workers' roles and responsibilities in therapeutic foster care, and what can be learned about the strengths perspective by examining its implementation in an agency setting. The findings show that …

Attribution Of Blame In Father-Daughter Incest Cases: Perceptions Of Social Workers And Case Aides, Jane E. Leclair

Theses and Graduate Projects

This exploratory study exarnined the attribution of blame in father-daughter incest cases by surveying the perceptions of 100 social workers and case aides. The random sample of 74 women and 26 men were mailed a self-repoft survey packet including two Likert-type, ordinal level scales: The Jackson Incest Blame Scale (JIBS) which measured offender, victim, societal and situational factors; and the JEL Blame Scale which measured mother blame. With a response rate of 30Vr, findings were reported in the median and mode. JIBS findings indicated most blame was aftributed to the offender, little to the victim, with varying amounts of blame …

A Communitarian Critique Of The Child Protective System, Toni Terling-Watt

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Child Protective Services (CPS) has been defined as an ineffective system. Common criticisms are that the system is overburdened and that family preservation policy pressures CPS to reunite families that can't be repaired. However, empirical analyses that identify the deficiencies of this organization are limited. This study utilizes case files and in-depth interviews with interventionists within and outside of CPS to explore the issue. Results reveal that the most common criticisms of the system do have merit. However, it reveals additional system limitations. Results suggest that the child protective system is characterized by an individualistic approach and that this focus …

Job Stability And Wage Progression Patterns Among Early Tanf Leavers, Steven G. Anderson, Anthony P. Halter, George Julnes, Richard Schuldt

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article reports on first-year employment experiences of a randomly selected sample of 213 Illinois TANF leavers. Aggregate employment levels were 70 percent at exit, and leavers typically generated earnings from a single full-time job. However, employment often was unstable, so that only about one-fourth of leavers had the same job both at exit and when interviewed 10-11 months later. Employment instability resulted from the marginal or temporary nature of many jobs, as well as employment barriers such as health problems and lack of day care. Average wage levels easily exceeded the minimum wage and grew during the first year …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 24, No. 4 (December 2000)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• A COMMUNITARIAN CRITIQUE OF THE CHILD PROTECTIVE SYSTEM - Toni Terling-Watt
• ESTIMATING POVERTY RATES IN A METROPOLIS: THE EXAMPLE OF LOS ANGELES/LONG BEACH - Robert G. Mogull
• JOB STABILITY AND WAGE PROGRESSION PATTERNS AMONG EARLY TANF LEAVERS - Steven G. Anderson, Anthony P. Halter, George Julnes, and Richard Schuldt
• WELFARE REFORM: A SOCIAL WORK PERSPECTIVE FOR ASSESSING SUCCESS - Dennis D. Long
• THE IMPACT OF ECONOMIC STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMS [ESAPs] ON WOMEN AND CHILDREN: IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WELFARE IN ZIMBABWE - Saliwe M. Kawewe and Robert Dibie
• THE HIGHER EDUCATION OPTION FOR POOR WOMEN WITH CHILDREN - …

"Welfare Reform: A Social Work Perspective For Assessing Success", Dennis D. Long

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 has instituted major changes in providing for the poor in the United States. This article examines the importance of evaluating the impact of this legislation from a social work perspective. Using Mannheim as a theoretical orientation, welfare reform is examined in relation to dominant ideologies of the 90's. The salience of social work research, particularly qualitative research, in evaluating welfare reform outcomes is explored. Social workers are encouraged to challenge current ideology and utilize social work expertise to conduct research and disseminate information documenting the achievements and misfortunes of clients …

The Higher Education Option For Poor Women With Children, Shanta Pandey, Min Zhan, Susan Neely-Barnes, Natasha Menon

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Postsecondary education is the key to exiting from poverty permanently. Yet, the PRWORA allows women only up to 12 months of vocational training while on welfare. This paper focuses on bringing back the importance of investing in the education of poor women, particularly the postsecondary education of poor women with children, to the forefront of the welfare debate. In this paper we review federal and state level welfare policies toward postsecondary education of poor women with children. Some states are interpreting federal welfare policy strictly and allowing only up to 12 months of vocational training while on welfare. Other states …

A Descriptive Analysis Of Skin Color Bias In Puerto Rico: Ecological Applications To Practice, Ronald E. Hall

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Travel brochures to the island of Puerto Rico aptly profess the rich variation in skin color and other phenotypes among its people. Following acts of domination vis-a-vis the island's cultural mores, invading colonizers evolved a social hierarchy to discourage any notions of merit attributable to racial diversity. According to the data herewith, the presumption of a relationship between skin color and selected values for skin color ideals is plausible. Social work practitionersa re then challenged to decipher the maze of racial traditions as pertains to discrimination. Doing so will enable an environment for knowledge based purely upon merit in order …

Review Of The Social Edges Of Psychoanalysis. Neil J. Smelser. Reviewed By Daniel Coleman., Daniel Coleman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Neil J. Smelser, The Social Edges of Psychoanalysis. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1999. $35.00 hardcover, $24.00 papercover.

The Process Of Resilience, Denise R. Vikturek

Theses and Graduate Projects

Resilience is the overcoming of some risk factor resulting in positive adaptation. Respondents from a mental health center and a medical institution who are involved in individual and family therapies completed a quantitative survey identifying specific traits, relationships and experiences impacting an individual's adaptation to adversity. The hypothesis was that if practitioners can identify these specifics they can help clients learn to recognize and seek out such traits, relationships, and experiences. The implication for practice is that through such teaching practitioners can increase the likelihood of client positive adaptation to adverse situations.

A Multilevel Model Of Client Participation In Intensive Family Preservation Services, Julia H. Littell, E. A. Tajima

Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research Faculty Research and Scholarship

We identify two distinct components of parent participation in intensive family preservation services: collaboration in treatment planning and compliance with program expectations. Using hierarchical linear models, we explore influences on collaboration and compliance at the case, worker, and program levels. Effects of cross-level interactions are also examined. Parental substance abuse, mental health problems, minority status, and lack of extended family support predict lower levels of participation. Workers' perceptions of their clients and of their own working conditions appear to influence client participation. Program factors matter as well, although some operate in tandem with case characteristics and worker perceptions.

Factors Encouraging The Growth Of Sustainable Communities: A Jamaican Case Study, Eleanor Wint

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The concept of sustainable communities assumes a process of social and/or economic development that has as a high priority, the needs of the future generation. However, models of social and economic development employed in developing countries, must rely heavily on political, social and psychological empowerment techniques being employed at the community level, in order to warrant any type of sustainability becoming apparent. A case study taken from Kingston, Jamaica recounts and examines the experience of a Social Work Unit/private company in partnership, becoming involved in a low-income community's drive for sustainable development. The paper will reflect on the intervention, the …