Digital Commons Network^™

Annual Credit Checks For Adolescent Youth In Foster Care: Factors Associated With Identity Fraud Victimization, John Gyourko, Johanna K. P. Greeson

Department of Social Work - Faculty Scholarship

Child identity fraud, or the criminal exploitation of a child’s personal data, poses serious risks and challenges for youth in foster care. Despite the 10-year history of a federal mandate requiring state child welfare agencies to conduct annual credit checks for adolescent foster youth (42 U.S.C. § 675), identity fraud has received scant attention in child welfare research. Analyzing a state-level administrative dataset with linked child welfare and consumer credit records, we employed logistic regression to assess demographic and foster care placement factors associated with identity fraud victimization among a statewide population cohort of 1,176 youth (age 14 to …

Racial/Ethnic Differences In Child Protective Services Reporting, Substantiation, And Placement, With Comparison To Non-Cps Risks And Outcomes: 2005—2019, Brett Drake, Dylan Jones, Hyunil Kim, John Gyourko, Antonio R. Garcia, Richard P. Barth, Sarah Font, Emily Putnam-Hornstein, Jill Duerr Berrick, Johanna K. P. Greeson, Victoria Cook, Patricia Kohl, Melissa Jonson-Reid

Department of Social Work - Faculty Scholarship

We used National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System and Census data to examine Black–White and Hispanic–White disparities in reporting, substantiation, and out-of-home placement both descriptively from 2005–2019 and in multivariate models from 2007–2017. We also tracked contemporaneous social risk (e.g., child poverty) and child harm (e.g., infant mortality) disparities using non-child protective services (CPS) sources and compared them to CPS reporting rate disparities. Black–White CPS reporting disparities were lower than found in non-CPS risk and harm benchmarks. Consistent with the Hispanic paradox, Hispanic–White CPS reporting disparities were lower than risk disparities but similar to harm disparities. Descriptive and multivariate …

Family Drug Treatment Court Program Effectiveness As A Protective Factor For Parents In Prevention Of Substance Abuse Foster Care Re-Entries: A Mixed Methods Study, Eugenia Ann Richardson

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Foster care re-entry rates are high. Studies show that many foster care entries are due to substance abuse. These parents may enter a Family Drug Treatment Court Program that offers intensive therapy for the parent as well as services for the family. This study looks at the effectiveness of a Missouri County Family Drug Treatment Court Program at preventing foster care re-entry for those who graduate the program. This study uses a mixed methods research design. Caseworkers for the Missouri County Family Drug Treatment Court were interviewed. Quantitative secondary data was also obtained from the Missouri County Juvenile Office. Results …

Mapping Communities Of Mothering: Where Race, Class, Gender, And Space Intersect, Cynthia Edmonds-Cady

Faculty Publications - Social Work

This manuscript explores the unique construction of community that young, low-income, women create, based on the embodied internal and external spaces they occupy as lone mothers. Issues related to diverse women’s representation, voice, and power, within these socially constructed communities are examined. Attention is paid to how young low-income mothers experience and actively create their own supportive community within both geographic and social boundaries, in active resistance to dominant and oppressive assumptions. To explore these concepts in-depth, results are presented from an ethnographic study that examined the community participation of eleven young, low-income, racially diverse single mothers living in a …

Hearing Aid Loan Program For Hearing Loss At The End Of Life, M. Courtney Hughes, Diane Schecklong, King Chung

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

This article describes a hearing aid loan program to provide free amplification devices for patients at the end of life to help them communicate more effectively at this critical time. It includes steps for establishing such a program, addressing challenges, and the role of the informal caregiver throughout the intervention. Healthcare professionals and social workers are encouraged to develop similar programs and use the information here as helpful suggestions to consider for their programs.

Parenting Style In Childhood And Attitudes Toward Caregiving In Adulthood: A Qualitative Study, Abby Baumbach, M. Courtney Hughes, Lily Derain, Yujun Liu

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

This study aims to explore how relationships with parents during childhood can influence an individual’s attitude toward caregiving later in life. The qualitative data came from 47 respondents who care for adult loved ones, with a caregiver mean age of 46.7. The respondents reflected on their recent experience of providing care for their loved ones and how experiences with their caregivers growing up may have influenced their caregiving attitudes. Using a codebook thematic analysis, themes were generated linking childhood experiences to current attitudes toward caregiving. Themes included reciprocating good care, performing obligatory care, and stopping the generational transference of negative …

Trauma‐Informed Care Implementation Assessment Instrument, Karen Cellarius, Aliza Tuttle, Christine A. Da Rosa

Regional Research Institute for Human Services

Trauma Informed Oregon’s Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) Implementation Tool provides a framework for incorporating trauma-informed policies, practices and care into any organization’s structure. It was originally created in 2022 by Trauma Informed Oregon (TIO) and the Human Services Implementation Lab (iLab) at Portland State University’s Regional Research Institute. Implementation of Trauma-Informed Care is an ongoing process and is not expected to happen all at once. Systematically assessing TIC implementation accomplishes two things. First, it documents the extent that the organization is trauma-informed and clearly identifies systemic strengths, weaknesses and gaps. Second, it helps the organization decide on overall goals, and identify …

Strategies For Emotional Intelligence Training For Improving Employee Performance, Dale Elizabeth Laing-Hall

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The nursing home industry's lack of emotional intelligence (EI) can negatively impact patient satisfaction and performance. Nursing home leaders who lack strategies to apply EI training to increase job satisfaction, reduce employee turnover, and improve interpersonal skills risk financial loss and business failure. Grounded in the EI framework, the purpose of this multiple qualitative case study was to explore strategies nursing home leaders use to apply EI training to reduce employee turnover, increase job satisfaction, and improve interpersonal skills for performance improvement. The participants comprised four nursing home leaders from multiple nursing homes in Florida who implemented strategies to reduce …

Perceptions And Experiences Of The Benefits Of Premarital Counseling Among African American Couples, Evelyn N. Roberts

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have conducted studies on the benefits of premarital counseling. However, little was known about the experiences of African American couples. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore African American couples’ perceptions and experiences concerning the benefits of premarital counseling. Social learning theory provided the framework for the study. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with eight heterosexual African American couples. Colaizzi’s seven-step method of coding was used to analyze participants’ responses. Four themes emerged: couples’ expectations of premarital counseling, influences regarding participation, quality and structure of sessions, and overall experience. Findings could impact social change by …

The Effect Of Federal And State-Level Policy On Undocumented Childhood Arrivals, Kim Kaczmarowski

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) provides a 2-year reprieve from deportation and a work permit for eligible undocumented childhood arrivals. It does not provide a pathway to citizenship or confer rights or protections enjoyed by those with permanent legal status leaving recipients in a constant state of legal limbo. State-level policy can mitigate or exacerbate obstacles faced by this population. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore how federal and state-level policy in a conservative location shaped experiences of membership or exclusion. Responses were examined using segmented assimilation theory to identify layered contexts of reception. The …

Public-School Superintendents’ Perceptions Of Trauma-Informed School Assumptions And Principles, Denise Gay Presnell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research shows that trauma-informed practices in schools can increase student performance and well-being. School social workers are well-suited to bring these practices to their system but are most successful when partnering with public-school superintendents. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to understand public-school superintendents’ perceptions of trauma-informed school assumptions and principles. The study was guided by four assumptions for trauma-informed care, six principles for trauma-informed schools, ecological systems theory, and empowerment theory. Research questions were designed to ask participants about their experiences of trauma in their schools, their perceptions of the assumptions and principles, the benefits and challenges …

Social Worker Perspectives On Implementation Of Harm Reduction Into Abstinence-Based Substance Abuse Programs, Susan Woomer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Opioid addiction is a growing epidemic in the United States and was declared a public health emergency by the Department of Health and Human Services in October of 2017. There is a growing recognition that the current treatment for heroin and opioid addiction, abstinence-based treatment programs, is not readily available and has minimal success in addressing the epidemic. Harm reduction therapy is recognized as an effective way to address the opioid epidemic. This study aimed to develop further insight and understanding of how to integrate harm reduction therapy in abstinence-based treatment programs. The theoretical framework for this study was the …

Social Workers’ Growth, Identity, And Professional Quality Of Life After Adverse Childhood Experiences, Hope Beavers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been linked to long-term impairments involving neurobiological and epidemiological functions and increased risk for mental and physical health challenges. Many social workers have experienced a high number of ACEs, which increases risks for problems involving wellness, employment instability, and secondary traumatic stress (STS). However, the impact of total ACEs on social workers’ identity, growth, and professional quality of life (PQL) is less known. Using a correlational cross-sectional design, this quantitative study involved examining the impact of total ACEs on posttraumatic growth (PTG), event centrality, and PQL (in terms of burnout, STS, and compassion satisfaction) for …

Clinicians' Perceptions Of Telehealth Services During The Covid-19 Pandemic In Virginia, Johnetta Hill Guishard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The onset of COVID-19 introduced unprecedented changes to how U.S. public health services were delivered. Many public and private agencies faced mandatory closures, social distancing mandates, and rapid transitions to telehealth interventions and treatment. Mental health clinicians witnessed disruptions in continuity of care and an increase in mental health risks overall. Although some studies have been conducted to survey clinicians’ perceptions of the usefulness and ease of use of technology-based interventions, knowledge about mental health clinicians’ experiences and perceptions in Virginia was sparse. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore how mental health clinicians in Virginia described …

Help-Seeking Behaviors And Employment Hope Among Depressed Black Male Foster Care Alumni, Vanessa Jennings

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Traumatic depression is a system of experiences where the mind, heart, and gut track happenings lingering among systemic models of prevention and intervention and personal stories. This nonexperimental correlational study aimed to provide insights into mental help-seeking and employment hope among depressed Black/African American foster care male alums. The central research question was to what degree, if any, a positive relationship exists between employment hope and seeking access to mental health-related services among male foster care alums who identify with depression. It was hypothesized that a statistically significant relationship exists. The social cognitive career theory and theory of planned behavior …

Transphobia In Class, Anti-Trans Legislation At The State: A Commentary On Navigating Harm And Hope In A Social Work Education Program, Emera Greenwood, Megan S. Paceley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

EG (they/them): I was misgendered on day one of my BSW program; isolation and transphobia continued for two years. While I did my best to advocate for myself, I learned that you can't fight institutionally entrenched oppression alone.

MP (they/them): EG joined my class mid-semester after repeated incidents of transphobia. For two years, during an onslaught of anti-trans policies across the U.S., we advocated for changes in our school and social work education.

EG’s experience is not unique. Numerous studies document transphobia experienced by transgender and gender expansive (TGE) social work students and the lack of TGE content, visibility, and …

‘Have They Talked About Us At All?’ The Moral Distress Of Healthcare Social Workers During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Investigation In The State Of Texas, Sophia Fantus, Rebecca Cole, Lataya Hawkins, Priyanjali Chakraborty

School of Social Work Faculty Publications

Amid the ongoing pandemic, as overburdened and underfunded health systems are requiring health care social workers (HSWs) to assume responsibilities beyond their scope of practice, institutional constraints have undoubtedly heightened encounters of moral distress (MD). MD is the psychological disequilibrium that arises when institutional factors obligate an individual to carry out a task that violates their professional and/or personal ethics. Our qualitative study investigated HSWs’ (n = 43) MD in Texas during the 2019 COVID-19 pandemic. Findings from our study indicate that MD occurs across five levels: (i) patient care decisions; (ii) personal care decisions; (iii) team/unit decisions; (iv) …

Identification And Removal Of Barriers To Va Mental Health Treatment For Black Female Veterans, Thea Jenune Williams

DSW Capstone Projects

The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) operates the largest integrated health care system in the country. The VA dates back to 1865, when President Lincoln signed legislature establishing a network for caring for the nation’s wounded after the Civil War. Many see this system as a safety net for the nation’s military veterans. Research shows veterans have reported several factors that interfere with them receiving needed mental health treatment from the VA. The majority of veterans are males however the number of females is quickly growing. Currently, females make up 11% of the veteran population and are projected to reach …

Black Women And The Weight Of The World: When The Weight Becomes Too Much To Bear, April R. Edmonds

DSW Capstone Projects

ABSTRACT

Black women’s mental health continues to go largely underrepresented. Black women are seen as having many protective factors such as their faith communities, family and friends, and what others see as strength and resilience. A review of the literature depicts Black women as traditionally being caretakers, nurturers, and depicted as strong (Castelin & White, 2022). Because of this perception, terms such as the Strong Black Woman Schema and the Black Superwoman Phenomena are what many equate Black women with. This scholarship instead shows how associations such as these impact Black women negatively and impose additional stigma and hardship. Research …

The Altavoces Project: A Digital Narrative Approach To Anti-Oppressive Social Work Research With Latino Youth, Jenn M. Lilly

Social Service Faculty Publications

Although digital narrative methods lend themselves well to participatory, action-oriented inquiry, these relatively new methods also raise questions about potential risks involved in using digital technologies to engage marginalized groups in social work research. This article examines the feasibility, challenges, and opportunities of using digital narrative methods in anti-oppressive social work research (AOSWR) by providing empirical insights from the AltaVoces project—an AOSWR project that used digital narrative methods to engage Latino youth. This case study demonstrates the compatibility and feasibility of digital narrative methods in AOSWR by examining to what extent the AltaVoces project: (1) used methods that center the …

Latina Young People’S Perspectives On Healthy Romantic Relationships: A Strengths-Based, Qualitative Inquiry, Susan R. Pace, Jenn M. Lilly, Maddox C. Emerick

Social Service Faculty Publications

There is a dearth of research examining the relationship perspectives of Latina young people, a population that reports disproportionate rates of teen dating violence (TDV). This strengths-based, qualitative study utilized critical narrative inquiry to explore Latinas’ relationship perspectives through in-depth interviews. Rigorous analysis revealed participants’ desire for freedom from violence/abuse, open communication, independence, and egalitarian values in relationships, while reporting relationship models and media representation as their main influences on relationship perspectives. Our findings demonstrate that although patriarchal gender norms influence romantic relationships with Latinx cultures, many participants rejected traditional gendered power dynamics that can lead to violence, providing important …

Developing The Weaving Healthy Families Program To Promote Wellness And Prevent Substance Abuse And Violence: Approach, Adaptation, And Implementation, Catherine E. Mclinley, Jenn M. Lilly, Jessica L. Liddell, Hannah Knipp, Tamela Autumn Solomon, Nikki Comby, Harold Comby, Patricia Haynes, Kathleen Ferris, Maple Goldberg

Social Service Faculty Publications

Family prevention programs that enhance mental health, wellness, and resilience—while simultaneously addressing violence and alcohol and other drug (AOD) abuse—among Indigenous families are scarce. This gap in culturally grounded and community-based programs creates a critical need to develop and evaluate the efficacy of such prevention programs. This article fills this gap, with the purpose of describing the structure and content of the Weaving Healthy Families (WHF) program, a culturally grounded and community-based program aimed at preventing violence and AOD use while promoting mental health, resilience, and wellness in Indigenous families. The focus then turns to how to approach this process …

“¿Y Tu Novio? Where’S Your Boyfriend?”: A Cultural-Ecological Analysis Of Latinas’ Narratives Of Teen Dating Experiences, Jenn M. Lilly, Susan R. Pace, Maddox C. Emerick

Social Service Faculty Publications

There is a dearth of research examining the dating experiences of Latina teens—a large and rapidly growing population in the U.S. that reports high rates of teen dating violence. The purpose of this qualitative research was to explore Latinas’ teen dating experiences and the familial and sociocultural factors that impact them using a cultural-ecological perspective. Twenty- five first-, second-, and third-generation immigrant Latinas between the ages of 18 and 23 participated in the research. A purposive sample was drawn from the New York City (NYC) metropolitan area. We applied a critical narrative inquiry methodology to conduct in-depth narrative interviews with …

“Putting My Life Into A Story”: A Preliminary Evaluation Of A Digital Narrative Intervention Combining Participatory Video And Narrative Therapy, Jenn M. Lilly

Social Service Faculty Publications

This article describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of a digital narrative intervention that combined participatory video (PV) and narrative therapy practices to engage Latinx immigrant young people in processes of personal and societal change. Drawing on ethnographic field notes, process recordings, audio recordings of intervention implementation, and focus group data, this program evaluation offers empirical evidence of the impacts of this innovative, digital narrative intervention on Latinx immigrant young people (ages 18-24) in New Orleans. A constructivist grounded theory approach to data analysis resulted in three main themes: critical self-awareness, Latinx and immigrant pride, and media literacy. This study …

Big Ideas, Small Data: Opportunities And Challenges For Data Science And The Social Services Sector, Gerri Dimas, Lauri Goldkind, Renata Konrad

Social Service Faculty Publications

The social services sector, comprised of a constellation of programs meeting critical human needs, lacks the resources and infrastructure to implement data science tools. As the use of data science continues to expand, it has been accom- panied by a rise in interest and commitment to using these tools for social good. This commentary examines overlooked, and under-researched limitations of data science applications in the social sector—the volume, quality, and context of the available data that currently exists in social service systems require unique considerations. We explore how the presence of small data within the social service contexts can result …

Digital Discontents: Freedoms And Constraints In Platform Social Work, Lauri Goldkind, Barbara Pohl, Lea Wolf

Social Service Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Episcopal Church Home For Children Records - Accession 31, Episcopal Church Home For Children

Manuscript Collection

This collection is a valuable source on the Church’s historical effort to extend its services for the social improvement of South Carolina (in this case the Episcopal Diocese’s program for destitute children.) While there is information on the Episcopal Home for Children from its beginning in 1850 to 1967, the actual records do not start until 1866. A centennial history of the Episcopal Home will serve as an aid and general guideline to the researcher. (See box 1, folder 1). The collection consists of minutes, reports of the annual meeting, general correspondence, superintendent’s records, health records, attendance registers, financial records, …

Sheprep: Examining The Influence Of The Messaging And The Messenger Associated With Prep Uptake Among African American Women, Christian C. Spears

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

African American Women (AAW) make up less than 15% of the female population in the United States but account for over 50% of new HIV diagnoses among females. This largely preventable health disparity can be mitigated by advocating and prescribing Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), a preventive HIV medication, to persons at risk. Despite advances in medication options, there are less than 13% of Black people who could benefit from having been prescribed PrEP, and limited research and promotion on the effectiveness of PrEP for AAW. The “ShePrEP Study” aimed to assess awareness, perceptions, and receptivity toward PrEP among AAW. This study …

Acculturative Stress And Quality Of Life Among Older Korean Immigrants: Do Religiosity And Resilience Matter?, Sunghwan Cho

Theses and Dissertations

The impact of acculturative stress on the quality of life among older adults has been widely acknowledged in previous literature. However, few studies have explored the role of religiosity and resilience in this relationship among older Korean immigrants. This dissertation explores the relationships between acculturative stress, religiosity, resilience, and quality of life among 300 older adults aged 65 years and over who live in an ethnic Korean enclave of Queens, New York. The study employs path analysis and multiple regression analyses to test hypothesized relationships among these variables.

The key findings of the study are as follows: (1) higher acculturative …

Wrestling With The One Drop Rule: Exploring Multiraciality In Social Work Education, Britney Pitts

Theses and Dissertations

This three paper dissertation aims to provide a baseline understanding of how multiraciality is understood in social work education. The first paper, a fusion autoethnography, explores how my own perception of my multiracial identity was clarified throughout my social work education. This exploration led to the development of incongruent logic in/validation (ILV), a new aspect of racial identity invalidation (RII). The second paper, a multimethod qualitative case study, explores master of social work (MSW) students’ knowledge, attitudes, and anticipated professional behaviors with multiracial individuals and families. Themes from this study include: never explicitly learned about multiraciality; non-ecological endorsements of multiracial …