Digital Commons Network^™

Review Of The Student Loan Mess: How Good Intentions Created A Trillion-Dollar Problem, John Mcnutt

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Joel Best and Eric Best, The Student Loan Mess: How Good Intentions Created a Trillion-Dollar Problem. University of California Press (2014). $26.95 (hardcover

Correlates Of Job Burnout Among Human Services Workers: Implications For Workforce Retention, Madhavappallil Thomas, Vandana Kohli, Jong Choi

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Job burnout has impacted workers and negatively transformed the social agency and its clients. This study examined the correlates of job burnout among human service workers in a non-urban setting in Central California. Using a convenience sample, researchers collected responses from 288 participants on a 13 item burnout scale. Findings indicated that workers experienced moderate to high levels of job burnout. Several scale items, including caseload size, age, gender, education, and experience, were significantly correlated with burnout. In addition, regression analyses revealed that caseload size was the most significant predictor of job burnout among human service workers. Implications for workforce …

E-Advocacy In Human Services: The Impact Of Organizational Conditions And Characteristics On Electronic Advocacy Activities Among Nonprofits, Lauri Goldkind

Social Service Faculty Publications

E-advocacy, or the constellation of electronic tools used for policy advocacy, offer cost-effective approaches for engaging constituents to create social change. Providers of human services may face challenges when trying to implement these tools. While many electronic tools have low barriers for entry, other factors may inhibit their use in agencies. This article explores the organizational characteristics related to the use of electronic advocacy strategies. Based on a survey of nonprofit executives, the study uses path modeling to describe the connections between organizational characteristics and the use of electronic advocacy tools. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Project Reconnect Program: Engaging Truant Adolescents Through Pre-Court Diversion, Trevis C. Killen

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The current literature on truancy diversion court programs has failed to examine middle and high school truants’ perceptions regarding how well truancy diversion court programs improve school attendance and performance. As a result, the purpose of this study was to examine participants’ perceptions regarding how well the Project Reconnect Diversion Program empowered their improved school attendance, compliance with school rules, and completion of classroom assignments. The researcher used a case study design to investigate the participants’ perceptions of the Project Reconnect Diversion Program. Purposive sampling was employed to select the participants who completed the Project Reconnect Diversionary Program during the …

Food Landscapes: A Case Study Of A Cooking And Art- Focused Program For Teens Living In A Food Desert, Jessica R. Norris

Theses and Dissertations

This study constructs themes and propositions about the experiences of youth participants in the fall 2013 Food Landscapes program at the Neighborhood Resource Center in Richmond, Virginia. During the program, youth participated in cooking-based volunteerism with adults with disabilities and created short videos about their experiences. In this study, I analyzed pre- and post-program participant interviews, twice-weekly program observations, and facilitator reflections to understand how Food Landscapes affected youths’ conception of community engagement and communication strategies. This case study offers insight into how youth experience after-school programming of this design. Based on my findings, youth develop and rely upon a …

Resident And Home Characteristics Report 2014: Adult Foster Homes, Paula C. Carder, Sheryl Dejoy Elliott, Aubrey Limburg, Jacklyn Nicole Kohon, Amanuel Zimam, Maximilian West, Margaret B. Neal

Institute on Aging Publications

In collaboration with the Aging and People with Disabilities program of Oregon’s Department of Human Services (DHS), Portland State University’s Institute on Aging conducted this research study of adult foster homes (AFH) throughout the state of Oregon. The Oregon legislature appropriated funds for DHS to collect information from these community-based care providers that will allow DHS, providers, and the public to better understand resident characteristics and adult foster home services.

This report summarizes findings from the first state-wide survey of licensed adult foster homes in Oregon. The survey goals were to:

• describe resident health-related needs, service use, and demographic characteristics; …

Impact Evaluation On The Parents Support And Outreach Program (Psop) Olmsted County Child And Family Services, Lucy Matos

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this impact evaluation was to identify critical components that support the work done by PSOP by analyzing the effectiveness in serving all families, and to monitor the relative cost of providing these essential services to the at risk population in Olmsted County.

1. To obtain a sample of cases closed in 2011 and categorize them by type of services / determinations prior, during and after PSOP involvement.
2. To conduct a two-year follow up on PSOP impact; including a) maltreatment report by type and finding, and b) reentry for Child and Family Services by type and intensity (voluntary/involuntary).
3. To …

Expanding ‘Family Education’ Programs For Intensive Residential Treatment Services (Irts): A Study Of Minnesota Irts Programs, Abby Sharp

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Intensive Residential Treatment Services (IRTS) programs provide mental health treatment to adults with a Severe and Persistent Mental Illness (SPMI). The programs are required by the state of Minnesota to offer family education and support to clients and their families while the clients are receiving IRTS treatment. The purpose of this project was to assess IRTS programs across the state, and in conclusion, provide an expansive family education program at Horizon Homes, Inc. IRTS program in South Central Minnesota.

Mass Shootings And Mental Health Policy, Jessica Rosenberg

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Research suggests that mass shootings can increase mental health stigma, reinforce stereotypes that people with mental illness are violent, and influence public policy. This article examines mental health policy initiatives resulting from the mass shootings in Sandy Hook, Connecticut and Aurora, Colorado within the context of existing research about mental illness, suicide, substance abuse and gun violence. Previous legislation that restricts access to firearms among persons with mental illness is reviewed. The article suggests that gun control legislation that focuses on persons with mental illness is not supported by research, may create barriers to treatment, and may have limited efficacy …

Review Of The Latino Threat: Constructing Immigrants, Citizens And The Nation. Leo R. Chavez. Reviewed By Catherine Carballeira., Catherine Carballeira

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Review of:

Leo R. Chavez, The Latino Threat: Constructing Immigrants, Citizens and the Nation. Stanford University Press (2nd ed.) (2013). $70 (hardcover); $22.95 (paperback).

Review Of The Origins Of Active Social Policy: Labour Market And Childcare Policies In A Comparative Perspective. Giuliano Bonoli. Reviewed By James Midgley, James Midgley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Giuliano Bonoli, The Origins of Active Social Policy: Labour Market and Childcare Policies in a Comparative Perspective. Oxford University Press (2013). $ 99.00 (hardcover).

When Government Helped: Learning From The Successes And Failures Of The New Deal. Sheila D. Collins And Gertrude Schaffner Goldberg (Eds.). Reviewed By Robert D. Leighninger, Jr., Robert D. Leighninger Jr.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Sheila D. Collins and Gertrude Schaffner Goldberg (Eds.), When Government Helped: Learning from the Successes and Failures of the New Deal. Oxford University Press (2014). $39.95 paperback, 360 pages.

Poverty Knowledge, Coercion, And Social Rights: A Discourse Ethical Contribution To Social Epistemology, David Ingram

Philosophy: Faculty Publications and Other Works

In today’s America the persistence of crushing poverty in the midst of staggering affluence no longer incites the righteous jeremiads it once did. Resigned acceptance of this paradox is fueled by a sense that poverty lies beyond the moral and technical scope of government remediation. The failure of experts to reach agreement on the causes of poverty merely exacerbates our despair. Are the causes internal to the poor – reflecting their more or less voluntary choices? Or do they emanate from structures beyond their control (but perhaps amenable to government remediation)? If both of these explanations are true (as I …

Put Him In Grandma's House: Investigating Variation In Kinship Policy And Procedure Across Ohio's County-Based Child Welfare System, Andreja M. Siliunas

Senior Independent Study Theses

Since 1980, the U.S. child welfare system has exhibited an increasing reliance upon kinship caregivers as a resource for children who have been removed from the homes of their birthparents due to allegations of abuse or neglect. Literature suggests that agencies differ considerably in their treatment of kinship care providers; however, limited research has been conducted examining the causes and implications of this variation, especially in the case of Ohio’s county-based system. The current study thus aims to define the distinguishing characteristics of kinship policies and procedures of child welfare agencies across Ohio, and to consider the impact of various …

Making Space For Dying: Portraits Of Living With Dying, Elise Lark

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

In Making Space for Dying: Portraits of Living with Dying, I describe the everyday lived experience of dying and the care culture within freestanding, community-based, end-of-life residences (CBEOLR) utilizing portraiture and arts-based research. I craft four case studies into “portraits,” based on interviews, on-site visits, up-close observation, and field notes. In the person-centered portraits, I reveal the inner landscape of two terminally ill women, with data represented in poetry. In the place-centered portraits, I “map” the social topography of two CBEOLRs to illustrate how lives and care of the dying are emplaced, from the perspectives of community leaders, …

The Self Of The Field And The Work Of Donnel Stern, Daniel Masler

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

No study has taken an updated and comprehensive review of Donnel Stern’s writings. An investigation of his philosophical assumptions, locating Stern’s work socioculturally and historically, along with an elucidation of Stern’s background in traditional psychoanalytic literature and clinical practice, brings out the meanings and enigmas present in his theories of dissociation, enactment, unformulated experience, multiple self-states, and reflection. Stern has offered one of the best-integrated theoretical models in relational psychoanalytic theory. An examination of his theories within the theoretical traditions to which he makes claim (psychoanalytic, interpersonal, hermeneutic, postmodern, and democratic) helps elucidate the challenge posed by relational psychoanalysis to …

E-Advocacy In Human Services, Lauri Goldkind

Social Service Faculty Publications

E-advocacy, or the constellation of electronic tools used for policy advocacy, offer cost-effective approaches for engaging constituents to create social change. Providers of human services may face challenges when trying to implement these tools. While many electronic tools have low barriers for entry, other factors may inhibit their use in agencies. This article explores the organizational characteristics related to the use of electronic advocacy strategies. Based on a survey of nonprofit executives, the study uses path modeling to describe the connections between organizational characteristics and the use of electronic advocacy tools. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Characteristics Of Medicaid Clients In Assisted Living, Residential Care, Memory Care, And Adult Foster Homes 2013-2014, Paula C. Carder, Jacklyn Nicole Kohon, Sheryl Dejoy Elliott, Maximilian West, Amanuel Zimam, Margaret B. Neal

Institute on Aging Publications

In collaboration with the Aging and People with Disabilities (APD) program of Oregon’s Department of Human Services (DHS), Portland State University’s Institute on Aging generated this report of Medicaid clients living in community-based care (CBC) settings in the state of Oregon. The Oregon legislature appropriated funds for DHS to collect information about these community-based care providers which will allow DHS, providers, and the public to better understand characteristics of Medicaid clients living in different CBC settings.

This report is based on an analysis of Medicaid data provided by DHS. The study goals were to:

• describe Medicaid clients’ health-related needs, service …

Rational Choice And Moral Decision-Making In Research, Anita M. Gordon

Faculty Work

University psychology and sociology researchers rated the likelihood they would engage in misconduct as described in 9 research scenarios, while also making moral judgments and rating the likelihood of discovery and sanctions. Multiple regression revealed significant effects across various scenarios for moral judgment as well as shame and embarrassment on reducing misconduct. The effects on misconduct of the perceived probability of sanctions were conditioned on moral judgments in some scenarios. The results have implications for how universities address the prevention, detection, and sanctioning of research misconduct.