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Mental Health Support For The Spanish-Speaking Community, America Yvonne Gutierrez Solorio

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Mariposa Wellness Center in Watsonville, CA empowers its mental health community through wellness, meaningful activity, and community connection. The purpose of the report is to focus and empower individuals on the long-existing issue of the lack of mental health support for the Spanish-speaking community. This report focuses on the importance of Hispanic individuals having access to proper mental health support in their community. The contributing factors in this report range from language barriers and stigma created within mental health illnesses to the lack of education. In addition, this report focuses on numerous consequences Hispanics face as they struggle with finding …

The Efficacy Of A Rapid Rehousing Program Serving Adults Experiencing Homelessness In West Central Texas, Unique Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis discusses the dynamics of homelessness and examines one agency (Abilene Hope Haven) that aims to help homeless individuals receive permanent housing. This study explores the characteristics that influence the likelihood of placement in permanent housing within 12 months at Abilene Hope Haven. The different types of supportive housing programs and their roles in helping homeless individuals will be discussed. Secondary data gathered from the Homeless Management Information System were entered into the Statistical Package for Social Sciences, and then a logistical regression analysis was created to explain the relationships between the different characteristics and permanency placement. A key …

The Law In Conflict With Human Rights Of Young Adults: International, Regional And Country Practices Of Young Adult Offenders, Jessica Rau

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Poverty Simulation, Jennifer Gray

Journal of Interdisciplinary Graduate Research

The School of Social Work at Southern Adventist University has been working alongside the Chattanooga Police Department studying the interactions between police and the communities they serve. This research has led to the question of how law enforcement officers (in Chattanooga) are treating impoverished people of color. Literature suggests that there are not any evidence based interventions to improve the way professionals treat individuals in such circumstances, especially in the law enforcement industry. In a few instances, poverty simulations have been shown to build more empathy and understanding for individuals. The School of Social Work has conducted three simulations that …

Migrant Misconceptions: A Review Of Literature On National Heritage, Immigration Status, And Juvenile Offending, Serita Whiting

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

In 2020, the Pew Research Center reported over 40 million Latinx adults are immigrants and nearly 23% are U.S.-born adult children of immigrant parents. Some rhetoric that surrounds immigration is indicative of crime, criminals, and the need to build a wall to protect the U.S. border from migrant crossing. In the U.S., immigration policies apply a 'securitized' approach to criminal law enforcement involving Latinos. However, criminological literature indicates immigrants do not pose any more of a threat towards crime than a natural-born citizen. Continued research should be completed to better understand differences among immigrant youth compared to native-born Latino youth.

The Overrepresentation Of Youth With Disabilities In The Juvenile Justice System, Keidra Mcgriff

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

This paper discusses the contributing factors and effects of youth[VD(1] with disabilities in the juvenile justice system. The disabilities discussed will be those of social, emotional, learning, and behavioral; presenting disconnections between these children, youth, educational system, and juvenile justice system. [VD(2] The juvenile justice system encompasses youth with behavior attributed to their disability that has been criminalized and thereby labeled as a delinquent. A juvenile delinquent is defined as "a minor who…commits anti-social or criminal acts, like vandalism or violence" (Dictionary.com, 2016). Such behavior could be disorderly conduct or temper tantrums that is criminalized as assault or general …

Severe Emotional And Behavioral Problems: Barriers For Texas Youth Accessing Mental Health Court Programs, Justin Joseph

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

Conduct disorder is a constellation of continuous emotional and behavioral problems observed in children and adolescents, which may involve violent and non-violent antisocial behaviors. The symptomology of this psychological disorder includes: disregarding rules without clear reason, cruel or aggressive behavior toward people or animals (e.g., bullying, fighting, using dangerous weapons, forcing sexual activity, and stealing), skipping school, excessive substance use, pathological lying, manipulation, running away, and vandalism (American Psychiatric Association (APA), 2013). Texas Juvenile Mental Health Courts are designed to reduce the number of detained youth, divert at-risk children, maintain community safety, and utilize multidisciplinary approaches to treat conduct disordered …

Miami-Dade County Status Offenders: A Literature Review Of Punishment And Rehabilitation Of Youth, Colette B. Harris

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

The number of juveniles in detention centers has decreased across the United States. Although overall incarceration rates of juveniles in Miami-Dade County have declined, the number of youths at risk for delinquent activity and the number of girls in detention centers has increased. In the last nine years, Florida legislators have created laws to eliminate zero-tolerance policies in county schools, lessened the punishment role of law enforcement officers for in-school behaviors, as well as minimized the presence of law enforcement officers on school grounds. Although Miami-Dade County has been a part of the reformation of the Florida juvenile justice system, …

Right Against Self-Incrimination: Revealing The Mental Health History Of Justice-Involved Youth, Sesha Kethineni, Colette B. Harris

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

In the last two decades, the juvenile justice system has focused on the early identification of youth mental health to provide timely assessment and needed treatment. However, there are potential risks in divulging youth mental health status because the information is often made available to juvenile courts and probation departments. Many state statutes allow such information to be used in the admission of guilt, adjudication, and dispositional phases. The study reviewed state and federal statutes related to protections against self-incrimination of youth at eight different stages of the juvenile justice system. A systematic content analysis of secondary sources and legislative …

Ethnic Variations In Levels Of Conventional Bonding Among Different Black Adolescents In The United States: Implications For Behavioral Resilience, Shantol Mcintosh, Sherri Simmons-Horton, Frank Barnes

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

The quantitative study offers a description of how Caribbean-descended and African American adolescents in a national sample compare on strands of Hirschi’s conventional bond in terms of deviance and justice system involvement. Using a sample of 1,141 adolescents from the National Survey of American Life-Adolescent data, these groups were compared with tests of significance. The results indicate that belief and attachment are the most significant predictors of justice system contact. While Caribbean youth reported more deviance, this was not predictive of more justice system involvement than African Americans. Explanations for these findings and practice implications are offered.

Creating Academic-Community Partnerships To Jointly Enhance Advocacy And Research On Violence And Disability: Two Case Examples, Emily M. Lund, Rosemary B. Hughes, Katherine E. Mcdonald, Sandra Marie Leotti, Marsha Katz, Leanne Beers, Christina Nicolaidis

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective: This article describes the use of community-based participatory research (CBPR) to foster bidirectional and equitable academic-community partnerships in two studies related to interpersonal violence and disability. Method: We analyzed our methods and experiences in conducting these studies to focus on the ways in which CBPR methodology was used to jointly promote and enhance research and advocacy surrounding violence and disability in the research processes themselves and the resulting assessment and intervention products. Results: Our use of CBPR methodology allowed us to identify and address critical issues related to violence in the disability community, such as disability-related forms and experiences …

"I Now Feel More Comfortable Advocating For People:" Student Reflections On Service Learning, Elissa Thomann Mitchell, Erin E. Gilles

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

To provide meaningful experiential learning activities for students outside of the classroom, many social work programs are including service learning as a curricular component. Indeed, research shows that service learning is a widespread practice in higher education across academic majors. This study uses qualitative data from from 34 students in two sections of a master’s-level social work course to explore student experiences with service learning. Major themes from the students’ data are presented here. Students reported both liking and being challenged by the freedom to tailor their own experiences, described developing new skills, reported being able to apply course content/learn …

Towards Improving Engagement Of Youth Of Color In Cross-Age Mentoring Programs In High Poverty, High Crime Neighborhoods, Maria V. Wathen, Patrick L.F. Decker, Maryse H. Richards, Katherine Tyson Mccrea, Cynthia Onyeka, Charity N. Weishar, Donnelly Will

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

This study examines predictors of attendance in a cross-age youth mentoring program offered in four high-poverty, high-crime communities. Youth in greatest need of after school and summer interventions are those residing in such communities, but programs are scarce. More specific to mentoring programs that do exist, past research has demonstrated the significance of attendance as a predictor of positive outcomes. Two datasets were combined for this study: The Saving Lives, Inspiring Youth (SLIY) mentoring program dataset and a neighborhood database. OLS regression results show that for all participants, traveling from a lower-crime home area to a program in a higher-crime …

Taking The Measure Of Addiction Recovery: A Brief History Of Recovery Capital, Austin Brown

Population Health Research Brief Series

Drug overdose and alcohol-related deaths continue to rise in the United States. Despite the billions of dollars spent on drug and alcohol treatment annually, the U.S has failed to properly deal with addiction. This brief discusses the concept of ‘recovery capital’ as an important theoretical advancement in the field of addiction treatment. It argues that health policies should promote personal, social, community and cultural capital to increase recovery success and measure an individual’s capacity to heal from a substance use disorder.

Patterns And Trends Among Intimate Partner Homicide Cases: An Analysis By Victim’S Sex And Race/Ethnicity, Shih-Ying Cheng

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Data suggest sex and race/ethnicity disparities in intimate partner homicide (IPH) and different trends in the IPH rates over time by sex and racial/ethnic groups. It is, however, less clear how to explain the disparities using the existing literature. This dissertation investigates the patterns and trends among IPH cases with a focus on differences within and between victims’ sex and race/ethnicity subgroups using the National Violent Death Reporting System, Restricted Access Database (NVDRS-RAD). Data were linked to Census and policy data using the geographic indicator in the NVDRS-RAD. Latent class analysis (LCA) and mixed-effects modeling were performed to identify patterns …

Introduction: Dignity's Special Issue On The Chab Dai Coalition's Butterfly Longitudinal Research Project, Leslie M. Tutty

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Supporting Teachers During Restorative Justice Implementation : The Role Of Silence, Reflection, And Dialogue, Nicole E. Menting-Wilson

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

ABSTRACTAcross the United States, Restorative Justice (RJ) practices are adopted with the intent to transform zero-tolerant and neoliberal school environments into cultures of care. RJ utilizes dialogue, reflection, and silence as tools to honor human relationships, build community, and respect diversity. Although it is known that school change is intricately connected to teacher change, there has been little attention given on how to best support teachers during RJ implementation. This study engaged seven teachers and one school psychologist in bi-weekly circles over a period of three months around the topic of creating a culture of care. The study inquired how …

Healing The Trauma Of Sex Trafficked Women In The United States: A Scoping Review, Erin Marie Laney

Social Work Theses - Archive

Women who are sex trafficked usually develop complex trauma and experience an array of trauma symptoms. The purpose of this scoping review is to examine the therapies or treatments that reduce trauma symptoms for sex trafficked adult women survivors from the survivors' and therapists' perspectives on the survivors' trauma symptoms. This scoping review aims to add to the literature by encapsulating the therapies and treatment methods that reduce trauma symptoms for sex trafficked women. A systematic search was conducted of 12 databases and Google Scholar for books, journal articles, and grey literature published between January 2000 to December 2020 on …

Longitudinal Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (Prep) Acceptability, Initiation And Adherence Among Criminal Justice-Involved Adults In The Usa: The Southern Prep Cohort Study (Specs) Protocol, Katherine Lemasters, Carrie B. Oser, Mariah Cowell, Katie Mollan, Kathryn Nowotny, Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein

Sociology Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: HIV prevalence among criminal justice (CJ)-involved adults is five times higher than the general population. Following incarceration, CJ-involved individuals experience multilevel barriers to HIV prevention. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a widely available, daily medication efficacious in preventing HIV. Little is known about PrEP knowledge, acceptability, initiation and sustained use among CJ-involved persons or about how these outcomes vary by multilevel factors. The Southern Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Study (SPECS) will investigate barriers and facilitators for PrEP initiation and sustained use among CJ-involved adults, building a foundation for PrEP interventions for this underserved population.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS: SPECS uses a mixed-methods sequential …

The Cost Of Being Black In Social Work Practicum, Nia Johnson, Paul Archibald, Anthony Estreet, Amanda Morgan

Publications and Research

The social work profession is not exempt from fueling institutional racism, which affects the provision of social work practicum education for Black social work students. This article highlights how the historical and current social cost of being Black in the United States presents itself within social work education’s signature pedagogy. Social workers who hold bachelor’s degrees in social work (BSW) are more likely to be Black than those holding master’s degrees in social work (MSW; Salsberg et al., 2017). It takes Black students longer to earn an MSW degree though they are more likely to hold a BSW while also …

Child Protection Policies And Practices In Mennonite Church Usa Congregations: A Follow-Up Study, Jeanette Harder, Elisabeth Wilder

Social Work Faculty Publications

While congregations have a spiritual mandate to be open and welcoming, they must be aware of the risks involved in ministry and be prepared to protect children from all types of abuse and neglect. In 2010 and again in 2018, Dove’s Nest, a nonprofit organization, conducted an online survey to determine the characteristics, practices, and experiences of Mennonite Church USA congregations with and without written child protection policies. The research questions for this study were: (1) What are the characteristics, practices, and experiences of congregations in regard to child protection, and how have they changed since 2010? (2) What is …

How Can Child Welfare Agencies Leverage Data To Address Important Workforce Questions?, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

QIC-Tips

Child welfare agencies experience workforce turnover (14-20% annually) that can be costly and result in poorer outcomes for children and families. Although turnover is often acknowledged as a significant problem, it is not one that is easily understood or addressed. The following tips and strategies being implemented by jurisdictions working with the QIC-WD may be helpful for child welfare administrators, legislators, and other policymakers seeking to utilize agency data to answer pertinent child welfare workforce questions.

• Understand what data is collected and stored, and where. Oftentimes, there are multiple systems used by agencies during the employee lifecycle that may contain …

Tears, Trauma And Transformation: Central American Mothers' Experiences Of Violence, Migration And Family Reunification, Sandra B. Castro

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study analyzes the experiences of migration, separation, and reunification of transnational mothers from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala and their children. Drawing on data collected from 25 mothers living and working on Long Island, New York who migrated to the US during four periods from 1976-2019 and whose children returned to them, sometimes years later. My findings suggest that transnational mothering is an experience marked by multiple forms of structural, institutional, and interpersonal violence, along with the commitment to sacrifice for their children. Taken together, transnational mothers operated within a form of “compounded disadvantage” (Abrego, 2014) due to their …

Children As Mischievous Spirits: Legitimizing Child Cruelty And Filicide In Contemporary Africa, Chima Agazue

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The belief that certain humans are spiritual entities and the belief that some people are spiritually possessed can be found across histories and cultures. While these individuals are not always viewed in the negative or treated inhumanely, cases abound whereby degrading and inhumane treatments are meted out to some of them. In the African continent, certain groups of people, particularly children are linked to certain mischievous spirits due to their unusual appearance, aberrant behavior, disability, chronic illness, psychopathology or exceptional ability. Some are also suspected and consequently mistreated due to events surrounding their birth. Such children are known by different …

Young Women And The Initiation Trajectory Of Prescription Opioid Misuse, Rachel Chernick

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The most recent opioid epidemic in United States history emerged in the late 1980s and continues its destructive impact to this day. It has evolved into a devastating public health crisis with a broad range of medical, social, and economic consequences. This dissertation focuses on the “first wave” of this opioid epidemic characterized largely by the misuse of prescription opioids. The research questions here were focused on developing a greater understanding of the social processes involved in young women’s initiation of prescription opioid misuse (POM) during this first wave. The research methodology consisted of a cross-sectional, exploratory study using qualitative …

Bridging The Gap: Reconciling Research And Reality On Street Gang Prevention, Brent Schuliger

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

Law enforcement in America is under great scrutiny. Last year saw numerous calls for criminal justice reforms due to a perceived racial bias in policing strategies and policies. This crisis of public opinion poses a serious threat to police legitimacy in the coming years. Couple this with a public which increasingly does not trust police capabilities to solve crimes: since 2010, the number of violent crimes reported to police steadily declined, reaching a low of only 40% reported[1]. It is clear some reforms to the criminal justice system, and how it interacts with communities, are needed. One of …

Exploring The Role Of Core Positive Selves With Men Convicted Of Child Sexual Offenses: A Character Strengths Initiative, Tiffany A. Miner

Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

The aim of this study was to help men convicted of child sexual offenses learn to recognize and engage their character strengths over 12 months. Participants were six men convicted of contact and noncontact (internet) child sexual offenses. All participants were members of a community-based reintegration group for registered citizens. In the first weeks of the study, participants received the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths survey. The survey, containing 240 questions—10 items for each of the 24 character strengths outlined—helped participants identify their top character strengths. The study explored (a) how the men could use their character strengths to …

Age At First Alcohol Use And Weapon Carrying Among Adolescents: Findings From The 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, Philip Baiden, Nusrat Jahan, Henry K. Onyeaka, Shawndaya Thrasher, Savarra Tadeo, Erin Findley

Social Work Graduate Research

Background
Although studies have investigated the association between alcohol use and violent behaviors such as weapon carrying, few studies have examined the association between age at first alcohol use and weapon-carrying among adolescents. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between age at first alcohol use and weapon carrying among adolescents.

Methods
Data for this study came from the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. An analytic sample of 13,442 adolescents aged 14–18 years old (51% female) was analyzed using binary logistic regression. The outcome variable investigated in this study was weapon carrying during the past 30 days, …

“I’M Not Dark, I’M Not Light… I’M Medium!”: The Colorism Experiences Of Adolescent African American Girls, Maya Williams

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

While colorism scholars often discuss the effects of skin tone bias on the lives of African American adults, Black youth are understudied. This mixed methods study analyzes the impacts skin tone bias and colorism have on African American girls’ self-concept, impression formation, affiliation with others, attraction to others, and interaction with their environment. This paper proposes a conceptual model that integrates four theoretical models (i.e., critical race theory, intersectionality theory, social identity theory, and skin tone theoretical model) to frame this research. Participants in this study range from ages 11-14 and attend school in Missouri. N=60 girls completed the quantitative …

Exploring The Service Utilization Of Formerly Incarcerated Persons With Substance Use Disorders, Sara Beeler-Stinn

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

We are in a new era of mass reentry from years of mass incarceration (Chamberlain & Wallace, 2016) that will is complicated by challenging conditions at release (Mallik-Kane & Visher, 2008). Recent data suggests that rearrest rates within nine years of release are over 80% among individuals released from prison (Alper et al., 2018). These challenges are further complicated by drug and alcohol abuse with over 20 million individuals aged 12 and older reporting living with a substance use disorder (SAMSHA, 2019). Incarcerated and formerly incarcerated populations are estimated to have rates of substance use disorders (SUDs) often 10 to …