Digital Commons Network^™

The Role Of An Educational Intervention In Addressing Parent Spectator Behaviors In Louisiana Youth Sports, Jerry F. Reynolds Ii

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Contemporary youth sports environments present significant psychosocial challenges to the family system. Among the greatest challenges to address are spectator behaviors of parents, which in the public eye has deteriorated and is out of control. Spectator behaviors and their impact upon the sports environment and family system is the topic of investigation in this study. Within the state of Louisiana, the advent of Act 355 extends the consequences of parent behavior and presents challenges to families, referees, and sports organizations. To better understand how legislation impacts parent perceptions of their spectator behaviors, the author examined spectator behaviors parents are observing, …

Working With The Homeless Population: An Exploratory Study Of Graduate Social Work Student’S Confidence And Willingness, Ana Rosa Ortiz, Mariam Kiara Lowe

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Homelessness is a multilayered problem that affects hundreds of thousands of people across the United States. The social work profession cannot rest on its laurels when large numbers of individuals and families suffer due to a lack of shelter, a necessity. Historically, social work was at the vanguard of interventions against homelessness. However, over the past 30 years or so, the profession arguably has shifted its focus toward micro practice. As a result, macro issues such as poverty and homelessness have received comparatively less interest in the field. Using an exploratory design, this study examined factors associated with level of …

Evaluating The Perceptions Of Preschool Teachers And Administrators On Mental Health Services In The School Setting, Celia Tavarez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Mental health can impact a child’s success in many aspects, including in the school setting. School settings are very often the only place that provide an opportunity for families to be able to receive mental health services for their children. It is imperative that schools meet the mental health needs of the children who attend their schools. This research project examines data and information gathered from educators and school administrators to help us understand their experiences, successes, and/or displeasure about the services that are offered or not offered within the agency they work for. The literature review discusses the definition …

Social Workers' Knowledge And Experience Working With Mixed Race Youth And Families, Ashley R. Bennett, Mellissa M. Duchesne

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of social workers’ knowledge and experience in working with mixed race youth and families. The literature review suggested that biracial and multiracial individuals struggle with identity issues, along with several barriers that affect their interactions with social workers, and the social workers’ abilities to provide services for mixed race clients. The literature review also discussed the public's perception of social workers in dealing with minorities, most of which included the notion that social workers are biased. The literature review also discussed the use of technology in child welfare, and …

State-Community System Of Care Development: An Exploratory Longitudinal Review, Isaac Karikari, Betty Walton, Christine Marie Bishop, Stephanie Moynihan, Pinkie Evans

Faculty Publications

The system of care (SOC) philosophy evolved into a framework to support access to effective behavioral health services for children. This study explored the use of the System of Care Implementation Survey (SOCIS) to monitor SOC development during one Midwestern state’s federal planning and expansion grants. Utilizing a translational framework, results showed that despite fluctuations in SOC factor implementation over time, state and local SOCs had mid-level development. Further, inferential analysis of select factors indicated that outreach and access to services and the skilled provider network were significantly worse over time. Significant improvement in the treatment quality was documented but …

Photovoice To Improve Postsecondary Success Among Foster Care Emerging Adults, Dana Hill

Social Work Theses - Archive

Refer to document

Exploring The Relationship Between Exposure To Intimate Partner Violence And An Emotional-Behavioral Disability Among Children Involved In The Child Welfare System, Kristen E. Ravi

Social Work Dissertations - Archive

This three-article dissertation examines the relationship between exposure to IPV and having an emotional-behavioral disability (EBD) among children in the child welfare system. The first article is a scoping review of the literature that explores how IPV and EBD have been defined and measured in the literature as well as the relationship between them. The second article is a cross-sectional study utilizing secondary data from Wave 3 of the second National Child and Adolescent Wellbeing (NSCAW II) Survey. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to analyze a mediational model to examine the role children’s trauma symptoms has on the relationship …

The Effects Of Parental Involvement On Family Functioning Of Children In Counseling, Rebecca Schardt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Families with higher parental involvement indicate higher family functioning and child achievement. The STAR (Services to At-Risk Youth) program is designed to serve families identified as being at risk for child abuse and neglect. STAR services are intended to provide individual as well as family therapy for identified families. This study was designed to analyze the parent involvement in these services as compared to family functioning and child success. The study used closed STAR files to determine if children who had received services met their goals and if there was any increase in family functioning based on the pretests and …

Study Guide: How Youth Partners Can Collaborate With Family Partners In Wraparound, Research And Training Center For Pathways To Positive Futures, Portland State University

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

It is our hope that this study guide can be a helpful training, coaching, and conversational tool to help supervisors and staff think through the nuances of this particular working relationship. It can be used when onboarding new staff, when a family partner is working alongside a youth partner for the first time (or vice versa), when addressing challenges that come up, or simply to check in on and refresh staff skills. In addition, it can be used during one-on-one supervision as well as in a group training or coaching session. This tool also may be useful for colleagues who …

La Cultura Cura: An Exploration Of Enculturation In A Community-Based Culture-Centered Hiv Prevention Curriculum For Indigenous Youth, Ramona Beltrán, Antonia R.G. Alvarez, Lisa Colon, Xochilt Alamillo, Annie Zean Dunbar

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Community based participatory research and attention to cultural resilience is recommended in HIV prevention research with Indigenous communities. This paper presents qualitative findings from evaluation of a culture-centered HIV prevention curriculum for Indigenous youth that was developed using a community based participatory research approach. Specifically, the authors focus on youth descriptions of cultural resilience and enculturation factors after participating in the curriculum. Thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with 23 youth participants yields three salient themes associated with cultural resilience and enculturation factors including: Development of cultural pride, honoring ancestors through traditional cultural practices, and acknowledging resilience and resistance within Indigenous …

Cumulative Socio-Contextual Risk And Child Abuse Potential In Parents Of Young Children: Can Social Support Buffer The Impact?, Moira R. Riley, Lucy Mcgoron, Laura V. Scaramella

Children, Family & Elder Services Publications

Child abuse potential refers to characteristics and practices closely linked to child abuse. Past investigations document that the number of risk factors parents experience is a correlate of child abuse potential. The purpose of this investigation was to test a model with multiple domains of risk including cumulative socio-contextual risk, parenting locus of control, children’s externalizing behavior problems, social support, and child abuse potential. Using self-report data from eighty-seven mothers of children between the ages of 1–5 years old, bivariate correlations and linear regression analyses revealed that cumulative socio-contextual risk was positively associated with child abuse potential and that this …

“The Gates Are Closed Here”: A Mixed Methods Study Examining The Lived Experiences Of Black South African Township Youth, Jason St. Mary

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

South African Black township youth encounter immense risks within their environment, with little opportunity for perceived success. The Langa Township, the oldest established segregated community in Cape Town, South Africa, is enveloped in massive unemployment rates, substantial poverty, and violent gangsterism. Extensive literature exists in North America on the relationship between positive youth development (PYD) and successful outcomes for young individuals, although there is limited research examining the framework in an international context. Due to historical oppression forced on South African youth, postcolonial theory provides a critical foundational component to PYD in the study. This mixed methods study examined the …

Safe Injection Sites: Existing Evidence And Implications For Massachusetts

The Graduate Review

No abstract provided.

Caring For Children In Child Welfare Systems: A Trauma-Informed Model Of Integrated Primary Care, Jill Mcleigh, Laura Lamminen, Heidi Roman

Integrated, Trauma-Informed Care

Children involved with the child welfare system have high rates of behavioral health concerns, chronic health conditions, and developmental disabilities. Further, as a result of the complicated relationships among the court system, child protective services, and caregivers (i.e., biological, kinship, and/or foster caregivers) and the high volume of health-, behavior-, and development-related services children in care need, the services they receive tend to be fragmented and problem driven. On top of these challenges, children involved with the child welfare system have been exposed to trauma, and often more than one form of trauma. Taken together, these factors point to the …

The Blind Spots: The Importance Of Measuring Non-Academic Indicators That Are Critical To Producing Positive Outcomes Specifically For Youth Who Are Living In Adverse Conditions, Orrin White

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

The study explores the impact of measuring non-academic indicators to establish and promote positive secondary and post-secondary outcomes, specifically for youth living in adverse conditions. In pursuit of this objective, the sixth grade population attending a traditional public middle school in Wilmington, Delaware completed the Search Institute’s Developmental Asset Profile (DAP), a self-report survey designed to understand the strengths and supports young people have in their lives. The assessment of the secondary data was the result of already existing programming and evaluation initiatives by the United Way of Delaware. The analyses show that participants perceptions of self, family, and community …

Children’S Participation Rights In Child Welfare Systems: Identifying Opportunities For Implementation, Anna M. Cody

Theses and Dissertations

Children’s participation rights are critically important for supporting children’s well-being. Studies across the world consistently demonstrate that children and youth feel uninvolved, silenced and marginalized within the child welfare context which has a direct impact on their physical safety as well as their subjective well-being. There has been a shift in US policy and practice towards recognizing the value and importance of engaging youth, older youth in particular, in being involved with planning for their care and for their future. However, definitions of what meaningful “youth engagement” might look like within the child welfare context generally lack clarity. In addition, …

School Lunch Participation And Youth School Failure: A Multi-Racial Perspective, Shiyou Wu, Kalah M. Villagrana, Siobhan M. Lawler, Renee Garbe

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In the United States, students from low-socioeconomic status and minority ethnic groups graduate from high school at lower rates than their peers. Limited studies exist about the risk and protective factors that affect the disproportionate graduation rates by income and ethnicity. Using the 2016 Arizona Youth Survey data (N = 32,178), this study aims to explore the relationship between the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) participation and school failure, and other risk and protective factors from a multi-racial perspective. Logistic regressions were conducted on the total sample and the six ethnic subsamples (i.e., White, Latino, Black, American Indian, Asian/Pacific Islander, …

The Experience Of Children's Mental Health Leaders During Times Of Constraint: A Narrative Study, Jody Levison-Johnson

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Across the United States, each state has a public mental health system that is designed to support children and youth with emotional and behavioral challenges. This is critically important as recent estimates show that one in six children in the United States has a diagnosed mental health condition (Whitney & Peterson, 2019). The design and structure of these systems vary by state, but consistent across them is the presence of a state-designated leader who is faced with an array of constraining factors that influence their behavior and shape the resulting system. This study describes the experience of leaders in children’s …

Peer Practice Brief: How Youth Partners Can Collaborate With Family Partners In Wraparound, Portland State University. Regional Research Institute

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Youth partners and family partners each have key roles on Wraparound teams, and they work with each other as well as with care coordinators, other team members, and, of course, family members and young people. Their roles are similar in function but separate in practice, as the family partner is a designated peer support specialist for the family member and the youth partner is a designated peer support specialist for the youth participating in the Wraparound process. It is crucial that these supports work with each other — as well as with the other members of the team, the youth, …

Towards A Social Justice Agenda: Intimate Partner Violence Among Rural, African American Women, Shani Collins Woods

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

The social work profession is rooted in community-based work that seeks to eradicate social injustice everywhere. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global phenomenon which impacts women from diverse socio-economic and racial/ethnic backgrounds. It involves power and control, economic abuse, and physical and sexual violence. When compared to other racial and ethnic groups, African American women are likelier to experience physical violence, rape, and homicide. Intimate partner violence among African American women is a social justice issue.

When compared to other racial and ethnic groups, rural and/or low-income African American women are likelier to experience IPV. They are also likelier …

Preventing Child Sexual Abuse: Understanding The Phenomenon Of Adults Who Are Sexually Attracted To Children, Heather Horn

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Title: Preventing Child Sexual Abuse: Understanding the Phenomenon of Adults Who Are Sexually Attracted to Children

Purpose: The goal of this research is to understand the phenomenon of adult sexual attraction to children through a prevention lens, from perspectives of those who are sexually attracted to children. Gaining direct experiences from those who live with this problem every day may provide insight into perceptions, beliefs, risks and prevention strategies for this population.

Methods: This study utilizes a mixed methods approach in three phases. With permission from the founders of the website called Virtuous Pedophiles, the members of this peer support …

Staying Ahead Of Substance Abuse: The Changing Landscape Of Marijuana Use, Jennifer Smith, Pamela Ashley, Jeanette Harder

Reports

In their comprehensive report, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) (2017) concludes that the United States is in a pivotal time in the world of cannabis policy and research one in which “Shifting public sentiment, conflicting and impeded scientific research, and legislative battles have fueled the debate about what, if any, harms or benefits can be attributed to the use of cannabis or its derivatives” (p. 2).

Helping Parents Navigate The Child Welfare System: Partnering With Casa To Create Self-Advocacy Resource Kits, Amanda Warnock

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

There are 442,995 children in contact with child welfare systems in the U.S. today (HHS, 2018). While some children represented in this statistic were victims of abuse, such as physical (12%) or sexual abuse (4%), many of these children and their families come to the attention of child protection authorities because of neglect (62%), meaning that their parents/caregivers lack adequate resources to properly provide and care for their dependent children (HHS, 2018). For some families, involvement with child protection authorities means being separated–with children placed in foster care and parents working through the court-mandated requirements in order to be reunified …

Supporting Adoption And Guardianship: Evaluation Of The National Quality Improvement Center For Adoption And Guardianship, Nancy Rolock

Faculty Scholarship

The National Quality Improvement Center for Adoption and Guardianship Support and Preservation (QIC-AG) was a five-year project working with eight sites that implemented evidence-based interventions or developed and tested promising practices to achieve long-term, stable permanence in adoptive and guardianship homes.

The Role Of Positive Youth Development, Educational Policy, And Cultural Relevancy In School Settings, Rolanda L. Ward, Tanyetta A. Carter

eJournal of Public Affairs

Changes in federal education legislation have presented scholars, educational activists, and educators with an opportunity to influence educational outcomes that are youth-centered and youth-driven, specifically among students of color in underserved schools. Opportunities for youth to initiate, design, implement, and evaluate district programs and interventions are beneficial not only to youths’ intrinsic development, but also to the school communities in which they spend the most time. This article links the growth and promotion of positive youth development (PYD) theories and programming to current federal policy changes that support the inclusion of youth in school reform. The authors also discuss historical …

Peer Victimization And Illicit Drug Use Among African American Adolescents In Chicago: The Moderating Effects Of Religious Affiliation, Dexter R. Voisin

Faculty Scholarship

Objective: Investigators have examined the moderating effects of young people’s relationships with parents, teachers, and peers on victimization and on adverse outcomes such as drug use. However, the moderating influence of religious affiliation on the association between peer victimization and illicit drug use, the focus of this paper, has seldom been examined. Method: Participants were 638 low-income African American youth ages 12–22 (mean age = 15.8; 54% female and 46% male) in Chicago, IL. We conducted hierarchical logistic regression analyses to examine the moderating effect of religious affiliation on the relationship between peer victimization and illicit drug use. Results: Youths …

Wood County Project Connect: Final Report For Event Held October 17, 2018, Mamta Ojha, Melissa W. Burek, Marisa Hutchinson, Sierra Leone Cunningham, Michelle N. Blue, Deborah D. Rayford

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Rethinking Services With Communities Of Color: Why Culturally Specific Organizations Are The Preferred Service Delivery Model, Ann Curry-Stevens, Gerald Deloney, Matt Morton

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Racial disparities in social, education and health services continue unabated despite efforts to address them. At the margins of the service delivery system are lesser-known and minimally researched programs known as “culturally specific organizations” that have been developed by and with communities of color. These are organizations that have been developed by a specific community of color and continue to serve that same community of color. This article shares the insights of three leaders in racial equity, who have been immersed in Portland-based organizations for many years: two as organizational leaders and one as an academic research partner. The paper …

Social Workers' Perceptions Of Resource Family Approval, Hannah Chavez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Resource Family Approval (RFA) is a policy that was recently enacted in California. The process seeks to merge existing policies on the regulations of families who wish to care for children involved in the foster care system. The purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions of resource family approval social workers and the implementation of RFA. Ten participants were chosen from the resource family approval unit from a county child welfare agency. The study was a qualitative design with in person interviews.

Common themes emerged in responses to social worker's thoughts about RFA, social worker's ideas for preparing …

The Effect Of Parental Engagement On Treatment And Academic Outcomes Among Latino Students Receiving School Based Mental Health Services, Angel R. Agudo, Victor M. Lezama

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Current data reports approximately 46% of children ages 13-18 are affected by a mental health issue. Of those, 21% will experience a serious mental health disorder throughout their life. Due to the high percentage of school aged children that are affected by mental health disorders, school based mental health services have grown in popularity. Despite the positive attributes associated with providing mental health treatment in a school setting, various factors including race and levels of parental engagement have been identified as barriers to successful implementation. This study sought to identify the effects of parental engagement on the treatment, academic, and …