Digital Commons Network^™

Increased Immigration Enforcement And Perceived Discrimination Among Latino Immigrants, David Becerra, Jason Castillo, Maria Rosario Silva Arciniega, Michela Bou Ghosn Naddy, Van Nguyen

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The purpose of this paper was to examine the impact of perceived discrimination among Latino immigrants in the context of recent immigration policies and immigration enforcement strategies. Data for this study were drawn from a pilot study (n=213) of adult Latino immigrants living in Arizona during the summer of 2014. The results of multivariate OLS linear regressions indicated greater perceived discrimination was significantly related to reporting: (1) avoidance of immigration officials; (2) family has suffered; and (3) friends have suffered. In addition, greater perceived discrimination was significantly related to lower confidence in a better future for the individual, their families, …

Child Abuse, Mental Health And Sleeping Arrangements Among Homeless Youth: Links To Physical And Sexual Street Victimization, Kimberly A. Tyler, Rachel Schmitz

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Physical safety is a primary concern among homeless youth because they struggle to secure basic necessities and a permanent place to live. Despite this, studies have not fully examined the numerous linkages that might explain risk for victimization within the context of material insecurity. In this study, we examine multiple levels of both proximal and distal risk factors at the individual (e.g. mental health), family (e.g. child abuse), and environmental levels (e.g. finding necessities) and their associations with physical and sexual street victimization among 150 Midwestern homeless youth. Results from path analyses show that child physical abuse is positively associated …

The Sleep Gap: Advancing Healthy Sleep Among Youth In Rural Communities, Vanessa N. Jones, Justin Bucchio

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Sleep is essential to survival yet remains a public health concern affecting rural youth and adults (Chang et al., 2012; Kakkar, Bohra, Trivedi, Gupta, & Saini, 2016). Besides emotional and social problems, regular short sleep among youth contributes to neurodevelopmental and mental health concerns. Youth that reside in rural communities experience higher rates of short sleep (Daly et al., 2015); therefore, understanding and recognizing specific health risks and protective factors among this population is important to addressing sleep disparity. Future research should explore translating sleep knowledge into practical strategies to help reverse sleep insufficiency among rural youth. This practice note …

Adolescent Engagement In Home-Based Treatment: An Action Research Study, Krystal Finch

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Adolescent engagement in home-based treatment is a challenge within the social work field. Studies have suggested that the foundation of clinical practice relies on the clinician's ability to understand the process of engaging adolescents in treatment, which may also include a period of adaptability, relatability, and connectedness within the treatment setting. The purpose of this study is to explore the clinical practice approaches, roles, and experiences utilized in home-based treatment to adolescents residing in a large city in northeastern United States. This study was grounded in the ecological systems theory which provides social workers with an opportunity to assess the …

Evidence-Based Child Welfare Screening And Assessment Practices, Melissa Hardin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this action research project was to examine the screening and assessment behaviors of child welfare workers in the southwestern region of the United States. The study addressed whether social workers' knowledge of evidence-based practice influenced their implementation of evidence-based practice in child welfare screening and assessment, and whether the agency environment affects evidence-based practice implementation and use. The family systems theory was used to evaluate child welfare practitioner work and systems theory was used to evaluate the child welfare system in the region of the study. A focus group comprised of seven social workers practicing in the …

Participative Approach To Professional Development, Peer Learning And Evaluation In Youth Work: Summary Report, Trudi Cooper, Miriam Rose Brooker, Orietta Simons

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Youth work evaluation is frequently driven by funders’ requirements, which usually focus on quantitative data about outputs that are easy to measure (Jeffs & Smith, 2005). This approach to evaluation is incomplete and excludes information that would permit a more rounded assessment of the impact of youth work (Cooper, 2014). Missing from funder-driven evaluations are young people’s perspectives on what they have gained from youth work, and youth workers evaluations of how youth work processes have operated to achieve the results presented...

Effectiveness Of Practice Change From Risk Model To Safety Model At Dhs, Shirlana Norene Dash

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In 2012, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported an estimated 686,000 victims of child abuse and neglect. Forty-nine states reported a total of 1,593 fatalities. This quantitative research study examined the relationship between the variables: age of child, gender of child, age of parent/caregiver, prior substantiated reports of abuse, and incidents of abuse in Philadelphia at the Department of Human Services using risk practice model (RPM) and safety practice model (SPM). Although child welfare practitioners have examined the relationship between family and societal factors that affect child abuse; few researchers have examined the correlation between service delivery …

Reunification Rates Of Mothers With Mental Illness, Substance Abuse, And Co-Occurring Disorders, Beth Coke

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mental illness is a problem that affects many people; however, little to almost no research relates to mental illness and reunification rates for mothers who have had their children removed from them by the child welfare system. The purpose in this study was to assess and compare reunification rates between mothers with mental illness, those with substance abuse, and those with co-occurring substance abuse and mental illness. The conceptual framework for this study was the use of the structured decision making (SDM) assessment tool in child welfare. The research questions addressed the differences in reunification rates among mothers with mental …

Transition Mental Health Service Provider Core Competencies, Pauline Jivanjee, Eileen Brennan, Leigh Grover, Claudia Sellmaier, Eliz Roser

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

From 2010 through 2012, the Pathways Transition Training Collaborative (PTTC) worked collaboratively to identify core competencies for service providers working in mental health services with young adults of transition age. Since then, the Pathways Transition Training Partnership (PTTP) has collaborated with partners to update and clarify the core competencies. Competencies include the values, attitudes, knowledge, and skills needed to engage youth and young adults and provide effective services and supports to young people and families. Each of the 15 core competencies is defined, followed by the attitudes, knowledge and skills needed to demonstrate it, and an example of the competency …

“These Classes Have Been My Happy Place”: Feasibility Study Of A Self-Care Program In Native Hawaiian Custodial Grandparents, Loriena Yancura, Heather Greenwood-Junkermeier, Christine A. Fruhauf

Asian/Pacific Island Nursing Journal

Native Hawaiian custodial grandparents have a distinctive set of strengths and challenges that may lead them to benefit from a structured self-care program. The purpose of this paper is to describe a feasibility study with nine Native Hawaiian custodial grandparents who participated in a 6-week self-care intervention. Based on open-ended questions during the post-questionnaire and at the 6-month follow-up focus group, grandparent participants noted that their grandchildren needed education and clothing. Most grandparents did not endorse statements that their grandchildren had any mental or physical health conditions. Grandparents reflected that the intervention provided them with skills to help cope with …

Fostering Strengths: Using Testimonios To Identify Community Cultural Wealth In Foster Youth, Katherine Mullin

Master's Projects and Capstones

Foster youth voices have been silenced in schools, work environments, and many other settings.There is very little research around what works well for foster youth and what their assets are. Foster youth have many skills and resources that they use to navigate systems that continually marginalize them. But these are often ignored or overlooked. This project uses youth voices through Testimonios and Community Cultural Wealth to create a training for group home staff.

Homelessness Among Women Veterans: A Systematic Review Of The Risk Factors, Staceyann Graham

Social Work Theses - Archive

Background: As more women joined the armed forces the population of women veterans inevitably increased and with it so did the rates of women veteran homelessness. Women veterans are a unique group of women who also possess protective factors from homelessness, yet are 3 to 4 times likely to become homeless than non-veteran women. The purpose of this systematic review is to glean from other articles and studies what the risk factors for women veteran homelessness are. Method: A systematic review of 7 articles were conducted using the PRISMA method as a guideline for selecting the articles. Results: 5 articles …

Telling The Story: National And Local Soc Evaluation, Betty Walton, Isaac Karikari, Christine Marie Bishop

Faculty Publications

With foundation and grant funding for behavioral health, social services, and integrated health initiatives come requirements to collect and report data. State and local grantees, partners, and stakeholders can combine such requirements with local quality improvement and evaluation initiatives to tell their story and to manage initiatives. To support local system of care (SOC) coordinators in collecting and using grant and relevant information, basic grant requirements are reviewed in the context of using the information to support decisions, to monitor progress, and to improve outcomes.

Looking At Justice Through A Lens Of Healing And Reconnection, Annalise Buth, Lynn Cohn

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

No abstract provided.

Reflections On The Implementation Of Improved Outcomes For Children And Its Impact On The Capacity Of Child Welfare Workers To Deliver Services, Rita Sanchez-Torres

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The emergence of the New Public Management with its emphasis on performance measurements and managerial strategies such as accountability, efficiency, and cost effectiveness have encouraged nonprofit child welfare agencies in New York City to pursue the practice of the private sector. In the current environment, service delivery has become more entrepreneurial, strategic and outcome minded on the assumption that the market-oriented approach is more effective (Watson-Bishop, 2007). This study examines the relationship between policy and service delivery. Specifically, it investigates the impact of the initiative known as Improved Outcomes for Children on child welfare supervisors in a managerial environment.

The …

"I Need Help" Recommendations For A Trauma Informed Care Training For Resource Parents, Jaspreet Kaur Bola

Master's Projects and Capstones

This report discusses the need for extensive trauma informed care training for resource parents (formerly known as foster care parents). A review of the literature and collection and analysis of data during group interviews with case managers and one-on-one interviews with resource parents was conducted. The review and data analysis found that resource parents are experiencing several challenging behaviors as a result of trauma from the foster child(ren) in their care and resource parents want more specific and detailed trauma informed care training that will help foster parents better address behavioral issues of the foster children in their care. Resource …

Increasing Youths' Participation In Team-Based Treatment Planning: The Achieve My Plan Enhancement For Wraparound, Janet S. Walker, Celeste L. Seibel, Sharice Jackson

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Wraparound is a frequently implemented approach for providing individualized, community-based care for children and adolescents with serious mental health conditions and, typically, involvement in multiple child—and family-serving systems. Both Wraparound’s principles and its theory of change stress the importance of youths’ active participation throughout. However, research focusing on the experiences of youth in Wraparound indicates that they are often not particularly engaged in the process or participating actively with their teams, and the findings point to a lack of alliance between the young people and their teams. This article describes a randomized study testing the Achieve My Plan (AMP) enhancement …

Does Fathers' Involvement In Services Affect Mothers' Likelihood Of Reunification With Children Placed In Foster Care?, Amy D'Andrade

Faculty Publications

Social science literature shows associations between fathers' involvement with their children and beneficial developmental outcomes of those children. A related but smaller body of research in the child welfare services arena has found measures of father involvement to be positively associated with beneficial child welfare outcomes, including child's reunification with parent after placement in foster care. However, the pathway by which father involvement affects reunification likelihood has not been determined. This study builds on the existing body of literature by testing a theoretical basis for the relationship between father involvement (measured as service use) and mothers' reunification in a model …

Use Of Evidence-Based Practice To Enhance Decision-Making In Rural Child Welfare Practiceuse Of Evidence-Based Practice To Enhance Decision-Making In Rural Child Welfare Practice, Karen Rice

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Child welfare practitioners need to ensure they employ effective decision-making when implementing services to families at risk for abuse and/or neglect of their children. Utilizing a structured decision making process, specifically an evidence-based process, may enhance case outcomes (Hagermoser-Sanetti, & Kratochwill, 2009). Evidence-based practice is an attempt to bridge the gap between research and practice (Hagell, & Spencer, 2004). Evidence-based practice (EBP) is defined as a “process that blends current best evidence, community values and preferences, and agency, societal, and political considerations in order to establish programs and policies that are effective and contextualized” (Regehr, Stern, & Shlonsky, 2007, p. …

Understanding The Experience Of Early-Onset Bipolar Disorder: A Phenomenological Study Of Emerging Adults, Kristin M. Smyth

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While early-onset bipolar disorder (EOBD) has increased in prevalence, much remains to be understood about its phenomenology. Research and treatment models remain rooted in neurobiological conceptualizations of the illness that borrow heavily from models for the traditional adult-onset form of bipolar disorder. This study utilized a transcendental phenomenological design as a first step in obtaining an understanding of the lived experience of EOBD. A purposive sample of eight participants ages 18-25 participated in semi-structured interviews that elicited information on experiences of EOBD symptomatology and course of illness, stigma, experience with healthcare and treatment, and impact on identity, interpersonal relationships, and …

Focal Point, Volume 31, Portland State University. Regional Research Institute

Research and Training Center - Focal Point

Research demonstrates that the prevalence of mental health conditions among justice system involved youth is alarmingly high, coupled with a strong likelihood of multiple traumatic exposures. Unfortunately, while the need for appropriate and timely treatment is acute, the juvenile justice system seems challenged in meeting it. The authors of this issue of Focal Point identify and propose solutions to these challenges with new research findings.

Effectiveness Of School-Based Prevention Program In Addressing Intimate Partner Violence, Anna Victoria Trieu

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Intimate partner violence (IPV) as it stands today still exists in many violent cases involving intimate relationships. Intervention programs seek to address this issue, however, fails to meet their intended outcomes to reduce prevalence rates of IPV. The research study evaluated the use of a prevention program and measures its effectiveness among high school students. This study sought to explain IPV prevention programs, making it explanatory and necessitates a quantitative research design. This study used secondary data analysis to assess effectiveness of this particular prevention program. Data was collected from 130 high school students within the Inland Empire who completed …

Church Based Interventions With Human Trafficking In Southern California: A Denomination Study, Michael Dale Dewit

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The focus for this research project was to explore the development of human trafficking mercy ministries within South Coast Presbytery. South Coast Presbytery consists of 21 churches belonging to the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), a Christian denomination with member churches throughout the United States. The study was conducted following a constructivist paradigm with a PCA church belonging to South Coast Presbytery to determine the role of the church and the presbytery in addressing human trafficking through the development of mercy ministries. Interviews were conducted with 11 church members. Five major themes emerged from analysis of the interviews: 1) Effects …

Parenting A Second Time Around: The Strengths And Challenges Of Indigenous Grandparent Caregivers, Jessica Y. Hsieh, Kristen J. Mercer, Sarah A. Costa

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

Background: There is a lack of knowledge and research of Indigenous grandparents rearing grandchildren. A burgeoning area of research, the literature only includes studies conducted from the year 2002 and onwards. In order to minimize the burdens that Indigenous grandparents encounter when assuming this role, a greater understanding of this population is crucial. This scoping review was undertaken in an attempt to gain insight into and generate awareness of this population, specifically concerning their needs and experiences. Methods: Sixteen databases were searched, including two medical databases and fourteen social science databases. A total of 92 titles and abstracts were independently …

I Am More Than My Label, Taylor L. Teichman, Enid Melendez

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

This workshop will offer experiential activities for youth allies to explore the foundational intersections between LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness and sexual violence. Introducing a framework of concrete tools, participants will identify at least three core resiliency factors of LGBTQ youth and be able to identify at least three concrete components for fostering community-wide support for these youth.

Preparing For Excellence: Mentoring African American Girls To Encourage Positive Academic, Interpersonal, And Vocational Outcomes, Tera R. Reid

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

African American girls face significant barriers to educational and personal success. Mentoring has been shown to have a positive effect among youth. This workshop will explore the interventions of a mentoring program in Georgia.

This workshop targets anyone interested in practical solutions. Participants will be empowered and engaged to learn specific strategies, interventions, and develop solutions of their own.

In Search Of A Forever Home: Raising The Standards For Our Kids, Katarina Barrett, Shelby Marx, Moriah Mueller, Christopher Olson, Michelle Olund-Youngberg

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

There are currently 12,167 children in foster care in Minnesota and 32% experienced multiple placements in 2014. Many children are entering foster care due to concerns of child behavior, parental chemical use, or allegations of maltreatment. After an often unexpected separation from their family, children are then expected to adapt to a new foster family with a new set of family norms and rules. Many children are moved between multiple foster homes, or are returned to their caregivers only to be placed back in foster care at a later time. In the wake of media reports revealing stories of child …

Enhancing Father Involvement In Low-Income Families: A Couples Group Approach To Preventive Intervention, Marsha Kline Pruett, Kyle Pruett, Carolyn Pape Cowan, Philip A. Cowan

School for Social Work: Faculty Publications

To address the problem of fathers’ absence from children’s lives and the difficulty of paternal engagement, especially among lower income families, government agencies have given increasing attention to funding father involvement interventions. Few of these interventions have yielded promising results. Father involvement research that focuses on the couple/coparenting relationship offers a pathway to support fathers’ involvement while strengthening family relationships. Relevant research is reviewed and an exemplar is provided in the Supporting Father Involvement intervention and its positive effects on parental and parent-child relationships and children’s outcomes. The article concludes with policy implications of this choice of target populations and …

Graduating Msw Students’ Recommended Interventions For Teen Dating Violence: A Descriptive Analysis, Heidi Adams Rueda, Alicia Hawley, Beverly M. Black, Bernadette Ombayo

Social Work Faculty Publications

Teen dating violence (TDV) is a widespread issue that social workers are likely to encounter in their practice with youth, yet little research exists concerning their preparedness to do so. This study assessed the proposed interventions of graduating MSW students (n=73) from two accredited universities in response to two scenarios of TDV. Each scenario reflected various forms of relational violence. Nearly one-third of students’ proposed interventions focused on the need to deliver some form of education, healthy relationships being the most prevalent theme. Other interventions included teaching about appropriate boundaries, issues of control and anger, self-esteem-building, and communication skills. The …

Advancing Social Work Practice Research Education – An Innovative, Experiential Pedagogical Approach, Kam Man Kenny Kwong

Graduate School of Social Work Publications and Research

Achieving practice research competency is an essential pillar of social work practice. However, research material is often associated with dry lectures and incomprehensible statistical applications that may not reflect real life issues. Teaching research course is often antithetical to the pedagogical approach commonly used in social work education, which engages students in practical applications of real life situations with case examples. This paper described and evaluated six sets of experiential class and field activities designed to increase graduate level social work students’ competencies of practice research. These activities included: (1) formulating a practice-based research topic; (2) using assessment templates for …