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Development Of Stresscheck: A Telehealth Motivational Enhancement Therapy To Improve Voluntary Engagement For Ptsd Treatment Among Active-Duty Service Members, Debra Kaysen, Thomas O. Walton, Issac C. Rhew, Anna E. Jaffe, Adam R. Pierce, Denise D. Walker

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Background: Rates of PTSD in active-duty military are high relative to the general population. Although efficacious treatments exist, they are underutilized. Many service members with PTSD do not present for treatment and, of those who do, many do not receive sufficient doses of the interventions to receive full benefits. Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) “check-ups”, are brief interventions designed to elicit treatment engagement for those who are not treatment-seeking.

Methods: StressCheck is an MET for nontreatment seeking Army and Air Force personnel. StressCheck aims to improve PTSD and increase treatment engagement, especially around evidence-based interventions, as well as to …

Leader-Member Exchange, Sarah Stepanek, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is LMX?

Leader-member exchange (LMX) refers to the quality of relationship exchange formed between a leader and their subordinate (Gerstner & Day, 1997). Note that in this context, leaders may include supervisors, not just upper-level leaders such as managers or administrators. LMX theory is based on the idea that leaders develop unique relationships with each follower, and the quality of this relationship then has the power to influence various attitudes and behaviors (Illies et al., 2007). Whereas most leadership theories focus entirely on the role that a leader plays, LMX differs in that it emphasizes the dyadic nature of …

The Child Welfare Workforce Crisis – What We’Re Hearing From The Field, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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The Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) and the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute (NCWWI) in collaboration with the Capacity Building Centers for States, Tribes, and Courts, recently worked with representatives of the Children’s Bureau to listen to concerns of state child welfare and human resources (HR) leaders about the child welfare workforce. This blog post highlights what leaders (representing 29 states) described as their biggest concerns and what strategies agencies have put in place to reduce turnover and improve the applicant pool. We have also included links to information about evidence-informed efforts that could help jurisdictions address some …

Competency-Based Personnel Selection Oklahoma - Intervention Background, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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What is competency-based personnel selection and why was this intervention selected?

Competency-based personnel selection refers to a hiring process that is rooted in assessment of the required job-related competencies or knowledge, skills, abilities, or other characteristics (KSAOs). Competencies can be evaluated to make hiring decisions using a variety of different methods, including interviews, paper-and-pencil or computer-administered tests, work samples, or situational judgment tests, to name a few. In Oklahoma, a structured interview, typing test, and writing assessment were implemented and pre-employment tests assessing personality, cognitive skills, and attitudes were administered to staff to inform decisions about future …

Supportive Supervision And Resiliency Ohio - Needs Assessment Summary, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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Exploration of Needs The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) partnered with the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment in nine participating counties, to identify potential issues related to staff retention within the child welfare workforce. A number of data sources were used to inform the process, including: 1) administrative data and metrics provided by the Human Resources representatives in each of the nine agencies, 2) formal surveys of child welfare staff and supervisors in the nine participating counties, and 3) the subjective perceptions and expertise from the QIC-WD and Ohio …

Onboarding Program Eastern Band Of Cherokee Indians - Implementation Overview, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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The Implementation Team

The Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) worked with EBCI Family Safety Program (FSP) to establish an implementation team to lead the development and implementation of their intervention. The implementation team included the FSP Manager, the individual unit supervisors, and the Site Implementation Manager (SIM)/Data Coordinator (the same person fulfilled the role of SIM and Data Coordinator), leadership from throughout the Public Health and Human Services Division, and three members of the QIC-WD (representing expertise in workforce, implementation, and evaluation). The SIM and Data Coordinator positions were partially funded by the QIC-WD and all other …

Covid‑Specific Coercive Control Among Emerging Adults Attending College: A Brief Note, Heather Littleton, Katie Edwards, Kayla E. Sall, Stephanie Lim, Victoria Mauer

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a “perfect storm” with regards to risk for intimate partner violence (IPV). Abusive partners may engage in novel forms of coercive control, such as pressuring their partner to engage in activities associated with COVID-19 infection risk (e.g., attend a large gathering). However, no empirical research has focused on COVIDspecific coercive control. The current study sought to evaluate the prevalence of COVID-specific coercive control in a large sample of U.S. college students, as well as its association with other forms of IPV and depression and anxiety. A total of 2,289 undergraduate students attending eight U.S. universities who …

Can Technology Reduce The Stress Of The Child Welfare Practitioner?, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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Information and communication technology (ICT) “has the potential to dramatically shift and enhance social work practice,” according to Berzin, Singer, & Chan (2015). ICT includes tools that allow users to both communicate with colleagues and clients and access, store, transmit, and manipulate information (Perron et al., 2010). Such technology integration can create practices that are more flexible, on-demand, and individualized not only to the families served, but also to the practitioner. Mobile technology, as well as other technologies (e.g., gaming, social media, robotics, wearable technologies) will enhance practice gains and result in more timely, accurate, and targeted services (Berzin, Singer, …

Assessing Your Workforce Needs, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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You know you have a workforce challenge… but do you know what is causing it? Many child welfare agencies have expanded recruitment efforts through social media, started using telework and flexible work schedules, and even increased wages and provided hazard pay to build and strengthen their child welfare workforce. But sometimes even the best strategies don’t fix the problem because they aren’t aligned with the underlying cause of the problem. When your child welfare workforce is understaffed or overwhelmed it is tempting to want to find an immediate fix because the need to expand the workforce is urgent. However, it …

Organizational Change Process Milwaukee - Needs Assessment Summary, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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Exploration of Needs

The Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) worked with the Division of Milwaukee Child Protective Services (DMCPS) to conduct a needs assessment. A variety of information was explored to learn about the current workforce and the agency’s workforce practices, including 1) recruitment, hiring, and retention metrics and processes, 2) organizational culture and climate, and 3) other workforce processes and initiatives, such as onboarding, mentoring, supervision, performance management, and employee recognition. More specifically, four major types of information were considered: 1) objective data from various agency databases and reports; 2) subjective perceptions of staff and supervisors, …

Onboarding Program Eastern Band Of Cherokee Indians - Needs Assessment Summary, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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Exploration of Needs

The Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) worked with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Family Safety Program (FSP) to conduct a needs assessment. A variety of information was explored to learn about the current workforce and the agency’s child welfare workforce practices, including 1) recruitment, hiring, and retention metrics and processes, 2) organizational culture and climate, and 3) other workforce processes and initiatives, such as onboarding, mentoring, supervision, performance management, and employee recognition. More specifically, four major types of information were considered: 1) objective administrative data; 2) subjective perceptions of staff and supervisors, gathered …

Competency-Based Personnel Selection Oklahoma - Needs Assessment Summary, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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Exploration of Needs

The Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) worked with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) to conduct a needs assessment. A variety of information was explored to learn about the current workforce and the agency’s child welfare workforce practices, including:

1. recruitment, hiring, and retention metrics and processes,
2. organizational culture and climate, and
3. other workforce processes and initiatives, such as onboarding, mentoring, supervision, performance management, training, and employee recognition.

More specifically, four major types of information were considered: 1) objective data from various agency databases and reports; 2) subjective perceptions of staff and supervisors, gathered …

Addressing Work-Related Traumatic Stress Nebraska - Needs Assessment Summary, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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Exploration of Needs

The Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) worked with the Nebraska Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) to conduct a needs assessment. The team leveraged: (1) administrative data, primarily from the Nebraska Department of Children and Family Services’ Human Resource department (DCFS-HR); (2) formal surveys of child welfare staff and supervisors; (3) QIC-WD team expertise; and (4) subjective perceptions and expertise from the Nebraska Workforce Project Team members.

DCFS-HR data included metrics and processes related to recruitment, hiring, and retention; culture and climate; and other workforce processes and initiatives, such as onboarding, mentoring, supervision, …

Something Fishy In Seafood Trade?, Kathy Baylis, Lia Nogueira, Linlin Fan, Kathryn Pace

Cornhusker Economics

The safety of food imports continues to be in the spotlight. Globally, each year, contaminated food causes almost 1 in 10 people to fall ill and 420 thousand people to die (WHO, 2017). Protecting consumers from unsafe foods is complicated by the increased role of international trade in our food system. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that disease outbreaks associated with imported food increased from 1996 to 2014, with fish and produce being the main culprits (Gould et al., 2017). For example, in 2019, two separate cases of tuna from Vietnam were found to have sickened …

“Many People Have No Idea”: A Qualitative Analysis Of Healthcare Barriers Among Yazidi Refugees In The Midwestern United States, Falah Rashoka, Megan S. Kelley, Jeong‑Kyun Choi, Marc A. Garcia, Weiwen Chai, Hazim N. Rashawka

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has shed new light on inequities in healthcare access faced by immigrant and refugee communities. To address ongoing disparities, there is an urgent need for ecological approaches to better understand the barriers that hinder and resources that facilitate access to healthcare. This study investigates barriers to healthcare system access faced by Yazidi refugees in the Midwestern United States.

Methods: Informed by the Interpretative Phenomenological Approach, three focus group meetings with a community advisory board were conducted between September 2019 and January 2020. The nine-member focus group included social workers, healthcare providers, and members of …

Addressing The Disconnects Between Hr And Child Welfare, Michelle Graef, Maggie Thompson

QIC-Takes

When it comes to efforts to improve workforce outcomes, how would you describe the relationship between human resources (HR) and child welfare leadership in your agency? Is the working relationship collaborative or are the divisions siloed? Do child welfare and HR departments routinely share information, needs, data, and expertise? Is HR involved in child welfare workforce planning and decision making? These are just a few of the questions we have explored with child welfare agencies as part of our work at the QIC-WD. Overall, agency representatives have indicated that opportunities for increased collaboration exist between these departments and that closer …

Supportive Supervision And Resiliency Ohio - Theory Of Change, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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The Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) developed a theory of change for the primary area of need identified in partnership with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and the nine participating counties. Through a series of steps and causal links, a theory of change provides a roadmap to address the root causes of an identified workforce problem and describes how and why changes are expected to lead to the desired outcomes. In Ohio, the theory was informed by various aspects of the needs assessment process (e.g., survey data, implementation team input, and focus groups with supervisors) …

Frontline Job Redesign Louisiana - Theory Of Change, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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During the needs assessment process, the QIC-WD developed a theory of change in collaboration with the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Through a series of steps and causal links, a theory of change provides a roadmap to address the root causes of an identified workforce problem and describes how and why changes are expected to lead to the desired outcomes. The needs assessment identified high worker turnover as a key challenge for DCFS, with the following key root causes:

• the workload was unmanageable and there were too many tasks to be performed
• supervisors and managers were …

Wiley Journal Package: Unl Download Activity By Subject, David C. Tyler, Casey Hoeve, David Macaulay, Robin Mcclanahan

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: White Papers

Because the field of librarianship has been reconsidering its relationship to commercial academic publishers and their 'Big Deal' journal packages, the authors decided to review the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's usage of Wiley's package. In this report, the authors looked into whether UNL's downloads by subject were such that subscribing to a number of hypothetical smaller, subject-specific packages, rather than to the entire Wiley package, might be a viable strategy.

Building Resilience In Ctls: Reflections On Practice, Lisa J. Hatfield, Julie Maxson, Jennifer Marshall Shinaberger, Hanna E. Norton, Cynthia (Cia) H. Demartino, Annette Finley-Crosswhite, Gigi Gokcek

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

What are the qualities of the “now” that make teaching and learning an urgent, if not a moral, imperative? A group of faculty, administrators, and educational developers respond to this question with individual narratives bound together by a common theme of reflective practice in times of crises to help faculty become more resilient in preparing for ongoing upheavals and unexpected crises while pursuing more inclusive communities. Our personal narratives reflect on the subjects of flexibility in the face of crises, technology and ethics, study abroad exposure to ethical challenges, students’ growing anxiety and mental health, modeling metacognition with peers and …

Taking Teaching And Learning Seriously: Approaching Wicked Consciousness Through Collaboration And Partnership, Adam H. Smith, Laurie L. Grupp, Lindsay Doukopoulos, John C. Foo, Barbara J. Rodriguez, Janel Seeley, Linda M. Boland, Laurel L. Hester

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has demanded large-scale collaboration within all organizations, including higher education, and taking teaching and learning seriously, in this moment, means leveraging partnerships to address the wicked (large, complex) problems cited by Bass (2020). These problems are not ours alone to solve; rather, we make the case for a “wicked consciousness,” an amalgam of perspectives, in educational development. Guided by intellectual humility, our success as educational developers ought to be measured by the quality of our collaborations as well as our ability to learn with others, form equitable partnerships, and lead others by our example.

Political Skill, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is political skill?

Political skill refers to “the ability to effectively understand others at work, and to use such knowledge to influence others to act in ways that enhance one’s personal and/or organizational objectives” (Ahearn et al., 2004, p. 311). Unlike organizational politics, which involve selfserving and detrimental behavior, political skill involves positive, sincere, and effective influence (Ferris et al., 2005). The primary measure of political skill is the 18-item Political Skill Inventory, which assesses political skill through four factors: social astuteness, interpersonal influence, networking ability, and apparent sincerity. Example items from each factor, respectively, include “I always seem …

Using Intergenerational Photovoice To Understand Family Strengths Among Native American Children And Their Caregivers, Katie M. Edwards, Ramona Herrington, Marcey Edwards, Victoria Banyard, Natira Mullet, Skyler Hopfauf, Briana Simon, Emily A. Waterman

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

The purpose of the current study was to examine Native American children and caregivers' perspectives of family and cultural strengths using photovoice and to identify lessons learned from the first‐ever implementation of intergenerational photovoice with Native Americans. Participants were Native American, low‐income caregivers (n = 6) and their children (n = 12) between the ages of 10 and 15 who participated in six photovoice sessions. The themes that emerged from photos and group discussion included myriad challenges faced by Native American families including exposure to community violence, substance abuse, and criminal offending and incarceration. Themes also emerged that highlighted …

Learning Styles, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What are learning styles?

The concept of learning styles is the idea that people differ in the way that they learn best, and instructors should determine each trainee’s optimal style and then use training methods that match the trainee’s style (Pashler, 2009). There are dozens of different learning style classifications, including such styles or dimensions as visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile modality preferences (Dunn & Greggs, 2003, cited in Coffield et al., 2004); concrete vs. abstract and sequential vs. random (Gregorc, 1982a, cited in Coffield et al., 2004); holistic vs. analytic and verbalizer vs. imager (Riding & Raynor, 1998, cited …

Uncovering The Potential Learning In Short-Term Study Abroad, Elizabeth Niehaus, Gudrun Nyunt

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify the facets of intercultural learning that might be achievable through faculty-led, short-term study abroad. Exploring changes in various facets of students’ intercultural competence pre- to post-study abroad, we found that the largest gains were in the cultural knowledge domain. Findings also point to vast differences in how individual students do, and do not, show gains across multiple measures of intercultural competence after studying abroad.

Trainee Reactions, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What are trainee reactions?

Trainee reactions refer to “subjective evaluations learners make about their training experiences” (Sitzmann et al., 2008, p. 280). Commonly referred to as “level 1” evaluations (e.g., Kirkpatrick, 1998), reactions are the most commonly used type of training evaluation and are measured with post-training surveys. Though measures are occasionally included in published research, there are no universal or even widely used measures. Instead, questions are developed by each organization or trainer based on their particular goals and interests. As a result, there is significant variation in what is measured. Originally, reactions referred only to how well a …

Organizational Change Process Milwaukee - Intervention Overview, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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This Intervention Overview draws heavily from Building Cultures and Climates for Effective Human Services: Understanding and Improving Organizational Social Contexts with the ARC model, Oxford University Press (2018). This book was written by Drs. Anthony Hemmelgarn and Charles Glisson based on 20+ years of intensive implementation and research experience within child welfare and mental health organizations. Dr. Hemmelgarn consulted with the QIC-WD on this project and served as the ARC specialist in Milwaukee.

ARC is an organizational change process aimed at improving organizational culture and climate and the availability, responsiveness, and continuity of services in human service organizations. It …

Organizational Change Process Milwaukee - Intervention Background, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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What is ARC and why was it selected?

ARC stands for availability, responsiveness, and continuity and is an organizational change process. It is aimed at improving the organizational culture and climate and the availability, responsiveness, and continuity of services provision in human service organizations. ARC involves three primary strategies:

1. embedding five core principles of effective organizations into all aspects of organizational functioning;
2. installing most (but not necessarily all) of 12 key organizational component tools and processes to improve services in accordance with the five principles; and
3. building mental models and shared beliefs that support the successful application of ARC principles …

“Oh, I’M A Damsel In Distress”: Women Higher Education Leaders’ Narratives, Jill Channing

Journal of Women in Educational Leadership

This study focused on women higher education administrators’ experiences related to intersections of gender and work lives, using a narrative analysis research methodology. Women administrators shared stories of the influence of gender on their work lives. Participants “violated” gender norms by pursuing traditionally male-dominated careers, and some shared experiences of sex discrimination and/or witnessed phenomena such as the glass ceiling, sexual harassment, and various double binds related to gender stereotypes. Participants’ stories challenge the literature’s focus on barriers and gender-related challenges for women higher education administrators. Social constructions of gender, contexts, individual personalities, critical life events, among other factors inform …

The False Dichotomy Of Sex And Religion In America, Kelsy Burke

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Religion and sexuality are polysemic categories. While conservative religion often fights against progressive sexual politics in contemporary America, this “usual story” is fractured and destabilized by people navigating the relationship between religion and sexuality as complex social creatures, not pundits or caricatures. Drawing from interdisciplinary scholarship, I examine salient issues of sexual politics—including abortion and reproductive rights, LGBT rights, and pornography—to show how religious actors have been on both sides of these debates. Because of this polysemic complexity, scholars of religion must not only tend to the dynamic interaction between religion and other categories, we must also recognize and study …