Digital Commons Network^™

Examining Support Systems For Youth With Type-1 Diabetes In Foster Care, Garrett Copeland

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Chronic illnesses such as type 1 diabetes can be hard diagnoses for children to understand and are a detriment to their mental and physical health. Evaluating current support systems for this interest group is necessary to make sure that they are receiving the best resources possible. Questioning type 1 diabetics who have grown out of the system, adults involved with T1D care, and social workers are included in the research design. Reviewing the ratings for each question allowed researchers to see where resources are lacking and what needs to be improved or implemented. Social workers should see the importance of …

The Burden Of Care: A Phenomenological Inquiry Into The Lived Experiences Of Homeless Shelter Administrators Leading Through The Pandemic And Lasting Implications On Program Operations, Marie Adele Wilson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The theories guiding this study are Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, conflict theory, and complex systems theory, which explain the relationship between the theory and resource limitations and acquisition, systems, and nature of acquiring human needs. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to describe homeless shelter administrators'/directors' experiences delivering services during the COVID-19 pandemic on the Eastern Coast of the United States and Texas. It further seeks to unravel how the pandemic informed the delivery of services and program administration related to homeless shelters and its impacts. The research questions sought to understand the impact of COVID-19 on delivering services …

The Relationship Between The Language Arts And Architectural Design: How Writing Becomes Architecture, Alyssa Mancilman

Architecture Theses

This project explores the relationship between the language arts and architectural design, forming two approaches to convert writing into architecture. The first approach is completed manually, while the second uses computer software and artificial intelligence. Both methods consider space syntax and shape grammar theories. The project also investigates the impact natural environments have on creativity and information regarding writer’s block. Using this research, a retreat center is designed to give writers a place to step away from a city scene, find inspiration, and focus on their work. Located in rural Western Wyoming, the Salt River Retreat Center for Writers is …

Empowering Dreams: The Massachusetts Tuition Equity Law And Its Impact On Undocumented Latine Students, Belén Zúñiga, Melissa Colón

Gastón Institute Publications

As a result of the Tuition Equity Law enacted in September 2023, Massachusetts is one of 25 states1 that have encouraged access to higher education for non-citizens, including undocumented students2 (Broder and Kmec, 2024). Under the Tuition Equity Law, undocumented students, who: attended a high school (9th-12th grade)3 in Massachusetts with any combination of three years, graduated from a Massachusetts high school or have a Massachusetts high school diploma equivalent (GED/HiSet), and are admitted to a public institution of higher education in Massachusetts, can attend at in-state tuition rates (Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, 2023). They are also eligible to …

4-H Camps: Complexities In Adult-Youth Dynamics, Stephanie Femrite, Rebecca Mott, Steven Krauss

Journal of Youth Development

Summer camp programs provide adolescent counselors with opportunities to work alongside adult staff, aiming to develop critical skills such as communication, responsibility, independence, and teamwork. Growing research supports the value of camp-based developmental relationships through youth-adult partnerships. However, tensions often arise as adults struggle to share power while youth question their roles as partners. Few studies have investigated the role of expectations and realities in camps that promote a youth-adult partnership approach. To address this gap, a qualitative study was conducted to explore the role perceptions of 14- to 18-year-old camp counselors and program directors’ expectations of counselors’ roles in …

The Illusion Of Stability In Family Law, Kaiponanea T. Matsumura

Vanderbilt Law Review

Stability is universally accepted as a central value in family law. Within the context of adult relationships, stability determines which relationships the law will recognize and support. Within the context of parent child relationships, stability determines who will be recognized as a parent, whose parental rights will be terminated by the state, and who, among fit parents, will receive custody. This Article challenges stability’s pride of place in family law, identifying three problems with the law’s use of stability.

First, stability is often used in a circular way. Lawmakers treat stability as a requirement—a trait to which the law responds—even …

Testing For Bleeding Disorders In Child Abuse: Aap Recommendation Adherence And Testing Results, Lyndsey Hultman, Angela Doswell, Henry T Puls, Shannon L Carpenter, Angela Bachim, Caitlin R Mcnamara, Farah W Brink, Lori D Frasier, Nancy S Harper, Natalie Laub, Kristine A Campbell, Daniel M Lindberg, Joanne N Wood, James Anderst

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objectives: Using a multicenter child abuse pediatrics research network (CAPNET), the study objectives were to characterize the adherence to American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendations for bleeding disorder testing and the frequency of bleeding disorder identification.

Methods: We performed a descriptive study of bleeding disorder evaluations among children younger than 10 years of age who presented with bruising and/or intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) concerning for abuse from February 2021-May 2022 utilizing CAPNET. Cases were classified as bruising without ICH or ICH with or without bruising. Based on AAP guidance, testing was not recommended in cases with concomitant suspicious injuries, inflicted injury …

Building An Equitable Food System: Lessons From Community-Driven Initiatives In The Chicago Region, Abigail Stetter

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

This research explores how community assets can be mobilized to build a resilient, equitable food system by evaluating key learnings from the Chicago Region Food System Fund’s (CRFSF) March 2022 Community Assets funding round. The CRFSF provided grants to 48 non-profit organizations leveraging community strengths to transform how food is produced, processed, distributed, and consumed through approaches centered on economic and racial equity. The evaluation employs thematic content analysis of qualitative data from grantee applications and reports. The results will increase understanding of how community-driven initiatives enhance food system resilience, challenges encountered, and actionable recommendations to further strengthen local food …

Recognizing Child Maltreatment: A Study Of Knowledge & Practice In Sacred Heart Students, Alicia Sanders, Francesca Lanni

Academic Festival

No abstract provided.

Amicus Brief Of Center For Civil Rights And Critical Justice In Support Of Appellant, Jessica Levin, Melissa Lee, Ronald A. Peterson Law Clinic

Center for Civil Rights and Critical Justice Advocacy

No abstract provided.

Aurora Family Medicine Satellite Clinic At The Coa Goldin Center, Kunal Sondhi, Anne Getzin, Rachel Castillo, Samantha Busch, Kjersti Knox, Tevine Brown, Lorenzya Polnitz

All Other Contributions

No abstract provided.

(Don’T) Fight For Your Right To Party: Exploring The Educational Significance Of Trans Joy At Prom, Annaliese Devita

International Journal of Human Rights Education

Prom, a hallmark of American adolescence, is often dismissed as a frivolous tradition, yet it holds profound significance as a space for youth identity formation, social belonging, and cultural navigation. For trans and gender-expansive youth, the stakes of participation in this rite of passage are heightened amidst escalating attacks on their existence. This essay, drawing from graduate thesis research at the University of Edinburgh, examines the historical roots of prom, its embedded cis-heteronormative structures, and how Queer Youth Proms (QYPs) function as sites of resilience, joy, and self-determination for trans youth. While QYPs offer a critical refuge, their existence underscores …

Canada's New Gaar Preamble: Pivoting Toward Fairness And Parliamentary Contemplation, Jinyan Li, Michael Conroy, Sebastien Tuli, Kitty Wang, Patrick White

Articles & Book Chapters

This paper examines the role of the new preamble in the GAAR provision and argues that fairness is a legal concept that can be applied in GAAR cases.

2024 Annual Report, University Of Maine School Of Law

Clinic Annual Report

3 LETTER FROM THE DIRECTORS

4 2024: YEAR IN REVIEW

6 GENERAL PRACTICE CLINIC

8 REFUGEE AND HUMAN RIGHTS CLINIC

10 RURAL PRACTICE CLINIC

12 PRISONER ASSISTANCE CLINIC

14 PROTECTION FROM ABUSE PROGRAM

16 YOUTH JUSTICE CLINIC

18 CENTER FOR YOUTH POLICY & LAW

20 ALUMNI SPOTLIGHTS

22 DONORS & FUNDING

24 CLINIC STAFFING

How Childhood Maltreatment Shapes Brain Regions: Considerations For Speech-Language Pathology, Alexa G. Sees

Honors Thesis

Childhood maltreatment is a pervasive issue that affects millions of children worldwide, leading to alterations in key structures such as the limbic system, basal ganglia, corpus callosum, visual cortex, and language areas. These changes result in significant cognitive, emotional, and neurological consequences, such as learning deficits, emotional regulation issues, memory problems, reduced vocabulary size, speech errors, etc. This thesis explores the neurological effects of childhood maltreatment and their implications for speech-language pathology, highlighting how maltreatment-induced brain changes affect areas within the scope of speech-language pathology, such as social communication, language development, and behavior management. These results underscore the importance of …

¿Y Ahora Qué? Interest Convergence And Hope Through Provision, Promotion, And Partnerships In Two-Way Dual Language Programs, Mitch Ingram, Charise Pimentel

Journal of Multilingual Education Research

As Two-Way Dual Language Programs continue in their nascent stages in the United States, some teachers, administrators, and researchers have reported issues of interest convergence. In this article, two researchers work alongside a bilingual pre-service teacher to highlight three such examples: the business of learning a language, Latin@ Spanish-speaking students used as resources, and the gentrification of bilingual education. Beyond the diagnosis of such dilemmas, we offer a preliminary framework and some promising tenets of hope to overcome any such asymmetries that can exist when interested families from different social locations agree to collaborate in the journey of dual language …

Burnout Among Social Workers In Integrated Care, Kyle Mcgee

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

Burnout has a negative and pervasive impact on individual workers, employee groups, and organizations. At the organizational level, role conflict and role ambiguity in human service settings have consistently been associated with burnout (Fraser et al., 2018; Jackson et al., 1986, Maslach, 1993, & O’Connor et al., 2018; Thomas et al., 2014). The theoretical orientations which underpin burnout are schema theory, causal attribution theory, and the situational model of illness, while classical organizational theory and role theory provide justification for the inclusion of role conflict and role ambiguity factors and their association with burnout. While role conflict and role ambiguity …

The Promethean Promise: Understanding And Responding To The Educational Aspirations Of Black People In The Us, Seventy Years After Brown, Joaquín M.S. Noguera, Pedro A. Noguera

School of Education Faculty Works

In this paper, we use Prometheus and his perpetual punishment to draw attention to the historic role Black people have played in U.S. education and contemplate the state of education for Black people 70 years after the Brown decision. We note the parallels between the period of reconstruction to the current period and use a case study of a school in Oakland, California to draw attention to a community-based response to the unfulfilled promise of the historic Brown decision. Our hope is that the case study can be used to undertake similar initiatives.

Child Sexual Abuse: What Utahns Need To Know, Kolene Anderson, Susan R. Madsen

Marketing and Strategy Faculty Publications

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a significant social, criminal justice, and public health issue that impacts families, neighborhoods, and communities of all racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds. CSA is underreported, underfunded, and often accompanied by lifelong negative impacts on survivors’ physical, mental, and emotional health. Importantly, we acknowledge that not all who have experienced child sexual abuse feel that the term survivor (instead of victim) adequately conveys their feelings and experiences. However, for the sake of simplicity and to align with the terminology used in most research, we use the term in this report. Unfortunately, most survivors do not …

Investing In Minnesota Families: Strengthening Support For Kinship Caregivers, Karla Fahey, Laura Gebur, Jadyn Nelson-Spies, Kenzie Schuch

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Kinship caregivers are falling through the cracks, lacking ongoing support and safety services for children and their caregivers. Kinship diversion caregivers and their children do not receive services and support that licensed foster caregivers might receive such as financial assistance, reunification efforts, and safety monitoring. Pursuing kinship in policy and practice needs to be a priority to keep families together, allowing children to feel a sense of belonging and identity, preserving cultures and traditions, and promoting equity among families. While efforts have been made in many states to increase support for kinship caregivers and reduce the barriers to licensing within …

Mental Health First Aid With Criminal Justice Students, April N. Terry, Troy Terry

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Mental illness is a major contributor impacting overall health, affecting more than 1 billion people globally (Papish et al., 2013). Research suggests more than 80% of people who die by suicide had a mental illness with suicide being the second leading cause of death for those between the ages of 15-29 (Isometsä, 2001). Yet, many individuals do not seek professional treatment for a variety of factors, including lack of awareness of warning signs and symptoms, mental health stigma, and unavailable services (Baumann, 2007). One method for addressing barriers to mental health treatment includes targeted efforts to improve mental health literacy …

You Can Never Have Too Many Flowers: Nature As A Support For Survivors Of Genocide, War, And Conflict, Adam Hettler

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

One in five children around the world are surviving war or other violent conflicts. The trauma of disruptions to community, safety, and loss of friends, family, and home can have wide-ranging and life-long impacts on children who survive. While impacts will vary from individual to individual, the trauma can impact mental health, feelings of safety, relationships, ability to learn, and many other aspects of their lives. Many educators in the US and globally are working with refugee students or other students who are navigating the impacts on their brains and bodies of different traumas. This project seeks to answer the …

How Michigan Can Leverage Early College High School Programs To Increase Post-Secondary Enrollment And Graduation Rates, Jason W. O'Connor

Master of Public Administration Capstone Papers

Michigan has experienced a significant and sustained decline in postsecondary enrollment rates. A continued shortage of college graduates poses serious implications for the state’s economic future and workforce preparedness. In response to this trend, Early College High School (ECHS) programs have emerged as a promising strategy to increase college enrollment and degree attainment by reducing financial barriers and supporting traditionally underrepresented populations. This capstone paper draws on document analysis and a quantitative survey of student interests to advocate for the expansion of ECHS programs in Michigan.

A Review Of The National Partnership For Student Success (Npss) Voluntary Quality Standards: A Resource For Community-Based Organizations In Southern Nevada, Benita R. Brooks, Omolola A. Odejemi,, Carolina Clavel, Amy Wolfe

National Institute for the Advancement of Education (NIAE)

This literature review examined how three nonprofits—Saga Education (high-impact tutoring), MENTOR (high-quality mentoring), and Communities In Schools (wraparound/integrated student supports)—aligned their programs with the National Partnership for Student Success (NPSS) Voluntary Quality Standards. By leveraging empirical research and data analysis, these organizations have developed evidence-based practices that improve academic outcomes, enhance student well-being, and create more supportive learning environments. The review evaluated the impact of each program on student outcomes, offering insights into how research-driven approaches in tutoring, mentoring, and wraparound student support contribute to student success. The NPSS initiative and its Voluntary Quality Standards provide a comprehensive framework for …

Investing In Maryland Safety: Engaging Public Resources And Community Partnerships To Prevent Crime And Violence, Jeffrey A. Butts, Rebecca Balletto, Patricia A. Cobar

Publications and Research

The Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice conducted a review of two innovative initiatives developed by the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services: The Thrive Academy (TTA) and the Safer Stronger Together (SST) intervention strategy. The study involved document analysis, online resource review, and interviews with agency staff and leadership. These efforts aimed to understand the design, implementation, and alignment of TTA and SST within Maryland’s broader public safety and crime prevention strategy. Key themes included program effectiveness, operational progress, and community-level impact, providing valuable insights into the Department’s evolving approach to juvenile justice and public …

Adaptive Reuse Of Abandoned Schools, Dayana Williams

Theses

This thesis investigates the adaptive reuse of abandoned school buildings in economically declining communities, mainly focusing on how these transformations can contribute to sustainable community revitalization. The research highlights Columbus, Ohio, where school closures and grade realignments threaten to leave many school properties vacant, especially in minority neighborhoods. This adaptive reuse strategy presents an opportunity to address issues such as urban decay, resource efficiency, and social equity by repurposing these buildings into multifunctional community assets. The study adopts a multi-method approach, including literature reviews, case study analysis, and community needs assessments, to identify best practices and critical challenges in adaptive …

Encountering Coasts: The Contested Geographies Of Young People's Coastal Citizenship[S], Mark Holton

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

This paper examines the contested geographies of young people's citizenship practices and performances in marine and coastal environments. This is important in developing original knowledge of how encounters with new and different coastal places, practices, people, morals and ethics can affect young people's citizenship practices and performances and how young people relate meaningfully with[in] coastal environments. Using a novel digital scrapbooking technique and qualitative interviews, conducted with 22 young adults aged 18–30 in Plymouth, UK, this paper examines how and why young people's everyday engagements and encounters with coastal environments can shape their understandings of environmental and social care. In …

Speaker Bios | Progress Report: Education Justice 50 Years After Goss V. Lopez, New York Law School

WILF Impact Center for Public Interest Law | Event Posters

No abstract provided.

Clinician Perspectives On Challenges Among Latinx Adolescents With Suicidal Behaviors And Their Families, Yovanska Duarte-Velez, Gisela Jimenez-Colon, Victor Buitron, Norka Polanco-Frontera, Judelysse Gomez

Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk

There is a need to develop culturally relevant psychological care informed by the experiences of clinicians working with Latinx youth and families. The present qualitative interview-based study explored the challenges Latinx adolescents with suicidal behaviors and their families confront from the perspective of mental health providers. Ten interviews were conducted with mental health clinicians from various clinical settings. An ecological and developmental theoretical framework was used to analyze the data. The five overarching themes identified were: 1) Acculturation and enculturation gap challenges between caregivers and adolescents, 2) Language and cultural gaps with the host society affecting families’ ability to navigate …

Book Review Of "Hijab Butch Blues: A Memoir", Robert Bruce Scott

C2C Digital Magazine

Robb Scott, a co-editor of C2C Digital Magazine, studied and read closely Lamya H's new book, "Hijab Butch Blues, a Memoir," and has reviewed what he considers the key aspects of the author's autobiographical account of growing up and developing as a non-traditional female while conserving her religious heritage and practices within her Islamic faith community.