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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

2024-06: Disability Wage Justice: Ending Subminimum Wages And Advancing Equality For People With Disabilities, Samantha Koenigs, Stephanie Almanza, Christy Dauner, Rachel Murphy Apr 2024

2024-06: Disability Wage Justice: Ending Subminimum Wages And Advancing Equality For People With Disabilities, Samantha Koenigs, Stephanie Almanza, Christy Dauner, Rachel Murphy

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Subminimum wages are being paid to people with disabilities in Minnesota at a rate of almost 4 times higher than the rest of the nation, with some individuals making as little as .07 cents per hour. The subminimum wage is a discriminatory practice that violates peoples civil rights and contributes to disabled people being disproportionately poor. It is time for Minnesota to join the other 13 states that already ended paying people with disabilities a subminimum wage.


2024-01: Rethinking Educational Neglect: Supporting And Investing In Families To Thrive, Meghan Lutz, Alexis Ewanga, Cole Rauchman, Madori Scholten Apr 2024

2024-01: Rethinking Educational Neglect: Supporting And Investing In Families To Thrive, Meghan Lutz, Alexis Ewanga, Cole Rauchman, Madori Scholten

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

School attendance challenges are often rooted in systemic issues related to poverty, a lack of access to needed services and support, and biased reporting. These processes have disproportionately impacted Black/African American children, children of two or more races, and American Indian children in Minnesota. Minnesota demonstrates one of the highest disproportionality rates within child welfare in the United States. This is especially important as children of color most often fact systemic issues which disrupt their education. The punitive child protection response to educational neglect in Minnesota does not improve school attendance. Instead, responses that focus on meeting the family's basic …


2024-05: A Place To Call Home: Source Of Income Protection, Farhiya Dini, Ally Petersen, Olivia Rivers, Sierra Wieneke Apr 2024

2024-05: A Place To Call Home: Source Of Income Protection, Farhiya Dini, Ally Petersen, Olivia Rivers, Sierra Wieneke

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

In 2010, the Court of Appeals wrongly applied the Minnesota Human Rights Act when it allowed landlords to discriminate against someone who is a recipient of a federal public assistance program. Minnesota should clarify what has been the law in Minnesota for 50+ years: Refusing to rent to someone because they are a recipient of federal, state, or local public assistance, including housing voucher programs (such as Section 8), and VASH (Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing), is a violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act, it is discrimination, and it is illegal. Freedom from discrimination in housing must be the public …


2024-02: Transforming Educational Neglect: Advocating For A Family Centered Approach Through Community-Based Response, Sydney Barrett, Ash-Lee Conley, Cindi Lindstrom, Madison Roth Mar 2024

2024-02: Transforming Educational Neglect: Advocating For A Family Centered Approach Through Community-Based Response, Sydney Barrett, Ash-Lee Conley, Cindi Lindstrom, Madison Roth

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Addressing educational neglect cases through the child welfare system does more harm than good. SF 4747 proposes to amend the state statute, allowing for an alternative response to reports of educational neglect. This change will help address the needs of children and families that face systemic challenges that lead to educational neglect. Currently, counties are required to open a child protection case for all educational neglect reports. Amending the statute will allow counties to develop their own response to educational neglect. This more collaborative approach will help reduce the negative effects a one-size-fits-all solution can have on students and their …


2024-03: Addressing Mental Health Needs Of Mothers In Minnesota, Liz Fritz, Leah Nachreiner, Jaelynn Pinske, Mary Speer Mar 2024

2024-03: Addressing Mental Health Needs Of Mothers In Minnesota, Liz Fritz, Leah Nachreiner, Jaelynn Pinske, Mary Speer

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Maternal mental health refers to a range of conditions or illnesses that can occur anytime during pregnancy or the first year following pregnancy. When left untreated, maternal mental health conditions can have long-term negative impacts on the mother, baby, and family. Proper screenings for maternal mental health conditions are critical to ensuring that mental health concerns are detected and that new and expecting mothers receive the care they need. Requiring screening for maternal mental health conditions as part of prenatal and postpartum visits will lead to the care that new mothers deserve.


2024-04: Pathways To Stability And Hope: A Holistic Approach To Permanent Supportive Housing For Individuals With Serious Mental Illness (Smi), Dayna Gums, Ericka Wood, Haddy Jagne, Haley Pollard Mar 2024

2024-04: Pathways To Stability And Hope: A Holistic Approach To Permanent Supportive Housing For Individuals With Serious Mental Illness (Smi), Dayna Gums, Ericka Wood, Haddy Jagne, Haley Pollard

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

The absence of accessible permanent supported housing options for individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) poses a critical challenge, contributing to heightened vulnerability, increased homelessness rates, and inadequate support systems. Addressing this disparity demands a comprehensive and nuanced response that prioritizes the development and implementation of sustainable housing solutions tailored to the unique needs and experiences of individuals living with SMI. Effective interventions must embrace a holistic approach that integrates housing stability with wraparound support services, including mental health treatment, vocational training, and social inclusion initiatives.


Addressing Ethics As A Rural Behavioral Health Provider, Paul Force-Emery Mackie Sep 2023

Addressing Ethics As A Rural Behavioral Health Provider, Paul Force-Emery Mackie

Social Work Department Publications

Knowledge of sound professional ethics in behavioral health delivery is critical to achieving good practice, protecting consumers, and providing the highest quality care. To satisfy continuing education licensing expectations, most behavioral health providers are required to complete periodic ethics training. This workshop focuses on practice ethics from a rural perspective where unique dilemmas often experienced by rural providers are discussed (e.g., confidentiality, consumer/practitioner relationships, expertise levels, geography). Here, we will explore some of the elements that create ethical challenges when practicing in rural and small communities. This training may satisfy up to one hour of required ethics training for a …


Expanding Full-Service Community Schools In Minnesota, Angela Dabu, Kaylee Olson, Allie Paulson, Kaylee Warner Mar 2023

Expanding Full-Service Community Schools In Minnesota, Angela Dabu, Kaylee Olson, Allie Paulson, Kaylee Warner

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

While many students across Minnesota (MN) receive an excellent education, too often disenfranchised children and children from under-resourced families do not obtain the same educational benefits and outcomes as their peers. Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) offer a better path to equity and excellence by welcoming community agencies as partners in school improvement by bringing community services into the school and empowering the people closest to students to examine disparities and target racial and economic opportunity gaps. Building on the success of the FSCS model, Minnesota legislators are proposing a $90,000,000 allocation to support and expand FSCS throughout the state. With …


You Betcha We Want Mn Paid Family Medical Leave!, Julie Bishop, Crystal Haugen, Alicia Nelson, Cassandra Rigdon Mar 2023

You Betcha We Want Mn Paid Family Medical Leave!, Julie Bishop, Crystal Haugen, Alicia Nelson, Cassandra Rigdon

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Minnesota workers deserve a paid family and medical leave policy that strengthens families, increases employee productivity, and builds better communities for all. Current family and medical leave policy in Minnesota disproportionately negatively affects workers in lower-income careers (Minnesotans for Paid Family & Medical Leave, 2023). Rural communities also experience disproportionate negative impacts from current family and medical leave policy due to their proportionately older populations and higher rates of residents with disabilities that — when combined with geographic complicating factors such as distance from medical care, shortages in eldercare and childcare providers, and limited long-term care options — force residents …


Reforming Predatory Payday Loan Practices In Minnesota, Michelle Dammann, Neida Juantos, Wendy Tougas Mar 2023

Reforming Predatory Payday Loan Practices In Minnesota, Michelle Dammann, Neida Juantos, Wendy Tougas

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Since 1999 the payday lending industry has been draining millions of dollars from Minnesotans struggling to keep a roof over their heads, put food on the table, and provide for other basic needs. For many people, repeat borrowing is the only via options to meet their monthly expenses. People who use this short-term loan option often fall into a debt trap because of steep interest rates that make it nearly impossible pay off the original and subsequent loans. Predatory marketing and lack of available banking solutions force marginalized groups into a cycle of debt. Minnesota needs to invest in fair …


Reforma A Las Prácticas Predatorias De Los Préstamos Del Día De Pago En Minnesota, Michelle Dammann, Neida Juantos, Wendy Tougas Mar 2023

Reforma A Las Prácticas Predatorias De Los Préstamos Del Día De Pago En Minnesota, Michelle Dammann, Neida Juantos, Wendy Tougas

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Desde 1999, la industria de préstamos de día de pago ha drenado millones de dólares de los ciudadanos de Minnesota que solo luchan por mantener su hogar, poner comida en la mesa y satisfacer otras necesidades básicas. Para algunas personas, los préstamos son la única opción de cubrir sus gastos mensuales. Las personas que usan estos préstamos usualmente caen en una trampa de deuda por las tasas de interés elevadas. Estas hacen que sea casi imposible pagar el préstamo original. La estrategia de marketing predatoria y la falta de soluciones bancarias disponibles obligan a los grupos marginados a entrar en …


Incorporating Cultural Healing Practices Into Mental Health Care, Maria Jeremiason, Hailey Wilhelm, Yuriana Soto, Erin Sudbeck Mar 2023

Incorporating Cultural Healing Practices Into Mental Health Care, Maria Jeremiason, Hailey Wilhelm, Yuriana Soto, Erin Sudbeck

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Minnesota approaches mental health based on Western cultural traditions. This approach does not encompass the traditions of multicultural communities, many of whom have experienced deep generational trauma, oppression, and discrimination. We must address our treatment of people living with mental illness by incorporating and expanding holistic cultural traditions rooted in the cultural traditions of all Minnesotans. This will include honoring the work of cultural healers, cultural brokers, elders, and community health workers within all communities.


End Felony Disenfranchisement And Restore The Right To Vote, Anna Lahr, Hannah Van Otterloo, Nichole Smith, Taylor Ernste Mar 2023

End Felony Disenfranchisement And Restore The Right To Vote, Anna Lahr, Hannah Van Otterloo, Nichole Smith, Taylor Ernste

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

In Minnesota, felony disenfranchisement is the withdrawal of voting rights of individuals with a criminal offense through incarceration, probation, parole, or supervised release. Current felony disenfranchisement laws prohibit roughly 55,000 Minnesotans' right to vote long after their release from incarceration. This law specifically suppresses Minnesotans of color, vulnerable populations, and low-income communities. Promptly restoring the right to vote for individuals with felony convictions upon release from imprisonment will promote equality in voter representation for actively contributing members of society.


Investing In Rural Mental Health: An Approach To Increasing Access To Mental Health Professionals And Services, Corey Jeries-Bardon, Paige Peterson, Paige Pittmann, Makena Roeker Mar 2023

Investing In Rural Mental Health: An Approach To Increasing Access To Mental Health Professionals And Services, Corey Jeries-Bardon, Paige Peterson, Paige Pittmann, Makena Roeker

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Farmers and rural residents in greater Minnesota are often overlooked relating to mental health services. Minnesota needs to focus on an approach to increase accessible mental health services in rural communities. The model for delivering mental health services has often been a one-size-fits-all approach without understanding the unique barriers, cultures, and strengths rural communities offer.


Building The Pathway Towards Inclusivity: A Policy Brief Advocating For Inclusive Postsecondary Education, Callie Fore, Crystal Morales, Deann Prouty, Emily Whittaker Mar 2023

Building The Pathway Towards Inclusivity: A Policy Brief Advocating For Inclusive Postsecondary Education, Callie Fore, Crystal Morales, Deann Prouty, Emily Whittaker

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

People with intellectual disabilities (ID) lack a pathway and adequate support to pursue post-secondary education in Minnesota. Opening pathways to inclusive higher education will strengthen the state's workforce and economy and will reduce dependence on costly formal supports. In Minnesota less than 3% of students with ID have access to in-state postsecondary education, and there are only four colleges and universities that specifically offer enrollment to students with ID. Barriers to education and funding have dramatically slowed progress toward expanding inclusive higher education options, and Minnesota is far behind other states in the nation. Inclusive higher education is a proven …


Ensuring Equity In Education: End Exclusionary Discipline To Protect All Students Access To Learning, Emma Daugherty, Dominika Dyminski, Lacey Erickson, Carly Manderfeld Mar 2023

Ensuring Equity In Education: End Exclusionary Discipline To Protect All Students Access To Learning, Emma Daugherty, Dominika Dyminski, Lacey Erickson, Carly Manderfeld

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

A student's race, disability status and previous history of discipline are leading factors associated with being subjected to exclusionary discipline. This contributes to a negative cycle of discipline for our Black, Indigenous, and other students of color (BIPOC) and students with disabilities. This cycle prevents BIPOC and students with disabilities from learning, growing, and reaching their full potential. Minnesota must disrupt this negative disciplinary cycle by ending subjective disciplinary practices and investing in practices that promote an equity and a healthy school environment for all students.


Rural America Is Still Technologically Behind: Why It Matters Now More Than Ever, Paul Force-Emery Mackie Nov 2022

Rural America Is Still Technologically Behind: Why It Matters Now More Than Ever, Paul Force-Emery Mackie

Social Work Department Publications

No abstract provided.


Collaborating With Parents With Disabilities To Create Accountability In The Special Education System, Brooke Crosby, Julia Lutz-Lawlor, Kelsy Farley, Khadra Geelle Apr 2022

Collaborating With Parents With Disabilities To Create Accountability In The Special Education System, Brooke Crosby, Julia Lutz-Lawlor, Kelsy Farley, Khadra Geelle

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Minnesota is a state that prides itself on prioritizing education. As such, all school personnel must fulfill their obligation to ensure meaningful access for parents with a disability. As part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA), the development of an Individualized Education Program (IEP) is required under both federal and state special education law. In the special education IEP process, parental involvement is mandated to ensure the child's best interest. Research shows parents’ involvement in their children’s education can lead to an improvement in grades, performance, literacy, attendance, and homework completion. Disabled parents must be engaged as …


Gender Responsive Reentry: Supporting Mothers And Their Children, Michaela Bruder, Ally Malueg, Neve Patterson, Courtney Schallock Apr 2022

Gender Responsive Reentry: Supporting Mothers And Their Children, Michaela Bruder, Ally Malueg, Neve Patterson, Courtney Schallock

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

The unique needs and experiences of women with children are not reflected in Minnesota’s state reentry approach or federal reentry approach. The number of women in the correctional system has been steadily rising, which means more women, many of them mothers, are returning to their families and communities without the programming and supports needed to successfully resume their roles as parent and provider. Minnesota must invest in a gender-responsive reentry approach tailored specifically to the needs of women with children.


Payday Lending: Reforming This Predatory Practice In Minnesota, Courtney Colton, Karmy Luker, Addy Haarstad-Mead, Sarah Turpen Apr 2022

Payday Lending: Reforming This Predatory Practice In Minnesota, Courtney Colton, Karmy Luker, Addy Haarstad-Mead, Sarah Turpen

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Payday lending is a service that was intended to provide emergency financial relief to those who cannot afford an unexpected expense. However, 7 out of 10 borrowers use loans to cover monthly living expenses such as rent, utilities, and maintaining food security. With steep annual percentage rates averaging 391% and subsequent repeat borrowing, communities targeted by predatory lending companies fall deeper into the cycle of debt. Minnesota must reform their policies surrounding payday lending implementing legislative changes to protect Minnesotans who rely on payday loans and invest in long-term solutions that eliminate the need for a payday loan.


Cultural Healing Practices: Incorporating Cultural Healers Into Minnesota's Mental Health Care System, Raymond Shoup, Allyson Endersbe, Nayeli Hernandez Moctezuma, Patty Balderas-Johnson Apr 2022

Cultural Healing Practices: Incorporating Cultural Healers Into Minnesota's Mental Health Care System, Raymond Shoup, Allyson Endersbe, Nayeli Hernandez Moctezuma, Patty Balderas-Johnson

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Minnesota’s approach to health and mental health is based on western cultural traditions of illness, help seeking behaviors, healing and wellness. This approach does not work for many of the cultural communities in Minnesota, especially those with a deep history of generational trauma, oppression, and discrimination. We need to make mental health a priority for Minnesotans by expanding the availability of holistic approaches rooted in the cultural traditions of Minnesota’s diverse cultural communities. We must address the impact of generational trauma and work to lessen the harm by incorporating cultural healing practices into our mental health care system, including the …


Broadband Internet Access: Equal Access And Opportunity For All, Erin Kotten, Emily Louks, Matt Frank, Marissa Mammenga Mar 2022

Broadband Internet Access: Equal Access And Opportunity For All, Erin Kotten, Emily Louks, Matt Frank, Marissa Mammenga

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

The internet has become the primary way households gain access to daily services, including education, healthcare, employment resources, and transportation. In 2016, the United Nations General Assembly designated internet access a basic human right. Millions of Americans are living in the digital divide. Low-wage workers, people of color, children, older adults, individuals with disabilities, the less educated, rural residents, and limited English-speaking households are among those most affected by lack of broadband access in Minnesota. Those without access experience social and economic inequalities. The COVID-19 pandemic heightened the need for broadband access. Minnesota must end the digital divide that limits …


Parent-Centered Planning: One Approach To Ending Ableism In The Child Welfare System, Gabrielle Heille, Bailey Mcnulty, Jessica Schisel, Bla Yang, Lauren Zappitello Mar 2022

Parent-Centered Planning: One Approach To Ending Ableism In The Child Welfare System, Gabrielle Heille, Bailey Mcnulty, Jessica Schisel, Bla Yang, Lauren Zappitello

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Parents with disabilities are disproportionately involved in the child welfare system. This is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as the basic human rights of dignity and autonomy. Assessment tools and data collection systems currently utilized by the system fuel discrimination and provide inconsistent reporting. Minnesota needs to implement child welfare practices that center the goals of the parent, fully utilize informal and formal community supports, and make creative accommodations to reduce the number of children removed from their parents on the basis of ability. A lack of existing data indicates that more research is needed, …


Investing In The Social Work Profession Benefits The Health And Well-Being Of Us All, Jill Craig, Kayla Jacobsen, Mackenzie Erickson, Madison Lanning Mar 2022

Investing In The Social Work Profession Benefits The Health And Well-Being Of Us All, Jill Craig, Kayla Jacobsen, Mackenzie Erickson, Madison Lanning

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Social workers are the backbone of Minnesota's human services and mental health system. Social workers worked diligently to assist people in receiving health care, connecting to community resources, and overcoming grief and loss throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Social workers are a versatile workforce serving Minnesotans in every sector of our society: hospitals, mental health centers, schools, social service agencies, community centers, and politics and advocacy. Minnesota has an aging social work workforce that must be replenished. However the high cost of getting a social work degree, especially in relationships to pay, is a hinderance to people entering and staying in …


Restore The Vote: Ending Parole, Probationary, And Supervised Release Disenfranchisement, Patrick Johnson, Lucy Rodriguez, Katelyn Sticha, Stephanie Trejo Mar 2022

Restore The Vote: Ending Parole, Probationary, And Supervised Release Disenfranchisement, Patrick Johnson, Lucy Rodriguez, Katelyn Sticha, Stephanie Trejo

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

In Minnesota, felony disenfranchisement is the suspension of voting rights when a person is serving a felony conviction through incarceration, probation, parole, or supervised release. Felony disenfranchisement deprives tens of thousands of Minnesotans of their most basic civil rights long after any period of incarceration has ended. This is especially true for Minnesotans of color. Restoring the right to vote immediately upon release from incarceration will promote equality in voter representation and protect civil rights for all Minnesotans.


Learning About Others In Multiculturalist Social Service's Curriculum In Finland: Transnational Feminism, Anti-Racist Pedagogy, And Politics Of Othering In The Curriculum, Jenni Lampinen Jan 2022

Learning About Others In Multiculturalist Social Service's Curriculum In Finland: Transnational Feminism, Anti-Racist Pedagogy, And Politics Of Othering In The Curriculum, Jenni Lampinen

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Social work education aims to train competent professionals to answer the needs of changing populations and society. Education includes theoretical and practical components that offer the frames for social work at different levels of society; personal, interpersonal, institutional, and structural. Primarily, multicultural social work focuses on working with populations with diverse ethnic, cultural, and racial identities that often differ from the majority population. Multicultural social work can be seen as a bridge between minority communities and society. This research was implemented using discourse analysis to examine the social services program’s curriculum of one University of Applied Sciences in the Helsinki …


Front End Justice: Diverting People Affected By Mental Illness From The Criminal Justice System, Ariel Esqueda, Kelliann Kutschke, Matthew Miller, Kayleigh Wendland Apr 2021

Front End Justice: Diverting People Affected By Mental Illness From The Criminal Justice System, Ariel Esqueda, Kelliann Kutschke, Matthew Miller, Kayleigh Wendland

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Many of the people caught up in the criminal justice system are non-violent offenders struggling with mental illness, which cannot and should not be addressed through incarceration. Our jails and prisons are ill-equipped to provide effective mental health services. Incarceration compounds the problem by contributing to increased psychological distress. We are relying on the criminal justice system to respond to mental illness, rather than investing fully in the spectrum of mental health care from prevention to recovery. Minnesota must invest in diverting people affected by mental illness away from the criminal justice system and into community-based treatment, services, and supports …


I Am Ready For College. Are You Ready For Me?: Investing In Inclusive Higher Education For Young Adults With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities In Minnesota, Travis Bowen, Lindsey Morrison, Janessa Jandt, Claire Ziegler Apr 2021

I Am Ready For College. Are You Ready For Me?: Investing In Inclusive Higher Education For Young Adults With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities In Minnesota, Travis Bowen, Lindsey Morrison, Janessa Jandt, Claire Ziegler

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Minnesota has made a nominal investment in the education of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) beyond high school. Young adults with IDD face many barriers to access and enrollment in Minnesota inclusive postsecondary education (PSE). Barriers include a lack of postsecondary education options, a limited capacity in Minnesota's three existing Comprehensive Transition and Postsecondary programs (CTPs), and unclear available funding options. Young adults with IDD deserve the same opportunity to pursue postsecondary education in Minnesota as their peers, particularly in our public higher education institutions. The Minnesota State system must include adults with IDD in their 2020-2023 Equity …


Investing In A Culturally Diverse Mental Health Workforce In Minnesota, Emma Fuhrman, Teia Kopari, Cody Reinke, Josie Schultz Apr 2021

Investing In A Culturally Diverse Mental Health Workforce In Minnesota, Emma Fuhrman, Teia Kopari, Cody Reinke, Josie Schultz

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Minnesota’s mental health workforce lacks in both cultural diversity and cultural responsiveness. Each is critical for providing equitable mental health care to Minnesota's increasingly diverse population. Without ensuring that Minnesota’s mental health workforce is culturally diverse, culturally responsive mental health care for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) will not be attainable. Minnesota must broaden, strengthen, and create structures to support a racially and ethnically diverse mental health workforce.


Covid Realities & Opportunities For Rural Behavioral Health Services, Paul Force-Emery Mackie Mar 2021

Covid Realities & Opportunities For Rural Behavioral Health Services, Paul Force-Emery Mackie

Social Work Department Publications

No abstract provided.