Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Policy Brief: Strengthening Mentoring Opportunities For At-Risk Youth, Timothy A. Cavell, David L. Dubois, Michael J. Karcher, Thomas E. Keller, Jean E. Rhodes

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mentoring the next generation of youth is critical to the future health and prosperity of our nation. Yet, millions of young people are currently growing up without the guidance and support from parents or others that is needed to prepare them to become well-adjusted and contributing members of society. Making progress in addressing this need will require substantial commitments of time and resources at all levels-from individuals to communities to government. These investments must be made carefully and strategically. For guidance, this brief summarizes the latest research on youth mentoring. Several new directions for programs and policies aimed at connecting …

Social Security In The 21st Century, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Social Security in the 21st Century

Ida Evaluation Handbook: A Practical Guide And Tools For Evaluation Of Pioneering Ida Projects, Michael Sherraden, Deborah Page-Adams, Shirley Emerson, Sondra Beverly, Edward Scanlon, Li-Chen Cheng, Margaret S. Sherraden, Lissa Johnson

Center for Social Development Research

This IDA Evaluation Handbook is designed as a practical guide with tools for emergent, pioneering IDA (Individual Development Accounts) projects. The goal of this Handbook is to promote early evaluations of IDAs and learn as much as possible from each project.

Policy Brief: Pursuing 529 College Savings Plan Exclusion From Oklahoma Asset Limit Tests, Lisa Reyes Mason, Soda Lo, Margaret M. Clancy

Center for Social Development Research

Pursuing 529 College Savings Plan Exclusion from Oklahoma Asset Limit Tests

The History And Status Of Children's Allowances: Policy Background For Children's Savings Accounts, Curley Jami, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

The history and status of children's allowances: Policy background for Children's Savings Accounts

Active Partnerships: Working Together And Working For The Field, Jennifer Heffern, Gena Gun, Karen Edwards

Center for Social Development Research

The State Assets Policy Project (SAPP), an initiative of the Center for Social Development (CSD) at Washington University in St. Louis, hosted its 6th asset-building policy conference November 7-9, 2007, in St. Louis, Missouri. Titled, Partnerships: Working Together and Working for the Field, the conference had three purposes: 1) to share information about current asset-building policies, and the existing or potential universality of these policies; 2) to facilitate collaboration between participating organizations; and 3) to consider the potential for universality of proposed assets policies, strategies, and systems. This document provides a summary of conference activities geared to assist conference participants …

Investment In Human Development As A Social Development Strategy, Sondra Beverly, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Social development refers to the integration of improvements in human welfare with economic development and widespread participation in the process and benefits of development. While the notion of social development provides a useful complement to economic-oriented development, it has been criticized as utopian, wide-ranging, and theoretically underdeveloped. After summarizing major conceptualizations of social development, this paper focuses on a particular social development issue -- investment in human development. Specifically, investment in human development refers to investments in basic needs such as nutrition, primary health care, and basic housing; and investments in human capital in the form of primary education and …

Exploring The Impact And Implications Of Residential Mobility: From The Neighborhood To The School, Robin L. Ersing, Richard D. Sutphen, Diane N. Loeffler

Social Work Faculty Publications

This cross-sectional study examines residential relocation among a cohort of 495 fifth graders in one urban community in the Southeastern U.S. The impact of residential mobility is discussed in relation to student/family outcomes as well as the stressors placed upon schools. Results support previous findings which suggest residential relocation is correlated with academic problems. In addition, highly mobile students are twice as likely to be referred by teachers for disciplinary intervention and families are five times more likely than their residentially stable counterparts to be involved with child protective services. Implications from this study address the need for school systems, …

A Proposed Program To Reduce Risk Of Recidivism For First Time Juvenile Sex Offenders, Lorna E. Grant

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

This proposed pilot project is intended for juvenile sex offenders and their parents. The program aims to guide juvenile sex offenders into successful reintegration into their communities, and prevent re-incarcera-tion/relapse of juveniles released from juvenile correctional facilities and the family court using a multi-sys-temic approach. A developmental evaluation is proposed to be conducted from the behavioral objectives approach to measure the effectiveness of a 12-months pilot program.

The Persistence Ofagriculture At The Rural-Urban Interface: Does The Cost Of Health Insurance Make Adifference?, S. Inwood, J. Sharp, Douglas B. Jackson-Smith, J. Clark

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Needs Ofsage-Grouse Local Working Groups: Final Technical Report, L. R. Belton, Douglas B. Jackson-Smith, T. A. Messmer

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Over the last several decades, biologists have grown increasingly concerned about declines in populations of two species of sage-grouse (Centrocercus spp.), a bird whose range covers a vast portion of eleven western U.S. states and two Canadian provinces (Stiver et al. 2006). This chicken-sized bird inhabits sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) habitats on public and private land across its range. Recent declines in population numbers of this bird across its range have generated concern among landowners and state wildlife officials that the bird may be listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Sage-grouse local working groups (LWGs) have emerged as a centerpiece …

Stress And Coping Behavior : The Effects Of Poverty On Women And Children, Laura J. Sorensen Lyons

Graduate Research Papers

The following paper reviews research on poverty, its effects on women and their children, and how they cope with the increased level of stress. There are more single headed households now than ever, the majority headed by women. This adds an increased level of stress on both the women and the children they care for. Research also shows that a large number of these families are also coping with the special needs of their children. This stress leads many women and children to cope in some conventional and unconventional ways.

Schools are playing an increasingly larger role in the lives …

Disruptive Technologies In Systems Of Care: An Exploratory Study Of Social Work With Older Adults In Long-Term Care Facilities, Rebecca Lynn Paskind

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this exploratory research was to explore the application of knowledge about disruptive technologies to the long term care setting using the Eden Alternative^TM as an example. The research questions were: What themes of structuration emerge when a long-term care facility implements a disruptive social technology? What is the nature of the disruption between and among workers, long-term care facility culture, and professionals when a new social technology is introduced? How does social work practice with older adults change when a social technology such as Eden is introduced in a long-term care setting? Is Barley's (1984, 1986) …

A Grounded Theory Study Of Grief In The Lives Of Lesbians Age 60 And Older: Implications For Practice And Societal Change, Ginger Charlyne Meyette

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to understand the lived experiences of self-identified lesbians age 60 and older concerning grief related to various life experiences and to develop a grounded theory related to the findings. The purpose goes beyond describing the phenomenon of grief focusing on grief related exclusively to death loss. The purpose includes eliciting comments about grief related to overt or covert discrimination due to ageism, sexism, and/or homophobia as well as the connection between the personal and the political in terms of what needs to change to bring about social justice.

The issue of grief in the …

A Critical Realist Exploration Of The Relationship Between Personal And Professional Value Systems In Social Workers And The Impact On Motivations For Participation In A Social Work Community Of Practice, Philip Jonathan Osteen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study addresses questions about the nature of relationships between personal and professional value systems and between personal and professional identities, about motivations for engaging in a social work community of practice, and about alternative statistical methods for evaluating the psychometric properties of an original measure of motivation for participation in a social work community of practice. By merging communities of practice theory, derived from social learning theory, and critical social realist theory, this study bridges an ideological gap between the origins and evolution of personal and social identities. The study utilizes a mixed-method approach to (1) develop a measure …

Creating An Indian Space In The City: Development, Maintenance, And Evolution Of Cultural Identity And Cultural Connectedness Among Multiple Generations Of Urban American Indians, Nancy Marie Lucero

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the cultural identity and cultural connectedness of multiple generations of American Indians whose families had been living continuously in an urban area for 40 to 50 years. The intent of the current study was to better understand how members of this group developed and maintained their cultural identities while living away from a tribal community and as a small percentage of the population of a large and culturally diverse metropolitan area. The study also sought to identify what constituted cultural connectedness--a term used frequently amongst urban Indians that appears to encompass factors of importance to being American …

Participants' Perception Of The Utility Of An Adult Day Health Care Center, Sherry Ann Snyder

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to assess the participants' perception of San Bernardino Adult Day Health Care. Adult day health care centers serve the mentally ill as well as the mentally disabled and elderly population, and are designed to help keep the participants in the community and free from institutionalization.

Private Foster Family Agencies' Certified Foster Parents' Perceptions Of County Social Workers And Services, Maria Gabriela Casillas

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to explore the support and services available to foster parents from government-run services and to examine attitudes resulting from the contact they have with county social workers and the services they received from them. The foster parent's suggestions and/or responses allowed this study to uncover frequent themes that lead to a theory of their perceptions, and served to add knowledge and make changes in social work practice at the micro and/or macro levels of human organization. This study was conducted with 15 foster parents that provide foster care for the agency, Community Access Network …

The Impact Of California's Service Delivery System On Developmentally Disabled Youth Emancipating From The Child Welfare System, Carey Ann Doetschman

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to examine public child welfare and regional center workers' perceptions of the experiences that developmentally disabled youth have as they emancipate from child welfare services into the adult developmental service sector. Data was collected by interviewing workers from Inland Regional Center and San Bernardino County's Child Welfare Department. The sample of this study included nine case managers and social workers who presented nine cases. Qualitative Interviews were designed and conducted with workers from both agencies utilizing the same basic interview guide.

Establishing Adult Lifelong Connections For Emancipating Foster Youth, Tylia Lindsey Jones

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which Riverside County Children's Social Services Workers (CSSW's) are establishing adult lifelong connections for emancipating foster youth. Interviews were conducted with CSSW's from the Independent Living Program (ILP) and the Planned Permanency Living Arrangement (PPLA) units. The purpose of the interviews was to identify resources that CSSW's are using to secure adult lifelong connections for youth transitioning out of the foster care system.

The Relationship Between Kinship Support Services And Placement Outcomes, Maria De Jesus Flores, Jennifer Lau

Theses Digitization Project

This study examined the relationship between kinship support services and placement outcomes using secondary data collected by Chang and Liles (2004) in the Counties of San Bernardino and Riverside. This study aimed at assessing kinship care placement outcomes by reviewing the characteristics of kin caregivers and their dependent children, types of financial support and services received, and contact with social workers. This study sample included 130 kinship caregivers and 291 dependent children from the original study (Chang & Liles, 2007).

Perceptions About The Effectiveness Of Play Therapy Among Parents, Maria Nina Joy Malasig Flores

Theses Digitization Project

This thesis will explore the perceptions about the effectiveness of play therapy among parents. This study will work with Bilingual Family Counseling Services, (BFCS) in Ontario, with their school based program. Their school based program runs throughout the Montclair and Ontario school districts and helps counsel children with behavioral problems who are from 5-12 years of age with play therapy. The issue that will be addressed in this study is to find out through the perception of the parent whether or not play therapy has been effective with their child. This study will survey parents about their child's progress throughout …

Co-Sleeping Deaths In Riverside County, Christine Leigh Brown

Theses Digitization Project

The focus of this study was to look at cases of co-sleeping deaths and find the similarities between them and determine if these deaths were preventable. The research site for this study was the Riverside County Child Death Review, which meets twice a month to discuss all child deaths in Riverside County, as well as Riverside County Child Protective Services. The study participants chosen for this study were from cases discussed at these meetings. The cases for this study were selected from the Riverside Child Death Review Team from the years 2003 to 2008.

Social Workers' Perceptions Of Barriers To Father Involvement In Case Planning In San Bernardino County Department Of Children's Services, Deborah Ann Kay, Tina Marguerite Wright-Ervin

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to examine social workers perceptions of barriers to the involvement of fathers in case planning. Two focused groups were conducted utilizing a sample of eleven social workers from two Children and Family Services offices in San Bernardino County. Participants were asked to express their opinions on what the barriers to father involvement have been in their work experience. Ultimately, the study found that social worker bias, systemic bias, paternity issues, and father's lack of motivation are the four major barriers to father involvement.

Substance Abuse Among The Aging Population: A Needs Assessment, Stephen Michael Clark

Theses Digitization Project

This needs assessment was composed of 33 clinicians' in Riverside and San Bernardino counties that work in the substance abuse field. This study was developed to test if there is a need to increase clinicians' knowledge level base when working with older adults age 65 plus with a substance abuse problem. This needs assessment looked at demographics and tested the differences between self reported knowledge and what instruments their agencies are currently using.

Attitudes Regarding Gang Affiliation Of Select Adolescent Boys Residing In Group Homes, Gina Michelle Aguirre

Theses Digitization Project

This study contains a program evaluation of a four week series of group sessions, involving a variety of group activites, including role plays, exposure to a former gang member, and group dialogues on a variety of topics, to determine whether the program caused a change in the attitudes of adolescent males residing in group homes regarding gang affiliation. The research utilized a convenience sample, utilizing male residents of Fields Comprehensive Group Homes, between the ages of 15 and 18, residing at one of two affiliated locations. Each location housed six adolescent boys. One group home was randomly selected as the …

Group Therapist's Perceptions Of Group Treatment Of Intra-Familial Child Sexual Abuse Offenders, Elena Diana Inzunza

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not therapy is effective among intra-familial child sexual abuse offenders and to identify successful strategies and techniques. An intra-familial child offender is a person whose sexual desire is directed toward children, usually of pre-pubertal or early pubertal age. The distinction within an intra-familial child sexual offender is that the offense was that the victim was within the perpetrator's family.

Caregivers' Perceptions Of Disabled Elders Preparations For A Natural Disaster, Brenda Marie Starkins

Theses Digitization Project

The focus of this research study was to evaluate caregivers' perceptions of how well disabled elders are prepared for a natural disaster. This study was conducted through the Inland Caregiver Resource Center. Participants included six hundred ninety-one caregivers who care for and support the disabled elderly population.

The Effects Of Different Types And Patterns Of Services On Successful Reunification, California Social Work Education Center (Calswec), Amy D'Andrade

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Service Delivery Models Of Orthopedic Donations To Low Income Nations, Jean Elizabeth Sigaran

Theses Digitization Project

This study focused on the program designs of nonprofit organizations that deliver orthopedic supplies to low income nations. Successful organizations, whether for profit or not for profit, must consider many factors when creating an effective program design. This study investigated the role stakeholders played in orthopedic supply delivery and what factors contribute to an efficient distribution of resources.