Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Limitations Of Civic Service: Critical Perspectives, Jenny Brav, Amanda Moore Mcbride, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Limitations of Civic Service: Critical Perspectives

Friends, Family, And Neighborhood: Understanding Academic Outcomes Of African American Youth, Trina Williams, Larry Davis, Julie Miller-Cribbs, Jeanne Saunders, James Herbert Williams

Center for Social Development Research

Friends, Family, and Neighborhood: Understanding Academic Outcomes of African American Youth

The Decision Of African American Students To Complete High School: An Application Of The Theory Of Planned Behavior, Larry Davis, Icek Ajzen, Jeanne Saunders, Trina Williams

Center for Social Development Research

A longitudinal study explored high-school completion among African Americans. Male and female high-school students aged 14 to 17 (N=166) completed a questionnaire based on the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991) early in their second year. Intentions to complete the year were accurately predicted from attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control (R=0.71; p

Drop-Out From Individual Development Accounts: Prediction And Prevention, Mark Schreiner, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) are a new policy instrument designed to help the poor save and accumulate assets. IDAs provide matches for savings used for home purchase, post-secondary education, or microenterprise. IDAs cannot help participants, however, if they drop out. What determines drop-out, and what can be done to help participants to stay in? Three findings emerge from an analysis of IDAs in the American Dream Demonstration. First, drop-out depends more on transaction costs and previous debt than on income. Second, program design --and match rates in particular--affect drop-out risk. Third, drop-out can be predicted with some accuracy, so IDA …

Gender Differences In Self-Perceptions And Academic Outcomes: A Study Of African American High School Students, Jeanne Saunders, Larry Davis, Trina Williams, Julie Miller Cribbs

Center for Social Development Research

There is increasing divergence in the academic outcomes of African American males and females. By most accounts, males are falling behind their female peers educationally as African American females are graduating from high schools at higher rates and are going on to college and graduate school in greater numbers. Some have suggested that school completion and performance is associated with how students feel about themselves. The purpose of this study was to explore gender differences in the relationship between self-perceptions and two academic outcomes among a sample of 243 African American high school sophomores. The results suggest that, overall; females …

Understanding Service: Words In The Context Of History And Culture, Natasha Menon, Amanda Moore Mcbride, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Understanding Service: Words in the Context of History and Culture

Violence In The Lives Of Rural, Southern & Poor White Women, Naomi Farber, Julie Miller-Cribbs

Center for Social Development Research

Violence in the Lives of Rural, Southern & Poor White Women

Towards An Understanding Of Church Social Work Practice, Luann K. Hanson

Theses and Graduate Projects

Four social workers, employed by Lutheran churches in the Twin Cities area, were interviewed using an interview guide. The outcomes of the interviews are discussed. Out of these interviews, and the literature review, an understanding of church social work practice, roles, and models used arose. Analysis revealed that the role of social workers in church-related employment was defined by several factors, which in turn shaped job satisfaction and the types of models used in their ministry. Similarities were seen between all the church social workers interviewed and their desire to approach clients holistically. However, the environment and the vision of …

Collective Healing Of Cultural And Historical Trauma: Towards A Model For European Americans As Informed By African American And American Indian Traditions, Elizabeth Christine Carlson

Theses and Graduate Projects

This qualitative study was undertaken to explore important concepts in the formation of a model for White Cultural Healing based on American Indian, African American and European American cultural healing traditions. Eight individuals selected based on their cultural awareness and understanding of the healing process. Two identify as African American, two as American Indian and the remaining four as European American. They were interviewed regarding their knowledge and experience of the cultural trauma in the background of their people and their traditional ways of healing. The content of the interviews was coded and analyzed thematically. The model for White Cultural …

An Exploration Of Family Adjustment To Nursing Home Placement As Perceived By Nursing Home Social Workers, Alicia Ann Vandenberg

Theses and Graduate Projects

This primarily qualitative study was undertaken to explore two main research questions. The primary research question was: "What do families need when admitting a loved one to a nursing home?" The secondary research question was: "Are there ways that nursing home staff. especially social workers, can help family members adjust to placement?" Data were obtained by surveying a sample frame of social workers who belong to the Minnesota Nursing Home Social Workers Association and whose names appeared on the association's mailing list. Ninety-eight potential participants selected at random by stratified sampling were sent questionnaires. Open ended, short answer, scale, and …

Forming And Sustaining Partnerships, Pat Schene

Partnerships for Children and Families Project

This paper will discuss reasons to move in the direction of partnerships for child and family services. As well, strategies for developing less adversarial responses in child protection will be examined. A number of efforts to build partnerships for child protective services have taken place in several US communities, and specific examples of these attempts will be discussed. Given the ideal of partnerships, the paper will attempt to understand the role of the formal child welfare agencies in partnership with families and communities. Finally, lessons learned from these partnerships will be addressed and challenges to sustaining broader-based approaches to child …

‘When One Door Shuts, Another Opens’: Turning Disadvantages Into Opportunities, A.W.M. Veldkamp

Partnerships for Children and Families Project

For many years, the child and family welfare and the child protection systems in the Netherlands have been under heavy criticism. Numerous experts in these fields have been advocating more intensive co-operation and a better coherence between both systems. The relationship between both fields seems to be a never ending issue for political and public discussion that has filled many bookshelves during the last decades. In spite of this, until now, the criticized relationship between the two has not fundamentally changed. In this paper, the characteristic differences between child and family welfare systems and child protection systems will be considered. …

Child And Family Welfare In Sweden, Gunvor Andersson

Partnerships for Children and Families Project

Sweden has no special Children’s Act because regulations on children are included in the Social Services Act from 1980, supplemented by an act regulating compulsory care. Child and Family welfare has a family support orientation rather than a child protection orientation. No time limit provided by the law put an end to family support or out-of-home care, but interventions are reviewed every six months. The paper presents some facts about Sweden, gives and overview of the legal framework, family maintenance services and out-of-home care. Further details are given about contact person/family as one of the most frequently used statutory support …

First Nations Child And Family Services And Indigenous Knowledge As A Framework For Research, Policy And Practice, Marlyn Bennett, Cindy Blackstock

Partnerships for Children and Families Project

This paper provides an overview of the exciting national developments in First Nations child and family service delivery in Canada with a focus on progressive research, policy and practice. Examples of how traditional concepts of interdependence and the holistic worldview inform program design and delivery within First Nations communities are reviewed. In addition, the paper introduces the mandate, strategic directions and services of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada. This national organization brings together the 105 First Nations Child and Family Service Agencies in Canada to share best practices, develop professional development programs and conduct research. …

The Plight Of Paternalism In French Child Welfare And Protective Policies And Practices, Alain Grevot

Partnerships for Children and Families Project

For 40 years, the French child protection system has been based on a structure set up at the dawn of the Fifth Republic, giving a strong role, and a monopoly to the State to support families in trouble. The role of Children’s Judges has been designed to personify the constitutional duty of the State to control and support the role of parents as defined by the civil code. The evolution of the structure of French society (family models, multicultural communities), the impact of more liberal economic and social policies (in a country strongly characterized by centralization and Jacobinism), the growth …

Learning From Difference: Comparing Child Welfare Systems, Rachael Hetherington

Partnerships for Children and Families Project

Child welfare and child protection are integral aspects of the welfare regimes of all post-industrial societies. However, although the needs of children and the dangers of child abuse are so widely acknowledged, the ways in which these needs and risks are met varies considerably, even between countries with similar structures. By studying the ways in which other countries deal with similar problems, we can learn about new ways of responding and may find ideas that we can adapt for use in our own context. But we can do much more than this. By looking at differences, and using the power …

Maori Perspectives On Collaboration And Colonisation In Contemporary Aotearoa/New Zealand Child And Family Welfare Policies And Practices, Catherine Love

Partnerships for Children and Families Project

Colonization involves the appropriation and disfigurement of resources, the most valuable of these being people. In Aotearoa/New Zealand, indigenous Maori experiences of colonization parallel those of indigenous peoples around the world. The British modelled child welfare system in particular has been held responsible for the fragmentation of Maori families/whanau and communities. In 1989, new legislation was heralded as a radical departure from the previous legalistic, coercive and punitive system. The ‘Children, Young Person’s and their Families Act’ (CYP&F, 1989) signalled a partnership approach whereby Western welfare authorities and indigenous Maori communities would collaborate to protect ‘the best interests of the …

Problems And Potential For Canadian Child Welfare, K. Swift, M. Callahan

Partnerships for Children and Families Project

Canadian child welfare is not one single system, but more than 13 systems overseen by provincial and territorial governments and First Nations jurisdictions. However, there are many similarities among systems and general trends and directions common to them. One of these is a tendency for child welfare to become isolated from communities and related services because of its increasingly complex legislation and investigative mandates (Swift, 2001). Another is the challenge of serving peoples of diverse cultural and racial backgrounds, including First Nations peoples. Of course, each jurisdiction also responds to its particular social and political context in unique ways. In …

Promoting Change From ‘Child Protection’ To ‘Child And Family Welfare’: The Problems Of The English System, Rachael Hetherington, Tracey Nurse

Partnerships for Children and Families Project

In England, the system for children and families in need of state intervention has developed in response to a series of political changes and to high profile and highly publicised child welfare ‘cases’. This has led over the past 20 years to a focus on child protection as the most important aspect of the work. For the last 5-8 years, attempts have been made at many levels to redress this imbalance and put more emphasis on family support. However, there are barriers to change, in the existing structures, in the distribution of resources and in anxieties about public responses to …

Perceived Effects Of Voluntarism On Marital Life In Late Adulthood, Liat Kulik

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The article presents a study dealing with the perceived effects of voluntarism on marital life in late adulthood among a sample of 595 Israelis (336 men and 259 women). These perceptions were examined from three perspectives: benefits, spousal accommodation, and harmful effects. Comparisons focused on different types of families, based on employment status (pre-retired versus retired) and actual volunteer activity (volunteer versus non-volunteer). The findings revealed that among all types of families, the prevailing tendency was to emphasize the beneficial effects of voluntarism on marital life, whereas perceived harmful effects were least prevalent. Synchronous families (both partners pre-retired) and asynchronous …

Child Support Payment And Child Visitation: Perspectives From Nonresident Fathers And Resident Mothers, Stacey R. Bloomer, Theresa Ann Sipe, Danielle E. Ruedt

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the child support and visitation perspectives of nonresidential fathers and custodial mothers. The focus of the study was to present definitions of child support from both noncustodial fathers and custodial mothers, the barriers they experience that prevent child support and visitation, and suggestions the parents have for improvements in the child support system. The data suggest that although nonresidential fathers and custodial mothers have similar definitions of what characteristicsd efine child support, they have vastly different views of what barriers prevent child support and visitation. Interparental hostility appeared to shape their …

Review Of Social Policy And Policymaking By The Branches Of Government And The Public-At-Large. Theodore J. Stein. Review By Diana M. Dinitto., Diana M. Dinitto

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Theodore J. Stein, Social Policy and Policymaking by the Branches of Government and the Public-at-Large. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001. $49.50 hardcover.

Review Of The Color Of Opportunity: Pathways To Family Welfare And Work. Haya Stier And Marta Tienda. Review By Eric Swank., Eric Swank

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Haya Steir and Marta Tienda. The Color of Opportunity: Pathways to Family, Welfare, and Work. University of Chicago Press, 2001. $32.50 hardcover.

Working Families: The Transformation Of The American Home. Rosanna Herta And Nancy L. Marshall (Eds.).

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Rosanna Herta and Nancy L. Marshall (Eds.), Working Families: The Transformation of the American Home. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2001. $ 50.00 hardcover, 19.95 papercover.

Review Of The Handbook Of Social Work Research Methods. Bruce A. Thyer (Ed.). Review By John G. Orme., John G. Orme

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Bruce A. Thyer (Ed.), The Handbook of Social Work Research Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2001. $ 84.95 hardcover, $ 65.00 papercover.

The Clinical Irrelevance And Scientific Invalidity Of The "Minority" Notion: Deleting It From The Social Science Vocabulary, Doris Wilkinson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A systematic socio-linguistic and historical analysis of the minority label reveals its multiple irregularities and imperfections. These encompass a misleading array of vastly dissimilar nationality or group designations and the erroneous comparison of behaviors and life styles with racial status. As it is currently applied in U.S. political culture and in a variety of disciplines including sociology and social work, the concept has virtually no substantive meaning nor reality-linked usefulness. A thorough appraisal of the consequences of the perpetual reliance on the notion demonstrates that it eradicates ethnic cultural diversity and ignores historical antecedents and the "lived" experiences of oppressed …

Disempowering Minorities: A Critique Of Wilkinson's 'Task For Social Scientists And Practitioners', Mitch Berbrier

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In this article, I examine Wilkinson's (2000) injunction that practitioners "omit entirely the 'minority' concept" (pp. 124-25). I maintain that Wilkinson's argument disempowers groups-such as gays and the disabledwho have used a "minority" identity effectively, and speciously indicates that African-Americans would benefit from such retrenchment, thereby implying that social justice is a zero-sum game. Rather, "minority" coalitions are effectively pursuing justice for all. Moreover, Wilkinson's deconstruction of "minority" conflates conceptual breadth with conceptual vagueness, and conveniently ignores (or denies) the socially constructed character of "race" and "ethnicity." I suggest that practitioners learn more about the historical development of all of …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 29, No. 2 (June 2002)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• DISEMPOWERING MINORITIES: A CRITIQUE OF WILKINSON'S 'TASK FOR SOCIAL SCIENTISTS AND PRACTITIONERS' - Mitch Berbrier
• THE CLINICAL IRRELEVANCE AND SCIENTIFIC INVALIDITY OF THE "MINORITY" NOTION: DELETING IT FROM THE SOCIAL SCIENCE VOCABULARY - Doris Wilkinson
• PERCEIVED EFFECTS OF VOLUNTARISM ON MARITAL LIFE IN LATE ADULTHOOD - Liat Kulik
• WILL CHURCHES RESPOND TO THE CALL? RELIGION, CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY, AND SOCIAL SERVICE - Emily A. Leventhal and Daniel P. Mears
• CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENT AND CHILD VISITATION: PERSPECTIVES FROM NONRESIDENT FATHERS AND RESIDENT MOTHERS - Stacey R. Bloomer, Theresa Ann Sipe, and Danielle E. Ruedt
• SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK IN HARTFORD, …

Will Churches Respond To The Call? Religion, Civic Responsibility, And Social Service, Emily A. Leventhal, Daniel P. Mears

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Despite national calls for churches to become more involved in social service, many churches may not be willing or able to respond. Drawing on sociological theory, previous research, and interviews with pastors and parish social ministers from Catholic congregations in a large, urban city in Texas, we examine key factors linked to church-based social service efforts. Particulara ttention is given to church leadership,r ace/ethnicity,o rganizational characteristics, social and political networks, and the intersection of these factors in affecting service provision and advocacy. We then discuss the likely impacts of policies calling for religious organizations to increase their social service activities.

School Social Work In Hartford, Connecticut: Correcting The Historical Record, James G. Mccullagh

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper corrects the historical record on why and how school social work began in Hartford and who was instrumental in establishing the new service. The findings, based on a study of primary sources, revealed that a school principal, and not a psychologist as previously claimed, initiated the process that led the Hartford Charity Organization Society to appoint its Visitor, Winifred Singleton Bivin, a social caseworker, to also become the first social worker in the schools in January 1907. The social work profession, which owes its origin to the Charity Organization Movement, is also obligated to the Hartford Charity Organization …