Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Rush To Measure Performance, Lawrence L. Martin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article examines the concept of performance measurement and identifies several major performance measurement initiatives that have implications for the human services. Each of these initiatives is briefly discussed and their similarities and differences noted. The article points out that little coordination appears to be taking place between these initiatives which raises the specter of human service agencies having to contend with multiple potentially incompatible performance measurement systems. The implications of performance measurement for human services agencies is then discussed. The article closes by suggesting that agency administrators, advocacy groups, clients and others concerned about the human services need to …

"Safe Places To Go And Things To Do": Political Texts From Urban Youth Of Color, Amory Starr

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper is the first to examine the political texts of urban youth of color. It presents their assessments of what kinds of policies and programs would improve their lives.

Knowledge Utilization In Social Work And Legal Practice, Karen M. Staller, Stuart A. Kirk

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The gap between knowledge generated by systematic inquiry and its eventual use by practitioners has been a concern in social work for several decades. Explanations for the gap have been identified as the orientation or attitudes of practitioners, the character of professional education, and the nature of scientific inquiry. The structural character of both practice itself and its knowledge base have been overlooked as an explanation. By comparing legal and social work practice, we suggest that characteristics of social work practice and knowledge also impede research utilization.

For Crying Out Loud: Women's Poverty In The United States. Diane Burton And Ann Withorn (Eds.). Reviewed By Tracy Maybrey, Western Michigan University., Tracy Maybrey

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Diane Burton and Ann Withorn (Eds.), For Crying Out Loud: Women's Poverty in the United States. Boston, MA: Southend Press, 1997. $ 22.00 papercover.

Review Of Ethnicity, Crime And Immigration: Comparative And Cross National Perspectives. Michael Tonry (Ed.). Reviewed By Jewelle Taylor-Biggs, University Of California At Berkeley., Jewelle Taylor-Biggs

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Michael Tonry (Ed.), Ethnicity, Crime and Immigration: Comparative and Cross-National Perspectives. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1997. $56.00 hardcover, $22.50 papercover.

Welfare Capitalism In Taiwan: State, Economy And Social Policy. Yuen-Wen Ku.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Yuen-wen Ku, Welfare Capitalism in Taiwan: State, Economy and Social Policy. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997. $69.95 hardcover.

Review Of Immigrants Out: The New Nativism And The Anti-Immigrant Impulse In The United States. Juan E Perea. Reviewed By Robert L. Boyd, Mississippi State University., Robert L. Boyd

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Juan E Perea, Immigrants Out: The New Nativism and the Anti-Immigrant Impulse in the United States. New York: New York University Press, 1997. $ 19.95 papercover.

Against The Odds: Social Class And Social Justice In Industrial Societies. Gordon Marshall, Adam Swift And Stephen Roberts.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Gordon Marshall, Adam Swift and Stephen Roberts, Against the Odds: Social Class and Social Justice in Industrial Societies. New York: Clarendon Press, 1997. $29.95 hardcover.

Understanding The Debate Over The Privatization Of Social Security, Eric R. Kingson, John B. Williamson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Serious consideration is being given to the merits of privatizing Social Security. Debate over privatization and the future of Social Security gives expression to two differing value systems: the community-enhancing values of the program's defenders versus libertarian values of its critics. This article examines the implications of the debate. Areas of agreement among advocates and opponents of privatization are discussed. Special attention is paid to conflicting views about privatization and to the distributive implications of proposals to address the program's projected financing problem. In shifting much risk from government onto individuals, privatization would undermine basic Social Security protections. And it …

Communities In Conflict: Resolving Differences Through Collaborative Efforts In Environmental Planning And Human Service Delivery, Thom Reilly

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Increasingly, public administrators and managers in the fields of human service and environmental planning have been exploring new avenues to resolve complex and seemingly intractable public problems. Confronting such controversial issues as land management plans, common-pool resources, endangered species, welfare reform, health care and immigration are requiring new and more innovative ways of doing business-ways in which problem-solving and leadership is a shared pursuit of governmental agencies and concerned citizens.

Since collaborative efforts in these arenas have recently reemerged as one avenue to resolve complex policy disputes, it is premature to give an accurate assessment of their long term viability. …

On Whose Watch? The Silent Separation Of American Children From Their Fathers, Nancy S. Coney, Wade C. Mackey

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Within two generations, the primary reason that American children were deprived of a father shifted from a father's death to a woman's choice. That is, prior to the 1960s, the major cause of fatherlessness was the death of the father through illness or accident. After the 1960s, the children became deprived of fathers primarily because of women's decisions to petition for a divorce or to become a single parent mother. The path of the shift is examined, and the consequences writ small per child and writ large for the commonweal are examined.

Review Of Antisemitism And Xonophobia In Germany After Unification. Herman Kurthen, Werner Bergmann And Rainer Erb (Eds.). Reviewed By Frank Hirtz, University Of California, Davis., Frank Hirtz

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Herman Kurthen, Werner Bergmann and Rainer Erb (Eds.), Antisemitism and Xonophobia in Germany after Unification. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. $ 65 hardcover, $ 29.95 papercover.

Review Of Nothing Happens To Good Girls: Fear Of Crime In Women's Lives. Esther Madriz. Reviewed By Deborah Page Adams, University Of Kansas., Deborah Page Adams

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Esther Madriz, Nothing Happens to Good Girls: Fear of Crime in Women's Lives. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1997. $40 hardcover.

Violent Criminal Acts And Actors Revisited. Lonnie Athens

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Lonnie Athens, Violent Criminal Acts and Actors Revisited. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1997. $24.95 hardcover, $14.95 papercover.

Postmodern Welfare: Reconstructing An Emancipatory Project. Peter Leonard.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Peter Leonard, Postmodern Welfare: Reconstructing an Emancipatory Project. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1997. $23-95 papercover.

The New Temperance: The American Obsession With Sin And Vice. David Wagner.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

David Wagner, The New Temperance: The American Obsession with Sin and Vice. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1997. $60 hardcover, $16.00 papercover.

Perceptions Of Social Workers On Factors Associated With Foster Care Outcomes, Larry L. Kollman

Theses and Graduate Projects

The purpose of this exploratory study is to elicit the perceptions of social workers on factors which may be associated with a stable reunification following discharge from foster family care. Twenty-four social workers from the Waterloo Region of The Iowa Department of Human Services completed a survey in which they identified their perception of reunification factors pertaining to the birth parents, foster parents, child, social worker, and agency. The findings suggest that the maintenance of the connection between the child and birth family, the child's development of healthy attachment experiences, an ecologically-based assessment, and the social worker's rapport with and …

The Process Of Identity Change From Entitled Controller To Batterer, Evelyn Powell

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The primary purpose of this research was to investigate any catalysts to changes in self-concept that may have occurred among thirteen men who had been labeled as batterers by the courts and who were about to graduate from the Project to End Abuse through Counseling and Education (PEACE), a court-mandated batterers' intervention program, in Nashville, Tennessee. It is deemed necessary for a batterer to first recognize himself as such before he is able to stop battering. The second purpose of this research was to document the men's attitudes about PEACE and how it affected them. Within the framework of symbolic …

Community Empowerment And Social Policy Design: A Case Study Of The Creation Of A School-Based Health Center, R. Ian Costello

Masters Theses

Studies of community empowerment have shown the benefits of involving recipient communities in the process of designing and implementing social aid programs. One of these benefits is the empowerment of previously disenfranchised individuals and communities. Through qualitative ethnographic research, this thesis shows how residents of one low-income community in South-West Michigan have become more empowered through their involvement in the design and implementation of a school-based health center.

Acknowledging The Crisis In Social Liberalism: A Call For A New Approach To Teaching Social Policy, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

A graduate social policy course at West Virginia University has been redesigned by a senior faculty member and lead instructor to recognize advances in political philosophy and to confront the decline of the social liberal welfare state and the rise of populist radicalism, through civic engagement by citizen-professionals.

A Needs Assessment For Parents Of Children With Developmental Disabilities, Susan E. Peterson

Theses and Graduate Projects

The purpose of this study was to explore the needs of parents of young children with developmental disabilities. The survey included 70 families served through Early Childhood Special Education. Data collection utilized the Family Needs Survey (Bailey & Simeonsson, 1990). Topics examined were: Information, Family and Social Support, Financial, Explaining to Others, Child Care, Professional Support, and Community Services. Findings indicated that parents have a high need for information about current and future services available for their children. Family and social support data indicated that parents have a need to find time for themselves. The financial needs parents reported were …

The Relationship Between Job Satisfaction And Job Tenure, Jamey M. Whitney

Theses and Graduate Projects

This exploratory quantitative study was conducted to ascertain the correlation between job satisfaction and job retention among employees from two different job settings. Seventy employees, thirty five from a public social service and thirty five from a private social service setting, completed a modified Job Satisfaction Survey developed by PauI E. Spector. The employee's responses to questions were developed to measure 9 facets of job satisfaction which were correlated with the demographic information of length of employment with their current employer. The intent was to determine, if any, the prominent characteristics that explain the reasons for their length of tenure …

Historical Analysis Of Past And Present Treatments Associated With Borderline Personality Disorder:, Jimmie Lee Willette

Theses and Graduate Projects

The following thesis examines the historical perspective of mental illness, leading to therapeutic interventions for individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder. The need for improved interventions are reflected in treatment failure with both historical and traditional therapies, including repeated hospitalizations, self-injurious behaviors and suicide attempts. This thesis uses the Systems Theory and Ecological Perspective to review and analyze past and present treatments, with special emphasis on the 'Dialectic Behavior Therapy,' (DBT) program initiated in 1993 exclusively for individuals diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder.

Development Of A Workshop Curriculum For Direct Service Professionals Serving People With Mental Retardation Who Have Challenging Behaviors, John J. O'Brien

Theses and Graduate Projects

A generation ago, care provided by a, institution was the primary model for providing services to persons with mental retardation. Today, most persons with developmental and other disabilities receive services within the context of typical community housing, work places, and schools. By June 1995, 92% of the 84,532 residential settings for people with mental retardation/developmental disabilities in the United States had six or fewer residents (Prouty and Lakin, 1996). As the number of community settings increase, there is a corresponding demand to train workers to provide direct care to people with mental retardation in community settings. Competent and comprehensive training …

Medicaid Managed Care For Those With Disability: Analysis With Implications For Minnesota's Demonstration Project For People With Disabilities, Darrin P. Helt

Theses and Graduate Projects

Many states have recently begun enrolling Medicaid beneficiaries with disabilities into prepaid managed care plans. The purpose of this study was to analyze various state programs in terms of reconciling access to quality health care services for the enrollee and the financial viability for both government entities and contracted health care plans with future policy implications for Minnesota's program for those with disabilities, the Demonstration Project for People with Disabilities (DPPD). This study involved the survey of published literature of existing state Medicaid managed care programs specifically serving those with disabilities. While the future prognosis is unclear, evidence shows that …

An Exploratory Study Of The Attitudes Among Hospital Social Workers In Relationship To Managed Care, Shelby M. Lawrence-Hinshon

Theses and Graduate Projects

Hospital social workers today face many challenges due to the swift and evolving scene of health care. To a large degree. managed care has been the primary force influencing health care in recent years. In fact, the inception and development of managed care has created new conditions for the hospital social worker. These conditions have meant greater responsibility as well as higher expectations for the hospital social worker. This exploratory study examined the current and future role of the hospital social worker, the functions performed and, the attitudes among hospital social workers in relationship to managed care. Results indicate that …

A Study Of Child Abuse: Race Gender And Family Structure, Linda Wyatt Faircloth

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Using 1989-1994 data collected from the Portsmouth Department of Social Services in Portsmouth, Virginia, this study looked at severity and recidivism of child abuse in Portsmouth from 1989-1994. Analyses of data from the Portsmouth Department of Social Services indicated that children living in single parent families are more likely to be severely abused than children living in two parent families but no differences were observed for race and age.

Factors Influencing African American Youths' Decisions To Stay In School, Larry E. Davis, Sharon Johnson, Julie Miller-Cribbs, Stephen Cronen, Leslie Scheuler-Whitaker

Center for Social Development Research

Little attention has been given to the non-problematic development and positive life decisions of African American youth. This paper reports findings of 231 African American students. The goal of the study was to assess factors which contribute to their academic grade point averages and intentions to stay in school. The conceptual model employed in this study was the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) which contends that intentions to carryout a behavior is a function of Attitude towards the behavior, Social Normative support for undertaking the behavior, and the Perceived Control of being able to carry out the behavior. In addition …

Landholding And Household Development: What Do We Know?, Min Zhan, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

This overview of research on effects of land ownership focuses on the economic, personal, and social effects of land ownership of small-scale farmers, often in developing nations, under the assumption that the household is the primary unit of production. A search for relevant studies from different fields of inquiry—economic development, rural sociology, family studies, anthropology, social work, medicine, and others—finds 39 empirical studies addressing the effects of land ownership. Sorting these studies into categories for discussion, we present the existing research on effects of land ownership on (1) level of consumption, (2) economic security, (3) investment, (4) women’s status, (5) …

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

Center for Social Development Research

Children’s allowances, a common feature of twentieth century welfare states, are cash grants to families with children. The concept of a government-provided monthly cash benefit to foster income security for all children has never had widespread political appeal. This report traces the history of children’s allowances in other nations to see what can be learned about child support policies.