Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Foster Care Experience, Group Support, And Life Outcomes: A Qualitative Study, Alameta James

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research study utilizes the perspectives of foster care alumni to explore the effectiveness of the child welfare system. Based on experiences with general and peer related services while in foster care, participants were asked to evaluate and discuss how interventions they received contributed to areas of their life, including adult independent living. The study used an exploratory method with a qualitative approach to search for categories and themes related to the services, interventions, and activities implemented with foster youth and the effect that had on their lives. Interviews were deduced into six categories: demographics, therapeutic services, education, social support, …

The Caregiver-Biological Parent Relationship’S Impact On Reunification, Karol Valencia Reynoso

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Child welfare cases that require the removal of children from the parents require court involvement. Children in foster care are placed in a foster home. Foster caregivers are responsible for the daily care of the court Dependent meanwhile their parent(s) is participating in Family Reunification services.

Interviewing social workers with family reunification case work experience allowed for identification of common barriers or commonalities caused by the relationship between foster caregivers and biological parents. Visitations between the children and bio-parents are a great indicator of reunification likelihood based on the child-parent bond. The study was centered on child welfare social worker’s …

The Impact Of Religion And Spirituality On County Child Welfare Workers, Celeste Ramos, Sonia Magdaleno Ayamel

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study aims to identify and analyze how county child welfare workers can utilize their own religious and spiritual beliefs to alleviate some of the work-related stress. In addition, the study will examine how participating in religious or spiritual support groups will benefit county child welfare workers. The findings may encourage social workers to rely on their respective religious and spiritual beliefs while dealing with difficult situations.

Working Effectively With Immigrant Families In The Child Welfare System, Angeles J. Tovar, Yvette Robles

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine what social work students and early career professionals need from their agencies, supervisors, and colleagues to work effectively with immigrant clients in child welfare. The literature on social work with immigrants suggests that this work is challenging due to a plethora of barriers related to language, culture, citizenship, eligibility, and organizational environment. The study uses in-depth, qualitative interviews with seven social work students and early career social workers who work in child welfare settings in Southern California, either as interns or full-time employees. These interviews were conducted by the researchers from Fall …

Perception Of Parentification: A Qualitative Study Of Hispanic Families In Southern California, Kaylin Lopez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Previous research has not thoroughly studied parentification in California. This study seeks to fill this gap by exploring how is child parentification is perceived among Hispanic families in the High Desert region of California. Guided by the premises of Bowlby’s Attachment Theory and Erikson’s Psychosocial Development Theory and utilizing a qualitative approach, this study conducted semi-structured interviews with six Hispanic Americans residing in California’s High Desert area (N = 6). Thematic analysis of the data generated six major themes: (1) children as a resource in the household, (2) parentification requires parental consent, (3) parentification depends on child’s age, (4) parentification …

Self Care And Burnout Among Child Welfare Workers During The Coronavirus Pandemic, Stephanie Carranza, Claudia Castillo

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The study was designed to explore associations between burnout and self-care practices among child welfare social workers and how they were impacted during the Coronavirus pandemic. The researchers completed a qualitative study with research participants by completing interviews via Zoom. All research participants composed of current and former child welfare social workers. Through the data gathered, the researchers found that there were no associations between burnout and self-care practices during the pandemic. It was concluded that burnout has remained consistent regardless of self-care practices prior and during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Former Foster Youth Who Become Child Welfare Workers, Candace Watts, Shantel Ortega

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Former foster youth who become child welfare workers are an asset to the child welfare system because of the combination of their lived experience and professional experience in child welfare, which allows them to understand the circumstances of their clients on a deeper level. This study seeks to uncover the reasons why former foster youth become child welfare workers. There are three main questions that our study seeks to know: What factors lead former foster youth to become workers in child welfare? Do these workers have any advantages because of their past personal experiences with child welfare? And do child …