Social Welfare Commons^™

The Effects Of Family Cohesion On The Relationship Between Trauma And State-Level Social Policy Provision In The United States, Brandon Kendall Ross Fielding

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation examines how childhood trauma and family cohesion interact to shape state-level social policy generosity in the United States. The study begins with a multilevel quantitative analysis using data from the National Survey of Children’s Health and the State Safety-Net Generosity Index to assess how individual-level experiences of trauma and family support relate to state-level welfare generosity. Two trauma indices--one focused on adverse childhood experiences and bullying, and the other on food-related hardship--are used to explore how trauma influences attitudes toward public assistance, and whether family cohesion moderates this relationship. Results from marginal effects analyses indicate that family cohesion, …

Examining Drug Policy In Portugal And Greece, Collin Fernandes

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines the divergent drug policies implemented in Portugal and Greece, analyzing why Portugal's comprehensive decriminalization model has been more successful than Greece's partial approach. Since 2001, Portugal has pioneered a drug policy that decriminalizes all drugs for personal use while investing in harm reduction services, rehabilitation, and social reintegration. In contrast, Greece maintained criminalization while implementing more limited harm reduction measures, particularly through OKANA (the Organization Against Drugs). The research highlights how economic factors, particularly the 2008 financial crisis and austerity measures, negatively affected both countries' programs but hit Greece's initiatives with greater severity. Portugal's programs have remained …

What Happened To This Child? Identifying Factors That Influence The Identification And Categorization Of Child Maltreatment In The United States, Erika Tullberg

Dissertations and Theses

Background: Research has shown that adverse childhood experiences are strongly linked with health outcomes over the life course, and that child maltreatment – generally defined as physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional maltreatment and neglect – can have an immediate, negative impact on child health and development and a longer-term impact on adolescent and adult health, including the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the U.S. With such significant consequences, the accurate identification of child maltreatment is critical.

Child welfare caseworkers are charged with protecting the safety and fostering the well-being of children who have been identified as maltreated or …

Challenges, Experiences, And Future Directions Of Senior Centers Serving The Portland Metropolitan Area, Melissa Lynn Cannon

Dissertations and Theses

A growing body of research emphasizes the development of an understanding of the relationship between older adults and their physical and social environments (Wahl & Weisman, 2003). Researchers, planners, policymakers, and community residents have been increasingly interested in shaping urban environments as places that foster active aging and independence among older adults. Senior centers have served a critical role in their communities as focal points for older adults, as individuals or in groups, to participate in services and activities that support their independence and encourage their involvement in and with the community (NCOA, 1979). The aging of the population and …

Building Bridges With Social Capital In The European Union, Peter Andrew Noordijk

Dissertations and Theses

A culture of accommodation and tolerance is a necessary part of establishing and preserving a functional multi-national and multi-ethnic European Union. Civil society organizations and their associated social capital have been shown to foster civic capacity and achievement of public policy goals. However, social capital that is based on group identity can also contribute to a sense of intolerance towards out-groups, undermining the stated tolerance objectives of the social pillar of the European Union. States with a strong presence alongside civil society are expected to be curb the development of the exclusionary bonding form of social capital in favor of …

Women's Actions And Reactions To Male Migration: A Case Study Of Women In San Juan Guelavía, Oaxaca, Mexico, Julie Boyles

Dissertations and Theses

Using a mixed methods, interdisciplinary case study approach, this research project explores the benefits, risks, and challenges of male migration for women who reside in San Juan Guelavía, Oaxaca, Mexico. In a unique approach in the field of migration studies, this project considers not only women whose husbands have migrated--absent husbands--but also the impact of male migration on women whose husbands have returned as well as women whose husbands have never left--anchored husbands. Women with returned husbands and even women with anchored husbands feel the threat, worry, and fear that male migration could, at an unknown point in the future, …

Child Welfare And Delinquency: Examining Differences In First-Time Referrals Of Crossover Youth Within The Juvenile Justice System, Courtney Nicole Shrifter

Dissertations and Theses

The link between child welfare and juvenile justice is well established, with over forty years of research that focuses on the increased risk of delinquency associated with child maltreatment. However, with over 700,000 children in the United States being victims of abuse and/or neglect in 2010 (DHHS, 2011), it is important to continue investigating this connection. Few studies are able to identify the same youth in both systems, therefore this study provides the unique opportunity using child welfare and juvenile justice administrative data from Oregon, to compare juvenile offenders that have been in the child welfare system, otherwise known as …

Food Insecurity And Oregon Tanf Leavers, Kim Hoffman

Dissertations and Theses

Food security, as defined in the U.S., means access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life. Examining the risk factors and consequences of food insecurity for those who leave Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) has practical implications, but empirical research has lagged behind theory. This study tested the Campbell Model of Food Insecurity (1991), a previously untested theoretical model, in a sample of TANF leavers in Oregon (n=637 Wave 1, n=552 Wave 2). Additionally, a qualitative examination of Oregon Food Bank workers, Oregon's largest charitable emergency food organization, was conducted to gather …

Low-Income Homeownership In Portland's Albina Community: A Comparative Analysis Of Housing Quality In Market-Rate And Subsidized Houses, Carolyn Emily Collopy

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to detem1ine which of these two options, market-rate or subsidized, offer higher quality affordable housing to low and moderate-level income households. Through field observation and GIS analysis, the study compared the structural, block, neighborhood amenity, crime, and proximity to CBD characteristics of affordable market-rate and subsidized houses in Portland's Albina Community. The study samples were approximately 100 houses per sample; market-rate houses consisted of houses that sold during 2000 for $125,000 or less, and subsidized houses were selected from housing created by three local non-profit development agencies.

General characteristics of the two samples revealed …

The Literacy Proficiencies Of Oregon Tanf Recipients: A Human Capital Approach, Amy Katherine Arnett

Dissertations and Theses

On August 22, 1996, President Clinton signed new legislation that dismantled the United State's welfare system. Consequently, thousands of welfare recipients had to move into the work-force. It is essential to discover if former welfare recipients are prepared to obtain employment and achieve self-sufficiency. Previous research suggests that human capital assets, such as level of literacy proficiency and grade completed in school are important factors in predicting welfare receipt. The purpose of this study is to investigate how literacy skills are associated with having received TANF for people without a high school degree or GED. The 941 subjects were located …

Violent Youth Gangs In Portland: A Study Of The City's Response, Debra Lynn Lindberg

Dissertations and Theses

Youth gangs infiltrated Portland's illegal drug trade in the early 1980s. By the mid-1980s, entire neighborhoods in some parts of the city were affected. Residents expressed fear that their children would be drawn into gangs. Violence between rival gangs was frightening. Citizens, law enforcement and social services personnel organized to defend themselves and adjust programs to manage the problem. City officials denied a problem existed until a gang style shooting death forced recognition. The shooting death was catalytic in that it launched an effort to respond with a continuum of services. The House of Umoja was one of the services. …

A Case Study Of The Development Of Oregon's 1985 Public Policy In Youth Substance Abuse, Sonja Carol Grove

Dissertations and Theses

Youth substance abuse in Oregon reached epidemic proportions in the early 1980s. A response to this social issue from the Governor's Office, the state legislature, and the Office of Alcohol and Drug Programs during 1983-1985 is the foundation of this case study. Oregon, a small state of three million, was faced with a growing problem of youth and adult substance abuse. Legislative leaders, agency staff, and Governor Atiyeh recognized an opportunity to create public policy to solve problems of substance abuse including crime. The focus on substance abuse included streamlining several budgets with substance abuse monies in various state agencies. …

Alzheimer's Disease Caregivers: The Transition From Home Care To Formal Care, Marie Theresa Duncan

Dissertations and Theses

Elderly people with irreversible cognitive declines such as Alzheimer's Disease (AD) make many demands on those who must care for them, whether those caregivers are family members or the paid staff of nursing homes. When family members no longer have the capacity to meet these demands, a move to a nursing home or other formal care facility becomes the only solution. Such a shift does not, however, mean the end of family caregiving. Instead, the family's caregiving activities must be integrated with the ongoing efforts of the formal care staff. Currently, relatively little is known about 1) what families experience …

The Relationship Between A Private Voluntary Organization And The Government Of A Developing Country In The Delivery Of Public Education: A Case Study In Rural Guatemala, Timothy John Peterson

Dissertations and Theses

As government agencies face a complexity of economic and political issues the availability and utilization of resources through private voluntary organizations (PVOs) have become increasingly important. A review of the literature covering the role of PVOs in developing countries indicates the significant contribution these agencies can have in the development process. There are only a handful of situations where small organizations are working directly with a government agency in the provision of a public service. Theoretically, PVOs are adaptable to a variety of settings, are effective conduits for delivering aid to the grassroots level, and are able to initiate long …

Caregiving For Parents And Caregiving For Children: The Differential Effects On Job Stress And Absenteeism, Linda Boise

Dissertations and Theses

An important area of contemporary research is the impact of family responsibilities on the workplace. Historically, caregiving responsibilities have been predominantly for minor children. Increasingly, caregiving involves caring for parents or other elderly or disabled adults.

The study reported in this dissertation compares the effects of caregiving on job stress and absenteeism for two groups of employees, one caring for parents and the other caring for children. It utilizes data from the "Work and Elder Care Project" conducted by the Regional Research Institute for Human Services and the Institute on Aging at Portland State University. Of the 9,573 employees who …

Urban Service Delivery System And Federal Government Bureaucracy: A Structural Analysis Of Spatial Distribution Of Water Supply In A Suburban Community Of Metropolitan Lagos, Michael Udochukwu Mbanaso

Dissertations and Theses

This study identifies the prevailing scarcity of urban public services and the conceptual relations among service delivery, patronage, bureaucratic activities and structural factors in the Lagos Metropolitan region. It examines the extent to which clientelism, bureaucratic decision rules and structural theoretical models explain water service delivery patterns in Festival Town (Festac), a suburb of Lagos, Nigeria.

The unprecedented pace of growth of the Lagos Metropolis since the mid-twentieth century gave rise to the spectacular spatial expansion of the continuous built up region. Urban industrial and governmental institutions have not kept pace with the population growth rate of Lagos. This demographic …

Some Observations Of The Swedish Psychiatric System, Gunnar Robert Almgren

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this report is to introduce the reader to the system of psychiatric services in Sweden. The format of this report is a brief summary of the economic, political and value context of the Swedish welfare state, a review of the essential services available to the Swedish citizen under present Swedish social welfare policy, and then an overview of Sweden's psychiatric system. The overview of the system itself includes a discussion of general characteristics as well as an examination of the system as it operates in one particular region.

Stressful Life Events : A Comparative Study Of Native American And Urban Samples, Sandra Ketcher

Dissertations and Theses

The subject of this paper is an extension of the work done Holmes and Rahe on the development of the Social Readjustment Rating Scale or SRRS and of the study, “Individual Perception of Stressful Life Events: A Comparison of Native Americans, Rural, and Urban Samples,” conducted by Dr. Liberman and Joel Frank. This study will compare those two samples with a sample of a selected Pacific Northwest Indian tribe served by an Indian Health Service facility.

“The Stressful Life Events: A Comparative Study of Native American and Urban Samples” study is a singular component of a total effort on the …

Program Planning For Community Residents Who Have Been Released From Mental Institutions, Joseph D. Condon, Margaret Ann Drackert

Dissertations and Theses

Zion Lutheran Church in Portland has had contact with a number of neighborhood residents who have been released from mental institutions but who have had little community support. The Church has felt the need for some time to develop a residential program for former patients in the area they serve. The authors of this report agreed to conduct a needs assessment and to develop a program relative to the results of the assessment.

A needs assessment identified the target population, attempted to determine what services they would use and how such services might best be delivered. The assessment was conducted …

Postdivorce Parental Roles: A Descriptive Study, Victor R. Congleton, Lisa Christina Londos

Dissertations and Theses

Divorce is becoming an increasingly common phenomenon in American society. Its occurrence is increasing both in absolute and relative numbers, and also in its involvement of minor children. As will be demonstrated below, very little is actually known about the process of divorce or about its impact on the members of the family. Of particular concern is the effect of divorce on the children invo1ved, and the decisions and practice of the divorcing parents regarding their subsequent parenting relationship to the children.

The authors of this report intend to study a random sample of divorcing couples and to derive a …

An Exploratory Study Of The Effects Of Parenting Relationships On Children's School Adjustment, Raymond M. Lappin, Lisa J. Posner, Marcia S. Smith

Dissertations and Theses

As indicated in the National Vital Statistics Report of April 1973, the rate of divorces involving minor children is increasing rapidly in this country. Consequently, concern about the effects of divorce on children has been growing. In 1974, a collaborative effort between the Clackamas County (Oregon) Circuit Court and the Portland State University National Justice Educational Development Project was begun to study the impact of divorce on children and their parents (IDCAP). Heading the team of researchers are Stanley N. Cohen, Ph.D., and Nolan Jones, Research Associate. Of special interest to Cohen and Jones is the parenting relationship of the …

An Exploratory Study Of Runaway Female Adolescents In A Residential Treatment Center, Mary E. Cook, Stan Jasper

Dissertations and Theses

If correctional institutions are to function according to established criteria, that is, to "correct" the deviant behavior of juvenile delinquents, then one obvious requirement is to have continuous contact with that individual over a period of time. This research project is one attempt to study runaways from the juvenile delinquent girls institution. This study specifically focuses on what factors influence a girl to run away and what factors encourage her to stay at Villa St. Rose.

Both researchers discovered in working at Villa St. Rose that one the biggest obstacles for the treatment program was the number of runaways that …

The Utilization Of Preventive Health Care Services By Low Income Members Of A Comprehensive Prepaid Health Plan : The Impact Of Outreach Services, Linda Elmlund Mahoney

Dissertations and Theses

A reading of recent studies in preventative health care behavior recalls the proverb about the blind men and the elephant: each man is able to describe the part of the animal he is closest to, but none can see, and so none can put their diverse and often contradictory opinions together to come up with an accurate description of the whole elephant. Similarly, in preventative health care studies, each researcher or research group is able to observe the preventative health care utilization patterns of specific populations at particular times, but the conclusions reached are often based on less than complete …

A Qualitative Assessment Of Clark County's Mental Health Delivery System, John L. Hutchison

Dissertations and Theses

During the past several years, service delivery for mental health in Clark County has changed dramatically. The increase in funding from the federal government in the 1960's, the trend toward de-institutionalization, the emphasis on local control and administration, the proliferation of service agencies and types of programs, and the increase in demand for mental health services, has created the complex, multi-dimensional, multi-funded "system" called the mental health system.

This increased complexity in the service delivery system has resulted in confusion among decision makers, consumers, providers of service, and the community at large. This confusion has manifested itself in a call …

The Negative Effects Of Divorce On The Behavior Of Children, David Hawkins, Karen Lloyd

Dissertations and Theses

Our study is concerned with the effects of filing for divorce on the behavior of children. We are interested in the adjustment of the child to the changes which occur during separation and divorce, and we maintain the attitude that the lives of children are affected in some way when a marriage or family unit dissolves. A generally accepted belief is that divorce produces negative consequences in the lives of children as shown in their behavior. However, recently a number of studies have suggested that divorce need not be a negative experience, at least to the degree most people feel …

Is There A Case For In-Kind Income Transfers? An Analysis Of The Low-Income Housing And Food Stamp Programs, Judith A. Barmack

Dissertations and Theses

The primary objective of this research was to assess the equity and efficiency of in-kind income transfers. The analytical framework employed incorporated key concepts of the utility interdependence paradigm from economic welfare theory. This paradigm views income transfers as social goods and suggests that social as well as private benefits may be derived from the redistribution of income. This study attempted to assess some of the empirical implications of the utility interdependence argument through the investigation of the low-income housing and Food Stamp programs in Multnomah County, Oregon for FY 1973.

Data were drawn from agency files, published statistics and …

A Preliminary Evaluation Of The Independent Living Subsidy Program In The Model Cities Area, W. Patrick Frawley, Mary Goodwin Gossart

Dissertations and Theses

This is a descriptive and analytical study of the twelve adolescents who have participated in the Independent Living Subsidy Program (ILSP) in the Model Cities area of Portland. It is an assessment of the program’s impact on the adolescents in working toward the goals of independence and self-sufficiency.

The concept of a program which would subsidize out-of-home care for certain adolescents in living facilities of their own, with a measure of independence, was conceived by a caseworker at the Children’s Services Division (CSD) and an administrator of a children’s residential care facility.

A Study Of Runaways From Six Residential Treatment Agencies, Loris Colbath, Carolyn Krugel Graf, Carol Mckinnon, Jean Newcomb

Dissertations and Theses

The purposes of this study were: (1) to examine a select sample of both runaways and nonrunaways at six Oregon residential treatment facilities; (2) to determine the amount and type of preplacement visitation and counseling done within these agencies; (3) to determine the effect preplacement visitation and counseling has upon the studied sample of runaways and nonrunaways in decreasing or controlling the number of runs from the agencies involved; and (4) to determine significant characteristics between runaway and nonrunaway populations.

Testing materials included a two-part questionnaire, part of which was developed with girls from one of the participating agencies.

Running, …

What Indians Think An Indian Is : A Study Of Personal And Educational Attitudes, Susan W. Oliver, Christine L. Peterson

Dissertations and Theses

This study, was conducted with four Indian groups: three of Portland and one in Whiteriver, Arizona. The purpose of the study was to identify attitudes about Indian identity and education through the use of a questionnaire on Indian stereotypes. Each group was unique in it’s response. Members of each group all had a different frame of reference for “who an Indian is.” Therefore, a conclusion could not be drawn because of the differences in attitudes between all four Indian groups.

Problem Oriented Case Planning, Jack A. Morgan

Dissertations and Theses

This practicum report discusses the adaptability of problem oriented case planning to casework which is practiced in the Northeast Multnomah County District Office of the Children’s Services Division. Problem oriented case planning is an approach designed to make casework more explicit by specifying the target problem(s), goals(s), tasks and an evaluation scheme which are agreed to and stated in a written contract developed by the participants. Such explicitness is essential to permit agency collection of useful information about its casework and casework programs needed to respond to today’s accountability demands, i.e., demonstration that the agency operates at a reasonable level …