Social Work Commons^™

Supporting Employment Consultants In Their Work With Job Seekers, Alberto Migliore

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

This is a summary of the article "Supporting employment consultants in their work with job seekers: A longitudinal study" published in the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation. The article highlights an urgent need for policy, practice, and research to identify and remove the roadblocks that prevent employment consultants from investing more of their time in core activities that lead to hiring.

Modelos Mentales, Clarissa Gaona Romero, Katherine Curi-Quinto, Laura Guzmán Abello, Carmen Quinteros-Reyes, Paraskevi Seferidi, Antonio Bernabe-Ortiz, Lindsey Pawlowski, Ellis Ballard

Social System Design Lab

Un principio central de la perspectiva del pensamiento sistémico es que las estructuras del sistema están respaldadas y permanecen por nuestras creencias, formas de pensar, y objetivos subyacentes (Ver Serie de Informes de Métodos 1.08). Por lo tanto, para transformar y rediseñar los sistemas también debemos transformar nuestra mentalidad. El propósito de este breve documento es introducir el concepto de modelos mentales y discutir cómo las herramientas de dinámica de sistemas se pueden usar para identificarlos, negociarlos y transformarlos.

Online Gmb: Challenges, Opportunities, And Barriers, Lucy Chin, Allie Farrell, Min Hu, Lindsey Pawlowski, Ellis Ballard

Social System Design Lab

The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in the new reality of remote working and learning, forcing group model building practitioners to make an abrupt shift to online workshops. Like our peers, the Social System Design Lab (SSDL) at Washington University in St. Louis confronted this challenge by exploring what tools existed for adaptation and continued collaboration. The shift has not been easy, but it has revealed new insights that suggest areas to leverage the strengths of online GMB long after the pandemic comes to an end.

The purpose of this brief is to provide some general points of comparison between in-person and …

Facilitation Team Roles In Online Gmb, Allie Farrell, Min Hu, Lucy Chin, Lindsey Pawlowski, Ellis Ballard

Social System Design Lab

The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in the new reality of remote working and learning, forcing group model building practitioners to make an abrupt shift to online workshops. Like our peers, the Social System Design Lab (SSDL) at Washington University in St. Louis confronted this challenge by exploring what tools existed for adaptation and continued collaboration. The shift has not been easy, but it has revealed new insights that suggest areas to leverage the strengths of online GMB long after the pandemic comes to an end.

The purpose of this brief is to compare facilitation team roles in traditional, in-person GMB sessions …

An Overview Of Platforms To Support Online Gmb, Lucy Chin, Min Hu, Allie Farrell, Lindsey Pawlowski, Ellis Ballard

Social System Design Lab

The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in the new reality of remote working and learning, forcing group model building practitioners to make an abrupt shift to online workshops. Like our peers, the Social System Design Lab (SSDL) at Washington University in St. Louis confronted this challenge by exploring what tools existed for adaptation and continued collaboration. The shift has not been easy, but it has revealed new insights that suggest areas to leverage the strengths of online GMB long after the pandemic comes to an end.

The purpose of this brief is to review a number of online platforms that group model …

Definición De La Dinámica De Problemas, Clarissa Gaona Romero, Katherine Curi-Quinto, Laura Guzmán Abello, Carmen Quinteros-Reyes, Paraskevi Seferidi, Antonio Bernabe-Ortiz, Lindsey Pawlowski, Ellis Ballard

Social System Design Lab

Las herramientas de dinámica de sistemas nos ayudan a descubrir las estructuras del sistema que producen los problemas que nos importan para que podamos identificar mejores soluciones.Como ilustra esta cita, el primer paso, y posiblemente el más importante, en cualquier proceso de resolución de problemas es definir claramente el problema que se desea resolver. En otras disciplinas científicas, esta definición de un problema puede ser estática, o instantánea, ya que analiza un problema particular en un momento dado. Esto puede parecer un único punto de datos, resultado o evento. En la dinámica de sistemas, sin embargo, definimos los problemas como …

Iceberg Del Pensamiento Sistémico: Buceando Bajo La Superficie, Clarissa Gaona Romero, Laura Guzmán Abello, Carmen Quinteros-Reyes, Paraskevi Seferidi, Antonio Bernabe-Ortiz, Lindsey Pawlowski, Ellis Ballard

Social System Design Lab

El iceberg es una metáfora clásica que se aplica en diversas disciplinas más allá del pensamientosistémico. La metáfora describe una situación en la cual solo se observa la punta del iceberg, es decir solouna pequeña parte de la totalidad que no se puede ver en la superficie (la gran masa de hielo escondidadebajo de la superficie). En el pensamiento sistémico, se usa la metáfora del iceberg para pensar sobre loque está “bajo la superficie” impulsando los eventos que observamos (punta del Iceberg): (1) Patrones decomportamiento a lo largo del tiempo, (2) Estructuras del sistema que dan lugar a estos patrones …

Acumulaciones Y Diagramas De Niveles Y Flujos, Clarissa Gaona Romero, Laura Guzmán Abello, Carmen Quinteros-Reyes, Paraskevi Seferidi, Antonio Bernabe-Ortiz, Lindsey Pawlowski, Ellis Ballard

Social System Design Lab

Existen varias características de los sistemas complejos que dificultan la creación de cambios en la salud de la comunidad, los cuales incluyen los siguientes: retrasos entre la intervención y el resultado, respuestas inesperadas o confusas a intervenciones, y diferencias en las formas en que los individuos y los grupos experimentan el mismo sistema. El concepto de “acumulación” brinda información importante sobre la forma en que se generan las percepciones erróneas, retrasos y respuestas contradictorias al sistema dentro de los esfuerzo de la salud que se llevan a cabo. Los diagramas de niveles y flujos son herramientas que sirven para identificar …

A Win-Win: Utilizing Human Services Students To Run A Campus Food Pantry, Carly L. Redding, Michallene G. Mcdaniel, Dominique Allen

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

Abstract

Recent studies have examined the growing problem of food insecurity among college students in the United States. In recent reports, as many as 30% of all college students are food insecure (CUFBA, 2020). It is imperative that college campuses address this issue, as many students are forced to leave college without completion in order to address financial concerns (Johnson, 2009). Over the last decade, campus-based food pantries have emerged as one means of addressing growing food insecurity among students. However, colleges and universities are facing budget cutbacks and other funding restrictions, creating greater challenges for meeting the needs of …

The Role Of The Governments Of Indonesia And Saudi Arabia In Organizing The Hajj Pilgrimage 2015 – 2021, Didi Subandi, Yon Machmudi

Journal of Strategic and Global Studies

The Hajj pilgrimage is one of the largest annual mass gatherings in the world, and has been held for a long time. This study presents an overview of a systematic research of published literature on the Role of the Governments of Indonesia and Saudi Arabia in organizing of the Hajj pilgrimage from 2015 until 2021 Period, with the aim of providing policy recommendations for the future. From this research, it can be concluded that the implementation of Hajj pilgirmage in Indonesia is strongly influenced by the bilateral relations between the two countries. This can be seen from a historical perspective, …

Policy Design For Child Development Accounts: Parents' Perceptions, Sondra Beverly, Jin Huang, Margaret M. Clancy, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

In the SEED for Oklahoma Kids experiment, which features of Child Development Account (CDA) policy do study participants perceive as important for increasing the number of children who earn a college degree or trade school certificate? Which features do participants view as important for encouraging parents to save for their children’s postsecondary education?

This brief presents findings from a 2020 survey of parents in the experiment, when their children were about 13 years old. Results are for 1,666 parents (those whose children received the CDA in SEED OK and those whose children did not) and for subgroups defined by household …

The Gender Freedom Model: A Framework For Helping Transgender, Non-Binary, And Gender Questioning Clients Transition With More Ease, Rae Mcdaniel, Laurel Meng

Journal of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness: Research, Practice, and Education

Transgender/non-binary experiences and identities are often represented in academic literature through narratives of distress and are often pathologized through a medical lens. This holds implications for the field of psychotherapy, as interventions aimed to support transgender/nonbinary individuals often focus solely on risk mitigation. This article presents a therapeutic framework that rests on three pillars—Play, Pleasure, and Possibility—as the focal points for reimagining work with transgender/non-binary clients. This model aims to help this population explore gender transition with more ease through building practical skills, cultivating personal and collective pride, and centering pleasure equity.

Financial Capability And Asset Building In Social Work Practice, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Acknowledging the potential benefits of training social workers to offer clients guidance on financial matters, the China Association of Social Work Education created the Financial Social Work Commission in 2020. This new unit within the association was designed to serve as a hub for research and insights to facilitate the development of financial capability and asset holding in vulnerable populations. The Commission promotes the training of social workers with the knowledge and skills required to integrate financial capability services into social work practice.

This Perspective presents the keynote address given by CSD Founding Director Michael Sherraden as part of “Theory …

Preparing Social Workers To Improve People’S Finances, Margaret S. Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

In 2020, the China Association of Social Work Education created the Financial Social Work Commission, acknowledging the potential benefits of equipping social workers to guide their clients in financial matters. But what do social workers need to know about finances, and how will they learn it?

In this Perspective, Margaret Sherraden shares an address given during “Localization of Financial Social Work Education: Goals, Textbook, and Strategies,” a panel discussion convened as part of Theory and Practice for Financial Social Work: Promoting Common Prosperity, the first national Forum of the Financial Social Work Commission, Beijing, China, January 8, 2022. Panelists discussed …

Disparate Financial Assistance Support For Small Business Owners, Sophia Fox-Dichter, Daniel Auguste, Mathieu Despard, Michal Grinstein-Weiss

Social Policy Institute Research

Small business owners experienced a drastic economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Government pandemic assistance failed to reach many small business owners, especially those historically underserved by financial institutions. Drawing on a 2021 survey of 246 small business owners, the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis descriptively examined the extent to which small business owners sought and received business assistance, and whether applications and approval of government assistance varied by race and ethnicity. We find that though Hispanic and Black business owners applied for government assistance at a higher rate than white business owners, Black business …

The Program To Reduce Implicit Bias In Carroll Hospital Center Using The Implicit Association Test, Katherine E. Traynor

Capstone Showcase

Natural brain processes make all individuals susceptible to unconscious bias; however, stressful, fearful, or anger-evoking situations as well as the negative influence of media and social surroundings increase the risk of holding obstructive bias, and there is a greater risk of being negatively impacted by this phenomenon when belonging to a minority population (Rose & Flores, 2020). As a result, high rates of infant mortality (10.2 deaths per 1,000 live births for the Non-Hispanic Black population compared to 4.1 in the White population) and cardiovascular related diseases (190.0 cases per 1,000 in the Non-Hispanic Black population compared to 161.3 in …

Role Expansion Of School Social Workers: An Educational Paradigm Shift, Sara Murrell

DSW Capstone Projects

This capstone product includes three written documents. The purpose of this work was to discover and justify the role expansion of school social workers into school leaders. The first, a systematic literature review examining the roles of school social workers. This document will review the current literature describing which school social work roles promote school social workers as school leaders, and which roles act as barriers for school social workers to become school leaders. The second document is a conceptual paper. This document identifies the need for a paradigm shift in education towards a whole child perspective. This document looks …

Defining Posttraumatic Stress In Law Enforcement: Normalizing Trauma Response, Britta D. Caudill

DSW Capstone Projects

Significant inequalities exist within the expectations of police officers regarding trauma exposure and the lack of mental health preventive efforts and treatment opportunities. The prevalence of stigma thrives within the thought process of this culture paired with the expectation for resiliency, as police culture focuses on the ability to repress emotion instead of utilizing appropriate coping methods. This review takes an interesting look at the history, definition, and diagnostic criteria of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by focusing on its evolution within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) over time. The primary goal is to establish a relationship between the definition …

Addressing The Mental Health Disparities Among Black Children During Natural Disasters: A Clinical Perspective And Response To The Covid-19 Pandemic., Brittany Reed

DSW Capstone Projects

The experiences of Black children resulting from the events surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic present a projection to create long-term mental health effects at higher rates than their peers of other races. While the long-term effects of this pandemic are still considered ongoing, the disparities within the Black community will subsequently develop into a trickle-down effect of secondary traumatic experiences faced by Black children. Then, where does that leave Black children and their mental health? This capstone project aims to examine how the Covid-19 pandemic will affect Black children, explore the mental health challenges and disparities faced by Black children resulting …

Exploring Climate, Wellbeing, Resilience, And Resistance In 2slgbtq+ Leisure Spaces: A Mixed Methods Study To Advance Inclusion, Tin Vo

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Participating in queer sports groups, rainbow choirs, trans virtual discussion groups and other Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other sexually and gender diverse (2SLGBTQ+) leisure activities can offer participants safety from societal heterosexism and cisgenderism and opportunities for community connection and peer support, as well as foster their overall wellbeing. Yet, transgender/gender nonconforming (TGNC), racialized, and/or disabled individuals, and those with other diverse identities are often marginalized in these spaces. Though researchers have studied exclusion within 2SLGBTQ+ leisure spaces, relatively little is known about how the climate of these spaces shapes social and mental health outcomes. Connected to …

Financial Facts From The Seed For Oklahoma Kids Child Development Account Experiment, Center For Social Development

Center for Social Development Research

How does a Child Development Account (CDA) opened at a child’s birth shape their access to assets for higher education?

This Fact Sheet highlights findings from Financial Outcomes in a Child Development Account Experiment: Full Inclusion, Success Regardless of Race or Income, and Investment Growth for All (CSD Research Summary 21-06). Products of the SEED for Oklahoma Kids (SEED OK) experiment, both the Fact Sheet and the Research Summary indicate that the automatic CDA in SEED OK greatly increases the likelihood that disadvantaged children have assets for their future education. When given a CDA structure and support for …

Environment And Health In Nigeria: Capacity And Research Development, Christine C. Ekenga, Lisa Reyes Mason, Adetoun Mustapha

Center for Social Development Research

In Africa, population growth, urbanization, and climate change are environmental health challenges of emerging concern. These challenges intersect in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country. Because of gaps in research capacity, data collection, and research funding, data are lacking on extreme weather’s effects on health there.

This brief describes a project to promote the development of collaborative capacity and research in environmental epidemiology in Nigeria. The project will also produce new knowledge on the physical and mental health impacts of weather extremes among residents of Nigeria’s coastal cities, including Lagos, Africa’s most populous city. The project is designed to improve public …

Homegrown Stl 4th Annual Regional Summit On The State Of Opportunities For Black Boys And Young Men: Closing The Health, Growth, And Opportunity Gaps, Sean Joe, Maribeth Clifton, Demeisha Carlton-Brown

Center for Social Development Research

Convened annually, HomeGrown StL’s annual regional summit brings together service providers, government officials, private-sector partners, and residents to strengthen, align, and accelerate local collective-impact strategies that support the health, development, and economic mobility of Black boys and young men in St. Louis City and in St. Louis County.

This report summarizes developments from the 4th Regional Summit on the State of Opportunities for Black Boys and Young Men: Closing the Healing, Growth, & Opportunity Gaps, which convened June 3, 2021. Priority Objectives and Key Results developed during the summit are described. In addition, the report details the progress of HomeGrown …

Paid Sick Leave Heading Into Covid-19: A Descriptive Account Of Workers Who Lacked Paid Sick Leave, David Rothwell, Sophia Fox-Dichter, Mathieu Despard, Michal Grinstein-Weiss

Social Policy Institute Research

Paid sick leave is vital for controlling the spread of illness in the workplace and an invaluable public health tool, but too few workers have access to it. In this brief, we examine the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to assess paid sick leave coverage with a focus on the social and economic characteristics of workers without paid leave.

Using a nationally representative survey with roughly 4,000 working respondents, we found that a third lacked access to paid sick leave. Workers without paid leave were younger, more likely to be female, more likely to be white, and less likely to …

Vaccine Hesitance During Covid-19: Exploring Motivations And Incentives, Laura Brugger, Stephen Roll, Katie Kristensen, Michal Grinstein-Weiss

Social Policy Institute Research

As rates of vaccination have slowed, concerns are growing about how to increase vaccine uptake among those who are vaccine hesitant, particularly with the emergence of new and contagious variants such as Delta. Using our national Socioeconomic Impacts of COVID-19 Survey, we examine the predictors of vaccine hesitance in the U.S. and report on findings from an experiment assessing the potential impacts of vaccine incentive schemes.

Our study points to the difficulties in overcoming vaccine hesitance among the unvaccinated. Vaccine hesitance was common across income levels, and experience with COVID-19-related hardships—such as knowing someone who died of the disease or …

Did Government Benefits Help Israeli Households Avoid Hardship During Covid-19? Evidence From A National Survey, Olga Kondratjeva, Talia Schwartz-Tayri, Sam Bufe, Stephen Roll, John Gal, Michal Grinstein-Weiss

Social Policy Institute Research

At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government of Israel quickly introduced aggressive social distancing measures to curb the virus spread and adapted its unemployment insurance program in response to rising unemployment rates. This study examines the relationship between household income and the experience of material hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel, and investigates how the receipt of unemployment benefits moderated the relationship between income and material hardship. Using data from a household survey, we find a negative association between household income and the experience of material hardship. Moreover, middle-income households receiving unemployment benefits were more likely to …

Targeted Deposits In Pennsylvania’S Keystone Scholars Child Development Account Program, Anne Dececco, Julie Peachey, Margaret M. Clancy

Center for Social Development Research

In 2018, Pennsylvania became the first state to legislate a statewide, automatic CDA for all children at birth. In 2021, Pennsylvania achieved another first: an automatic targeted deposit within the Keystone Scholars program to build wealth for financially vulnerable children.

This brief examines two new targeted policy initiatives being piloted for Pennsylvania mothers who participate in WIC, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. The Bright Future Booster and Milestone pilots represent important steps in expanding the Keystone Scholars program and serving as models for other states. Pennsylvania Treasury and the PA 529 make this CDA policy …

Expanded Child Tax Credit Payments Have Not Reduced Employment, Stephen Roll, Leah Hamilton, Yung Chun

Social Policy Institute Research

Approximately 60 million American children living in 35 million households are now receiving monthly payments from the federal government as part of the temporary Child Tax Credit (CTC) expansion. Recently, a debate has emerged over whether or not the expanded CTC will cause parents to leave the workforce. On one side of the debate, a large number of economists have argued that the CTC will not cause a reduction in employment. However, a recent study used a simulation approach to estimate that 2.6% of parents will exit the labor force as a result of the CTC.

The reports below address …

The Socioeconomic Impacts Of Covid-19 Study: Survey Methodology Report, Stephen Roll, Sam Bufe, Yung Chun, Michal Grinstein-Weiss

Social Policy Institute Research

When COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, and economic shutdowns began in March 2020, households across the United States were faced with an unprecedented crisis that would affect their health, financial security and overall well-being for an unforeseeable amount of time. In order to examine and track the wide-ranging impacts of the pandemic on households, as well as the efficacy of different public and private efforts to mitigate these impacts, the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis (SPI) launched the Socioeconomic Impacts of COVID-19 Survey (SEICS) in the United States just weeks after the pandemic became a national …

Housing Hardships During Covid-19, Sophia Fox-Dichter, Yung Chun, Stephen Roll, Katie Kristensen, Michal Grinstein-Weiss

Social Policy Institute Research

Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. households were burdened by the cost of rental and mortgage payments, burdens which disproportionately fell on Black and Hispanic families. Using a 5-wave survey, we examined whether disparities in housing cost burden continued throughout the pandemic and trends in how households fell behind on rent and mortgage payments. We found that more than a third of households experienced housing cost burdens during the pandemic, with a slightly higher percentage of households of color bearing cost burdens than white households. Renters had greater cost burdens than homeowners.

During the pandemic, significantly more Black and …