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Onboarding Program Eastern Band Of Cherokee Indians - Intervention Overview, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

The QIC-WD coordinated with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) Family Safety Program (FSP) to create an onboarding program for child welfare social workers. The intervention was designed to address role clarity, social integration, and understanding of Cherokee history and culture for new hires. (For more information see the Site Overview.) The 5-week onboarding program included activities completed by the new employee, his/her supervisor, and other FSP team members. Onboarding program elements included:

• A structured, interactive review of FSP’s policies and procedures;
• A mock family case to illustrate the full case process;
• Content related to Cherokee culture, historical …

Supportive Supervision And Resiliency Ohio - Logic Model, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

Each QIC-WD site developed a logic model to serve as a visual representation of their selected intervention. All logic models included four main components: inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes. Collectively, these demonstrate the resources and actions required to implement the program, as well as the associated result of changes anticipated through implementation of the program. The hypothesized relationships are represented by the pathways connecting the listed activities and anticipated outcomes.

Supportive Supervision And Resiliency Ohio - Intervention Overview, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

Coach Ohio, a multi-level supportive supervision intervention, was designed as part of the QIC-WD project to help child welfare staff within the six Ohio implementation counties prevent and mitigate the effects of burnout, secondary trauma, employee dissatisfaction, and disengagement from families and children served by the agencies (for more information see the Site Overview). Coach Ohio initially included two components: Resilience Alliance (RA) was developed by the New York City Administration of Children’s Services-New York University Children’s Trauma Institute to mitigate the effects of secondary trauma, create a healthier work environment for child welfare staff, and to help staff develop …

Abusive Supervision, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is abusive supervision?

Abusive supervision refers to “subordinates' perceptions of the extent to which supervisors engage in the sustained display of hostile verbal and nonverbal behaviors, excluding physical contact” (Tepper, 2000, p. 178). Abusive supervision is most commonly measured using 15 items that describe abusive behaviors, and subordinates rate the frequency with which the supervisor engages in each behavior. Examples include “Ridicules me,” “Puts me down in front of others,” “Blames me to save himself/herself embarrassment,” and “Breaks promises he/she makes” (Tepper, 2000). Thus, subordinates do not judge whether they feel abused or consider their supervisors’ behavior abusive; they …

An Integrative Review Of Fathers' Needs During The Transition To Fatherhood: Implications For Perinatal Education, Carli Cox

University Honors Theses

Aim: To examine the needs and experiences of fathers during the transition to fatherhood with the intent of improving perinatal education for fathers.

Background: The perinatal period is a highly transformational time for parents with implications in mental health, role development, identity formation, and relationship changes, to name a few. Unfortunately, research on fathers' needs and experiences during this time is limited, which consequentially restricts the development of father-inclusive perinatal education.

Method: An electronic search for qualitative studies was conducted using the PsycInfo database. Results were narrowed by a set of criteria and chosen studies' results were analyzed and organized …

Generations In The Workplace, Stephanie Weddington

Umbrella Summaries

What is a generation?

A generation is defined as “a group of individuals, who are roughly the same age, and who experience and are influenced by the same set of significant historical events during key developmental periods in their lives, typically late childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. Further, these differences are not attributable solely to an individual’s age but rather to the common influence of shared experiences on the cohort” (Costanza et al., 2012, p. 377). There is general agreement on the labeling of generations (i.e., Silent, Baby Boomer, Generation X, Millennial, Generation Z); however, the date ranges used to …

The Etiology Of Mdd In Sexual Minority Youth And Its Implications For Treatment, Keith Burns

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

Greater tolerance and understanding of homosexuality, transgenderism, and other forms of gender nonconformity have sparked an increased effort to reach out to and help sexual minorities (i.e., groups whose sexual identity, orientation, or practices differ from cisgender heterosexuality), especially those who experience mental health challenges. Despite immense progress in society, deeply rooted social stigma, prejudice, and discrimination have often left sexual minorities feeling bullied, ostracized, and isolated, which tends to reinforce a host of negative mental health outcomes, such as increased risk of major depressive disorder (MDD) and suicidality (Hatchel et al., 2018). While mental health clinicians have become increasingly …

Frontline Job Redesign Louisiana - Site Overview, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

The Louisiana Child Welfare Division (CWD) of the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) is a state-administered child welfare system. In 2016, the Secretary of DCFS separated child welfare from economic security and child support enforcement, creating CWD. CWD is organized into a state office and three regional “super areas” composed of three regions each. (The super areas consist of regions 1, 3 and 4; regions 2, 5 and 6; and regions 7, 8 and 9.) Though Louisiana has 64 parishes statewide there are only 48 parish/local CWD offices in the nine regions due to small size of some …

Onboarding Program Eastern Band Of Cherokee Indians - Site Overview, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

The federally-recognized Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) administers the Division of Public Health and Human Services (PHHS), a multi-service agency. PHHS is led by a Secretary who reports directly to the Tribe’s governing Council. PHHS consists of two Departments, each led by a Director. The Tribe’s child welfare agency is the Family Safety Program (FSP), and it sits within the PHHS Department of Human Services under the leadership of a Manager. Human Resources is a separate tribal division and is directed by a Secretary who is appointed by the Chief. Individual programs have discretion of hiring and manage the …

Supportive Supervision And Resiliency Ohio - Site Overview, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS), through the Office of Families and Children (OFC), is responsible for Ohio’s state-supervised, countyadministered child welfare system. Ohio’s 83 singlecounty agencies and two multi-county agencies are responsible for the delivery of child protective services and ongoing case management in Ohio’s 88 counties. Sixty-three agencies are housed in a county ODJFS department, overseen by county commissioners, and 22 children services boards are stand-alone child welfare agencies overseen by citizens appointed by county commissioners. OFC is responsible for state-level administration and oversight of programs that prevent child abuse and neglect; provide services to …

Addressing Work-Related Traumatic Stress Nebraska - Site Overview, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is a multi-service agency led by a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), who is appointed by the Governor. The CEO oversees six divisions including the Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS), which is the state’s child welfare agency. The divisions are supported by centralized operations that include Human Resources (HR) & Development. HR has at least one individual with a strong working knowledge of DCFS operations and who is specifically assigned to provide support solely to DCFS.

DCFS is a state-administered system organized into five geographic regions: Western Service Area (WSA), …

Competency-Based Personnel Selection Oklahoma - Site Overview, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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The Child Welfare Services division of Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) is a state-administered child welfare agency. The OKDHS divisions are supported by centralized operations including Human Resource Management (HRM). A small team of human resources professionals within Child Welfare Services work closely with HRM to support Child Welfare Services’ personnel needs.

The executive team of Child Welfare Services includes the director and deputy directors (who lead teams of district directors, field administrators, and program administrators). The agency is divided into five field regions serving 27 districts and 77 counties. At least one district director leads each district. The district directors …

How Can Child Welfare Agencies Leverage Data To Address Important Workforce Questions?, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

QIC-Tips

Child welfare agencies experience workforce turnover (14-20% annually) that can be costly and result in poorer outcomes for children and families. Although turnover is often acknowledged as a significant problem, it is not one that is easily understood or addressed. The following tips and strategies being implemented by jurisdictions working with the QIC-WD may be helpful for child welfare administrators, legislators, and other policymakers seeking to utilize agency data to answer pertinent child welfare workforce questions.

• Understand what data is collected and stored, and where. Oftentimes, there are multiple systems used by agencies during the employee lifecycle that may contain …

How Can Public Child Welfare Agencies Get And Keep A Great Workforce?, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

QIC-Tips

Public child welfare agencies continue to face complex challenges including high workforce turnover. An examination of federal data found that, from 2003 to 2015, states experienced 14-22% annual turnover rates, with caseworkers staying on the job for an average of 1.8 years. Such turnover increases workloads for remaining workers and negatively impacts children and families. The QIC-WD is working with eight jurisdictions to better understand turnover and test interventions to improve workforce retention. The following tips were compiled based on the experience of QIC-WD sites. They are intended to help child welfare administrators, state legislators, or other local policymakers consider …

Children As Mischievous Spirits: Legitimizing Child Cruelty And Filicide In Contemporary Africa, Chima Agazue

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The belief that certain humans are spiritual entities and the belief that some people are spiritually possessed can be found across histories and cultures. While these individuals are not always viewed in the negative or treated inhumanely, cases abound whereby degrading and inhumane treatments are meted out to some of them. In the African continent, certain groups of people, particularly children are linked to certain mischievous spirits due to their unusual appearance, aberrant behavior, disability, chronic illness, psychopathology or exceptional ability. Some are also suspected and consequently mistreated due to events surrounding their birth. Such children are known by different …

Mental Health Outcomes Of Various Types Of Fear Among University Students Who Have An Undocumented Legal Status During The Donald Trump Presidency, Liliana Campos

Doctoral Dissertations

Having an undocumented legal status is a risk factor for mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety among university students. Much of the literature on the experiences of university students who hold an undocumented legal status has primarily focused on better understanding the educational, social, financial, and legal challenges among undergraduate students. The literature has addressed how some of these difficulties impact components of their social and mental health wellness. Yet, there is still a dearth of research focused on further understanding the experiences of students who hold an undocumented legal status from a psychological perspective, and specifically, with …

Body Image And The Causes Of Dissatisfactions: Re-Shaping Negative Thinking Through Symbolic Powers Of Collage, Susie Thom

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Understanding why so many individuals struggle with their body image becomes easier by analyzing how society promotes a “thin ideal” through the media, the way women talk to one another about their bodies (a term known as fat talk), social comparisons, and how families advocate for a slender build. Body image refers to our perception, feelings, and actions in regard to our body (Kaslow & Eicher, 1988; Seijo, 2016). Negative thoughts and feelings about one’s body as a result of viewing the media’s unattainable thin ideals, engaging in harmful and negative dialogue about one’s body, comparing one’s body or appearance …

Video Feedback, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is video feedback?

Video feedback refers here to a training method that involves giving learners feedback on their skills using a video recording of their behavior in a real or simulated environment. Though video feedback is used in a variety of settings (e.g., athletic, parenting, or surgical training), the focus here is on skill development among professionals that engage in interpersonal interactions (e.g., teachers, social workers, nurses; Fukkink et al., 2011). Targeted skills may be broad (e.g., empathy, nervousness, active listening) or narrow (body posture, eye contact, gestures, use of open questions). The process typically involves recording learners as …

Exploring The Role Of Core Positive Selves With Men Convicted Of Child Sexual Offenses: A Character Strengths Initiative, Tiffany A. Miner

Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

The aim of this study was to help men convicted of child sexual offenses learn to recognize and engage their character strengths over 12 months. Participants were six men convicted of contact and noncontact (internet) child sexual offenses. All participants were members of a community-based reintegration group for registered citizens. In the first weeks of the study, participants received the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths survey. The survey, containing 240 questions—10 items for each of the 24 character strengths outlined—helped participants identify their top character strengths. The study explored (a) how the men could use their character strengths to …

After-Action Reviews, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What are after-action reviews?

An after-action review (AAR) is “a systematic technique that turns a recent event into a learning opportunity through a combination of task feedback, reflection, and discussion” (Keiser & Arthur, 2020, p. 2). The process has been used in various fields, leading to a variety of labels, including after-event review, debrief, guided team self-correction, and reflexivity (e.g., Chen et al., 2018; Couper et al., 2013; Ellis & Davidi, 2005; Smith-Jentsch et al., 2008). Note that though the term “debrief” is sometimes used, AARs are distinct from debriefing sessions that are intended to help individuals process stressful or …

Workforce Analyses Using Combined Human Resources And Child Welfare Data, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Workforce Analytics Resources

When conducting workforce analyses, it can be valuable to capitalize on data from both human resources (HR) databases and child welfare (CW) information systems. Each can be useful on their own, but additional information can be learned when the two types of data are connected. There are two primary uses of combined HR and CW data:

1. CW data can serve as objective measures of employee job performance, which is one of the most important workforce outcomes to measure, particularly when examining the effectiveness of various workforce decisions and practices.
2. CW data can provide useful contextual information for studying workforce outcomes. …

Workforce Metrics, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Workforce Analytics Resources

Calculating and tracking workforce metrics is a valuable way to assess workforce needs and examine workforcerelated processes, interventions, and outcomes. This resource includes over 90 metrics related to recruitment and selection, education, work hours, work arrangements, caseload capacity, supervision, career development, performance, turnover and tenure, and costs. Note that these metrics are not universal, and many other variations exist elsewhere. These have been selected or developed based on their applicability to the child welfare workforce.

Creating A Workforce Analytics Team (Video), Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Workforce Analytics Resources

When conducting workforce analytics, it can be helpful to adopt a team approach and involve various experts and stakeholders, each of which can make a valuable contribution.

The Big Picture

• Ensure that you have the commitment and buy-in from leaders who control the agency’s budget and policies.
• Team membership may vary depending on the analytics goals and the stage of the work, but potential participants include representatives from agency leadership, Human Resources (HR), child welfare, Information Technology (IT), and training.
• It’s likely that no one person is going to possess all the skills needed; building a strengths-based, interdisciplinary team can …

Data Quality (Video), Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Workforce Analytics Resources

Data-driven decisions cannot be effective if they are based on poor-quality data. Thus, it is important to ensure that any data that will be used for workforce analytics are accurate and can be trusted.

Data Quality Criteria

There are many potential data quality criteria to consider. Below are 9 selected criteria that are relevant for workforce data. If there are others that are also important to you, they should be included as well. These questions should be asked of every variable for which data are collected.

1. Relevance: Are the data useful and relevant for business needs?
2. Granularity: Are the data …

“In This Industry, You're No Longer Human”: An Exploratory Study Of Women’S Experiences In Pornography Production In Sweden, Meghan Donevan

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Despite being a global, billion-dollar industry, very little is known about the conditions women face within the pornography industry. The aim of this study was to explore women’s experiences in pornography production, with a particular focus on structural antecedents to entrance, coercion, and violence within the industry, as well as current needs and any barriers to exiting the industry. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with nine women with experiences in pornography production in Sweden. Participants identified young age, financial insecurity, earlier exposure to sexualized violence, and poor mental health as typical antecedents to entering the pornography industry. Once in the …

Creating A Workforce Analytics Action Plan (Video), Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Workforce Analytics Resources

An action plan can be a useful tool for implementing workforce analytics, especially if there are multiple people involved in the process. This resource provides some general advice on action planning, with specific examples for advancing the use of workforce analytics.

What is an Action Plan?

An action plan outlines the actions, resources, and people needed to achieve goals. It is vital to strategic planning. Action plans include the following components:

• A well-defined goal
• Tasks/steps needed to reach the goal
• Individuals or teams responsible for each task
• Task milestones and timeframes
• Resources and data needed to complete tasks
• Evidence or …

Providing Trauma-Informed Care For Children In The Foster Care System, Hannah Genn

Senior Honors Theses

Foster parents need to be trained in trauma-informed approaches and how to identify previous traumas in order to understand how their foster children’s past experiences of abuse or neglect manifest as mental disorders, social challenges, or behavioral concerns. Warning signs for depression or post-traumatic stress disorder should be noted, and youth should be taught how to foster healthy relationships in order to prevent substance abuse, irresponsible sexual activity, or academic failing. Foster parents can provide additional support by creating reasonable expectations for their foster children, teaching effective coping skills, and connecting with available resources.

Learning About Healthy Relationships And Sexuality For Adults With Disabilities, Vanessa Karjack

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Many adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities receive little to no sex education; as a result, they often struggle to have fulfilling and healthy relationships, experience limitations in physical interactions, and are at risk of being taken advantage of by others. Sommaro et al. (2019) explained that individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) and developmental disabilities (DD) are often placed into one of two categories: they are treated as either eternal children or sexual deviants. These ideas are based on old knowledge and are known to be inaccurate. However, current systems of care struggle to move forward from these notions. A …

Mental Health In Child Welfare Social Workers, Sintia Mota Muniz

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research project focuses on child welfare social workers’ mental health and what mental health services they can benefit from having. For this study, the six participants were recruited from the Southern California area. They all currently work in the child welfare field. The data for this qualitative study was collected through interviews. All interviews were completed telephonically and then transcribed for data analysis. The study findings found the lack of management support in child welfare agencies and a lack of self-care practice have a negative effect on social workers’ mental health and their service delivery. The findings revealed that …

Electronic Device Use: How It Affects The Well-Being Of Children And Adolescents, Sabrina Rodriguez, Amandalee Merryman

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Electronic device use among children and adolescents is omnipresent. Literature suggests an inverse correlation between electronic device use and the overall well-being of children and adolescents. The current study employed an explanatory research design to explore the association between excessive device use and the well-being of children and adolescents. Researchers collected and analyzed quantitative data in the form of archival data from a local school district’s mental health department. A total of 50 participants, ranging from ages 5 to 17, were randomly selected from the 2018-2019 archived case files. The results of the study suggest that electronic device use has …