Social Work Commons^™

Family Structure Effects On Parenting Stress And Practices In The African American Family, Daphne S. Cain, Terri Combs-Orme

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The predominant approach to African-American parenting research focuses on disadvantages associated with single parenthood to the exclusion of other issues. The current research suggests that this does not represent the diversity in family structure configurations among African-American families, nor does it give voice to the parenting resilience of single mothers. We argue that rather than marital status or family configuration, more attention needs to be given to the inadequacy of resources for this population.

In the current study, we examined the parenting of infants by African- American mothers and found that mothers' marital status and family configuration did not affect …

Ua61/5 Social Work Newsletter, Wku Social Work

WKU Administration Documents

Social Work newsletter includes articles:

• Seeing Red – Student Social Workers
• Note from the Department Head
• Focus on Field: Field Supervisor, Joanne Engelland, MSW
• MSW Program News
• Social Work Humor
• Departmental Faculty: Scholarly Activities – Dean May, Jan Peeler, Dale Smith, Susan Wesley

Social Security And The African American Male (A Cash Transfer System), Eddie Davis

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

All employed workers are required to contribute to the Social Security System; however,a disproportionatep ercentage of African American males never live long enough to collect any benefits from their contributions. On the other hand, the life-expectancy of white males is significantly longer than the life expectancy of African American males, and their collection of Social Security benefits tends to exceed their contributions to the system. The federal government keeps the Social Security system from becoming completely solvent by raiding it of any surplus funds it collects; thereby, preventing the Social Security Fund from developing interest income, and accumulating funds for …

Cultural Competence Needs Of Non-Latino Foster Parents: A Study Of Transcultural Foster Care With Latino Children, Myriam Renee Aguilar, Amanda Nicole Robles

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study seeks to assess the cultural competency training needs of non-Latino caregivers who have Latino children in their homes.

The Effects Of Mexican Americans, Chicanos Parental Involvement On Schooling, Maria Guadalupe Ramirez

Theses Digitization Project

This project examines the impact factors such as parent involvement and teacher support have on Mexican American students' decisions about higher education.

Working With Ethnic-Minority Families: Evaluating The Need For Cross-Cultural Training Within Riverside County Child Protective Services, Kathleen Fromayan Nebo, Darlena Allen

Theses Digitization Project

This work examined social workers at the Riverside County Child Protective Services and their need for cross-cultural training specifically when working with ethnic minority families.

The Impact Of Race And Ethnic Identity On Adolescents' Use Of Coping Skills, Victoria Estelle Keyser

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to compare the differences in the utilization of coping mechanisms of minority and White adolescents. By measuring the coping skills in adolescents, it sought to identify which strategies are most frequently used within the construct of race.

Interracial Couples Therapy: Social Work Students' Knowledge And Attitudes, Lena Marie Damper

Theses Digitization Project

Currently there is a lack of studies that examine cultural competence, especially interracial marriages. This study seeks answers from social work graduate students to find out their attitudes and knowledge towards interracial marriage. It is hoped that these students become more aware of culturally competent practices in order to strengthen the social work profession.

Shap'n & Shak'n Institutions Of Color, Peter Szto

Social Work Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

The aim of this paper is to present an analysis of institutional racism for higher education. The paper outlines a critique of the race construct as a strategy to advance campus diversity and multicultural learning. The critique provides conceptual clarity and organizing strategies to advance antiracism within institutions.

Perception Of Domestic Violence Among Nigerian Immigrants In The United States, Francis Ikefule Nwagbara

Theses Digitization Project

Nigerian immigrants have been largely excluded from studies on issues relating to immigrants living in American society. This study examines the perception of domestic violence among Nigerians and their help seeking counseling for behavior problems.

An Evaluation Of A Transitional Housing Program For Homeless African-American Men, Benjamin Nathaniel Graham

Theses Digitization Project

This thesis evaluates San Bernardino's Operation Safe Harbor program, a transitional housing program designed to give 18 to 21 year old African-American males the employment, education, and life skills to overcome homelessness.

Acculturation Among A Hispanic Population In San Bernardino County, Jennifer Marie Costa, Maria Lorena Ochoa

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between Hispanics and their levels of acculturation. This study's intent was to incorporate variables in order to identify generation and language as defining factors for acculturation. A Likert-type Bidemensional Acculturation Scale for Hispanics (BAS) was used to test six hypotheses.

A Comprehensive Analysis Of Sex And Race Inequities In Unemployment Insurance Benefits, Melissa Latimer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This research makes a unique contribution to the growing body of literature on the welfare system by examining the relationship between sex, race, and social insurance benefits in a rural state. Using data from the West Virginia Unemployment Compensation Program, this research investigates sex and race differences in (1) monetary disqualifications for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits and (2) separation issue and nonseparation issue disqualifications of UI benefits. The analyses indicate that unemployed women, people of color, younger, and low income workers are the most likely to fail the monetary qualifications for UI benefits and to lose qualified weeks of UI …

Ua61/5 Social Work Newsletter, Wku Social Work

WKU Administration Documents

Social Work newsletter contains articles:

• MSW Scholarship to Honor the Career of Mrs. Rosalyn Stamps
• May, Dean. Notes from the Department Head
• BSW Students Sponsor Social Work Day at WKU
• Focus on Field: BSW Field Supervisor Sale Buchanan, MSW, CSW
• The Kentucky Foster Care Census: Phase II
• MSW Orientation: The New Legacy Begins
• SSW/Students Social Workers: Then & Now
• Meet Our New Faculty: Fall 2003 – Cindy Snyder, Muh Bi Lin, Michelle Blake

Ua61/5 Social Work Newsletter, Wku Social Work

WKU Administration Documents

Social Work newsletter contains articles:

• MSW Program Planned for Fall 2003
• Licensure Fcts
• May, Dean. A Note from the Department Head
• Public Child Welfare Certification Program
• Kentucky Coop Intern Program
• Health Enhancement of the Rural Elderly (HERE)
• Kentucky Foster Care Census
• Mobile Health & Wellness Unit
• Learning Mixed with Fun – Diversity Potlucks Meet Our New Faculty & Staff – Suzie Cashwell, Michelle Acree, Conrad Davies

Antiracism Discourse: The Ideological Circle In A Child World, Miu Chung Yan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Antiracism is a dominant discourse in contemporary societies. The understanding of antiracism, however, varies. Government, through its own textually mediated organization of apparatus, tends to homogenize the discourse. This paper is to demonstrate, by employing institutional ethnography, how a child's act can ignite the socially organized textual engine to include the children's world in the ideological circle of antiracism discourse dominated by the government. Institutional ethnography, as demonstrated in this paper, is a useful tool for social workers to deconstruct the textual condition in which social work practice is embedded. The ideological circle is a powerful concept to help social …

Exploring The Values, The Attitudes, And The Experiences Of Mexican-Americans Toward Education, Monica Victoria Pulido

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of the study was to examine Mexican-Americans values and attitudes toward education and further explore some of the reasons Mexican-Americans drop out of school at such high rates.

Social Workers Attitudes And Perceptions Toward Transracial Adoption, Karla Eduviges Carranza, Nicol Alejandra Stolar

Theses Digitization Project

Overall attitudes, beliefs, and values have been shown to effect how individuals evaluate and process information. This knowledge is important and relevant to the practice of social work. Social workers are expected to put their attitudes, values, and perceptions aside when working with their clients. Attitudes are effecting processing and evaluation of events, therefore, it is imortant to understand the possible implications of workers perceptions and attitudes. Highly embedded attitudes toward transracial adoption, will influenceSocial workers behavior.

Impact Of Foster Care On Hispanic/Latino Foster Mothers' Marital Relationship, Mario David Copenhaguen

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of foster care services on Hispanic/Latino foster mothers' marital relationship.

Review Of Preserving Privilege: California Politics, Propositions, And People Of Color. Jewelle Taylor Gibbs And Teiahsha Bankhead. Reviewed By Devon Brooks., Devon Brooks

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Jewelle Taylor Gibbs and Teiahsha Bankhead, Preserving Privilege: California Politics, Propositions, and People of Color. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2001.

Review Of Love's Revolution: Interracial Marriage. Maria P. Root. Reviewed By Dianne Rush Woods., Dianne Rush Woods

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Maria P. Root, Love's Revolution: Interracial Marriage. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 2001. $69.50 hardcover, $22.95 papercover.

Differential Test Performance In The American Educational System: The Impact Of Race And Gender, Stephen J. Finch, Harvey A. Farberman, Jordan Neus, Richard E. Adams, Deirdre Price-Baker

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Contrary to Herrnstein and Murray (1994) who claim that racial groups have different cognitive endowments and that these best explain differential test score achievements, our regression analyses document that there is less improvement in test scores per year of education for African-Americans and women. That is, the observed group test score differences do not appear to be due to racial cognitive differences but rather to other factors associated with group-linked experiences in the educational system. We found that 666 of the subjects in the Herrnstein-Murray database had actual IQ scores derived from school records. Using these as independent controls for …

The Clinical Irrelevance And Scientific Invalidity Of The "Minority" Notion: Deleting It From The Social Science Vocabulary, Doris Wilkinson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A systematic socio-linguistic and historical analysis of the minority label reveals its multiple irregularities and imperfections. These encompass a misleading array of vastly dissimilar nationality or group designations and the erroneous comparison of behaviors and life styles with racial status. As it is currently applied in U.S. political culture and in a variety of disciplines including sociology and social work, the concept has virtually no substantive meaning nor reality-linked usefulness. A thorough appraisal of the consequences of the perpetual reliance on the notion demonstrates that it eradicates ethnic cultural diversity and ignores historical antecedents and the "lived" experiences of oppressed …

Disempowering Minorities: A Critique Of Wilkinson's 'Task For Social Scientists And Practitioners', Mitch Berbrier

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In this article, I examine Wilkinson's (2000) injunction that practitioners "omit entirely the 'minority' concept" (pp. 124-25). I maintain that Wilkinson's argument disempowers groups-such as gays and the disabledwho have used a "minority" identity effectively, and speciously indicates that African-Americans would benefit from such retrenchment, thereby implying that social justice is a zero-sum game. Rather, "minority" coalitions are effectively pursuing justice for all. Moreover, Wilkinson's deconstruction of "minority" conflates conceptual breadth with conceptual vagueness, and conveniently ignores (or denies) the socially constructed character of "race" and "ethnicity." I suggest that practitioners learn more about the historical development of all of …

Race, Welfare Reform, And Nonprofit Organizations, Michael Reisch, David Sommerfeld

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article presents research on the impact of welfare reform on 90 nonprofit organizations in Southeast Michigan. Utilizing a refined survey instrument, in-depth interviews and focus groups with agency executives and staff, and the analysis of agency documents, it assesses how the racial characteristics of agencies' client populations affected the organizational consequences of welfare reform. The study confirmed that welfare reform has affected the ability of nonprofit organizations to meet the increased expectations generated by recent legislation. These effects have been particularly pronounced among agencies serving a high proportion of racial minority clients.

Tripping On The Color Line: Black-White Multiracial Families In A Racially Divided World. Heather M. Dalmage.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Heather M. Dalmage, Tripping on the Color Line: Black-White Multiracial Families in a Racially Divided World. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2000. $50.00 hardcover, $20 papercover.

Biracial Identity: A Study Of The Biracial Experience With Biracial College Students, Evelyn Louise Galasso

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project was to examine biracial identity, and the specific identitiy choices made by biracial individuals at the college level. In addition, this study explored the many factors that may be associated with the choice of a racial/biracial identity.

Acculturation Experience Of Africa Immigrants In The United States Of American, Judi Minage Ukiru

Theses Digitization Project

The conclusions extracted from this research project show that little research has been done on social issues presented by the African immigrant to America. Those charged with public welfare research and intervention must develop tools and strategies necessary to assess the needs of African immigrants, to facilitate their improved adjustment to their environment. African immigrants in the United States can benefit from similar research designs and resources accorded to the Latino and Asian populations.

Discrimination And Human Capital: A Challenge To Economic Theory & Social Justice, Richard K. Caputo

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article reports findings of a study using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) to test the rational choice theory that discrimination discourages investments in human capital. Nearly 60% of the study sample (N=5585) reported job-hiring discrimination (race, nationality, sex, or age) between 1979 and 1982 and they were found to invest more in job training programs and additional schooling between 1983 and 1998 than those reporting no such discrimination. White males were found to have the greatest advantage over black males and females in regard to job training and over black females in regard to additional schooling. Findings …

Review Of Black Working Wives: Pioneers Of The American Family Revolution. Bart Landry. Review By Tracey Mabrey, Tracey Mabrey

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Bart Landry, Black Working Wives: Pioneers of the American Family Revolution. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2000.