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Full-Text Articles in Social Work

Support Experiences Of Church-Going Christian Foster And Adoptive Families Of Children With Special Needs, Taylor Weaver Apr 2017

Support Experiences Of Church-Going Christian Foster And Adoptive Families Of Children With Special Needs, Taylor Weaver

Senior Honors Theses

Much research is done on the populations of families of children with special needs, church-going Christian families, and foster and adoptive families, but little exists on the families who fall into all three categories. This thesis seeks to help remedy this problem by studying the support experiences of these families. Existing research on foster and adoptive families, families with special needs, and disability in the church is reviewed. A phenomenological study of five parents’ lived experiences was completed through interviews, where three main themes emerged: the importance of informal support, the need for formal support, and the integral role of …


Mission Critical: Reforming Foster Care And Child Protective Services In Massachusetts, Emily M. Douglas Ph.D, Melinda Gushwa Ph.D, Martha J. Henry Ph.D, Denise A. Hines Ph.D, Mickayla Aboujaoude, Annie E. Casey Foundation Mar 2015

Mission Critical: Reforming Foster Care And Child Protective Services In Massachusetts, Emily M. Douglas Ph.D, Melinda Gushwa Ph.D, Martha J. Henry Ph.D, Denise A. Hines Ph.D, Mickayla Aboujaoude, Annie E. Casey Foundation

Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise

One major topic of debate during the 2014 gubernatorial elections was the functioning of the Department of Children and Families (DCF) in Massachusetts. Prior to the debates and subsequently as well, the media has highlighted some challenges and issues that plague DCF, and several high-profile cases have sparked not only the attention of our state government, but the public at large as well. After consultation with legislators, we decided that our 2015 Massachusetts Family Impact Seminar would focus on this crisis.