Social Work Commons^™

Serving The Voiceless: Analyzing Local Organizations For Immigrant Empowerment, Daniel Kabithe, Acia Diallo, Kiya Demps, Chance Brown, Aliyah Whitfield

Undergraduate Research Events

This research project delves into the landscape of community organizations that serve the immigrant population in Louisville, Kentucky, focusing on 6 key entities: La Casita Center, Kentucky Refugee Ministries, Catholic Charities of Louisville, English Conversation Club, Backside Learning Center, and American Community Center. Through a combination of interviews, phone calls and research, we discovered the roles, missions, and offered services by each organization. Through these methods, we identified some of the critical needs within the immigrant community and examined how these organizations address them. Additionally, we discovered that not only did our research highlight the importance of the services provided, …

Program Kartu Prakerja Sebagai Program Pemberdayaan Di Bidang Ketenagakerjaan Di Tengah Pandemi, Mochamad Rangga Septiyadi, Ety Rahayu

Jurnal Pembangunan Manusia

As predicted, Indonesia will experience a demographic bonus, starting in 2020 as indicated by the population of productive citizens group (15-64 years) which is larger than other population groups. In response to the situation, fundamental efforts need to be made to ensure that the demographic surplus can be an economic driver. In early 2020, the government launched the Pre-employment Card program. This program was launched in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic which disrupted many aspects of society, especially the economy and health. This research examines the Pre-employment Card program from the point of view of the empowerment concept. Research …

Program Pembentukan Dan Peningkatan Kapasitas Petani Pesisir Dompak Laut Sebagai Pemberdayaan Masyarakat Pesisir, Klemensia Michelle Novely Horista, Ety Rahayu

Jurnal Pembangunan Manusia

Indonesia as a maritime country has many coastal community groups. But unfortunately, the various efforts to develop the blue economy have not been able to improve the welfare of these community groups. Most of them choose to depend on the fisheries and tourism sectors, even though Indonesia's marine potential is vast and there is much that can still be developed. Coastal communities are not aware of the climate crisis that is getting worse and can threaten the security of the environment where they live. Based on this, the CarbonEthics Foundation seeks to be a solution by prioritizing training and education …

Proses Pemberdayaan Tenaga Kerja Disabilitas Melalui Pelatihan Vokasional Oleh Pt Thisable Enterprise Untuk Disalurkan Sebagai Mitra Golife, Suci Ramadhani, Indra Lestari Fawzi

Jurnal Pembangunan Manusia

Persons with disabilities are the group most vulnerable to discrimination in society. Discriminatory behavior causes persons with disabilities to lose access to their rights, especially in terms of getting a job. Many persons with disabilities are unable to find jobs due to low educational backgrounds and lack of skills. To ensure access to work, Indonesia has passed Law Number 8 of 2016 concerning Persons with Disabilities. In this regulation, there is an obligation for the government and companies to employ persons with disabilities. In fact, the job opportunities that must be provided to persons with disabilities have not been maximally …

Tahapan Pada Program Penyediaan Rumah Berbasis Masyarakat, Herbet Barimbing, Triyanti Anugrahini

Jurnal Pembangunan Manusia

Inadequate houses and slums are part of the welfare problems of low-income families. A community-based approach is believed to be an effective way of providing housing for low-income families, as it is seen as an effort to empower them. This study describes the stages in community based housing program in Mauk Sub district, Tangerang District, conducted by a non-governmental organization, Habitat for Humanity Indonesia (HFH Indonesia). This study aims to describe how the stages being implemented with the community based approach. This qualitative research using purposive sampling techniques. Data collected with a semi- structured in-depth interview with the representatives of …

Understanding How Recipients Of Means-Tested Government Assistance Make The Decision To Vote Or Not To Vote And How Social Workers Can Make A Difference?, Adelaide Sandler

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

When voter turnout of any one particular demographic or social group is significantly less than that of other groups, members of that group lose their power to protect their basic economic and social rights. Low voter turnout among recipients of means-tested government assistance is especially problematic because election outcomes impact the benefits on which they depend. This article presents results from a qualitative study to understand how recipients of means-tested government assistance decide to vote or not to vote. Four themes emerged related to the patterns of voting behaviors and described as: dedicated voter, voter, nonvoter, and dedicated nonvoter. Each …

Cultural Identity Formation: A Personal Narrative, Jose Carbajal

Faculty Publications

This paper provides an autoethnography of personal experiences and perceptions of being a minoritized individual. This is the story of a professional social worker learning to adapt to social norms and expectations of self. I discuss the struggles I experienced as an adolescent and as a young adult attending college. This narrative highlights the intersection of faith and social work at moments in my professional development. It is at this intersection that this social worker learns to live a holistic life without feeling discriminated against or ashamed of his identity. I begin to actualize a reality with imperfect beings who …

Mental Health And Latinx Empowerment Workshop For Youth, Rachel Mejia

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Juvenile delinquency is a serious threat in at-risk cities such as Watsonville, California. Watsonville Police Activities League is a non-profit organization committed to preventing youth criminality. Poor mental health can lead to risk-taking and bad decision making in developing teens and pre-teens. The project was a week-long mental health workshop focused on advocating for the normalization of mental health and Latinx empowerment discussion among youth. The workshop took place throughout five days and reached eight middle school and high school students. The workshop focused on self care, stress management, mood disorders, self image, self esteem, and ethnic identity among other …

Job Satisfaction Among Peer Support Staff In Mental Health Treatment And Recovery-Oriented Settings, Jonathan P. Edwards

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Introduction/Objective: Peer support practice in mental health treatment and recovery-oriented service settings has seen exponential growth during the past several decades. An estimated 25,000 certified peer specialists in the United States alone necessitates a deeper understanding of factors that are associated with job satisfaction. While there exists a body of research on this topic, many of these studies were conducted with limited sample sizes, within discrete practice settings and geographic regions, often focused on one facet of job satisfaction (e.g., compensation), and lacked racial diversity in the sample. The current study addresses these limitations by examining multiple factors associated with …

Breaking Stereotypes: A Call For A New Movement To Empower The Homeless, Abigail Grace Anderson

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Your Goals And You - Don’T Let Your Goals Get (To) You …. Before You Can Get To Them!, Shweta Singh

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

What is the one thing you can count on as far as goals are concerned? Not one thing but many things and secondly- your goals are similar to goals of many people around the world, who (interestingly enough) have really nothing in common with you. And finally- that is because how we decide our goals, has very little to do with what is inside us and more about the surrounding influences.

Just lean back and think about how much you are taught and selectively exposed to - by way of opinions, ideas, thoughts about what an ideal life is? Who …

Youth Empowerment Summit (Yes), Laura Wright

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Community Solutions is a non-profit agency that serves ages 0-100 in Santa Clara and San Benito Counties. The Solutions to Violence Program operates out of Morgan Hill and houses the CSEC and Human Trafficking Division where the capstone project was developed.The “Chill Room” was created at Community Solutions as a part of the Youth Empowerment Summit (YES) Conference in response to the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) within Santa Clara County. The YES Conference was created to enhance collaboration among community based, county, & non-profit organizations to provide a safe space for CSEC youth to process trauma. The conference …

Salud A La Salud Mental (A Toast To Mental Health), Arturo Rodriguez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Joven Noble is a youth-development and leadership enhancement curriculum within Sequoia High School in Watsonville, Ca. that recognizes adolescents need for guidance during their physical, emotional and spiritual development into adulthood by engaging them in conversations regarding topics such as teen pregnancy and substance abuse. One of the deficits of the program is the lack of discussion centered around mental health. Youth are more likely to experience mental health challenges during their adolescence that can impair their long term development. In Santa Cruz County, 5 per 1,000 children ages 5-19 were hospitalized for mental health crisis treatment in 2016; rates …

Connections For Change, Shirley Simon

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

The author, a social work educator, describes how a light bulb moment led her to recognize that professional associations need the youth, energy and enthusiasm of student involvement, and that social work students need the mentoring, networking, professionalism and purpose of the professional community. Recognizing that students need to find their voice and their passion, she made it her mission, through involvement in the International Association for Social Work with Groups, to ignite a sense of empowerment in these budding professionals and encourage their engagement with the hard work of this profession.

Barriers To Higher Education Among Calworks Recipients, Esther Ramirez, Melissa M. Rodriguez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Individuals and families in poverty face an abundance of barriers to self-sufficiency with the lack of higher education being the most prominent of them. The California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program has been the primary intervention to aid poverty following the welfare reform of 1996. Through their work first approach the CalWORKs program intends to set recipients on the path to self-sufficiency. Although education is the biggest weapon against poverty, CalWORKs recipients face a plethora of barriers while pursuing a college degree, as CalWORKs regulations are rigid and unsupportive toward higher education. Due to the minimal research …

Empowerment Workshop: Helping End The Cycle Of Domestic Violence, Brianna Caitlin Anderson

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The YWCA of Monterey County services victims of domestic violence and human trafficking. Currently too many victims of Domestic Violence cannot leave the cycle of abuse. While there are many reasons for this problem, this project focused on the fact that domestic violence victims cannot escape being controlled because they lack the power to become independent. The capstone project consisted of the development and implementation of a series of empowerment workshops to help clients break the cycle of domestic violence. Surveys collected at the end of each workshop were used to asses if participants had a change in self-esteem. The …

Social Workers' Experiences With Deaf And Hard Of Hearing People With Mental Illness, Makoto Ikegami

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The social work practice problem for this study was a lack of knowledge about social workers' experiences of working with deaf and hard of hearing people with mental illness. This study was needed to fill a practice gap by increasing an understanding of the experiences of social workers to inform best practices and address the needs of deaf and hard of hearing population through culturally and linguistically competent mental health services. The research questions focused on the experiences and challenges of social workers working with deaf and hard of hearing people and best practices identified by these social workers. Ecological …

Creating A Culture Of Voting In Direct And Generalist Practice: Training Field Instructors, Shannon R. Lane, Katherine Hill, Jason Ostrander, Jenna Powers, Tanya Rhodes Smith, Mary E. Hylton

School of Social Work Faculty Publications

Social workers have an ethical responsibility to be engaged in policy change, regardless of their practice area or specialization. Voter engagement and the importance of political power through voting is often overlooked in the literature as a valid and important component of social work practice. Creating a culture of nonpartisan voter engagement in practice settings can help empower individuals who have been historically and intentionally disenfranchised from our electoral system. Training for field instructors, faculty, and field staff is a key aspect of voter engagement in social work education. Unfortunately, social work education is unlikely to include substantive content on …

Understanding College Students With Physical Disabilities, Kimberly L. Hardner

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore what it means to be a college student with a physical disability. The visibility of a physical disability a is distinct characteristic, even within the disability community, which often results in discrimination, oppression, and marginalization that influence both the identity and experiences of the individual. Through the research method of Photovoice, important considerations related to the identity and experiences of college students with physical disabilities were revealed in this study including: visibility (of a physical disability which leads to stigma and stereotypes); independence (ability to do things for oneself); membership …

Social Worker Identity: A Profession In Context, Bradley Forenza, Caitlin Eckert

Department of Social Work and Child Advocacy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Social work is a broad field encompassing micro, mezzo, and macro areas of practice. Consequently, the field lacks a unifying professional identity due to the expansiveness of the profession. Professional identity is conceptualized as an extension of social identity, vis-à-vis the embodiment of three qualities: connectedness, expansiveness, and effectiveness. This study used 12 in-depth, individual interviews with practicing social workers to explore these qualities. Findings from interviews reveal six primary themes and 21 subthemes pertaining to social worker identity. Themes and subthemes are organized according to three broad families (social work in context, professional trajectories, and external influences). Implications for …

Transforming Impossible Into Possible (Tip): A Bottom-Up Practice In Workforce Development For Low-Income Jobseekers, Philip Young P. Hong

Philip Hong

This paper discusses an evidence-informed bottom-up transformative social work practice model that holistically encapsulates multi-system levels of practice. Based on 12 years of empirical evidence on psychological self-sufficiency (PSS), the Transforming Impossible into Possible (TIP) program was developed to focuses on the ‘process’ of human agency development that leads to economic self-sufficiency (ESS) ‘outcomes’. It attempts to bring together various modalities of social work practice into a transformational leadership development framework that reflects a bottom-up, participant-centered approach to empowering individuals to impact larger systems. In workforce development practice, it is being regarded that constructs reflected in TIP improve both employment …

Breaking Free Of Generational Poverty: Empowered Single Mothers Who Overcome The Odds, Angela Trenda

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

The purpose of this study is to understand what differentiates single mothers and their children who are able to break the cycles of generational poverty from the millions of resilient, capable single mother-headed households who remain stuck living in poverty. The research was studied through the lens of ecosystems and empowerment theories. It looked at what helped and hindered single mothers to develop the belief in their abilities, and access necessary resources, to leave poverty within the context of individual, familial, community and broader societal benefits and constraints. This study was a systematic review which included an exhaustive review of …

Ideas For Capacity Building And Educational Empowerment Of Female Children In Rural Butaleja, Uganda: Applying The Central Human Capability Approach, Renuka Mahari De Silva

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Building upon the concepts of Capability Approach, this paper discusses how these ideas can be effectively utilized within the setting of a small rural village in Uganda, Africa to empower female children to create a valuable life that affects positive social change. Colonization left a devastating blow to the socioeconomic conditions among many ethnic communities in Uganda. However, Uganda’s political outlays and social constructs further deepened the inequity gap between female and male children. This paper explores ways in which female children may be given the capacity to create agency for themselves as a stepping stone towards building a life …

Transforming Impossible Into Possible (Tip): A Bottom-Up Practice In Workforce Development For Low-Income Jobseekers, Philip Young P. Hong

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

This paper discusses an evidence-informed bottom-up transformative social work practice model that holistically encapsulates multi-system levels of practice. Based on 12 years of empirical evidence on psychological self-sufficiency (PSS), the Transforming Impossible into Possible (TIP) program was developed to focuses on the ‘process’ of human agency development that leads to economic self-sufficiency (ESS) ‘outcomes’. It attempts to bring together various modalities of social work practice into a transformational leadership development framework that reflects a bottom-up, participant-centered approach to empowering individuals to impact larger systems. In workforce development practice, it is being regarded that constructs reflected in TIP improve both employment …

Minorities' Perceptions Of Child Protective Services, Vernae Elaine Hicks

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The study examined minority persons’ views and experiences with Child Protective Services (CPS) in the community. This study used a qualitative design with face‑to‑face interviews with 12 participants in the community. This study used the “Post‑Positivist” data analysis, which is qualitative in evaluation and explained each participant’s subjective reality.

The study found that most participants were satisfied with the results and were dissatisfied with the process in and of itself. Overall the study found that most participants felt that there was some sort of a disconnect with social workers in reference to cultural competency. Miscommunication between the social workers at …

Impact Of Support Groups On Kinship Care Providers : A Project Based On An Investigation At Community Coalition, Los Angeles, California, Judith Farber Weissman

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

The purpose of this study was to explore how peer support groups influence kinship care providers’ (KCPs’) sense of self-worth and empowerment, and how they impact KCPs’ ability to advocate on behalf of the children in their care. Few studies to date have examined self-worth in the realm of KCPs’ parenting issues of guilt and regret, nor have they explored whether support group participation encourages relearning parenting skills and therefore instills a sense of empowerment. Although the majority of KCPs in the United States are informal care providers, most prior research on this population focused on formal kinship care providers; …

Challenges And Resilience In African American Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: A Review Of The Literature With Practice Implications, Fengyan Tang, Heejung Jang, Valire Carr Copeland

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

This paper reviews literature on grandparents raising grandchildren, focusing on caregiving challenges and resilience in African American grandparent caregivers within a socio-cultural context. A strengths perspective that emphasizes capacities and competencies at the individual, family, and community levels is applied in understanding how African American grandparents rely on their strengths to overcome caregiving challenges. Building on the review of social programs and intervention services that targeted empowerment practice, the authors propose an empowerment model of working with African American grandparents, that is, building capacities through an empowerment process to address caregiving challenges and to achieve positive caregiving outcomes. Finally, the …

Equality: Empowering Queer, Allied, And Trans* Youth, Jessica J. Schpero, Amanda C. Hayden, Nazli Boroshan, Kathy Huynh

21st Century Social Justice

LGBTQQ identified youth are often targets in school settings for harassment, maltreatment, and bullying. This negative treatment often leads to decreased academic performance and limited potential for successful long-term outcomes. Through school and community-wide programming, EQuALITY seeks to increase acceptance of LGBTQQ identified students, foster self-empowerment, and support young adults as they navigate different social environments and interactions between LGBTQQ identified students and allies. The authors hypothesize that with the creation and implementation of EQuALITY, a program designed to create a widespread shift in LGBTQQ acceptance and understanding from the school community, students’ feelings of isolation will decrease, feelings of …

Sustainable, Empowering Organizational Model For Intimate Partner Violence Services, Janet A. Mason

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

IPV refuges are an important resource for those wishing to free themselves from IPV violence, but only if they truly empower the IPV survivor by not replicating the control and power differentials from which they are fleeing. Early feminist grassroots activists actively fostered empowering helping relationships in the organizational model of collectives which espoused equality, participatory decision making, and interpersonal relationships. Due largely to funding pressures, collectives were gradually replaced by the hierarchal organizational model found in refuges today. Many worry that most IPV organizations today may actually pose a barrier to the empowerment of survivors. This research project explored …

Autism Spectrum Disorder Students In Mainstream Schools And Classrooms: Effectiveness And Empowerment, Kathleen Soltau

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

This study examines teachers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of mainstream educational practice in empowering students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. This study provides a focus on Minnesota and a mainstream educational program in southern Minnesota. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted in order to better understand this topic. Interviews were transcribed and coded using grounded theory methods. Findings revealed an overwhelming amount of support for students with autism spectrum disorder in mainstream schools and classrooms. This support was shown through multiple themes identified by interviewees. Implications for social work practice and advocacy within mainstream schools serving students diagnosed with autism spectrum …