Social Work Commons^™

Career Outcomes For Formerly Incarcerated College Graduates, Roberta Fox, Jesse Rodriguez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The California State University (CSU) Project Rebound is a reentry program that provides educational, social, financial, and case management to formerly incarcerated college students (FICS) with the goal of helping them become successful post-incarceration and post-graduation. However, there is a penury of research on how Project Rebound actually helped FICS create pro-social bonds and develop career preparation competencies. This exploratory study is an attempt to fill this gap in the literature by looking at the outcomes of formerly incarcerated college graduates who participated in a CSU-sponsored reentry program. In this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 alumni of …

Improving Parenting For Families With Involvment In The Child Welfare System: Perspectives Of Social Workers And Parents In Southern California, Laura Velazquez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Child neglection has been a concerning topic in today's society. Therefore, parent classes have been implemented as a method of prevention services. Through evidence-based interventions and the effective outcomes programs parenting classes have stopped incidents of child neglect and abuse by providing parents with the knowledge, education, and skills to prevent this from occurring. This research was qualitative, and the data collected allowed the researcher to discover the outcomes of how parent education can prevent child neglect. This study had 15 participants, 8 parents, and 7 social workers (N = 15). The findings from this research both from a …

Effectiveness Of Services In Foster Care From The Foster Parents' Perspective, Christina Marie Landeros, Cherish Justine Watson-Nunez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of foster parent perceptions of the services their foster youth were receiving. This study aimed to gather information based on how effective foster parents felt these services were in the hopes that this information can lead to better service provisions. This study conducted a secondary analysis of qualitative interviews of fifteen foster parents with foster children enrolled in Hesperia Unified School District.

Qualitative data analysis revealed themes and subthemes in positive and negative experiences associated County versus school service referrals, as well as social worker communication with foster families. …

Caregiver And Social Worker Perceptions Of The Impacts Of Covid-19 On Child Welfare Visitation, Christopher Enhelder, Christina Ortiz

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic took the world by surprise and adversely impacted service delivery in both the public and the private sector. This qualitative study asked two significant questions: 1) What are child welfare caregivers’ perceptions of the impact of COVID--19 on child welfare visitation across the United States? How did child welfare caregivers’ cope with child welfare visitation during the COVID-19 pandemic across the United States? A sample of five child welfare professionals who conducted visitations during the pandemic were interviewed (N = 5). Thematic analysis yielded the following five major themes: 1) COVID-19 took the visitation sector by surprise; …

Utilization Of Telemental Health By Mental Health Professionals During Covid-19, Zayne Boudreauxramirez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

It has been established that certain barriers and benefits affect a mental health professional’s attitude towards using telemental health. The purpose of this study was to examine a possible relationship between mental health professional’s discipline, theoretical orientation, and treatment approach with their attitudes towards telemental health utilization. This study collected data from 117 mental health professionals from California. A principal component analysis uncovered four factors with attitudes towards telemental health: confidence with telemental health, concerns about telemental health, peer influence, and professional support & behavioral intent. This study showed significant relationships between discipline, theoretical orientation, and treatment approach with confidence …

Social Workers’ Perceptions In Working With Children With Medical Complexities, Elia Galicia, Rosa Espinoza

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This research study reviewed some of the challenges that foster care children with medical complexities encounter. The number of children with medical complexities in the foster care system has significantly increased in the last few years. However, little is known about the perceptions of social workers who have worked or will work with this specific population during their careers. This research explored social workers’ knowledge about care and the designed protocols in working with foster children with medical complexities. Variables including social workers’ classification, education level, degree’s background, experience, and completion of training were considered in this study. This …

Immigration And Social Work: A Content Analysis Of Schools In Liberal States, Yenicka Avila, Stephanie Ibarra

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The social work profession vows to defend society’s most vulnerable populations, including undocumented immigrants. Yet, how immigration is perceived in social work education and the extent to which social works schools are integrated this concept in their mission statements and/or social media pages remain understudied in the existing literature. This study is a mixed-methods content analysis of 133 social work schools accredited (or in the process of accreditation) by the Council of Social Work Education (N = 133). It was hypothesized that the proportion of social work schools that overtly/covertly mentioned immigration in their mission statements and Facebook pages will …

A Need For Support Services Among Hispanic First-Generation College Students, Evelyn Arellano, Jessica Cazares Armenta

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Hispanics are the largest minority group in the United States, yet the retention and graduation rates among Hispanics continue to remain low. This study examined some of the barriers and social challenges that Hispanic First-Generation College Students experience. The main objectives addressed low retention rates, low graduation rates, discussed unique cultural issues, and looked at the most prevalent challenges that this population endures while trying to successfully achieve higher education.

A qualitative approach was utilized to gather data. A total of ten participants were recruited and placed in two focus groups. These focus groups were conducted virtually due to national …

Utilization Of Mental Health Services And Culture: A Qualitative Study Of Monolingual Spanish Speaking Parents In The Inland Empire, Valeria Armentilla Cecena

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Mental health services in the United States have been underutilized despite the fact that millions of Americans suffer from mental health issues. Previous research has largely ignored the views of Hispanics in the Inland Empire. This qualitative study fills this gap in the literature by exploring the underutilization of mental health services among monolingual Spanish-speaking parents in the Inland Empire. This study consisted of 30 participants (N = 30) with whom semi-structured interview were conducted. 12 themes emerged from the analysis of the data. These themes vary from one another and reflect (a) understanding of mental health, (b) stigma, (c) …

Covid-19 Pandemic, Social Class, And Online Instruction Survivability: A Qualitative Study Of Low-Income Families With Children In The K-12 Education System, Antonio Leanos

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This qualitative study highlights the problems that distance learning has had towards low- income families who had children in K-12 system enrolled in distance learning during Covid-19. Major themes that were presented were separation of being a teacher/parent, technical issues, social interactions, communication, and patience. Parents expressed their survivability with their children enrolled in distance learning during Covid-19 and shared their positive and negative experiences with the schools their children attended. The K-12 Education System in the United States uses a one-size-fits-all instructional approach that does not distinguish between low- income students and their middle-to-high income counterparts. Based on the …

Measuring Competency In Social Work: Lgbtqia Populations, Desirae Nicole Aguirre, Samantha Raquel Stephens

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The study conducted interviews to measure the level of competency social workers have assisting members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and/or questioning, intersex, and asexual community (LGBTQIA+) using a qualitative exploratory research design. Data was collected from nine social workers from the United States of America. Key findings indicated the participants generally did not feel competent to work with this community, particularly transgender persons. Training at work, through school, or learned on their own about serving LGBTQIA+ clients were generally limited in scope. Lastly, findings on what the participants thought the specialized needs of the transgender population were …

Social Workers’ Competency When Working With Latino Immigrant Families, Suleima Corea, Cynthia Gutierrez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study will focus on exploring the competency of social workers who provide services to Latino immigrant clients, who are court-ordered to complete services, meaning that a juvenile court has had to remove the child from their parents due to abuse or neglect. When social services practitioners provide service to Latino immigrant clients, it is important for them to be familiarized with the culture, beliefs, and behaviors to better understand and serve the population.

This qualitative study used a snowball sampling method to interview six Southern California social workers in two different child welfare agencies via Zoom. The participants were …

Examining Geographic Variation In Mental And Behavioral Health Outcomes Of Sexual Minority Youth, Kerry M. Mcloughlin

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Sexual minority youth (SMY) are a population vulnerable to behavioral health challenges. While behavioral health disparities between SMY and heterosexual youth are well documented, less attention has been given to how such disparities vary geographically. The aim of this study is to begin to fill this gap by using a national dataset to examine how behavioral health disparities between SMY and heterosexual youth vary by geography. Understanding how SMY’s experiences vary by location will allow social workers to better allocate resources. Secondary data analysis of cross-sectional data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study was conducted to …

Latinas' Cultural Beliefs Affect On Their Postpartum Mental Health, Cindy Hernandez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Postpartum depression affects Latinas at a higher rate than the general population; however, Latinas often refrain from seeking mental health services due to their cultural beliefs. By examining Latinas’ experiences and perspectives on postpartum depression and how their cultural beliefs impact them. This study provides insight to increase postpartum depression awareness and mental health service seeking among Latinas. In this exploratory study, a qualitative approach was utilized in which Latinas were recruited to participate in interviews containing open-ended questions, then transcribed into transcripts. The transcripts were reviewed for accuracy, coded for themes, and examined by utilizing thematic analysis. The findings …

The Effects Of Covid-19 On Social Work Students, Rosanne Cabonce

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research project describes the relationship between anxiety and social support in Bachelors and Masters of Social Work students (N = 80) in a public state university. College students, specifically Social Work students, have been adversely affected due to consequences of COVID-19. Different areas of their life including their academic, financial, and especially, their mental health (e.g. anxiety) have been impacted due to the pandemic. A quantitative, descriptive study is conducted utilizing instruments to investigate anxiety and social support these students face during the pandemic. Correlation analysis is utilized to determine the relationship between anxiety and social support. Not many …

Disenfranchised Grief In Queer Companionship And Chosen Family, Derek Lowell Corns

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study examined the ways in which queer people experience disenfranchised grief when mourning the death of a loved one who also identified as queer/LGBTQIA2S+ and whose relationship with one another existed outside of cisgender/heteronormative frameworks. Research suggests that the life experiences as LGBTQIA2S+-identified people can vary in specific ways to those of cisgender heterosexual people, and in the occurrence of death and bereavement, such circumstances can be further complicated and disenfranchised by the types of relationships the bereaved and the deceased shared. Through interviews and qualitative data analysis, this study provided supportive and informative insight into social work practice …

Inter-Agency Collaborations Among Mental Health And Law Enforcement Professionals In San Bernardino County During Covid-19: A Qualitative Study, Sonya Mcisaac

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

As first responders, law enforcement officers and mental health professionals are constantly sought after regarding the delivery of critical services to people in need. However, the COVID-19 pandemic brought almost everything to a halt. It is therefore important to understand how social services were delivered during the crisis. It has been assumed in the literature that interprofessional collaboration is an important service delivery framework. However, because COVID-19 is a relatively recent public health phenomenon, relevant studies on interprofessional collaboration between law enforcement officers and mental health professionals are scant, if not non-existent. This qualitative study addresses this gap by exploring …

Mary Julia Workman: Catholic Progressivism In Los Angeles (1900-1920), Jose Castro

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Mary Julia Workman was a social activist in the early twentieth century. She was the founder of the Brownson Settlement House in Los Angeles. By the 1900s. during the Progressive Era, Mary Julia Workman, a Catholic activist, led a group of women to help the immigrants that were segregated and discriminated in the growing city of Los Angeles. Although Catholic activism was influenced by the Protestant Progressive ideology, Mary Julia Workman provided social justice to the marginalized. Her Americanization methodology would be focused to learn from the foreigner culture and adapted it to our society. Meanwhile, the Americanization efforts promoted …

Perceived Barriers To Mental Health Service Use Among Latinx Women With Postpartum Depression Symptoms, Mayra Alvarado

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine what are the perceived barriers to mental health service use among Latinx women with postpartum depression symptoms. The literature on women with postpartum depression symptoms showed that barriers like concern of judgment, lack of support, and lack of knowledge of PPD were some of the reasons why they did not seek treatment.

The study uses in depth, qualitative interviews with seven Latin women who gave birth within the last two years, and experienced postpartum depression symptoms. The interviews were conducted from February 2022 through March 2022.

Thematic analysis uncovered the following five …

Self Care And Burnout Among Child Welfare Workers During The Coronavirus Pandemic, Stephanie Carranza, Claudia Castillo

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The study was designed to explore associations between burnout and self-care practices among child welfare social workers and how they were impacted during the Coronavirus pandemic. The researchers completed a qualitative study with research participants by completing interviews via Zoom. All research participants composed of current and former child welfare social workers. Through the data gathered, the researchers found that there were no associations between burnout and self-care practices during the pandemic. It was concluded that burnout has remained consistent regardless of self-care practices prior and during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Evolution Of Stigma: Understanding The Progression Of Stigma On Receiving Mental Health Services Within Latinx Communities In The Inland Empire, Joanna Gutierrez, Ciel Rivas

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The stigmatization of mental health services within the Latinx community has led to the underutilization of these services within this population. This study examined whether the stigma on receiving mental health services has evolved over the years within the Latinx community of the Inland Empire region. An analysis of the evolution of this stigma brings insight on why this stigma exists, and what has made it increase or decrease. The study was conducted through a qualitative procedure; Individual interviews were conducted where the information gathered was analyzed through thematic analysis to identify overlapping ideas and topics. The findings supported that …

Assessing The Prepardness And Comfortability Levels Of Graduate Social Work Students Discussing Sex And Sexuality, Sarah Anne Champion Macedo

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study utilized surveys to assess the preparedness and comfortability levels of graduate social work students discussing sex and sexuality with future clients using a quantitative exploratory research design. The purpose of the research was to assess graduate social work students' preparedness and comfortability levels discussing sex and sexuality and to determine possible recommendations for graduate social work education and potential policy changes concerning sex education for graduate social work students. The data was collected from sixty-two participants, from a Southern California University, who were sent a survey via their student emails. The data was analyzed using SPSS. The study …

Perceived Social Worker Competency For Addressing Loss Among Children, Adriana Lopez Cota, Catalina Herrera

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Social workers provide services in an array of settings which greatly include providing supportive services and resources to children and families. Studies have shown that although social workers are generally trained for comprehensive services, grief and loss have been seemingly left out of social work education and training, leaving many social workers incompetent to address clients presenting with grief/loss (Boss, 2006, Griese et al., 2017, Murty et al., 2015). Unfortunately, this leads to inadequate social work services for many children presenting with grief/loss (Lenhardt, 1997). This study will take a quantitative approach to gather information on the perceived competence of …

College-Aged Student’S Perspective Of Sexual Violence Via Social Media Usage, Emily Bautista, Marijane Garcia

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Sexual violence is of significant concern on college campuses. Concurrently, college aged students regularly use social media platforms as socializing agents. Little is known concerning the influence of social media usage on the way college students perceive sexual violence. Feminist theories were used to conceptualize ideas involving perceptions of sexual violence. This research used quantitative measures to examine the influence of social media usage on college-aged students’ perspectives of sexual violence as measured by consent attitudes. Data was obtained from Reddit users. Correlation analysis found a relationship between hours spent per day on social media and positive attitudes toward establishing …

The Covid-19 Pandemic And Material Hardships: A Qualitative Study Of Undocumented Immigrants In The United States, Erika Chavez-Marroquin

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The study aimed to recognize the financial impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on the undocumented immigrants living in southern California. Utilizing an exploratory method with a qualitative approach. The research interviewed English and Spanish-speaking participants who are a part of the undocumented population and have employee history. The study utilized a purposive and snowball sampling method and explored the financial impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on participants’ personal finances, resources they were able to access, and gaps in programs or additional resources through federal and state aid. Through the data analysis, the research identified the following themes: limitations on accessible …

Underutilizaiton Of Mental Health Services By Marginalized Populations, Jermaine Bennett, Anna Blum

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Underutilization of mental health services is a serious issue in the United States, particularly among marginalized groups. Previous research has not explored this issue in depth in the Inland Empire nor focused simultaneously on the federal protected classes of race, age, gender, and sexual orientation. This study expands the literature by using Systems Theory and Intersectional Perspective to determine whether there exists a difference in utilization of mental health services between marginalized populations and their non-marginalized counterparts in San Bernardino County. Through a non-probability sampling method, this study recruited 87 adults who completed a questionnaire on their participation in mental …

Barriers To Mental Health Treatment: A Qualitative Study Of The Hispanic Community In A Southern California County, Fred Rodriguez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study aimed to highlight the perspectives of the Southern California County’s Hispanic community on how to address the underutilization of mental health services and inform mental health stakeholders on steps toward solving a major social issue. Three major themes were identified through data analysis: Hispanic culture/tradition, the need for increased education and promotion of mental health, and lack of information from agencies and organizations. A limitation of this study included results that could not be generalized to the larger population due to the small sample size. Recommendations included educating the community, parents and children, and increased promotion of services …

Working Effectively With Immigrant Families In The Child Welfare System, Angeles J. Tovar, Yvette Robles

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine what social work students and early career professionals need from their agencies, supervisors, and colleagues to work effectively with immigrant clients in child welfare. The literature on social work with immigrants suggests that this work is challenging due to a plethora of barriers related to language, culture, citizenship, eligibility, and organizational environment. The study uses in-depth, qualitative interviews with seven social work students and early career social workers who work in child welfare settings in Southern California, either as interns or full-time employees. These interviews were conducted by the researchers from Fall …

The Impact Of Religion And Spirituality On County Child Welfare Workers, Celeste Ramos, Sonia Magdaleno Ayamel

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study aims to identify and analyze how county child welfare workers can utilize their own religious and spiritual beliefs to alleviate some of the work-related stress. In addition, the study will examine how participating in religious or spiritual support groups will benefit county child welfare workers. The findings may encourage social workers to rely on their respective religious and spiritual beliefs while dealing with difficult situations.

Accessibility Of Mental Health Resources In Schools, Zitlaly Lizeth Cruz-Roman, Vianney Consepcion Sandoval

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study aimed to examine parents’ and staff’s perception of the accessibility and awareness of mental health resources in school. Mental health resources are made available in school settings; however, not all families and students are aware of the resources being provided. To address the accessibility of mental health resources, research needs to take place to understand why these resources are not being utilized. Individuals’ mental health will improve by creating awareness of the resources since they will be aware of the resources and use them based on their needs. The research project utilized quantitative research methods and descriptive research …