Social Work Commons^™

Adult Children With Developmental Disabilities: The Impact On The Mothers, Tracy J. E Mitchell

Theses and Graduate Projects

This qualitative study discussed and evaluated the affect adult children with developmental disabilities have upon their mothers. Extensive research has been done on children with disabilities and the impact upon their mothers, but little has been done regarding the adult children. Interviews were conducted with 5 mothers of adult children with developmental disabilities through the use of a snowball sample. The results indicated the mothers had mostly positive feelings towards their adult child. However, the study also found many of the mothers had unresolved grief issues regarding the raising of their adult child. The findings give implications to the social …

The Attitudes Of Business Owners And Employees Towards Adults With Developmental Disabilities As Customers: An Exploratory Study, Rachel K. Olson

Theses and Graduate Projects

The future of community placement and involvement for adults with developmental disabilities has lacked empirical data. Few studies have examined the views of businesses towards customers with developmental disabilities. For this thesis, the concept of survey research was used to analyze the responses of one manager or employee from 9 community businesses to a survey based on a 2000 Business Attitudes Towards People With Intellectual Disabilities Questionnaire developed by the author of the thesis. Forced-choice and open-ended questions were compared to analyze common themes and attitudes. Overall, businesses were accepting of persons with developmental disabilities, and had few concerns about …

A Case Study Of Attachment Behaviors In A Therapeutic Milieu, Dana Elizabeth Niklaus

Theses and Graduate Projects

The purpose of this case study is to examine the effectiveness of a therapeutic preschool program for a child at developmental risk due to insecure attachment. There is a critical void in the literature regarding effective clinical interventions for such children. During regularly scheduled home visits, the Attachment Behavior Q-Set is administered to substantiate the subject's attachment insecurity. The subject is then observed in a therapeutic preschool for three months to track progress in three developmental areas: use of aggression, language competence, and social competence. This writer demonstrates positive outcomes in these areas, thus establishing the effectiveness of such a …

A Summative Evaluation Of Hennepin County's Parent Support Project's Healthy Relationship's Parent Education Class, Tina Sorenson-Ford

Theses and Graduate Projects

The purpose of this study is to investigate what the participant has gained by attending Hennepin County's Healthy Relationship's class. The study is a summative evaluation of a Hennepin County's Parent Support Project's Healthy Relationships class.

The class was designed to provide educational and therapeutic services to mother with cognitive limitations. The class was developed to increase the mothers awareness of reciprocal relationships in her own life and to model positive relationships with others to her children. The design of the study included review of course materials. Additionally, the researcher conducted one hour in-depth interviews with four clients from the …

The Refugee Experiences Of Somali Women: A Qualitative Study, Lisa Valiquet

Theses and Graduate Projects

Research on the refugee experiences of Somali women is limited. This qualitative study contributes to the existing research on refugee issues by focusing on the experiences and meaning for Somali women who have survived war, fled from their homeland, and were resettled into a new country. An interview guide was used to conduct in-depth interviews with three Somali women about their meaning to their experiences of being a refugee and resettlement into a new country. Content analysis was used to find common themes about the Somali women's refugee experiences. Results of the study concluded that the refugee experience of leaving …

A Qualitative Study Of The Relationship Between Personal Resources And Nursing Home Admissions, Vickie Stohr

Theses and Graduate Projects

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of personal resources, primarily financial for the elderly and chronically ill populations in nursing home admissions. There is extensive research done on nursing homes and the elderly but little is known about the factors that contribute to nursing home admissions. This study uses qualitative data to gather themes from the three elderly and chronically ill individuals over and under the age of 65. To simplify the study all ages under the age of 65 is a group and all ages over the age of 65 was considered another group. It …

A Hermeneutic Study: Adult Survivors' Lived Experiences Of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Traci Weise

Theses and Graduate Projects

Sexual violations perpetrated upon children disrupt the normative development of interpersonal relationships throughout adulthood. This hermeneutic, qualitative study analyzed three adult women survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Survivors of past sexual abuse experience posttraumatic effects, emotional scars, and unstable relationships built on minimal trust, leaving adults with thoughts of inadequacy in interpersonal relationships. Implications for Social Work practice and policy are to recognize and validate the protective coping mechanisms used by adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, influence change in their therapy, and provide new skills to maintain healthy relationships.

This study attempts to discover, discuss, and interpret the effects …

Factors In Childhood That Contribute To The Development Of Resiliency: An Exploratory Study Of Adult, Female Somalian Refugees, Joyce L. Arends

Theses and Graduate Projects

The rural area of Minnesota has an increasing population due to the arrival of Somalian refugees. The Somali families have relocated to Minnesota as a result of a civil war in their country. This exploratory study examined what factors in childhood contributed to the development of resiliency in adult, female, Somalian refugees. Somali people are now focusing on resettlement and survival in the United States. The tasks they face are finding adequate, affordable housing, overcoming loss and isolation, coping with cultural adjustment and learning English. There were 5 participants in the study, ranging in age from the low-20's to the …

The Impact Of Deinstitutionalization On Individuals Who Receive Services From Guild Incorporated, Meredith K. Foster

Theses and Graduate Projects

The purpose of this qualitative study is to gain a deeper understanding of the impact that deinstitutionalization has had on individuals who receive case management services from Guild Incorporated. Participants will be gathered for the qualitative portion using a non-probability sample, and identified by a professional within the agency. Research for this portion was conducted through an in-depth interview where participants were asked to describe the impact that deinstitutionalization has had in their lives. Results for this study show that individuals who moved out of Guild Hall initially felt fear and helplessness, loss of support, and financial burden after moving …

Services Provided For Sexually Abused Children In Staffed Emergency Children's Shelters In The Metro Area, Kylie L. Davis

Theses and Graduate Projects

This research work investigates what types of services are being provided to address the needs of sexually abused children in emergency shelters located in the metropolitan area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The study was done in order to determine if the children's shelters are serving the needs of sexually abused children who are removed from their homes. This study surveyed directors of children's emergency shelters in the metropolitan area on what services are provided by their shelter to this population of children. The results of the survey showed that the services provided for this specific population of children are …

Stride And Mfip: Outcome Differences, Melissa A. Bate

Theses and Graduate Projects

Changing societal attitudes about responsibility for the poor have led to the creation of a succession of different welfare programs. This study compared two Minnesota welfare programs, STRIDE and MFIP, with regard to outcome data including wage at termination, education level at termination, and total time the individual spent on welfare. This was a quantitative study of data from archived files of 50 STRIDE and 50 MFIP participants (n = 100). The data were analyzed to determine statistically significant differences in outcomes between the two programs. The difference on the emphasis on education and work between the two programs and …

An Exploratory Study Of Independent Living Skills Of Emancipated Treatment Foster Care, Christine Marie Beseman Durocher

Theses and Graduate Projects

This exploratory qualitative study examines the independent living skills that are possessed upon emancipation from foster care and identifies those areas that need further development, which may arise in successful transition into adulthood. This study also attempts to identify if the independent livings skills possessed were learned through foster parents modeling appropriate behavior. The study sample includes 10 former foster children who are now adults and living independently, who were interviewed face to face. The guide consisted of open and closed questions, which allow for optimal feedback from the respondents. The results suggest that those individuals who age out of …

Sense Of Humor, Stress, And Burnout In Medical Social Workers, Kerby Plante

Theses and Graduate Projects

This quantitative study used survey research methodology to explore the relationship befween sense of humor, stress, and burnout in medical social workers. The hypothesis of this study is that a sense of humor will decrease stress, which in turn will descrease burnout for social workers. This study surveyed 75 medical social workers in the State of Minnesota on their use of humor and their current stress and burnout level. The study used the Sense of Humor Rating Scale, the Job Stress Survey, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory as the measures to quantify the variables. The study found that stress is …

Spirituality And Disability : What Are The Dynamics And Significance Of Spirituality In The Lives Of People With Physical Disabilities, Michele Berndt

Theses and Graduate Projects

This qualitative study attempted to explore the significance and dynamics of spirituality in the lives of people with physical disabilities in coping with barriers that are placed on them by society. The goal of this study was to demonstrate the importance of the spiritual dimension in constructing disability. This study was based on a pure qualitative strategy. Data that reveal the participants' experiential point of view have been evaluated and analyzed using elements of Hermaneutics. The data was obtained by conducting in-depth interviews with four physically disabled individuals. The interview questions focused on the psycho-social-spiritual perspectives of disability. The participants …

An Exploratory Internet Study Of Perceptions Of Academic Accommodations Among Post-Secondary Students With Disabilities, Lance Hotchkiss

Theses and Graduate Projects

This is an exploratory internet study of post-secondary students with disabilities regarding their academic accommodations. Review of the literature on academic accommodations shows that a decade after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) there is still room for improvement. Previous studies found that social work schools and programs were not following their own code of ethics in the education of social work students with disabilities. Implications for social work include: working with students with disabilities as part of an active team, firm policies on campuses about accommodations, ways of accessing a respondent base for further studies, institutional …

Child Abuse Reported To The Police., David Finkelhor, Richard Ormrod

Crimes Against Children Research Center

Child abuse is commonly regarded as a child welfare problem, and a considerable amount of information has been amassed from this perspective. When a child is assaulted, however, it is not only a child welfare problem, it is a crime, and yet there is a lack of law enforcement data available for researchers to analyze. Use of the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), which collects detailed data about crime and its victims, should help fill this gap. This Bulletin describes NIBRS and its role in depicting police experience with child abuse and reports key findings derived from NIBRS data. Analysis …

A Hermeneutic Study: The Impacts Of The Harm Reduction Approach On Women Living In Abusive Relationships, Darla Segelstrom

Theses and Graduate Projects

Despite the number of services available to battered women, few focus on working with those who remain in the abusive relationships. The Harm Reduction approach is one geared towards working with women who have not yet made the decision to leave their abusive partner. This hermeneutic, interpretive study of women's narratives revealed that the harm reduction approach provided non-judgmental support, which was conducive to increasing women's overall awareness of themselves, their situation, and their options. It is recommended that social workers and other human service agencies recognize the complexity, individuality and strength in each battered woman they encounter, facilitate a …

Program Evaluation Of Integrated Community Services, Julie R. Humbert

Theses and Graduate Projects

This is a quantitative study of the program Integrated Community Services for adults with severe and persistent mental illness. This program evaluation compares a random sample of quality of life surveys of adults (N=14) who have been involved in the assertive community treatment program. The survey results include vocational, housing, financial, and mental health needs of adults with severe and persistent mental illness. A case management staff survey (N=5) reports on perceptions of the quality of life of individuals with severe and persistent mental illness and how the Integrated Community Service team works together. This study is important because it …

The Relationship Between Job Satisfaction And Attrition In Youth Care Workers, Cole Trimble

Theses and Graduate Projects

This exploratory quantitative study was conducted to determine the relationship between job satisfaction and attrition among current and former youth care workers in a group home setting. Participants (N = 35) included 14 current employees and 21 former employees from the Sheriffs Youth Programs of Minnesota Agency that completed a job satisfaction survey. The survey results show a significant correlation among current and former youth care worker's perceptions in relation to job satisfaction. Specifically, the current and former youth care workers both identified training as the most important characteristic to their job satisfaction. Additionally, former employees identified supervision issues as …

Positive Possibilities For Child And Family Welfare: Options For Expanding The Anglo-American Child Protection Paradigm, Gary Cameron, Nancy Colleen Freymond, Denise Cornfield, Sally Palmer

Partnerships for Children and Families Project

The creation of the ‘problem of child maltreatment’ and how we deal with it are best understood as particular discourses which grow out of specific histories and social configurations. The Anglo-American child protection paradigm can be viewed as a particular configuration rooted in our vision for children, families, community, and society. However, other settings have constructed quite different responses reflecting their own priorities and desired outcomes. This paper is an effort to understand the choices made in Ontario’s child protection system by examining its history and the underlying beliefs and values which have fostered its development. In addition, the paper …

Focal Point, Volume 15 Number 01, Portland State University. Regional Research Institute

Research and Training Center - Focal Point

Transitions are difficult for all of us, but for children and youth with emotional and behavioral challenges, transitions are often both more difficult and more frequent than for their peers. Even “normal”, age-defined transitions such as the transition to kindergarten or the transition to independent living are often extremely difficult for children and youth with emotional and behavioral challenges, and for their families or other caregivers. Transitions—accompanied by the disruption of routine and the need to interact with unfamiliar people—are precisely the types of situations that are often most unsettling and stressful for these children.

Client Participation: Central And Underinvestigated Elements Of Intervention, Julia H. Littell, Leslie B. Alexander, William W. Reynolds

Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research Faculty Research and Scholarship

Although client participation is central to psychosocial interventions, most investigations conceptualize and measure participation in rather crude ways. This review suggests that essential elements of treatment participation are largely unknown, links between participation and outcomes are not clear, and most investigations of influences on within-treatment variations in participation are based on outdated causal models. Drawing on literature on health and mental health care, this article develops a comprehensive conceptual model of treatment participation. It proposes an agenda for future research aimed at understanding participation phenomena in various contexts.

Review Of Independent Practice For The Mental Health Professional: Growing A Private Practice For The 21st Century. Ralph H. Earle And Dorothy J. Barnes. Reviewed By Rafael Herrera, University Of California At Berkeley., Rafael Herrera

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review for Ralph H. Earle and Dorothy J. Barnes, Independent Practice for the Mental Health Professional: Growing a Private Practice for the 21st Century. Philadelphia, PA: Brunner/Mazel, 1999. $24.95 hardcover.

The Financial Vulnerability Of People With Disabilities: Assessing Poverty Risks, Andrew I. Batavia, Richard Beaulaurier

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The economic self-sufficiency and independence of people with disabilities depend largely on their capacity to maintain financial stability. As a group, such individuals have among the highest poverty rates, lowest educational levels, lowest average incomes, and highest out-of-pocket expenses of all population groups. Any substantial shock to the financial stability of people with disabilities can threaten their access to necessary housing, nutrition, medical care, and other resources, the absence of which may result in further vulnerability and possible poverty. This article offers a theoretical framework for understanding disability poverty risk. Empirical studies are needed to test this model, quantifying the …

Defining Human Services, Chaim Zins

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study aims at formulating adequate criteria for designing the field of human services. Based on a conceptual analysis of "human services" the study establishes the theoretical ground of a four-category model for classifying human service organizations, and three alternative definitions of the field. The classificatory principle underlying the model and the definitions reflects the contribution of human services to overall societal wellbeing. I conclude the study by discussing the implications for social welfare policy planning, service design and evaluation, and shaping the nature of the helping professions.

Changing Politics Of Canadian Social Policy. James R. Rice And Michael J. Prince.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for James R. Rice and Michael J. Prince, Changing Politics of Canadian Social Policy. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 2000. $60.00 hardcover, $22.95 papercover.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 28, No. 1 (March 2001)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• DEFINING HUMAN SERVICES - Chaim Zins
• SOCIAL WORK AND LABOR: A LOOK AT THE NORTH AMERICAN AGREEMENT ON LABOR COOPERATION - Constance Phelps
• CRIME RATES AND CONFIDENCE IN THE POLICE: AMERICA'S CHANGING ATTITUTES TOWARD CRIME AND POLICY, 1972-1999 - Georgia Ackerman, Bobbie Anderson, Scott Jensen, Randy Ludwig, Darrel Montero, Nicole Plante, and Vince Yanez
• THE EFFECTIVENESS AND ENFORCEMENT OF A TEEN CURFEW LAW - Richard D. Sutphen and Janet Ford
• THE INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF GRANDMOTHER-GRANDCHILD CO-RESIDENCY - Richard K. Caputo
• THE TRANSFORMATION OF RUSSIAN SOCIAL POLICY IN THE TRANSITION TOWARD A MARKET ECONOMY - Isabel Pla Julian …

Exploring Training To Equip Early Years Professionals For Addressing The Issue Of Diversity In Their Work: A Qualitative Study Of The Diploma In Early Childhood Care And Education At The Technological University Dublin, Miranda Cooke

Masters

Diversity is increasingly a theme for publ ic discussion in Ireland to-day due to the rapidly changing socia and cultural structure of Irish society. These changes have important implications for providers of early years services particularly as it has been recognised that the rol e of the early years professional is crucial in promoti ng equality. Research highlights the negative attitudes chi ldren can learn at a very young age. However, there is an absence of research both in Ireland and internationally regarding training models for addressing diversity with early years students. This study aims to contribute to the development …

Social Work And Labor: A Look At The North American Agreement On Labor Cooperation, Constance Phelps

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC), a side agreement to NAFTA, provides an instructive example of an attempt to link global trade to labor standards. While this side agreement was created in order to bolster the internationalization of trade, it has brought Labor, human rights groups and governments together to scrutinize and challenge the ways that each NAFTA member country ensures the provision of basic health, safety, and human rights on the job. Effective enforcement of the Agreement will come only with political pressure from a wide variety of groups interested in improving quality of life for workers …

Crime Rates And Confidence In The Police: America's Changing Attitudes Toward Crime And Police, 1972-1999, Georgia Ackerman, Bobbie Anderson, Scott Jensen, Randy Ludwig, Darrel Montero, Nicole Plante, Vince Yanez

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper examines American national public opinion on crime and the American police force. The data were gathered from published opinion polls of national samples of adults taken from 1972-1999. The findings reveal that Americans have contradictory perceptions regarding crime in their area, crime in our nation, confidence in the police, and the honesty of the nation's police officers. A growing number of respondents report that crime seems to be decreasing; however, a majority of Americans still report that there is more crime in their area than there was a year ago. These are only a few examples of the …