Social Work Commons^™

Harm Reduction In Outpatient Drug-Free Substance Abuse Treatment Settings, Michael Eversman

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In the United States, drug-free substance abuse treatment programs generally operate under an abstinence-only, disease model based service orientation. Citing several reasons, critics suggest disease model approaches hinder client utilization and retention within such services. The framework of harm reduction offers an alternative approach to substance abuse treatment services and may have potential for improving utilization and retention outcomes. Yet little is known about how harm reduction is perceived by practitioners in drug-free substance abuse treatment settings, and the circumstances in which harm reduction may or may not be accepted. In addition, despite a body of narrative literature suggesting harm …

The Psychotherapeutic Use Of Imaginal Dialogue, Jenny Dillman Marks

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

An investigation of the scholarly literature uncovered deep schisms in the philosophy and theory of imagination stemming from long-standing debates. These debates have often been political in nature, and some originate far back in history. Such differences in philosophy are reflected in the varying ways in which client imagination is used in psychotherapy today. Interventions involving imaginal dialogue are generally among those approaches that have not been adequately studied.

A Descriptive Analysis Of The Problems And Interventions Observed In Care Planning For Nursing Home Residents With Dementia, Dennis Gordon Chapman

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Abstract

State Agency Promising Practice: Oklahoma - Contracting With Industry For The Provision Of Job Coaching Supports, Monica Cox, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

Contracts with Industry, implemented in the 1990s as the Natural Supports Initiative, is a program option that allows the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) Developmental Disabilities Services Division (DDSD) to contract directly with businesses to provide job coaching supports that become a part of the natural workplace. Individuals participating in this program are employed by a business and are paid minimum wage or better. The name change to Contracts with Industry was an effort to distinguish the program from other DDSD employment options that involve employment service providers and paid job coaches.

State Agency Promising Practice: Washington - Promoting Public Sector Jobs For People With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Jean Winsor, Allison C. Hall, John Butterworth, Dana Scott Gilmore, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

King County’s program to employ people with disabilities in county jobs is an example of Washington’s commitment to the use of innovative approaches to increase integrated employment. In 1989, a training resource funded by Washington State and the county Division of Developmental Disabilities, O’Neill and Associates, submitted a grant application to the Rehabilitation Services Administration to develop public sector jobs for people with developmental disabilities within the state. These jobs were to be concentrated in King County (Seattle area) government because of the availability of high-paying jobs with benefits. With the political assistance of a King County councilor, the County …

State Agency Promising Practice: Maine’S Peer- Support Training - Helping People With Id/Dd Transition Out Of Sheltered Workshops, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

In 2006, a new Maine law mandated the creation of a waiver program that promotes the expansion of supported employment programs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD). As a result, state funding for sheltered workshops was reduced for seven workshops and approximately 220 individuals throughout Maine. These individuals received funding under the new waiver program for community supports and supported employment services. As a result, Maine’s Department of Health and Human Service’s (DHHS) Office of Adults with Cognitive and Physical Disabilities (OACPD) developed a comprehensive work plan. A pilot project, which was included in this plan, focused on …

State Agency Promising Practice: Mandatory Situational Assessments In Tennessee, Allison C. Hall, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

Tennessee implemented its Employment First initiative in 2002 with a goal of making employment the first day service option for adults receiving supports from the Department of Mental Retardation Services. As part of the Employment First initiative, the state requires a periodic community-based work assessment for all individuals not currently employed in the community. State-contracted and independent individualized support coordinators ensure that individuals who are not in integrated employment participate in a community-based work assessment at least every three years. Since December 2005, employment providers can be trained in conducting situational job assessments and the importance of providing these opportunities.

State Agency Promising Practices: Reaching Target Employment Goals - The Five-Year Initiative From Florida’S Agency For Persons With Disabilities (Apd), Jennifer Bose, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

The state of Florida has implemented a five-year employment initiative for people with ID/DD. The goal is to enable at least 50% of adults (ages 18 to 55) receiving APD-funded day services as of July 1, 2004, to achieve community employment by July 1, 2009. APD-funded services include adult day training, supported employment, and non-residential supports and services. Florida is specifically targeting a total of 25% of individuals who were in Adult Day Training (ADT) on July 1, 2004, to be employed by July 1, 2009. The impetus for this five-year initiative was multifold. Governor Jeb Bush created a Blue …

State Agency Promising Practices: North Carolina - Using An Outcomes-Based Long-Term Vocational Services Funding Model, Allison C. Hall, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

In North Carolina, counties have been consolidated into Local Management Entities (LMEs). These entities contract for services with community providers and provide oversight on access, utilization, best practices, and community collaborations. The Mecklenberg County LME established the Best Practices Community Committee, comprising service providers, individuals and family members, advocacy agencies, community partners, interested community volunteers, and LME staff. Sub-committees addressed several areas, including employment. Based on their recommendations, a pilot project that uses an outcome-based funding model for follow-along employment services was developed. Follow-along employment supports are ongoing supports that are necessary to assist a person with an intellectual/developmental disability …

State Agency Promising Practice: Connecticut Showcases Creative Jobs With “Employment Idol”, Monica Cox, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

In 2007, the State of Connecticut’s Department of Developmental Services (DDS) partnered with the self-advocacy group People First of Connecticut to develop Employment Idol, an innovative project for promoting employment as the preferred outcome for individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities (ID/DD) in the state. Spinning off the concept of the popular television show American Idol, Connecticut’s Employment Idol showcases the employment success stories of a select group of individuals with ID/DD.

State Agency Promising Practice: Delaware’S Early Start To Supported Employment Pilot Project, Suzzanne Freeze, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

The Early Start to Supported Employment (ESSE) pilot started in 2005 with the goal of providing a more seamless transition for students who would benefit from supported employment services when leaving school and entering the adult workforce. An interagency project team was established to guide the pilot work and ensure all required parties knew their role and shared information and equal responsibility within the project.

State Agency Promising Practice: Pennsylvania’S Employment Newsletter - A Communication Strategy To Promote Employment, Jennifer Bose, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

The State of Pennsylvania’s Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) created a monthly newsletter called The Employment Update, which covers state- and nationwide news about the employment of people with disabilities, including intellectual/developmental disabilities. The Employment Update is sent via email to state agency contacts and a large stakeholder community, including individuals with disabilities, service providers, state associations, employers, advocacy groups, family members, representatives from academia and others. The Employment Update contains information about employment trends, employment policy, trainings and conferences throughout Pennsylvania and nationwide. The newsletter also contains information about employment grants and project activities, including links to articles covering …

State Agency Promising Practice: Oklahoma’S Outcomes-Based Rate Setting System, Susanne Freeze, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

Oklahoma’s Developmental Disabilities Services Division (DDSD) realized the need for increased attention towards the goal of community-based employment for individuals they served. Initially, rates were based on a vendor’s costs of providing direct services such as job development and job coaching. It became increasingly apparent that claims for vocational services oftentimes reflected staff activities (e.g., job development, client assessment, and service delivery documentation), which may have been occurring without the direct involvement of the service recipient. In some situations, this resulted in long-term job development with little success in actually acquiring a job. In 1995, DDSD elected to focus on …

State Agency Promising Practice: Delaware’S Early Start To Supported Employment Pilot Project, Susanne Freeze, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

The Early Start to Supported Employment (ESSE) pilot started in 2005 with the goal of providing a more seamless transition for students who would benefit from supported employment services when leaving school and entering the adult workforce. An interagency project team was established to guide the pilot work and ensure all required parties knew their role and shared information and equal responsibility within the project.

State Agency Promising Practices: The Maine Employment Curriculum - Delivering Best Practices For Employment Support Professionals, John Butterworth, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

The University of Maine’s Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies (CCIDS), along with the Maine Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services (BDS) and the Bureau of Rehabilitation Services, developed the Maine Employment Curriculum (MEC). The comprehensive curriculum fosters best practices in employment supports for people with disabilities statewide by using a cadre of trainers who are supported by the Maine Employment Curriculum project staff. The Maine Employment Curriculum ultimately seeks an increase in the number of integrated, communitybased supports available and builds the capacity of the employment support provider community to achieve this goal.

State Agency Promising Practice: Community Employment Training By And For Individuals With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities In Tennessee, Jean Winsor, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

Project Income was a joint venture between the Tennessee Microboards Association (statewide organization that supports individual microboards, which procure and oversee supports and services) and People First of Tennessee (a statewide selfadvocacy organization for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities). The focus of the project was to educate people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD) and their families about the benefits of and opportunities for community employment.

State Agency Promising Practices: Using Employment Data To Create Area-Specific Employment Goals In Massachusetts, Allison C. Hall, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

In 2002, the Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services (DDS) developed a contractual requirement that employment service provider performance be tracked through outcome measures. As a result, DDS shaped its employment data collection system to focus on what it viewed as key outcomes for measuring success around employment. A confluence of factors including participation in the National Core Indicator project, a new Request for Responses (RFR) for Employment Support Services that emphasized performance measurement, and DDS’s intrinsic commitment to greater community employment supported the development of an employment data system that focused on individual outcomes. Data from this effort is now …

State Agency Promising Practice: Working Together - Collaboration Between Colorado’S Developmental Disabilities Division And Division Of Vocational Rehabilitation, Allison C. Hall, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

In Colorado, counselors from the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation are housed on-site in Community Centered Board1 offices so they can provide direct services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD). The goal of the project was to serve 240 customers with ID/DD and provide 134 successful employment outcomes over a two-year period2. Streamlined services and enhanced communication emerged through a unique collaborative effort between the two entities.

The Lived Experiences Of Older African Americans Residing In Urban Nursing Homes, Marilynn Gail Byrd Knall

Wayne State University Theses

As huge numbers of baby boomers reach old age, an increased need for nursing home care in the future is inevitable. Older people face more complex health issues that often lead to debilitation or disability and thus the need for long-term care. The numbers of consumers needing long-term care services will more than triple during the next 30 years.

African Americans compose less than 10% of nursing home residents and even at age 84 and older, when the likelihood of nursing home placement is higher, proportionately fewer African Americans live in nursing homes. The underrepresentation of ethnic minorities groups in …

Coming Full Circle: From Child Victim To Childcare Professional, Angelique Day

Social Work Faculty Publications

Like so many American kids reared by abusive and neglectful parents, I did not know the simple joys of childhood, nor was I permitted the normalcy of a stable family life. By my ninth birthday, I had heard about the “Great American Dream,” and although I wanted to believe in it - desperately - it was nothing more than a little girls wistful fantasy In my world, nightmares dominated dreams, and fantasies existed only briefly, extinguished by the daily horrors of cruel reality What did manage to persist unabated was physical and mental abuse given freely and in abundance by …

Focal Point, Volume 23 Number 01, Portland State University. Regional Research Institute

Research and Training Center - Focal Point

Stigmatization can result in exclusion of and discrimination against the stigmatized individual. This issue of Focal Point provides state-of-the-art information about stigmatization, its causes and consequences, and strategies and programs for alleviating it.

Adolescents’ Internalizing Behaviors After Extreme Violence Exposure: A Comparison Of Race And Gender For African American And Asian American Youth, Wan-Yi Chen

Social Work (Graduate) Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Spontaneous Order, Symbolic Interaction And The Somewhat-Less-Hidden Hand, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Commons, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The commons is a theoretical formalism that is useful in understanding many diverse problems of civil society. A common (or commons) is an economic, political, social, and legal institution that enables joint, shared, mutual or collective natural or social action by agents using a “pool” of shared or jointly held or mutually controlled resources. A substantial body of work exists detailing natural common resource pools acted upon by physical or biological agents. Another large body of work on humanly-directed natural resource pools study the human-natural environment interface, interspecies conflict and population density. Studies of social commons have also looked at …

Lack Of A Will Or Of A Way? Taking A Capability Approach For Analysing Disability Policy Shortcomings And Ensuring Programme Impact In Afghanistan, Jean-Francois Trani, Parul Bakhshi, Ayan A. Noor, Ashraf Mashkoor

Brown School Faculty Publications

The present paper attempts to analyse some of the shortcomings that have impeded efforts in the field of disability in Afghanistan. After an overview of recent disability initiatives, this article presents elements that have contributed to the limited impact. The context of a Conflict Affected Fragile State (CAFS) makes particularly intricate the development of state-capacity as well as the delivery of basic services for the population. To overcome identified gaps, it is argued that Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach (CA) constitutes a relevant framework for designing disability policy and implementation. While the definition of human development has evolved considerably over the …

Leaving Special Educators Behind?: An Analysis Of The No Child Behind Act And Its Impact On Special Education Teachers, Joseph Martin Abel

LSU Master's Theses

From its inception in 2001, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has been the subject of much debate among politicians, educators, researchers, and citizens. Much discussion has related to how NCLB affects students and their teachers in the classroom. This study examines NCLB’s direct impact on special education teachers in the East Baton Rouge parish school district of Louisiana by measuring different aspects of their satisfaction levels. Overall job satisfaction is measured using the Brayfield-Rothe Job Satisfaction Index (1951). Specific aspects of job satisfaction are measured using an abbreviated form of the Job Diagnostic Survey (Hackman & Oldham, 1975) …

The Correlation Between Creativity And Burnout In Public School Classroom Teachers, Patricia Landeche

LSU Master's Theses

Landeche, Patricia, B.A., University of Southwestern Louisiana, 1960 Master of Social Work, Summer Commencement, 2009 Major: Social Work The Correlation Between Creativity and Burnout in Public School Classroom Teachers Thesis directed by Assistant Professor Elaine M. Maccio Pages in thesis 48. Words in Abstract 162. ABSTRACT Burnout of teachers in the public schools is affecting the quality of education the students are getting. Incorporating creativity into one’s life on a regular basis produces has the potential to heal both physical and emotional complaints. The hypothesis of this study is that there is a negative correlation between creativity and the intensity …

Prevention Of Elder Mistreatment In Nursing Homes: Competencies For Direct-Care Staff, Dana Dehart, Jennifer Webb, Carol Cornman

Faculty and Staff Publications

Existing training on elder mistreatment in nursing homes focuses on detection and reporting of abuse, with little training specifically targeted toward prevention of mistreatment before it occurs. We used qualitative interviews with nursing home staff, policymakers, and related professionals to identify training needs. Based on participant accounts, we drafted a number of competencies essential for caregiver training to prevent mistreatment in nursing homes. Competencies include those dealing with: definitions and policies; risks for mistreatment; communication and respect; and development of a cooperative working environment. Competencies are discussed along with illustrative examples, and implications for practice and policy are addressed.

Emotional Exhaustion And Workload Demands Of Kidney Transplant Social Workers, Joseph R. Merighi, Teri Browne, Sarah Keenan

Faculty and Staff Publications

This exploratory study examined training issues, emotional exhaustion and workload demands in U.S. kidney transplant socialworkers. Online survey data were obtained from 91 respondents who represented all 18 End-Stage Renal Disease networks.Findings indicated that the majority of the respondents’ employers provided resources for educational training and paid timeoff associated with these trainings. With regard to hours per week spent on specific job tasks, respondents indicated that pretransplantactivities were the most time-consuming, followed by post-transplant and inpatient work. Generally, emotionalexhaustion and workload demands were slightly lower than reported for dialysis social workers. Implications for social workpractice and research are discussed.

Social Impact, Edward F. Lawler, Ellen Rostand, Michelle Kassman, Julie Kennedy, Jessica Martin, Toky Branding + Design, Donna Boyd, A.J. Agee

Social Impact Publication

From the Dean: Our Work in this Economy.;

Interview: Q&A with Paul C. Brophy;

Bookshelf: Understanding Assets: Two new books explore the impact of ownership and assets on individuals and communities;

Perspectives with Matthew Kreuter: Communication Connections;

Building a New Paradigm: Transdisciplinary Research Comes to the Forefront;

A Sense of Place: Place-Based Initiatives Help Communities and Students;

Notebook: Research: Tutoring Produces Big Gains in Student Learning;

Notebook: Research: Free Exercise and Nutrition Program in Brazil Could Serve as Model in United States;

Notebook: Research: Growing Problem for Veterans-Domestic Violence;

Notebook: Message of Service Drives Surge in Peace Corps Applications;

Notebook: …