Social Work Commons^™

The Social And Economic Implications Of Human Trafficking In Nigeria: Naptip In Focus, Eunice I. Anuforom

Annual Interdisciplinary Conference on Human Trafficking: 6th (2014)

Human trafficking is globally recognized as a modern day slavery with multifarious negative socio-economic, legal and health implications. Besides drugs trafficking and gun running, human trafficking has become a lucrative business globally and yields an estimated US$32 million annually. Traffickers trade on human lives, subject them to gory and traumatic experiences in order to make profits. Human trafficking is therefore the worst form of human rights violations and a gender based violence against female who constitute the majority of the victims in the country. Regrettably, Nigeria occupies the ignoble position of a source, transit and destination country for trafficking. In …

Personal Network Recovery Enablers And Relapse Risks For Women With Substance Dependence, Suzanne Brown, Elizabeth M. Tracy, Min Kyoung Jun, Hyunyong Park, Meeyoung O. Min

Social Work Faculty Publications

We examined the experiences of women in treatment for substance dependence and their treatment providers about personal networks and recovery. We conducted six focus groups at three women’s intensive substance abuse treatment programs. Four coders used thematic analysis to guide the data coding and an iterative process to identify major themes. Coders identified social network characteristics that enabled and impeded recovery and a reciprocal relationship between internal states, relationship management, and recovery. Although women described adding individuals to their networks, they also described managing existing relationships through distancing from or isolating some members to diminish their negative impact on recovery. …

A Mixed Methods Multiple Case Study Of Implementation As Usual In Children's Social Service Organizations, Byron James Powell

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Increasing the adoption and sustainment of evidence-based treatments (EBTs) in children's mental health and social service systems will require the development of evidence-based implementation strategies. In order to ensure that these strategies are feasible, acceptable, sustainable, and scalable, efforts to identify and develop implementation strategies will need to be grounded by a thorough understanding of real world service systems as well as organizational stakeholders' preferences for particular strategies. In other words, there is a need for a better understanding of usual care settings, and in particular, what constitutes "implementation as usual."

This study employed a mixed methods, multiple-case study of …

A Content Analysis Of Backpage.Com Advertisements In Louisville, Kentucky., Theresa C. Hayden

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Backpage.com and Craigslist are replacing the street corner as a crime source for buying and selling of sex. “To reduce commercial sexual exploitation and enforce existing trafficking laws, communities must first recognize the extent of the problem within their local area (Janson, Mann, Marro, & Matvey, 2013, 99). In a population density study conducted in 15 major U. S. cities, it was found that males over 18 years of age who buy sex online ranged from 0.6% in San Francisco to 21.4% in Houston (Roe-Sepoqitz, Hickle, Gallagher, Smith, & Hedberg, 2013). Researchers in the Greater Cincinnati area found a high …

Rebound Neighborhoods In Older Industrial Cities: The Story Of St. Louis, Hank Webber, Todd Swanstrom

Center for Social Development Research

Rebound Neighborhoods in Older Industrial Cities: The Story of St. Louis

Analysis Of The Relationship Between Cost And Benefit In China's Maritime Search And Rescue Industry, Mingyuan Cheng

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

A Study On Cooperation Mechanism Of Maritime Search And Rescue Among Guangdong, Hong Kong And Macau, Qidong Chen

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Termination Of Parental Rights For Parents With Substance Use Disorder: For Whom And Then What?, Jun Sung Hong, Joseph P. Ryan, Pedro M. Hernandez, Suzanne Brown

Social Work Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study is to investigate the correlates of termination of parental rights (TPR) for parents with substance use disorder (SUD) and to determine what happens with regard to permanency once a TPR decision is made. Bivariate techniques and hierarchical non-linear modeling are used. Parents of older youth, boys, and Hispanics were less likely, while parents who failed to make progress in substance use treatment and parenting skills are more likely to experience TPR. At follow up, 85% of the children were adopted, 7% remained in a substitute care settings, and 7% were reunified with their parents. Concerns …

Robber Barons And Humbuggers: The Rise Of Philanthropic Museums In Nineteenth-Century New York, Meaghan O'Connor

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

New York City's most recognizable museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History came to prominence in the second half of the nineteenth century thanks to the support of wealthy benefactors. At the same time, social reformers, mostly Protestant and middle or upper-class, were combating the vice and poverty that they saw in the diversifying city with a moralizing rhetoric of character building. This paper will show that these two movements, the rise of Philanthropic Museums and the Social Reform movement were connected and that the large temple-like museums that thrive to this day …

Societal Connection Between Blackness And Criminality Leads To Violence Against Innocent, Casey Bohrman

Social Work (Undergraduate) Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Camper Council: A Meaningful Involvement Initiative, Amanda Penning

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

An increase in interest from youth and family practitioners, policy makers and researchers has given positive youth development the spotlight within this past decade. The focus for many of these individuals has been to develop a wide range of approaches to prevent youth problems and promote healthy youth development. Studies have shown success in prevention programs for youth that are focused on increasing community involvement and include four major components; safety, skill building, supportive relationships and meaningful involvement. Meaningful involvement has been identified as the most difficult component to achieve in programs for youth, specifically in resident and day camps. …

Senior Mental Health Specialist Investment, Diana L. White, Linda Dreyer, Julie Reynolds, Alice Updike Scannell, Serena Worthington

Institute on Aging Publications

Participants: Thirty-five informants were interviewed or completed a survey for this report. They represented the Budget Note Workgroup and others identified by workgroup members. Informants represented aging services, mental health, advocacy, and other sectors such as long-term care, quality improvement, and health/medical care. Both those with a statewide focus and those with a local agency or community focus participated, including people from rural areas of the state.

The Problem: According to informants, mental health needs of older adults are not being met because:

• Systems are fragmented. The organizations that could address these needs work in silos with different funding priorities, …

The Exercise Of Power : Counter Planning In Palestine, Husni S. Qurt

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In the beginning of the 2000s, Israeli policies in the West Bank shifted from policies of control to policies of separation, which in turn led to the Transformation of West Bank communities into isolated urban islands. Current plans prepared for Palestinian localities by Palestinian planning institutions most often address these isolated islands without taking into account the Israeli-controlled areas surrounding these localities. Palestinians envision the entire West Bank as a contiguous area that will eventually form part of the Palestinian national state. However, most Palestinian plans take the boundaries imposed by Israel as a given and plan only for areas …

Presenting Problems And Treatment Expectations Among Service Users Accessing Psychiatric Outpatient Care: Are There Gender Differences?, Ora Nakash, Maayan Nagar, Itzhak Levav

School for Social Work: Faculty Publications

Background: Community-based studies have documented gender differences in mental health problems and service utilization. This mixed methods study explored gender differences in severity of emotional distress, referral paths, presenting problems and care expectations among service users upon accessing outpatient psychiatric care. Methods: Consecutive service users (N=284, 64% women) who presented for a new or repeated episode of care in adult outpatient clinics completed questionnaires on a measure of emotional distress, treatment history and referral path. These variables were quantitatively analyzed. Also, users completed two open-ended questionnaires on reasons for seeking care and expectations from the services. These variables were qualitatively …

Community Practice Social Entrepreneurship: An Interdisciplinary Approach To Graduate Education, Monica Nandan, Manuel London, Terry C. Blum

Faculty Articles

The rapidly changing global environment for community practice social workers (CPSWs) has challenged these practitioners to devise innovative intervention strategies. Some practitioners are utilising community organising, community planning, community development and policy practice intervention strategies simultaneously to create sustainable changes and are unwittingly, or purposefully, acting as social entrepreneurs. This article delineates similarities between community practice social work and social entrepreneurship – orientation and behaviours – and introduces the concept of community practice social entrepreneurship (CPSE). The authors propose interdisciplinary venues to teach graduate students in social work and in other disciplines skills for practicing as community practice social entrepreneurs.

Interprofessional Practice And Education: Holistic Approaches To Complex Health Care Challenges, Monica Nandan, Patricia Scott

Faculty Articles

The incidence of chronic health conditions continues to rise worldwide. As a result, many groups and decision makers are calling for greater use of interprofessional health care teams and education to effectively address the social, psychological, biological, environmental, and economic dimensions inherent in these health care challenges. This article examines interprofessional practice (IPP) and interprofessional education (IPE) and addresses the following questions: (1) What is IPP; (2) What is IPE; (3) What competencies are necessary to effectively engage in IPP; (4) Who should be educated to serve on IPP health delivery teams; and (5) What educational model can best prepare …

Strengthening A Social Justice Lens For Addictions Practice: Exploration, Reflections, Possibilities And A Challenge To Our Shared Work To Promote Recovery Among The Most Vulnerable, Laura Burney Nissen

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Addiction is commonly conceptualized as a personal problem, a family problem, a neighborhood problem, a community problem, and even a social problem. But how might addiction be understood as a social justice problem?

Substance abuse problems, addictions, and addiction treatment and the related preparation of professionals to fill its treatment ranks exist within an ideological and political infrastructure. Issues of social justice are often conspicuously absent as a primary consideration of the experience of people seeking treatment (acknowledging the treatment gap that impacts some people more than others), for communities ravaged by addiction (acknowledging that some communities are affected more …

Social Work Students' Attitudes And Perceptions About The Affordable Care Act, Yvichess Goddard

HIM 1990-2015

Objectives: Few research studies have analyzed college students' attitudes of health reform caused by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Specifically, no studies exist looking at undergraduate and graduate social work students' views on current health reform. The study will ask two questions: (1) What do Social Work students know about the components and potential impacts of the ACA, and (2) Are there any characteristics of students associated with their level of knowledge or attitudes about the Act? Methods: A 53-item survey questionnaire inquiring knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions related to health reform and the Affordable Care Act was dispersed to a …

Emotional Intelligence: How It Impacts Depression Levels And Perception Of Role Fulfillment Among Caregiver Foster Parents, Elysse Farnell

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this investigator-initiated study is to identify levels of emotional intelligence (El), depression, and role fulfillment among foster parents. It is believed that if a link between EI and the other variables is identified, programs can be developed to help build EI in foster parents, and thus aid them in becoming more effective caregivers. A convenience sample of foster parents participated in this mixed methods study. There were 30 participants total recruited through a collaborative effort with a local Foster

Family Agency (FF A). Participants were at least 25 years of age and a certified foster parent. Participants …

Development And Testing Of The Home Safety And Beautification Checklist With Mothers Referred For Child Neglect And Substance Abuse, Michelle Pitts

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Unintentional injury is the leading cause of death among children in the United States accounting for nearly 40 percent of deaths in this age group. Approximately 50 percent of nonfatal injuries, and 40 percent of fatalities, occur in and around the home. Elevated rates of child injury in the home environment are associated with parental substance abuse and neglectful behaviors. Childhood injuries are preventable, yet practical and cost-effective measures to identify child home safety risks are limited. This study involved a retrospective preliminary examination of the Home Safety and Beautification Checklist (HSBC) in a sample of drug-abusing mothers referred by …

Book Review Of "Resilient Grandparent Caregivers: A Strengths-Based Perspective", Matthew Kaplan

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

[No need for abstract since it's a book review.]

Policy Update: Federal And State Legislation To Support Grandfamilies, Ana Beltran

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

Building on the progress of the last 20 years, helpful federal and state legislation continues to be pursued on behalf of grandfamilies. This update summarizes policy efforts during the last year and looks ahead to what is on the horizon. At the federal level, legislative efforts are focused on grandfamilies who are involved with the child welfare system. States are responding to federal activity by enacting policies to place more children with relatives and better serve grandfamilies who come into contact with the system, including “family finding” laws and including fictive kin as “relatives.” State policymakers are also striving to …

Grandfamilies Outcome Workgroup’S (Grow) Review Of Grandfamilies Support Groups: An Examination Of Concepts, Goals, Outcomes And Measures, Kerry A. Littlewood

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

A support group is the most widely used intervention for grandparents and other relatives raising children. Support groups require few resources to establish and are relatively inexpensive to implement. Despite the popularity of support groups for grandfamilies, there is little evidence evaluating their effectiveness to improve the lives of its members. In response to this issue and to support outcome-based research in the field, the Grandfamilies Outcome Workgroup (GrOW) was established. This study highlights GrOW’s review of the literature on the effectiveness of support groups for grandfamilies. Next, the GrOW Inventory of Support Groups (GrOW Inventory) was developed to explore …

The Rewards Of Caring For Grandchildren: Black Canadian Grandmothers Who Are Custodial Parents, Co-Parents, And Extensive Babysitters, Esme Fuller-Thomson, Sarah Serbinski, Leanne Mccormack

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

Grandparent caregiving is a growing phenomenon in both the United States and Canada. The burgeoning research on the topic has focused on custodial grandparents with an emphasis on negative aspects including poor physical and mental health outcomes for older adults. Less attention has been paid to the rewards of grandparent caregiving and to different intensities of caregiving provision. This grounded theory qualitative study of 16 Black Caribbean Canadian grandmothers sought to address this gap in the literature. We examined three types of grandparent caregivers: custodial grandparents (n=7), co-parent grandparents (n=5) and extensive babysitters (n=4). The average age of the children …

Climate Change: Threats To Social Welfare And Social Justice Requiring Social Work Intervention, Lauren Caroline Achstatter

21st Century Social Justice

The article looks at climate change though a social development framework, with emphasis on social justice and social welfare. It evaluates how market-based capitalism continues to contribute to the problem while ignoring the warnings from the scientific community. The article goes on to report that despite the devastation of climate change, concerns – mainly financial in nature - continue to hinder progress towards reform. The article then argues that given the evidence, climate change qualifies as a topic of interest for social workers. The article goes on to advocate for social work involvement highlighting some suggested areas for action.

Policy Impact Assessment: The “Reasonable Break Time” Provision Of The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act, Merritt Juliano

21st Century Social Justice

Breastfeeding continues to be the most optimal source of nutrition for infants under 6 months of age, and has been associated with a wide variety of infant and maternal health benefits, including protection against certain illnesses and diseases. Most health organizations recommend exclusive breastfeeding for at least the first 6 months post-birth. Despite these recommendations, breastfeeding women, especially those in lower socioeconomic groups face many challenges in our society. Moreover, maternal employment stands as a significant barrier to successful breastfeeding durations. To counter these problems, Section 4207 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act [ACA] was enacted to offer …

Conditional Cash Transfers, Community, And Empowerment Of Women In Colombia, Harlan Downs-Tepper

21st Century Social Justice

In 2001, the Colombian government initiated an experiment in poverty alleviation called Familias en Acción. This conditional cash transfer (CCT) program takes a novel approach to poverty reduction by addressing short- and long-term factors contributing to poverty. Though Colombia’s CCT program is just one of a wave of similar initiatives, its unique context and unexpected social effects, beyond the primary intentions of program designers, differentiate it from other such programs. Drawing on 200 interviews and focus group discussions which he conducted with academic experts, program beneficiaries and program administrators in three Colombian cities, the author finds that an unexpected …

The Importance Of Access To Benefits Under The Family Medical Leave Act For Low-Income Families For Bonding And Attachment Facilitation With A Fragile Infant And The Role Of The Social Worker, Theresa Stewart Moran

21st Century Social Justice

Lack of universal family leave discriminates against low-income families with infants who require care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Birth complications tend to occur more frequently in families living with low socioeconomic status, placing a disproportionate burden on an already vulnerable population. Parents in this group tend to be employed in jobs that do not include the benefit of parental leave. Considering that attachment relationships form as the result of bonding transactions during a critical time in development, limiting contact curtails secure attachment. This, combined with other risk factors, increase the odds of lifelong negative outcomes. Family leave policy …

An Examination Of South Carolina’S Institutions Of Reform And Their Impact On The Self-Narratives Of African American Men, Ashley E. Krejci-Shaw

Capstone Collection

In the State of South Carolina (SC), African American male adolescents disproportionately face disciplinary action in public schools and other institutions. In 2013, South Carolina’s Department of Juvenile Justice (SCDJJ) released data that listed Black male children comprising 57% of all juvenile referrals in the state. This disproportionate trend is also present in South Carolina’s correctional system. In 2013, South Carolina’s Department of Corrections (SCDOC) reported that out of 20,777 male prisoners, 13,631 were Black. For adolescents or young adults looking to continue their education, alternative programs are available. One program that captures educationally displaced children in South Carolina is …

Heterogeneous Effects Of Child Development Accounts On Savings For Children's Education, Jin Huang, Youngmi Kim, Michael Sherraden, Margaret Clancy

Center for Social Development Research

In this study, we use data from SEED for Oklahoma Kids (N = 2,77), a statewide policy experiment testing Child Development Accounts (CDAs), to examine effects on individual savings for children’s postsecondary education. Built on the account structure of the Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan, the experiment automatically opened state-owned 529 accounts for children in the treatment group with a $1,000 initial deposit, and encouraged their caregivers to open and save in participant-owned 529 accounts. Using quantile regressions and statistical match, the study focuses on the effects of CDAs on the shape of the savings distribution among participants who hold …