Social Work Commons^™

How I Got Over : Young African American Men Tell The Story Of How They Achieved Academic Success : A Descriptive Study, Rebecca M.C. Ramer

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

African American males fall behind their White counterparts in almost every measure of academic success. College completion rates for Black males are the lowest among all racial/ethnic groups in the United States. This exploratory study interviewed 13 African American men who were currently enrolled in college or who had graduated college. The goal of the study was to identify factors that these successful men identified as having contributed to their academic achievement. Thirteen men between the ages of 18 and 40 who identify as African American participated in semi-structured interviews that were recorded and then analyzed using a grounded theory …

It's Time To Talk About Sex And Social Work : Why Human Sexuality Education Matters For Social Work Practice, Sophia R. Glass

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This researched investigated human sexuality training received in social work programs and its impact on clinical practice. Specifically, it examined clinicians’ comfort and competency addressing sex and sexuality related topics with clients. 67 participants were recruited via a nonprobability snowball sampling technique, and data was gathered anonymously through a secure web-based survey instrument. The findings supported the author’s hypothesis that there is a substantial lack of human sexuality training in social work programs despite the finding that sexuality is highly relevant to clinical work. Barriers to social workers effectively addressing these topics with clients were identified as inadequate education and …

Improving Children's Academic Performance Through Parent Engagement: Development And Initial Findings From The Your Family, Your Neighborhood Intervention, Stephanie Lechuga Peña

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Your Family, Your Neighborhood (YFYN) is an educational intervention with families in low-income and subsidized housing communities. YFYN supports households facing issues associated with poverty. These include supporting low-income families as they navigate their children's experience in poor performing schools, barriers and access to healthcare and role in addressing the challenges of living distressed neighborhoods they live in. Through the 10-week manualized curriculum, families work on connections that affect multiple systems in their lives with a focus on the family, school and neighborhood. This mixed methods study describes the development and provides results of the YFYN intervention on parental involvement …

Interprofessional Collaboration For Children With Special Healthcare Needs: A Review Of Effective Education Integration, Catherine Giroux, Julie Corkett

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

With the innovation of technology, increased medical knowledge, and improved treatment techniques, the education of children with special healthcare needs is no longer restricted to hospitals. The current paper examines issues surrounding interprofessional collaboration (IPC) between educators, medical professionals, and allied health professionals in the school setting. Specifically, this paper disseminates the literature on interprofessional collaboration through the examination of the current state of IPC between the health and education sectors when accommodating students with complex medical needs. The aspects of IPC that are in need of improvement are identified along with recommendations for the improvement of IPC in the …

Residential Mobility During Adolescence: Even "Upward" Moves Predict High School Dropout, Molly W. Metzger, Patrick J. Fowler, Bennett Kelberman

Center for Social Development Research

Racial and economic segregation have long endured as systemic challenges in U.S. metropolitan areas. To combat the inequalities of segregation, two broad policy approaches have emerged: (1) preservation stresses investment in low-income neighborhoods, and (2) mobility stresses moving households in low-income areas to more affluent areas. Our recent study reveals some possible unintended consequences of the latter approach, particularly for adolescents. We find that moving during adolescence is associated with decreased odds of graduating from high school, even when moving to significantly higher income neighborhoods.

Practice Matters: Screening And Monitoring Hyperlipidemia, M. Laurie Branstetter Dnp, Maria E. Main, Tonya Bragg-Underwood Dnp

International Journal of Faith Community Nursing

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to provide Faith Community Nurses with current information on hyperlipidemia, a chronic disease responsible for the leading cause of death worldwide. Current guidelines for cholesterol screening and a risk calculator resource for estimating cardiovascular risk are provided. Myths and truths are presented for review with patients. Suggestions and resources for lifestyle modifications and patient education are included. Faith Community Nurses are at the center of community health and actively involved with improving health outcomes related to chronic disease.

Voices Of Youth, Parents, And Stakeholders: Findings From Case Studies In The Youthsave Project, Li Zou, Sarah Myers Tlapek, Margaret S. Sherraden, John W. Gabbert, Amy Ritterbusch, Ernest Appiah, Dorcas Opai-Tetteh, Githinji Njenga, Joseph Kieyah, Sharad K. Sharma, Jyoti Manandhar, Manik Maharjan

Center for Social Development Research

Voices of Youth, Parents, and Stakeholders: Findings From Case Studies in the YouthSave Project

Beliefs About The Lgbtq Community Among Social Work Graduate Students, Gina V. Florez, Guillermina Hall

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research project was a quantitative survey study design to examine the attitudes of 49 Master of Social Work students attending California State University, San Bernardino. Recently, laws regarding same-sex marriage have been rapidly changing. As of this project completion, 37 states have legalized same-sex marriage. Therefore, now more than ever before, it is imperative that social work graduate students feel prepared to adequately provide services to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) populations.

Additionally, and of primary concern to the researchers, this project sought to determine whether graduate students felt that they had received adequate training and …

An Education Saved My Life: Silver Wolf’S Path To Promise, David Patterson Silver Wolf (Adelv Unegv Waya)

Books and Monographs

In An Education Saved My Life, Professor David A. Patterson Silver Wolf (Adelv unegv Waya) narrates his path from a difficult early family life, his introduction to alcohol and drugs as an adolescent, and a directionless early adulthood overshadowed by chemical dependency, to a series of events and encounters that transformed his life. Dr. Patterson Silver Wolf attributes not only the substance abuse, but the many turns that led to it, to what he calls a “poor belief system.” As the title suggests, by contrast, he attributes much of the success he has experienced since then to his education, but …

Social Workers In International Relief And Development: A Natural Fit, Sharon Pittman, Carman L. Sugawara, Mark E. Rodgers, Andrea Bediako

Interdisciplinary Journal of Best Practices in Global Development

This study sought to examine the compatibility between social work competencies with humanitarian assistance job skills requirements in the market. A systematic analysis of international job descriptions (N=500) was conducted with a focus on the skills required of potential employees. The main themes identified and operationalized into discrete skills and/or behaviors were: technical expertise, intra- and extra-organizational competencies, personal abilities, sector specialization, education, and language requirements. To aid educators in curriculum building, the identified skills were cross-referenced with the Council on Social Work Education’s Education Policy and Accreditation Standards practice behaviors to determine how they translate into standardized competencies. The …

Community Partner Perspectives Of Dukeengage: 2011–2013, Sarita Barton, Amanda Moore Mcbride, Jaclyn Demarse Purtell

Center for Social Development Research

Community Partner Perspectives of Dukeengage: 2011–2013

A Phenomenological Analysis Of African American Students, Delinquent Behaviors And Future Academic Achievement, Jack S. Monelland, Brittany Spencer

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

No abstract provided.

Implementing Outside The Box: Community-Based Social Service Provider Experiences With Using An Alcohol Screening And Intervention, David A. Patterson Silver Wolf (Adelv Unegv Waya) Phd, Alex T. Ramsey, Carissa Van Den Berk-Clark

Brown School Faculty Publications

Objective: The aim of this study is better understand perceptions of front-line social service workers who are not addiction specialists, but have to address addiction-related issues during their standard services. Method: Six social service organizations implemented a validated alcohol assessment and brief education intervention. After a 3-month trial implementation period, a convenience sample of 64 front-line providers participated in six focus groups to examine barriers and facilitators to the implementation of an alcohol screening and brief intervention. Results: Three themes emerged: (1) usefulness of the intervention, (2) intervention being an appropriate fit with the agency and client population, and (3) …

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 …

Motivating Students Through Classroom-Based Service Learning: Toward Adoption And Impact, Anne S. Robertson, Amanda Moore Mcbride, Saras Chung, Allison Williams

Center for Social Development Research

Motivating Students Through Classroom-Based Service Learning: Toward Adoption and Impact

Beliefs About Substance Abusing Clients Among Social Work Students, Seidy Jhosselyn Soto, Marry Jean Stuart

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study was a quantitative survey and explored beliefs about substance abusing clients among sixty-three social work students. The study focused on the extent to which social work students display bias toward clients with a substance abuse disorder. The study also explored the attitudinal domains of permissiveness, treatment intervention, non-stereotypes, treatment optimism, and non-moralism. The study found that social work students who have taken a substance abuse education class are less like to attribute substance abuse addiction to a weak will in the client. The study recommends that future studies on beliefs about substance abusing clients among social work students …

The Relationship Between School-Based Mental Health Services And Academic Achievement, Jessica Ramirez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant relationship between school-based mental health services and academic achievement. The study focused on (N=38) students in elementary and middle school, who participated in services from the 2012-2013 school year. The test scores before and after they received services were gathered from an existing database to determine how effective school-based mental health services were. The results indicated there was not a significant difference in measures of academic achievement before and after school-based mental health services. However, results demonstrated a positive relationship between test scores before and after school-based …

Pelaksanaan Program Children Educational Support Dalam Mengurangi Prevalensi Anak Jalanan Oleh Yayasan Indonesian Street Children Organisation (Isco) : Studi Deskriptif Di Sanggar (Isco) Kelurahan Kebun Melati, Tanah Abang, Wirda Amalia, Dwi Amalia Chandra Sekar

Jurnal Ilmu Kesejahteraan Sosial

This article discusses about the implementation of children educational support in reducing prevelance of street children by ISCO Foundation. Motivated by many poor children vulnerable to be street cause the difficulty of access to educational services. This research used a qualitative approach. Collecting data using observation and interview with 9 informant. The study results show that implementation of program has already ran fairly well characterized by reduced child beneficieris who took the streets due to provision of assistance in formal and non-formal education. This made the fulfillment of poor children needs to get an education from early age so the …

Automatic Deposits For All At Birth: Maine's Harold Alfond College Challenge, Margaret M. Clancy, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

The first statewide Child Development Account (CDA) in the United States announced a major change in strategy to automatically enroll all newborns. Evidence from CDA research has contributed to the decision by the College Challenge to remove its original opt-in requirement—in which parents must enroll their newborns in the state’s 529 college savings plan to receive a $500 grant—in favor of universal enrollment—in which every child is enrolled automatically at birth with a $500 grant.

Student Debt And Declining Retirement Savings, William Elliott, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Ilsung Nam

Center for Social Development Research

In this study, the authors use the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) to determine whether student loan debt is associated with retirement savings. They find that the median 2009 retirement savings amount for households with no outstanding student loan debt ($55,000) is nearly twice as high as it is for households with outstanding student loan debt ($25,000). Further, multivariate statistics indicate that a household with a four-year college graduate, outstanding student loan debt, and median retirement savings ($80,983) in 2007 incurred a loss of 52% of those retirement savings in 2009 contrasted with household with a similar household with no …

Is Student Debt Compromising Homeownership As A Wealth-Building Tool?, William Elliott, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Ilsung Nam

Center for Social Development Research

In this study, the authors use 2007–2009 Survey of Consumer Finance longitudinal data to examine if having student loans affected home equity during the Great Recession. We find that median 2009 home equity ($90,000) for households with no outstanding student loan debt is twice as high as that of households with outstanding student loan debt ($45,000). Further, multivariate statistics reveal that a household with a college graduate, median 2007 home equity, and student loan debt had $54,334 (40%) less home equity in 2009 than a household with a college graduate, median home equity, and no college debt. The main policy …

Child Development Accounts And College Success: Accounts, Assets, Expectations, And Achievements, Sondra G. Beverly, William Elliott, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Child Development Accounts (CDAs) can contribute to financial preparation for college and the development of a college-bound identity in multiple ways and so increase the likelihood of college success. The pathways from CDAs to college success proposed in this paper are grounded in theory and evidence, but more research on the impact of CDAs is needed.

The Impact Of Family Assets And Debt On College Graduation, Min Zhan, Deidre Lanesskog

Center for Social Development Research

The Impact of Family Assets and Debt on College Graduation

Seed For Oklahoma Kids: Experimental Test Of A Policy Innovation In A Full Population, Lisa Reyes Mason, Yunju Nam, Margaret Clancy, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

The Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis has implemented an ambitious policy demonstration: SEED for Oklahoma Kids (SEED OK). This initiative uses multiple research methods, including a scientific experiment in a full population, to test a policy innovation. The innovation is providing a Child Development Account (CDA) to all children at birth. In SEED OK, randomly selected newborn children in Oklahoma received a college savings account “seeded” with a $1,000 initial deposit, plus additional components of the SEED OK intervention. This case study describes the multiyear process of designing and implementing SEED OK and sheds light …

Supervisors Behaving Badly: Witnessing Ethical Dilemmas And What To Do About It, Andrea N. Cimino, John Rorke, Heidi Adams Rueda

Social Work Faculty Publications

The NASW Code of Ethics (1996) guides social workers’ professional conduct, but provides little instruction when one’s own supervisor behaves unethically. Using student-collected interviews, we found six typologies of supervisors behaving badly, and used descriptive qualitative analysis to outline steps taken to navigate the situation. Results hold pedagogical relevance to social work practice.

Visual Demonstration Of Academic Performance And Parental Involvement In Ghana, David Ansong, Gena A. N. Chowa

Center for Social Development Research

Visual Demonstration of Academic Performance and Parental Involvement in Ghana

The Predictors Of Success Of Palestinian Tawjihi Students In East Jerusalem : A Multilevel Analysis., Rhonda G. Amer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed-method research study was to identify the predictors of success of Palestinian Arab Tawjihi students in East Jerusalem schools. Three theories guided this research study and assisted in developing the conceptual framework; social disorganization theory, ecological theory, and achievement motivation theory. Methods: The sample consisted of 20 schools and 522 students from 19 different neighborhoods. This study was based on existing data and observational data as well as some qualitative data to provide context for the model results. The existing data were gathered from the different schools, the Ministry of Education, local organizations, neighborhood representatives, and …

Friends With Benefits Or “Friends” With Deficits? The Meaning And Contexts Of Uncommitted Sexual Relationships Among Mexican American And European American Adolescents, Lela Rankin Williams, Heidi Adams Rueda

Social Work Faculty Publications

Using focus groups, this study sought to understand and compare how Mexican American (n = 41, M = 16.0 years old, SD = .96) and European American (n = 34, M = 16.1 years old, SD = .64) youths conceptualize and experience “friends with benefits” relationships (FWBRs). Contrary to the implied nature of friendship, partners did not show caring and viewed FWBRs as a means to meet sexual needs. The “benefits” of this arrangement included guilt-free pleasure, little responsibility, the freedom to date others, or to remain available for a more desirable partner. The inherent deficits of FWBRs, …

Game Change: What Have We Learned? Pt. 2, Robert E. Lang, Sonya D. Horsford, Marya L. Shegog, Ramona Denby-Brinson, Fatma Nasoz

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

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Our Mission: The Lincy Institute at UNLV conducts and supports research that focuses on improving Nevada's health, education, and social services.

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Educational Experiences Of Emancipated Foster Youth: An Exploratory Study, Cynthia Joyce Stunkard

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The data obtained in this qualitative study focused on the educational experiences of youth formerly in foster care after graduation from high school from the viewpoint of the youth. Data were gathered from interviews from 10 participants. Themes included: (a) How do youth emancipated from foster care perceive their educational experiences? (b) What could teachers have done differently to assist the foster youth when he/she first arrived in the classroom or when he/she was moving to another placement? (c) What did teacher do to help the foster youth feel welcomed and part of the classroom community?

Interviews were conducted and …