Social Work Commons^™

Reconciliation: Facilitating Ethical Space Between Indigenous Women And Girls Of A Drum Circle And White, Settler Men Of A Police Chorus, Kelly Laurila

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation was to seek understanding of how a singing partnership between Indigenous women and girls of a drum circle and white, Settler men of a police chorus (i.e., representing public relations for Waterloo Regional Police Services)^[1] has been sustained within a local context for five years. Knowing the historical and ongoing colonial systemic violence in policing practices with Indigenous peoples in Canada, it seems unlikely that such a partnership would take place. Song provided this partnership with a bridge for engagement and a means to disrupt enduring perceptions of one another that have fuelled …

“Waha Ehsa Tha, Idhar Ehsa Hai” (It Was Like That Back Home, But It Is Like This Here): Family Violence Experiences Of Indian And Pakistani Immigrant Women In The Greater Toronto Area, Dhwani Joshi

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

There is a paucity of qualitative scholarship on Indian and Pakistani immigrant women’s experiences of family violence. Further, existing scholarship on this topic seldom explores the unique experiences of distinct South Asian groups such as Indian and Pakistani immigrant women. This thesis addressed this gap in the literature by qualitatively examining family violence among immigrant Indian and Pakistani women in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). A case study methodology was used to explore two research questions: 1) What are the cultural specificities of family violence as experienced by Indian and Pakistani immigrant women in the GTA? and 2) How are …

Transformative Social Work Education: Student Learning Needs And The Truth And Reconciliation Commission's 94 Calls To Action, Garrison Mccleary

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The social work profession has played, and continues to play, an integral role in the development and implementation of discriminatory and harmful practices against Indigenous individuals, families, and communities across Canada (Blackstock, 2011). The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s (TRC) 94 Calls to Action provide a comprehensive list of recommendations of which the primary focuses on child welfare. This Call to Action centres on ensuring that social workers are, “properly educated and trained about the history and impacts of residential schools” (TRC, 2015). This responsibility falls to Faculties and Schools of Social Work Social work to ensure social work …

Exploring The Personhood And Citizenship Of Persons With Disabilities Among Konkombas In Rural Ghana, Festus Moasun

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Persons with disabilities (PWDs) are susceptible to various forms of mistreatments, particularly in the developing world, such that their personhoods are called to question. It was for this purpose that I set out to explore the personhood and citizenship of PWDs in rural Ghana. I used the constructivist paradigm in addition to the personhood and critical disability theories to guide the study which was conducted using an interpretive phenomenological research approach. To make the findings of the study participant driven, semi-structured interviews were held with PWDs. The findings revealed personhood to be perceived in a rank order of three semi-fluid …

Lived Experiences Of Homeless Adults With Companion Animals In Utilizing Community Services, Sandra Harp

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over 71% of American homeless individuals are adults over 25 years of age, and the numbers are increasing. Approximately 25% of homeless individuals own a companion animal (CA). Because most service providers do not allow CAs within their facilities, the current $60.2 billion dollar national budget for homeless resources may be underutilized or forfeited altogether by homeless adults with a CA. The purpose of this study was to explore community service utilization by homeless adults with a CA through the lens of attachment theory. The research question addressed the lived experiences and perceptions of homeless adults who own CAs regarding …

Data Note: Social Security Administration Data Show A Record Low Level Of Pass Usage Among Ssi Recipients, Daria Domin, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

The Social Security Administration (SSA) offers a set of work incentives for Supplemental Security income (SSI) beneficiaries. Work incentive employment supports help SSI recipients go to work by minimizing the risk of losing their SSI or Medicaid benefits (Social Security Administration, 2018). One such incentive, the Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS), allows approved individuals to set aside earned or unearned income and resources to achieve an employment goal. The money or resources set aside are excluded from SSI income and resource tests and can be used to pay for goods or services needed to reach the goal, such as education, …

Service Provider Promising Practice - Penn-Mar Human Services: Creating Their “2020 Strategic Plan”, Esther Kamau, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

At the beginning of the transformation process, Penn-Mar recognized the importance of robust strategic planning to understand what the organization needed to do differently to transform. Therefore, Penn-Mar created the 2020 Strategic Plan, a 5-year plan to help focus the organization, and to strategize about how to achieve their objectives. The 2020 Strategic Plan outlines Penn-Mar’s goal to close its sheltered workshop, with a set of action steps for achievement. The plan set a specific date for closure, as Penn-Mar staff argued that without it, the transformation process would “linger forever.” Penn-Mar established a task force to support the development …

Service Provider Promising Practice - The Arc Of Westchester: Creative Partnership With Mercy College, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

The Arc of Westchester benefits from an agency culture that values innovative partnerships. In fact, an agency leader explained that the organization “will work with anybody who is willing to sit and talk.” This collaborative spirit led to a creative endeavor with Mercy College, a four-year school offering degrees in Business, Education, Liberal Arts, Health and Natural Sciences, and Social and Behavioral Sciences. Within Health and Natural Sciences are departments such as nursing, speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and nutrition. The Arc of Westchester partnered with these departments to form a mutually beneficial relationship, creating opportunities for both college …

Service Provider Promising Practice - Work Inc.: Developing A Community Liaison Program To Address Holistic Needs, Esther Kamau, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

Leadership at Work Inc., a provider in the Boston area, thought about the holistic approach to providing individual supports even before their agency’s transformation began. Work Inc. designed its community liaisons program to have three components: volunteerism, with the intention of identifying employment opportunities and contributing to the community; recreation, “because everyone wants to have fun”; and instruction, with a focus on skill-building and identifying interests and talents. In designing and implementing the program, Work Inc. staff considered each person’s interests, and turned former workshop staff into “community liaisons.”

State License Requirements For Social Workers, Jenifer Van Schuyver, Kyla Woodward, Simona Charles, Kellie Thompson

Buder Center for American Indian Studies Research

State License Requirements for Social Workers

The Diversity Of Interest In Later-Life Entrepreneurship: Results From A Nationally Representative Survey Of Americans Aged 50 To 70, Cal J. Halvorsen, Yu-Chih Chen

Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging

While older entrepreneurs are more likely to be male, white, and have higher levels of human, social, and financial capital, we know less about interest in later-life entrepreneurship. This study estimates entrepreneurial interest in a nationally representative sample of Americans aged 50 to 70 using partial proportional odds modeling. We estimate that more than 31 million older Americans have some interest in entrepreneurship and reveal key predictors of this interest (e.g., younger age). Importantly, the findings indicate that a more diverse group of older adults are interested in entrepreneurship than have become entrepreneurs, suggesting the need for additional research on …

Honoring Missouri's First People: The Native Partnerships And Programming Alliance, Jo Malia Milner, Kellie Thompson

Buder Center for American Indian Studies Research

A new initiative began this year in St. Louis; a group of community organizations united together to advance Native partnerships and programming statewide. This collaborative effort is a product of cooperation between educational and cultural institutions in Missouri.

Endure, Evolve, Achieve: Stakeholder Perspectives On The Effectiveness Of The Swamp Apes Program In Restoring Biopsychosocial Functioning Of American Veterans, Manisha Joshi, Joshua Zaris Goldman

Social Work Faculty Publications

A growing body of evidence highlights the benefits of recreational outdoor therapy for veterans experiencing posttraumatic stress disorder. We employed the Hawkins Model for “Nature as Strengths-based Recreational Therapy Intervention for Military Members” to assess the Swamp Apes/Volunteer Wilderness Alliance (SA/VWA) in South Florida, which has among its key objectives ridding the Everglades National Park of invasive species (e.g., Burmese python). Focus group and interviews with 10 veterans and seven non-veterans (i.e., family, health providers) were conducted to assess benefits, risks, and potential for developing SA/VWA activities into a formal therapy program for veterans rooted in the American Therapeutic Recreation …

A Decade's Tale: Consent Decrees And Police Use Of Disproportionate Excessive Force With Communities Of Color, Dasha J. Rhodes, David L. Robinson, Paul C. Archibald, Laurens Van Sluytman

Social Work Faculty Publications

According to the U.S. Department of Justice (US DOJ, 2016), African Americans have experienced disproportionate instances of police use of excessive force as a result of discriminatory practices and insufficient training. Officers are permitted to use appropriate force in specific situations; however, when force is excessive and deemed unnecessary, it then becomes an issue of concern. The U.S. Department of Justice was invited to investigate police departments that participated in the use of excessive force and a consent decree was developed with those departments to remedy the DOJ's findings. The researchers conducted a consent decree analysis examining government investigations of …

Transmissibility And Potential For Disease Progression Of Drug Resistant Mycobacterium Tuberculosis: Prospective Cohort Study, Mercedes C. Becerra, Chuan-Chin Huang, Leonid Lecca, Jaime Bayona, Carmen Contreras, Roger Calderon, Rosa Yataco, Jerome Galea, Zibiao Zhang, Sidney Atwood, Ted Cohen, Carole D. Mitnick, Paul Farmer, Megan Murray

Social Work Faculty Publications

Objective: To measure the association between phenotypic drug resistance and the risk of tuberculosis infection and disease among household contacts of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.

Setting: 106 district health centers in Lima, Peru between September 2009 and September 2012.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Participants: 10 160 household contacts of 3339 index patients with tuberculosis were classified on the basis of the drug resistance profile of the patient: 6189 were exposed to drug susceptible strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, 1659 to strains resistant to isoniazid or rifampicin, and 1541 to strains that were multidrug resistant (resistant to isoniazid and rifampicin).

Main outcome …

The Impact Of Disrupted Caregiving For Juvenile Sexual Offenders, Miranda Sitney, Keith L. Kaufman

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Research that attempts to understand why young people commit sex crimes points to an array of family factors that may uniquely contribute to sexual offending over general juvenile delinquency. This study examines the potentially moderating role of disrupted caregiving in the relationship between offending and caregiver-child relationship quality. Two distinct moderators were tested: gender of caregiver and biological relationship between caregiver and child. Results indicate that juvenile sexual offenders have particularly poor relationships with their primary caregivers compared to incarcerated non-sexual offenders and community controls. Furthermore, sexual offenders with male caregivers were found to have lower relationship quality scores than …

Community Monitoring And Evaluation: A Case Study Of Takaful And Karama / الرصد والتقييم المجتمعي: دراسة حالة من برنامج تكافل وكرامة, Mai Amr Abdelhafez, Shimaa Adel Heikal, Sarah Moharram

Papers, Posters, and Presentations

This paper discusses in particular the potential strategies for increasing community engagement and acceptance of the committees and enhancing their results. Based on the case studies and interviews with ministry officials and community monitors, policy alternatives were formulated to guarantee a better achievement of the Takaful and Karama program goals.

Drugs, Alcohol, And The Community College Student-Athlete: A Narrative Study, Kevin A. Berg

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research shows that student-athletes, whether at the high school or collegiate ranks, experience higher rates of alcohol consumption than their non-athlete student counterparts. However, one population that has not been studied is the community college student-athlete. Traditional community college students have different risk categories and needs than traditional 4-year university students. In this study, community college student-athletes provided their views and perceptions on drugs and alcohol. To obtain data, a qualitative narrative analysis was completed by interviewing 13 community college student-athletes to identify their views and opinions on drugs and alcohol. Once the interviews were completed, transcription and coding were …

Increasing Clergy's Knowledge Of Mental Illness, Confidence, And Willingness To Refer, Suzan Mae Davis Merritt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over 43 million Americans suffer from mental illness annually with 40% seeking support from clergy (Polson & Rogers, 2007) who claim to be ineffectively prepared (Farrell & Goebert, 2008). This study investigated if mental health training administered to clergy would increase their knowledge of various mental disorders, alter their opinion regarding helpful resources, grow their self-confidence to help individuals experiencing mental health issues, and increase clergy's willingness to refer out. The theoretical basis for this research was attribution theory that attempts to explain social perceptions (Mannarini & Boffo, 2013) and the struggle individuals (i.e. clergy) have regarding the causation of …

Medication Adherence For Foster Children From The Perspective Of Foster Care Providers, Odette Boyd

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In 2015, over 427,000 children were in foster care and the largest population were in California's system. Of those children, more than 9,400 were prescribed psychotropic medications. Increases of psychotropic medication use have led to investigations and findings of medication oversights in foster care. Medication oversights included medication nonadherence, which was linked to an increase of problematic behaviors in foster children. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the issues of medication adherence for foster care providers who care for foster children of mild to chronic health concerns who were prescribed medications and experienced multiple placements. By utilizing …

Understanding Social Workers' Roles Providing Case Management To Medicaid Managed Care Enrollees, Vontija Deeshawn Dean-El

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Social workers often take on the role of providing case management to Medicaid recipients; however, there is little clinical research on social workers' perceptions of their case management role. The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of the social worker case management role by exploring social workers' perceptions of their roles when providing case management to Ohio Medicaid managed care enrollees. This action research study was grounded in organizational role theory. A semi structured focus group was facilitated using open-ended questions related to social workers' role perceptions, role conflict, role ambiguity, case management, and managed care. Qualitative …

Phenomenological Study On Social Workers With Children With Special Needs, Natasha Yvette Mike

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Parents with children with special needs experience challenges when caring for their children. These challenges may be uniquely affected by the parent'€™s employment. Because social workers are in professional roles, understanding their lived experiences provides awareness of the needed services and resources that help social workers maintain effectiveness in their home and work life. This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of social workers who have children with special needs. Bronfenbrenner'€™s ecological theory guided this study. Criterion and snowball sampling were used to recruit 8 participants. Data were gathered through 3 in-depth semistructured interviews. Moustakas phenomenology method was used to …

School-Based Social Work And Socioemotional Learning Interventions In Alternative Education Programs, Heather Oosterhoff

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Active school social workers are tasked with teaching social-emotional learning to students, including high need youth placed in alternative education settings. Multitiered systems of support provide a framework utilized by school systems to identify and address all student needs. However, a gap in research exists for evidenced-based social-emotional learning practices for students falling within Tier 3 of the multitiered systems of support framework, particularly those separated from the mainstream population and educated in alternative programs. This study explored how school social workers address the social-emotional learning needs of students in alternative education settings within the state of Illinois. The qualitative …

Trauma-€Informed Care For Persons With Opioid Use Disorder In Ohio, Kimberly Toler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Prevention, social work, and community awareness programs have not led to the successful reduction of opioid overdose deaths nationwide, and particularly in Ohio. This study explored social work perspectives about trauma-€informed care (TIC) for persons with opioid use disorder in Ohio. The research questions for this study examined how social workers in Ohio implemented TIC when providing outpatient treatment to opioid users and what challenges they faced when providing TIC. Using an action research methodology, data were collected through individual semistructured interviews with 5 social work professionals, selected through purposive sampling based on experience in the field of substance use …

Social Workers’ And Teachers’ Feelings Of Self-Efficacy In Dealing With School Bullying, Sharon Lynn Simmons

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Bullying continues to be a serious problem in schools. School social workers and teachers face challenges daily to deal with bullying. This author examined school social workers’ and teachers’ perceptions about their feelings of efficacy to deal with bullying and what may account for those feelings in a population of 71 teachers and 26 social workers employed in Kentucky schools. Research was gathered using a self-report, electronic survey consisting of subscales of the Teachers’ Attitudes about Bullying Questionnaire (Beran, 2005), the School Bullying Questionnaire (Nicolaides, Toda & Smith, 2002), the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (Spreng, McKinnon, Mar & Levine, 2009) and …

Veterans' Treatment Courts In Kentucky: Examining How Personal Characteristics And During-Program Occurrences Influence Program Completion And Criminal Recidivism, Monica Lynn Himes

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Military veterans are disproportionately represented in United States (U.S.) jails and prisons, with nearly 10% of current inmates being veterans. Veterans’ criminal justice involvement is often precipitated by underlying mental health and substance abuse that are connected to their military service. Veterans’ treatment courts are the judicial response to a need for more coordinated provision of mental health and substance abuse services to veterans involved in the criminal justice system. Modeled after drug courts and mental health courts, veterans treatment courts are a judicial innovation that aim to honor the service of veterans by providing them an alternative to incarceration. …

Suicide Attitudes And Terror Management Theory, Athena Kheibari

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Virtually every mental health problem carries stigma, but suicide appears to run so counter to our accumulative, achievement-oriented society, that it poses even greater threat of stigma. While suicide is inherently troubling in that it opposes the fundamental human instinct for self-preservation, the tendency to stigmatize and reject individuals affected by suicide appears to be counterproductive and excessive. Hence, the purpose of this three-manuscript dissertation is to gain a more nuanced understanding of suicide attitudes from an exploratory and terror management theory perspective. More specifically, this dissertation attempts to answer three general questions: (1) how do suicide attitudes differ from …

How Does He Do It?: A Phenomenological Study Of Men’S Experience As Teaching-Family Model Providers, Dallin Douglas Parkinson

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

About half a million children live in out-of-home care, generally due to state intervention (Children’s Bureau, 2016). The outcomes of youth in treatment are improved when they have stable relationships with caregiving adults. Group homes based on the Teaching-Family Model utilize a married couple who live in the home and are the primary care treatment providers. The present study employed a phenomenological approach to explore the lived experience of eight men who have worked in this role for at least a year. Intrapersonal and interpersonal processes and motivations were identified as common themes among respondents for how and why they …

Beyond Telling: A Phenomenology Of Adoptive Parents' Adoption Communication Openness With Early Adolescents, Jane D. Samuel

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Despite calls for increased Adoption Communication Openness (ACO) within the adoptive family, research indicates that families still struggle to accomplish the recommended elements and levels of openness. What could be holding families back from this key process? Three focus groups comprised of 17 adoptive parents of early adolescents (aged 10-14) who were age 0-2 at the time of placement were thematically coded. This inductive analysis revealed the complexity rooted in being —sometimes successfully and sometimes not—communicatively open. Four key themes emerged painting a vivid and rich picture of: a) the breadth and depth of this experience; b) the work entailed; …

Military Wife Participation In The Family Readiness Group During The Deployment Cycle, Donetta Doris Quinones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A comparative review of statistical summary results of the Survey of Army Families demonstrated that there is a gap in the research on the emotional experiences of civilian military wives who do not participate in the Family Readiness Group (FRG). The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to supplement the limited amount of scholarly research on the emotional experiences of civilian military wives and their lack of participation in the FRG during the deployment cycle. The theoretical framework of this study explored the military family syndrome through application of the double ABCX model in examining this phenomenon. The foundational …