Sociology Commons^™

The Political Leadership Of Women Of Color In Massachusetts: Uneven Progress Amid Historic Advances, Center For Women In Politics And Public Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, William Monroe Trotter Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Institute For Asian American Studies, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Institute For New England Native American Studies, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

Since the 2015 release of Profiles in Leadership: Women of Color Elected to Office in Massachusetts which documented the electoral leadership of 94 women of color who had ever served in office in Massachusetts, at least 34 women of color have been elected to office, reflecting a 36% increase in the past four years.

Developing Age-Friendly Communities: Evidence From Multiple Case Studies, Patricia A. Oh

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Population aging brings opportunities and challenges for local community and economic development. One policy solution that has been adopted by 325+ jurisdictions in the United States is joining the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities or the WHO Global Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities. Although the age-friendly movement is gaining momentum in the US, few studies have looked at what influences municipal decision-making about joining a network or making age-friendly changes. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore what influences municipal decision-making about joining a formal age-friendly network and how communities mobilize the resources at …

To Adopt Or Not To Adopt: Factors Impacting States’ Pursuit And Implementation Of Aca’S Home And Community-Based Programs, Lisa Kalimon Beauregard

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) sought to improve the United States’ long-term services and supports (LTSS) system by expanding home and community-based services (HCBS). The ACA contained several optional Medicaid HCBS opportunities for states, including the Balancing Incentive Program, the 1915(k) Community First Choice personal care benefit, and the revised 1915(i) state plan benefit. This research examined these HCBS provisions to explain what factors determine whether states participate in the ACA’s new HCBS programs and, after adoption, what factors facilitate or impede implementation of these programs. To answer these questions, this study used a mixed methods research …

From Victim To Volunteer: A Life Course Perspective And The Transition To Adulthood For Individuals Who Have Sold Sex, Julianne M. Siegfriedt

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Under the United States definition of sex trafficking, one is considered a sex trafficking victim if she or he sells sex under 18 years old. Once someone turns 18, in order to claim trafficking status force, fraud, or coercion must be proven or that person falls under the illegal status of sex worker (VTVPA 2000). If one can go from being a victim of a crime to a perpetrator of a crime by having a birthday, what does the transition to adulthood and turning 18 look like for those who sell or exchange sex or are at risk of selling …

Aging In The Town Of Weston: A Community Needs Assessment, Sue Berger, Caitlin Coyle, Jan Mutchler, Nidya Velasco

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

This report describes research undertaken by the Center for Social & Demographic Research on Aging within the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston, on behalf of the Weston Council on Aging, to investigate the needs, interests, preferences, and opinions of Weston’s population of residents who are age 55 and older. The contents of this report are meant to inform the Weston Council on Aging, and organizations that work with and on behalf of older residents of Weston, for the purposes of planning and coordination of services, but also to build awareness about issues facing the Town of Weston. …

State Roles In Promoting Community Life Engagement: Themes From The State Employment Leadership Network’S Working Group, Jennifer Sullivan Sulewski, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

As states focus on expanding integrated employment opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and phasing out sheltered work, they are finding a need to concurrently examine Community Life Engagement (CLE) supports as a wrap-around to ensure individuals’ engagement in the community is maintained and they continue to receive sufficient levels of support, despite fluctuations in job status and hours. In January through June of 2017, the State Employment Leadership Network (SELN) hosted a working group of member states to discuss ideas and share strategies for encouraging quality CLE supports while maintaining a focus on Employment First (see …

A Roadmap To Competitive Integrated Employment: Strategies For Provider Transformation, Esther Kamau, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

Competitive integrated employment is defined within the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA, 2014) as full-time or part-time work at minimum wage or higher, with wages and benefits similar to those without disabilities performing the same work, and fully integrated with coworkers without disabilities. The Act requires that states ensure employment is offered as a priority outcome for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). As a result, providers who offer employment support to people with IDD have been working to phase out sheltered workshops and transform to offer competitive integrated employment.

Massachusetts Latino Population: 2010-2035, Phillip Granberry, Trevor Mattos

Gastón Institute Publications

The Latino population in Massachusetts continues to grow at a rapid rate. From 2010 to 2017, the Latino population increased by 28%. This represented about 60% of all population growth in the Commonwealth. Using a cohort-component methodology, the Gastón Institute projects that by 2035 the Latino population will grow to over 1.15 million and represent nearly 15.3% of the population. This growth will be due more to future Massachusetts births than to international migration. Thus, Latinos already living in Massachusetts will have more impact on the future population than will future immigrants.

Livable Sudbury: A Community Needs Assessment, Caitlin Coyle, Jan Mutchler, Sue Berger, Ceara Somerville

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

The Livable Sudbury Initiative is based on a distinctive framework meant to ensure that Sudbury is and remains an all-age and dementia-friendly place in which to live, work, and play. Structured around livability principles embedded in the Age-Friendly Community framework, the Livable Sudbury Initiative is designed to intersect with and inform other ongoing efforts, including development of the Sudbury Master Plan and a 14-town collaborative effort of the Minuteman Advisory Group on Interlocal Coordination (MAGIC) to advance regional age-friendly planning. The Sudbury framework considers physical infrastructure as well as social and service environments as it seeks to strengthen livability for …

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 - Arc Of Westchester: Annual Employer Appreciation Breakfast, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

The Arc of Westchester was established in in New York State in 1949 as a day school for children with developmental disabilities. It has since grown to over 800 hundred employees serving over 2000 individuals throughout Westchester county supporting children, teens, and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The organization’s vision is a world where the population that they serve enjoy fulfilled lives and an inspired future while the mission focuses on strengthening families and encouraging personal choices, abilities and interests. The programs focus on the individual, helping them discover their interests, develop their talents and prepare for meaningful careers. …

Service Provider Promising Practice - Atwork!: Creating A Robust Investment In Staff Professional Development, Esther Kamau, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

At the beginning of their transformation process, AtWork! did not have a training structure in place. Recognizing that job development required a different skill set for their staff, AtWork! made a commitment to invest in training, which they saw as “a key ingredient” to successful transformation. Investing in the development of staff skills and competencies to support the transformation process is essential. Without that investment, as one agency leader put it, “every provider is going to continue to spin their wheels with people in, people out, retraining, all those type of things.” Consequently, AtWork! invested in training its staff through …

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.”

There You Enjoy Life Here You Work- Brazilian And Dominican Immigrant Views On Work And Health In The Us, Cristina Brinkerhoff, Carlos Eduardo Siqueira, Rosalyn Negrón, Natalicia Tracy

Gastón Institute Publications

Abstract: Structural inequalities in the U.S. work environment place most immigrants in low paying, high-risk jobs. Understanding how work experiences and influence the health of different immigrant populations is essential to address disparities. This article explores how Brazilian and Dominican immigrants feel about their experiences working in the U.S. and how the relationship between work and culture might impact their health. In partnership with the Dominican Development Center and the Brazilian Worker Center, we held five cultural conversations (CCs) with Brazilians (n = 48) and five with Dominicans (n = 40). CCs are participatory, unstructured groups facilitated by representatives from …

Surveying Identities In Context: Race, Gender & Sexual Orientation ‘At Work’, Justine A. Bulgar-Medina

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Researchers, practitioners and common practice have imputed a great deal of power onto categories of social identity (e.g. race, sexual orientation, gender, religion). It common practice to collect demographic and identifying information on the categories to which we belong in settings ranging from the Census to the online shopping profile. Moreover, we have come to expect that this information will be used to make meaningful decisions on government program funding, targeted marketing, college recruitment and so much more. We also know that minority identities have a long history of negatively impacting individuals in employment, housing and other realms of daily …

Supporting Employment Consultants In Their Work With Job Seekers. A Longitudinal Study, Alberto Migliore, John Butterworth, Oliver Lyons, Kelly Nye-Lengerman, Paul Foos, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

BACKGROUND: A key step for increasing the employment outcomes of job seekers with disabilities includes ensuring that employment consultants who assist them have the tools to succeed, including feedback about how they are performing. OBJECTIVE: Supporting employment consultants in their work with job seekers by providing feedback about the implementation of the support strategies recommended in the literature. METHODS: Sixty-one employment consultants completed a daily survey for one year, on their smartphones. RESULTS: Providing supports that lead to hire represented 30% of the employment consultants’ work time. When providing supports that lead to hire, most of the primary interactions were …

Tramping While Black: Press Depictions Of African American Tramps, Hoboes, And Vagabonds On The Postbellum Western Frontier, 1866-1910, Sabrina Cuffie

American Studies Graduate Final Projects

No abstract provided.

State Employment First Policies #3: Investing In Training And Technical Assistance To Build Capacity In Integrated Employment, Jennifer Bose, Jean Winsor, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

For more than a decade, many states have been developing policies that prioritize integrated employment as the first choice and preferred outcome for individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD). Collectively, these actions have been united under the framework of Employment First, a commitment by states and state IDD agencies to the propositions that all individuals with IDD (a) are capable of performing work in typical integrated employment settings, (b) should receive as a matter of state policy employment-related services and supports as a priority over other facility-based and non-work day services, and (c) should be paid at minimum or prevailing wage …

The Essential Characteristics Of Successful Organizational Transformation: Findings From A Delphi Panel Of Experts, Oliver Lyons, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Allison Cohen Hall, Stephanie Leblois, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

BACKGROUND: Federal legislation has called for the phasing out of sheltered workshops and the transition to integrated employment, causing providers to struggle with how to adapt their model towards providing community integration services.

Easthampton Council On Aging Planning Study, Caitlin Coyle, Jan Mutchler, Ceara Somerville

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

This report describes collaborative efforts undertaken by the City of Easthampton Council on Aging (ECOA) and the Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging (CSDRA), within the Gerontology Institute at the McCormack Graduate School, University of Massachusetts Boston. Beginning in Fall 2017, these organizations partnered to conduct a study to investigate the needs, interests, preferences, and opinions of the City’s residents age 55 and older. During this assessment, multiple approaches were utilized to compile information that could be used to plan and implement current and future services. We examined data from the U.S. Census Bureau and from projections generated …

Bringing Employment First To Scale: Support Coordination Strategies That Impact Employment Outcomes And Services For Individuals Served By State Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities Agencies, Barbara Brent, Rie Kennedy-Lizotte, Mary Lee Fay, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

Leadership from NASDDDS and ICI worked together to determine topics for a series of white papers on policies that influence employment outcomes for individuals with IDD. This white paper is the third in a series of five. It provides an overview of strategies that support coordinators, or case managers, use to influence employment outcomes for individuals with IDD who are receiving state funded services.

Bringing Employment First To Scale: Pushing The Integrated Employment Agenda: A Case Study Of Maryland’S High-Performing Employment System, Jean Winsor, Cady Landa, Allison C. Hall, Caro Narby, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

This brief summarizes data collected from key informants in Maryland about the state’s efforts to support integrated employment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). It highlights features that contribute to the effectiveness of Maryland’s collaborative structures that have resulted in the state’s success in achieving integrated employment outcomes for individuals with IDD across three state systems: IDD, vocational rehabilitation (VR), and education. Presentation of these features is organized by the seven elements of the Higher-Performing States Employment Framework. These elements have been found to be important in achieving higher rates of competitive integrated employment outcomes for people with …

A Comprehensive Database Of Senior Centers In Massachusetts, Jan E. Mutchler, Ceara Somerville

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

This report was produced by the Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging (CSDRA), a research unit within the Gerontology Institute at UMass Boston, in partnership with the Massachusetts Association of Councils on Aging (MCOA).

The goal of this project is to develop and distribute a comprehensive database that will contribute to successfully meeting the shared goals of MCOA and EOEA. It will facilitate clearer explanations about what COAs do, supporting more effective advocacy efforts on the part of MCOA and stronger reporting by EOEA. It will be a resource for MCOA staff, helping member COAs identify relevant models …

Wenham Connects: An Age And Dementia Friendly Needs Assessment, Caitlin Coyle

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

Wenham is a small residential community of approximately 5,000 residents located about 22 miles north of Boston. Public transit access to downtown Boston located in the neighboring town of Hamilton provides access to employment and recreational activities outside of the town’s boundaries. In addition, Wenham is home to abundant green space (e.g., wetland systems and Wenham Lake) that provide residents with opportunities to enjoy the natural beauty of the area. The Wenham Council on Aging (COA)is a municipal department designed to serve the needs of Wenham’s residents age 60 and older. It is responsible for advocating on behalf of Wenham’s …

Latinos In Massachusetts Selected Areas: Brockton, Phillip Granberry, Trevor Mattos

Gastón Institute Publications

The city of Brockton, Massachusetts is composed of a population of 95,623 residents, of whom 11,767 or 12% are Latino, according to the 2016 American Community Survey. The city’s largest population is made up of black residents (39%), and white residents are the second largest ethno-racial group (33%). The share of Latinos (12%) is similar to their statewide population, which is 11% Latino. Brockton has a larger “other” population, which makes up 15% of the city’s population. This group is largely made up of Cape Verdeans. With only 1% of the population, the Asian group will be omitted from the …

Latinos In Massachusetts Selected Areas: Fall River, Phillip Granberry, Trevor Mattos

Gastón Institute Publications

The city of Fall River, Massachusetts is home to 88,902 residents, of whom 9,015 are Latino, according to the 2012-2016 American Community Survey. The city is majority non- Latino white (79%), though Latinos make up the second largest ethno-racial group (10%). This share of Latinos is slightly lower than the statewide population, which is 11%. Fall River is geographically located in the SouthCoast region, which has a relatively small share of Latinos (7%). Blacks make up 4% and Asians 2% of the city’s population.

Latinos In Massachusetts Selected Areas: Methuen, Phillip Granberry, Trevor Mattos

Gastón Institute Publications

The city of Methuen, Massachusetts is composed of a population of 49,043 residents, of whom 12,290 are Latino, according to the 2012-2016 American Community Survey. The city is majority non-Latino white (68%), though Latinos make up the second largest ethno-racial group (25%). This share of Latinos is significantly higher than the statewide population, which is only 11% Latino. Black, Asian, and “other” populations collectively make up only 7% of the city’s population.

Latinos In Massachusetts Selected Areas: Marlborough, Phillip Granberry, Trevor Mattos

Gastón Institute Publications

The city of Marlborough, Massachusetts has 39,545 residents, of whom 6,902 are Latino, according to the 2012-2016 American Community Survey. While the city is majority non- Latino white (70%), Latinos make up the second largest ethno-racial group (17%), which is higher than the 11% Latino share of the statewide population. Black, Asian, and “other” populations collectively make up 13% of the city’s population. The “other” category includes the 2,902 Brazilians who live in Marlborough.