Social Welfare Commons^™

The Campus Kitchen At Umass Boston Student-Powered Hunger Relief In Boston, Office Of Student Leadership And Community Engagement, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Walter Denney Youth Center, Housing Opportunities Unlimited, St. Peter's Teen Center, John Winthrop Elementary, Project Alerta, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Camp Shriver, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, Inc., Sodexo

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Campus Kitchen at the University of Massachusetts Boston (CKUMB) is a part of The Campus Kitchens Project. (CKP), a national network of student volunteers, works to rescue excess food to create meals for those in need. CKUMB opened in 2010 to provide meals for the Dorchester community. By taking the initiative to run a community kitchen, students develop entrepreneurial and leadership skills, along with a commitment to serve their community, that they will carry with them into future careers.

"We Need To Put The People Back Into It:" A Participant-Driven Exploration Of Homelessness, Rebecca Long

Professional Projects

Homelessness is a phenomenon that has been studied for decades. The homeless have been counted, analyzed, recounted, identified, grouped, and categorized. Their profiles and trends have been stored in massive database systems such as the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). A wealth of literature exists exploring who the homeless are and why they are homeless. What seems to be lacking in the homelessness literature is a thorough analysis of issues and solutions from the perspectives of the individuals who know homelessness the best—those who have experienced it. Structural issues such as housing and poverty are crucial components of any solution, …

Politics Of Health: The 2013 Integration Policy’S Effect On Immigrant Access To Care, Amy Chang

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In September of 2013, King Mohammed VI announced a regularization campaign, implementing a new policy of integration with respect to undocumented immigrants in the country. Deviating from former official discourse, the new measure allowed in principle for—among provision of residence cards and lifted criminalization of undocumented immigrants—greater immigrant access to healthcare services. The purpose of the following research was to assess whether the effects of this new provision are being positively felt on the ground in ensuring inclusivity of health services.Individual interviews on personal experiences with the Moroccan healthcare system were held with members of various immigrant sub-populations: refugees, asylum …

School Kitchen Gardens: Cultivating A Child’S Nutritional Habits, Environmental Knowledge, And Sustainability Practices, Jeffrey Meltzer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The school kitchen garden is an innovative curricular program based on school children planting a garden and then learning to cook with the foods they grow. The program teaches students many life skills, along with teaching them about nutrition, the environment, sustainability, and almost every school subject. Researchers have studied various aspects of school kitchen gardens, but few have focused on kitchen gardens’ influence on students’ nutritional habits, environmental knowledge, and sustainability practices in particular, like this study does. The popularity of the kitchen garden program in Australia is mostly due to the celebrity chef Stephanie Alexander, who started a …

Population, Progeny And Power: Analyzing Population Growth, Family Planning And The Factors That Contribute To High Child Bearing Rates In Kizanda Village, Tanzania, Jade Enright

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The population growth rate is reaching an astounding level in Tanzania and Eastern Africa. It is applying increasing pressure on things like social services, land availability, job opportunities, conservation and localized resources. This study looks at the perceptions of both men and women surrounding social and environmental factors contributing to the high population growth rate. It looks more specifically at factors including childbearing, birth control methods and their effectiveness, and how the birth rate correlates with changing quality of life. This study was conducted in Kizanda Village in the West Usambara Mountains of Northern Tanzania, a region following the trend …

Give And Take: The Struggle Of Being A Part Of The System You Want To Change- Childline: Solving And Perpetuating Child Vulnerability In Bikaner, Rajasthan, India, Angela Soley

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Children are the most vulnerable population in India; they are at risk of human trafficking on the street, corporeal punishment at school, domestic violence at home, and the list continues. There are 12.7 million child laborers in India, the rate of child marriage is 47%, and 69% of children suffer from physical abuse (India.gov, 2011)(Tahir and Hussain, 2012, p.664)(Hello CHILDLINE, 2013, p.7). Unfortunately, much of this abuse is accepted by India’s culture: hitting children is a standard form of punishment, child marriage is a norm in rural villages, and child labor is a necessity for impoverished families. One organization attempting …

“Nous Souffrons” Examining The Problems Facing Urban Refugees In Yaoundé, Cameroon, Morgan Walbert

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper is the product of a study that examines the experiences of urban refugees in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Refugees around the world, often victims of unthinkable human rights abuses, are forced to rely fully on the hospitality and protection of the international community. This unique relationship between a refugee and his/her host state can present serious challenges to both parties. This research examined the resources available to refugees in Yaoundé, evaluated their effectiveness, and explored possibilities for improving the experience of these urban refugees. I utilized eighteen structured interviews with refugees and four follow-­‐up in depth interviews with three refugees …

Cultivating Rice In Import Dependent Cameroon: A Case Study Of The Successes And Challenges Facing Rice Farmers In Santchou, Cameroon, Kim Horwitz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Cameroon is qualified as an import dependent country, meaning it relies on imported food to feed its population. Specifically, Cameroon imports over 80% of its rice consumption, spending 145 billion French CFA on rice imports yearly. But, Cameroon has sufficient untapped arable land and a large enough agriculturally centered population to produce adequate rice quantities to meet demand without relying on imports. This paper examines the challenges facing rice farmers in Cameroon in the context of import dependence and why local farmers cannot currently produce enough rice to meet local demand, focusing on the experience of the rice farming community …

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 …

“Documenting The Untold Stories Of Feminist Activists At Welfare Rights Initiative: A Digital Oral History Archive Project.”, Cynthia Tobar

Publications and Research

This chapter recounts the creation of a digital oral history archive documenting the Welfare Rights Initiative (WRI), a grassroots student activist and community leadership training organization located at Hunter College. The author examines, through these oral history interviews, social movement activity at the level of a grassroots organization as exemplified by WRI, which was developed to aid student welfare recipients to become agents of social change and actively involve them with policymaking. The project depicts the experiences of members in this feminist grassroots organization and provides us with new insights to the origins of advocacy, documenting the singular historical importance …

Strategi Strategi Penggalangan Dana Pada Organisasi Kemanusiaan Berbasis Agama : Studi Deskriptif Penggalangan Dana Di Dompet Dhuafa, Herlin Rahma Fauzia

Jurnal Ilmu Kesejahteraan Sosial

This study discuses about strategies of fundraising conducted by Yayasan Dompet Dhuafa with the supports and obstacles. This study used qualitative method and descriptive approach. The result of study show that Dompet Dhuafa have some strategies of fundraising. First, retail fundraising includes counter, Gerakan Donasi, Jemput Zakat and direct mail. Second is partnership with companies, another institutions and public

Evaluasi Program Wirausaha Pemula Di Kementrian Koperasi Dan Ukm Ri : Individualized Outcome Evaluation Terhadap Lima Peserta Program Wirausaha Pemula Di Dki Jakarta Tahun 2012, Andi Besse Ansar, Ety Rahayu

Jurnal Ilmu Kesejahteraan Sosial

The study discusses about individualized outcome evaluation of young entrepreneur program evaluation at ministry of cooperatives and small medium enterprises for five beneficiaries from Jakarta City in 2012. This research used a qualitative approach with evaluation research. While collecting data using in-depth interview with 7 informans which consist 5 beneficiaries program and 2 program staff. This result of study show that 4 beneficiaries has achieve an outcome program because of the trainee characteristics, training design, work environment, attitude and self concept and design entrepreneurship factors support and 1 beneficiaries has a barrier in work environment, attitude and self concept and …

Kajian Permasalahan Dan Potensi Perilaku Ibu Dalam Pemberian Makanan Bagi Anak Dalam Kaitannya Pada Kualitas Hidup Anak-Anak Yang Tidak Berkecukupan Gizi Di Keluarga Miskin Perkotaan, Getar Hati, Isbandi Rukminto Adi

Jurnal Ilmu Kesejahteraan Sosial

This article discusses about child welfare issues in a community related to mothers’ behavior child welfare issues of a community related to children of age 6-24 months with insufficient nutrition condition. It also describes about the factors which influenced to this condition that would be base of intervention design to solve the problems. This is an descriptive research. This research stated that parents, especially mother has the most important roles in determining their children’s life quality.

Aging In Boston: Preparing Today For A Growing Tomorrow, Jan E. Mutchler, Bernard A. Steinman, Caitlin Coyle, Hayley Gleason, Jiyoung Lyu, Ceara Somerville

Gerontology Institute Publications

Boston’s population is becoming older than ever before. The oldest Baby Boomer is approaching 70 and reinventing what it means to be a “senior citizen.” Waves of Boomers will forge a new path into later life, creating a population of seniors that is larger and more long-lived than previous cohorts, and diverse in new ways. In 2010, more than 14% of Boston’s residents were 60 years or older, representing 88,000 older people. By 2030, projected increases in the older population will result in as many as 130,000 seniors residing in Boston. How will Boston accommodate its growing older population? What …

Community Engagement And Participation In Collective Impact Initiatives, Sarah M. Milnar

Professional Projects

There is no question that large social problems like poverty and educational inequality are difficult to solve. Many groups throughout the nation and world are adopting the framework of collective impact in efforts to solve these problems together, as opposed to working in individual silos yielding only isolated impact. However, the framework that is used to align high-level leaders and resources has been criticized for being too “top down” and perhaps leaving out the actual people who are directly affected by the interventions. This report examines whether and how collective impact initiatives foster the participation and engagement of the very …

Refugee Self-Reliance In Nakivale Refugee Settlement, Uganda, Erik Svedberg

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

One of the key tenets of Ugandan refugee policy is the Self-Reliance Strategy (SRS), a policy that expects refugees to economically support themselves by utilizing a given plot of land to develop a livelihood based on subsistence agriculture. Although many have hailed this policy as being progressive and beneficial for the refugees, others have pointed out the flaws and deficiencies in the policy and in its implementation. The research utilizes a case-study of Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Western Uganda to assess the implementation and impacts of the SRS in Uganda. Semi-structured interviews with refugees, settlement officials, aid workers, and academics …

Memoirs Of A Mother: Life Between An Islamic Fantasy, Cultural Patriarchy, And The Startling Reality., Nicole Fauster

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Article 490 of the Moroccan Penal Code deems sexual relations outside of marriage illegal and punishable by one month to one-year prison time. But in a society where marriage is often delayed due to financial restrictions, premarital sex is common and pervasive. Though premarital sex is the norm amongst many, if a lady becomes pregnant, the tables turn she is labeled a “whore” or a “street woman”. If a man fathers a child out of wedlock; he can simply deny affiliation and walk out of the picture.The woman is marginalized, and the father of the child does not bear any …

Oral Health Promotion: Knowledge, Confidence, And Practices In Preventing Early-Severe Childhood Caries Of Virginia Wic Program Personnel, Lorraine Ann Fuller, Sharon C. Stull, Michele L. Darby, Susan Lynn Tolle

Dental Hygiene Faculty Publications

Purpose: This study assessed the oral health knowledge, confidence and practices of Virginia personnel in the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).

Methods: In 2009, 257 WIC personnel were electronically emailed via an investigator-designed 22-item Survey Monkey® questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square and Fishers Exact tests compared personnel demographics and oral health knowledge, confidence and practices at the p≤0.01 and 0.05 significance level.

Results: Response rate was 68%. WIC personnel were knowledgeable about basic oral health concepts. More than half of those reporting were not confident assessing for visual signs of dental decay and do not routinely …

Child Welfare Financing Structure: A Breakdown Of The Major Federal Funding Stream, David A. Merchant Jr., Theodore Byrley Ph.D.

NYS Child Welfare/Child Protective Services Training Institute

As it remains today, the financing structure for child welfare in the United States is convoluted with the intricacies of funding sources. Because of these complexities, employees of child welfare agencies find it difficult to understand where these funds come from, what requirements must be made to obtain them, and how these funds should be used appropriately. The inefficient use of these funds is a major problem in the child welfare system. This paper explains the general financing structure for child welfare, and in turn, develop provides a better understanding of the complex funding that supports child welfare services.

Perhaps …

Bootstrap Blues, Hannah M. Frantz

SURGE

Meet David*. In mid-January, he came to the small town Iowa elementary school where I work. David has attended more schools in the two years since he started school than I have in my lifetime. In fact, the school he just moved from only has four days of attendance listed on his record. David moves so often because he’s homeless. His situation is not what we may stereotypically think of as “homeless”—you wouldn’t see him on the streets or even in soup kitchens. Instead, David stays with his mother, and they couch surf from one home to another from week …