Social Work Commons^™

“This Person Is Safe”: An Exemplar Of Conducting Individual Interviews In Qualitative Research With Black Women, Quenette Walton, Olulbunmi Oyewuwo, Other Co-Authors

Social Work Faculty Publications

Significant conceptual and empirical evidence has been found through qualitative research about the benefits, limitations, and uses of individual interviews. However, there is scant research illustrating how researchers use specific techniques that center participants’ intersecting identities to build rapport, trust, and authentic connections during individual interviews, and especially during interviews with Black women. We illustrate how we used eight empirically grounded techniques in our qualitative individual interviews with Black women. Through our analysis of the interviews, the concept of safety emerged. “This person is safe” reflects the combined stories the women reported regarding their experiences engaging in individual interviews. In …

Feasibility Of A Stress Reduction Program Among Foster Youth In College, Alexis Melinda Ferioli Morin, Jennifer E. Lape

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Foster youth endure traumatic adversities, which can lead to obstacles when transitioning to young adulthood and pursuing postsecondary education. This vulnerable population is required to navigate independent living while also managing stress that commonly arises from postsecondary education.

Method: A pre test, post test pilot design was employed to determine the potential impact and feasibility of an evidenced-based multi-factorial stress management program in reducing foster youth’s perceived stress during postsecondary education. Participants (n = 3) received one, 90-min individual occupational therapy session weekly over 6 weeks. Author-generated stress management surveys along with the Perceived Stress Scale …

Differences Among Family And Professional Guardians: A Statewide Survey Of Characteristics, Training, And Practices Related To Decision-Making, Kristin Hamre, Derek Nord

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

This cross-sectional study sought to examine the differences between family and professional guardians across personal and role characteristics, training received, and their inclusion of people they serve in decision making. A total of 237 subjects serving as guardian to adults in the state of Indiana completed an online survey. Results showed group differences across race, education, as well as diagnosis and age of those served. Overall, training was limited across both groups, and family guardians received significantly less training across several topics. Finally, family and professional guardians were found to significantly differ in their willingness to allow people they serve …

Parents’ Perceptions Of The Philly Goat Project’S All Abilities Ramble: A Qualitative Study Of Animal-Assisted Intervention For Intellectual And Developmental Disorders, Patricia Flaherty-Fischette, Jenée Lee, Yvonne D'Uva-Howard, Elizabeth P. Cramer, Karen Krivit, Sarah Meehan

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are a growing population. Considering the wide diversity in IDD and the financial burden of traditional treatment modalities, Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI) has emerged as an innovative and non-traditional treatment for individuals with a range of disabilities, including individuals with IDD. To the authors’ knowledge, the present study was one of the first to explore a goat-assisted therapy experience for children with IDD. This study explored the experiences of 23 children with the All Abilities RAMble – a goat-assisted therapeutic activity offered by the Philly Goat Project (PGP). Key themes in our study included …

Caregiver Health: Having A Child With Asd And The Impact Of Child Health Insurance Status, Kristin Hamre, Derek Nord, John Andresen

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

This study aims to understand the health outcomes of parents with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the interactive effect of child health insurance status. The study utilized 2014-2018 pooled National Health Interview Survey data to construct weighted national estimates and construct main and interaction effect logistic regression models. Findings show parents of children with ASD experienced significantly poorer health compared to parents of children without autism. Insurance status was found to significantly interact with child ASD status. Compared to parents of children without ASD that used private insurance, parents with a child with ASD who used private insurance, …

Improving The High School And College Classroom Experience For Learners With Refugee Status: Theory, Practice, And Change., Kayte Thomas, Sara-Jean Lipmen

Journal of Applied Disciplines

Refugee populations are increasing globally, and children make up more than fifty percent of those displaced. Unique experiences that come with forced migration including fragmented education, trauma, family separation, grief, and adverse other effects can impact learning in the classroom for refugee students. Existing data indicates that schools lack sufficient protocols to meet the needs of students with refugee status who consistently face risks associated with ill-prepared learning environments, and therefore must rethink possibilities to address this. By adopting strategic decolonized approaches, educational leaders can create supportive environments which improve instructional methods and learning outcomes for these students as they …

Re-Imagining Mandatory Reporting: Professionalization's Complicity, Sam Harrell, Stephanie Wahab

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mandatory reporting of child abuse is a part of the civil legal system that can activate a policy cascade disproportionately criminalizing racialized and marginalized communities. While social work scholarship has explored ways to increase provider compliance with mandatory reporting laws, there is a dearth of research focused on how social work education guides future providers towards the praxis of mandatory reporting discourses. This article presents findings from a content analysis of social work textbook excerpts focused on mandatory reporting of child abuse in the U.S. We found that textbooks affirm social work’s loyalty to the State by approaching mandatory reporting …

Effectiveness Of Integrated Traffic Management Of Military Police And Traffic Police In Reducing Drive Speed N Arterial Roads: An Experimental Study, Teguh Patriot

CSID Journal of Infrastructure Development

The Indonesian National Police Traffic Corps (KORLANTAS POLRI) and the Army Staff and Command School (SESKOAD) conducted a joint study in early March 2023 to reduce the number of traffic accident victims by implementing traffic regulations by the Military Police and Traffic Police. One of the methods used by KORLANTAS POLRI is the installation of ETLE speed cameras on Jakarta toll roads, such as Cikampek, Jagorawi, Bitung, and others. At the end of 2022, 75 additional speed cameras had been installed on arterial roads in Jakarta.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effectiveness …

The Effects Of Marriage Before College Graduation On The Educational Attainments And Personal Fulfillment Of Saudi Women, Ahlam A. Alzahrani

Journal of the Arab American University مجلة الجامعة العربية الامريكية للبحوث

This research explored the effects of marriage before college graduation on the educational attainments and personal fulfillment of Saudi women. The purpose of this study was to gather and analyze data from women who were married before completing a college degree and women who were married after completing a college degree in order to measure how marriage has affected their lives in different ways. The data was gathered by surveying 215 Saudi women. According to the findings of the study, marriage before college graduation did limit educational attainment to some extent. The survey results suggested that a significant percentage of …

The Impact Of School-Based Support Services On Mental Health And Academic Performance, Joshua A. Kent

2023 Symposium

Background: There has been a continued presence of mental health issues among high-school aged youth. As a result, many have a diminished ability to be successful in school. It is a societal problem as discussed in the literature. Legislation within the last 23 years has created more access for students but there is still a gap in services. This gap is mostly seen by not having enough personnel to address the amount of students that need assistance. There is also an inconsistent use of school-based health centers and other school-based interventions. Too many schools are using different interventions and …

My Alfond Grant Cda: Experience From 10 Years Of Automatic Deposits For All Maine Newborns, Colleen J. Quint, Margaret M. Clancy

Center for Social Development Research

For over a decade, the Alfond Scholarship Foundation has automatically enrolled every Maine-resident newborn into the United States’ first statewide, universal Child Development Account (CDA) by investing $500 on each child’s behalf in the NextGen 529 plan. This Policy Brief provides an overview of My Alfond Grant and tracks the growth of the CDA in the 10 years since it made the major policy-design change to implement automatic enrollment. The Brief also includes insights regarding partnerships and communications that have helped to improve My Alfond Grant’s ability to connect with Maine families.

Disrupting Epistemic Injustice: Implications For Lived-Experience Accounts Of Mental Illness In Social Work Education, Jessica D. Hawkins

University Honors Theses

Mental illness stigma interventions have not been shown to be effective on a large scale. It has been suggested by stigma researchers that being in close proximity to people with mental illness, or listening to their lived-experience narratives, could reduce mental illness stigma. This study proposes an inclusion of a Mad studies framework in social work education -- a framework that highlights the importance of lived-experience accounts of mental illness in knowledge production about this population. Inclusion of lived-experience narratives could reduce stigma and discrimination of people with mental illness among social workers and other service providers.

Latinx Students Higher Educational Trajectory Post Covid, Jonathan Felix-Martinez

University Honors Theses

COVID-19 caused many universities to go fully remote during the pandemic. Many Latinx students did not know how to navigate online learning. This paper examines the experiences of Latinx students in their university experiences while online to determine if their higher educational trajectory changed as a result of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This qualitative project gathered data from 9 Latinx students using in-depth, in-person interviews. Recommendations are presented to help the university create resources that will help improve Latinx students' experiences within the context of online learning and the effects of the recent pandemic.

Book Review: A Women’S Place: U.S. Counterterrorism Since 9/11, Tahmina Sobat

Feminist Pedagogy

Cook, J. in her book named "A women’s place: U.S. Counterterrorism since 9/11" identifies shortcomings in the accessibility of gendered security studies and tries to bridge the gap between the academic world and government actions regarding security and its relation to women's position. Accordingly, Cook provides a framework to organize and assess how women can be brought into all security aspects, particularly countering terrorism (p. 2). This review will highlight different aspects of the above-mentioned agencies' work concerning women, and I will mostly reference examples of Afghanistan from the book.

Mother’S Coping While Caring For A Child With Cancer And Its Relationship With Mother-Child Relationship, Alaa Nasr

Theses and Dissertations

Having a child with cancer is one of the most stressful situations families can experience. This study sheds light on mothers’ stress and coping with pediatric cancer in the Arab world, with a specific focus on Kuwait. The first aim of this study was to examine mothers’ stress and how it related to the quality of mother-child relationship, and subsequently the child’s behavioral problems. The second aim was to explore mothers’ main stressors, resources and services that help or could help with alleviating the stress experienced from having a child with cancer. A total of 102 mothers living in Kuwait …

Child Well-Being Policies In Post-Soviet Countries: The Potential Of Child Development Accounts, Aytakin Huseynli, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, all post-Soviet countries initiated reforms in child well-being systems. Some have undertaken meaningful changes, and others continue to struggle. This Policy Brief summarizes one portion of an in-depth study on child well-being policies in six post-Soviet countries: Ukraine, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. It discusses asset-building policy for children in those countries, an emerging national children’s account policy in Kazakhstan, and the potential for diffusion of Child Development Account policy.

Trans Futures In The Present Moment, Willow Grace Eckmayer

University Honors Theses

The current climate for trans folks in the U.S. remains increasingly hostile and many researchers have called attention to the "joy deficit" within the existing trans literature (Shuster & Westbrook, 2022). This study investigates what trans individuals are currently doing to survive, thrive, and resist in a belligerent socio-political climate. To answer this, five community conversations with 25 participants were held using a semi-structured conversation guide. Within the analysis, the central theme that emerged was that trans individuals are using their communities to create radical futures. Our communities are supporting us through mutual aid and radical acts of care, which …

Home-Office During Covid-19 Pandemic In Brazil: Perceived Influences On Performance And Competency Management, Yuri Enes, Mariana Borges Nunes Vieira, Francisco Antonio Coelho Junior Dr., Delciene Pereira, Érica Rodrigues Zanon

The Qualitative Report

There has never been so much flexibility and organizational capacity to adjust to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on work. This article examines beliefs and perceptions related to new arrangements imposed by compulsory telework on skills and performance management practices, as well as identifying related advantages and disadvantages associated. This paper draws on 17 in-depth interviews using the collaborative interactive action research method. The authors study how leaders acted in multiple ways, aiming to reduce the negative effects on workers and work design and provide greater balance of actions. The perspective of multiple levels of action was adopted, considering …

Poverty-The Single Problem Destroys Millions, Alexander Jiang

Sociology Student Work Collection

This project aims to discover the reasons behind poverty and wealth gap within the society, as well as feasible solutions that could potentially eliminate poverty in our society.

2023 Mimh Spring Training, Andrea Reynolds

Title III Professional Development Reports

Abstract

The 2023 Missouri Department of Mental Health’s Spring Training Institute was held June 18th-19th in Lake Ozark, Missouri. This training sought to educate various professionals, staff, and consumers of the Division of Behavioral Health and the Division of Developmental Disabilities. Subject matter tracks included trauma, self-care, suicide prevention, and ethics to broaden knowledge and enhance the understanding of the critical services provided to the citizens of Missouri. Over 1,000 behavioral health providers from across the state were in attendance.