Social Work Commons^™

Evaluating The Impact Of A Lend-Based Family Mentorship Program For Pre-Service Professionals, Matthew Bogenschutz, Sarah Lineberry, Jackie Robinson Brock, Flip Grey, Kathryn Flinn

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Family-led pre-professional mentoring programs have been shown in past literature to have multiple positive outcomes, including better provider communication, increased sensitivity to the needs and contributions of family members in clinical settings, and better understanding of disability policy contexts among professionals. Yet there have been relatively few examples of exemplary programs that have developed successful models for family mentoring of pre-service professionals. Using qualitative evaluative data from one such program, a component of a Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program, this study shares the experiences of both families and trainees. Common themes shared between these two groups …

Community Of Open Hands: Reimagining The Classroom Through Beauty, Eunsub Cho

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

One of the boldest decisions that I have ever made as an educator was taking twenty-four middle school students on a camping trip at the end of the school year. We had made our way through a couple of months of astronomy and what better way to conclude the project than to celebrate our learning by gazing at the celestial bodies with our own eyes! My time in the Midwest should have informed me that this was a naive plan, as Michigan skies have a mind of their own. Despite detailed planning, it started drizzling by the time our tents …

Health Professional Students' Experiences With Gender-Identity Inclusive Content In The Classroom And Supervised Clinical Learning, Perry Xinyi Zhang, Aria Grabowski, Olivia S. Anderson

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: Gender-identity diverse populations have unique healthcare needs, but they experience stigmatization leading to negative health outcomes. Healthcare professionals have reported obstacles to delivering affirming care to gender-identity diverse patients due to limited training. We assessed how health profession students encounter gender-identity content and how students’ perceived preparedness to provide care for gender-identity diverse populations. Methods: A survey distributed to students enrolled in health professional programs at a large mid-western university included close-ended questions about exposure to gender-identity diverse curricular content in didactic and supervised clinical settings and perceived preparedness to work with gender-identity diverse populations. Open-ended questions asked what …

Navigating Homelessness And Housing Accessibility: An Ethnography Of Guests At Operation Nightwatch, Chase Kawika Patton

Dissertations and Theses

In 2025, over 7,000 individuals in Portland, Oregon experiencing unsheltered homelessness are without access to shelter or transitional housing. In this resource gap Operation Nightwatch (ON) provides material support for people experiencing homelessness (PEH) in the University District neighborhood of downtown Portland. This study focused on the experiences of chronically homeless guests of Nightwatch as they navigated homelessness and housing access. The study relied on semi-structured interviews with staff and guests and on-site participant observation to determine the availability of support to access housing in a system governed by Coordinated Access and the Housing First model. Primary research took place …

Early Childhood Echo (Ec Echo) Start-Up & Operations Manual, Lisa Long, I. Michelle Gaither, Ruby Brenner, Bradley Long, Emily Mcclelland, Malcolm Huell, Lauren Elliott, Katerina Sergi

Publications

The Early Childhood ECHO (EC ECHO) Start-up & Operations Manual is a practical guide to launching case-based telementoring and professional development using the Project ECHO® model. Prepared for early childhood programs and agencies. Adapted from Mississippi’s EC ECHO implementation (2023–2025) and aligned with Project ECHO® guidance.

The Effectiveness Of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy: A Multilevel Meta-Analysis, Rana Hong, Jeong Ok Lee, Sanghee Lee, Shweta Singh

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

Objectives: Parent–child interaction therapy (PCIT) is an empirically supported treatment (EST) initially developed to help parents manage difficult behaviors in preschoolers aged 2–7 years. Given its proven effectiveness across diverse populations, this meta-analysis aims to evaluate its effectiveness for Koreans using studies from 1991 to 2022. Methods: A total of 11 studies (n = 201 children; 224 parents) met the criteria for this meta-analysis. Results: A robust pooled effect size (μ= –0.31, 95% CI [–0.44, –0.17], p < .001) for PCIT across all study designs were found. Three-level random-effects meta-regressions further confirmed a significant pooled effect (μ = –0.81, 95% CI [–1.12, –0.50], p < .001), indicating that PCIT effects were consistently significant across studies. Subgroup analyses revealed significant reductions in externalizing behavior, parenting stress, and parent depression. Discussion and implications: This study contributes to the growing body of evidence on the cultural applicability of PCIT to Korean families

The Phoenix Trauma Response Model (Ptrm): An Integrative And Innovative Approach To Trauma Recovery And Growth, Latesha S. Holloman, Lauren B. Robins, Tammie Willis, Courtney V. Morris

Journal of Human Services Scholarship and Interprofessional Collaboration

Trauma is increasingly understood as a developmentally consequential experience that shapes identity, regulation, and relational functioning across the lifespan. Although trauma-informed care, resilience theory, posttraumatic growth, and narrative approaches have expanded understanding of recovery, few frameworks articulate a structured developmental progression that integrates prevention, intervention, and intergenerational transformation within a unified model. The Phoenix Trauma Response Model (PTRM) addresses this gap by introducing a cyclical, phase-based framework organized around four interrelated processes: Recognition, Reframing, Reclamation, and Replication of Strength. Central to the model is the construct of conversion potential, defined as the structured capacity to translate distress into purposeful …

"Every Child Deserves Safety: What We Can Do About Family Violence", Nicole Bartos, Zach Wattson, Heather Brown, Abby Palmer

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Children in Minnesota deserve safe, stable, and nurturing homes to grow, learn, and thrive. When family violence goes unaddressed, it harms not only individual children but also schools, communities, and the state’s long-term social and economic well-being. Protecting children reflects shared values of safety, dignity, equity, and collective responsibility. Investing in prevention and early intervention affirms Minnesota’s commitment to justice, strong families, and healthy futures for all children.

Bridging The Distance: Expanding Access To Mental Health Services In School, Griffin Gallagher, Arayah St John, Kaylie Svir

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

All students should have equitable access to mental health services in schools. In Minnesota, there has been an 11% increase in students experiencing long-term mental health challenges since 2016, and only 1 in 5 students receive the assistance they need. Students are experiencing a lack of access to mental health services in schools due to barriers of cost, transportation, shortage of support staff, and stigma. When mental health services are not provided in schools, this results in a decrease in school attendance, higher dropout rates, and negative school environments, affecting the long-term outcomes and needs of the child. Mental health …

Housing After Recovery: Expanding Access For Justice-Involved Individuals, Calvin Parzych, Melinda Gillen, Juliet Worayewaa, Mikayla Witter

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Every human being deserves access to safe, stable housing, especially individuals in recovery from substance use disorders. These individuals face significant barriers to stable housing, especially when their criminal records are considered by landlords. This can pose a risk to potential relapse, homelessness, and overall struggle to maintain recovery. Addressing housing discrimination for all members of society, especially justice-involved individuals, can aid in resolving public health and social justice issues that continue to be a long-standing problem.

Hss 216 Introduction To Motivational Interviewing, Juline A. Koken

Open Educational Resources

This syllabus contains links to an OER textbook that was adopted for our Introduction to Motivational Interviewing course, along with additional links to OER videos and additional readings.

Hss 295, Juline A. Koken

Open Educational Resources

This syllabus contains links to existing OER materials as well as additonal readings for our HSS 295 Community Organizing class.

Strengthening School Social Work: Improving Student Outcomes Through Stronger Support Systems, Kaitlyn Dailey, Faridah Kassim, Rhaleecia Rahming, Angela Soto

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

School social workers are essential to student well-being and academic success, yet current caseloads and unclear role expectations prevent them from providing effective, evidence-based support. School social workers improve graduation rates, reduce behavioral challenges, and strengthen school engagement, but only when staffing levels and role clarity allow them to work within their professional scope. Without policy action, Minnesota schools will continue to rely on crisis-driven models that leave students without early intervention and place social workers at high risk for burnout. Rural districts will face even greater inequities, as many students already depend on schools as their only access point …

No Community Left Behind: Investing In Mental Health Service Access In Rural Minnesota, Keaton Anderson, Madison Demars, Trisha Graves-Petron, Cheyenne Munoz

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Much of Minnesota has a shortage of mental health providers due to specific problems around graduating workers, recruiting them and keeping them once they are hired. Lower salaries, older population bases, and inconsistent healthcare coverage all contribute to the shortage of providers in rural areas. Long distances between mental health facilities and stigma in mental health care exacerbate the shortage. More than 1.2 million Minnesotans live in rural communities and of those at least 25% do not have access to reliable broadband internet. Rural areas face significant behavioral health workforce shortages, as seen in Figure 1. Minnesota needs to invest …

Accountability For Unlawful Actions By Ice In Minnesota, Luisalfredo Garcia, Ore-Ofe Oluwajobi, Gabriela Passmore, Mariah Wabasha

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Immigration enforcement actions have escalated since December 2025 under “Operation Metro Surge”, with deployment of 4,000 ICE agents to the Twin Cities and rural Minnesota. ICE occupation within Minnesota has included an unprecedented number of people, both documented and undocumented, who have been detained by ICE agents and unlawful actions by ICE. With federal agents disregarding constitutional laws and human rights, there has not been legal accountability or consequences for the traumatic incidents inflicted on Minnesota by Department of Homeland Security. Policy oversight must be implemented to ensure proper accountability for illegal or unjust actions.

County Funding Matters To Ensure Families Stay Together: Minnesota African American Family Preservation And Child Welfare Disproportionality Act (Maafpcwda), Jessica Dewar, Taryn Dolan, Destiny Fairbanks, Christina Albers

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

African American children remain disproportionately represented at every stage of Minnesota’s child welfare system, including reports, investigations, and out-of-home placements. Although the Minnesota African American Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act was designed to address these inequities through active efforts and family preservation, many county agencies lack the staffing, training, and resources necessary to fully implement the policy. Without additional investment in counties, the goals of the Act cannot be fully realized.

Stop Ice: A Call For Accountability, Em Hodge, Kathryn Petzel, Elizabeth Spiegelhoff, Zoe Wetzel

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Since the beginning of the second Trump Administration in 2025, Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) has increased their activity in conducting operations to deport immigrants and citizens. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recorded nearly 220,000 arrests from October 15th, 2025, through January 20th, 2026. The types of people being detained have almost exclusively been people with no criminal conviction (96.9%) compared to those with a criminal conviction (3.1%). With the increased deportations and killings of citizens such as Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti by the hands of ICE officers in Minnesota, action, protections, and accountability is needed more than …

Substance Use Stigma: Examining The Role Of Social Work Education., Eboni Burton

Doctor of Social Work Capstone Projects

This study explored the extent of substance use related stigma among social work students and professionals (i.e., BSW, MSW, PHD and DSW) and its relationship to specialized education/training in substance use and professional practice with people who use drugs (PWUD)/live with a substance use disorder (PWSUD). Stigma was measured using the Opening Minds Provider Attitudes Toward Opioid Use Scale and the Medical Condition Regard Scale. The final sample size was 263. Results indicate that current enrollment in a social work program, post degree or non-curriculum related substance use related training, and personal and professional experience with substance use specifically, mitigate …

Emergency Department Boarding For Psychiatric Care: The Effect Of Pointclickcare Integration., Chris Rowan

Doctor of Social Work Capstone Projects

Emergency Department Boarding for Psychiatric Care: The Effect of PointClickCare Integration

Abstract

For many individuals in psychiatric crisis, the emergency department has become the first place to seek help, highlighting gaps in how behavioral health care is accessed and coordinated. In Massachusetts, PointClickCare's Behavioral Health Treatment and Referral Platform (BH TRP) was implemented to centralize and streamline referrals between emergency departments and inpatient psychiatric facilities. This capstone evaluates whether implementation of the BH TRP was associated with changes in psychiatric boarding time at a community hospital emergency department. Using a mixed-methods program evaluation design, this study analyzed de-identified electronic medical …

Unveiling The Experiences And Unmet Needs: A Qualitative Exploration Of Undocumented Immigrants Residing In Kansas, Carol Meza, Pedro Hernandez, Alicia Hawley-Bernardez, Christopher Bakke, Staci P. Wolfe

School of Social Work Faculty Publications

Undocumented immigrants in the United States (US) face numerous barriers to accessing services such as healthcare, employment, and social services due to their status. While media and immigration policy focus on the U.S. border states, significant populations of undocumented immigrants exist throughout the U.S. Using qualitative analysis of 20 personal accounts, this study examines their experiences in a Midwestern state through utilizing a strengths-perspective, which emphasizes individual and community assets. Recurrent experiential themes included problems with persistent racism, discrimination, housing, employment, health care, and mental health challenges, while undocumented immigrants demonstrate remarkable resilience. These findings suggest that they can benefit …