Social Work Commons^™

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 …

Language Analysis Of "Gaslight" And "Narcissist" As Seen On Tiktok, Aaren Fernandez

Journal of Research Initiatives

TikTok is a popular social media platform from which users frequently obtain information. Specifically, psychological concepts such as anxiety, depression, and related conditions are becoming popular vernacular on TikTok through trends such as "story times." However, the accuracy of these terms' usage requires examination. In this qualitative analysis of TikTok posts and comments under the hashtags #gaslight and #narcissist, it was found that videos under these hashtags often originated from users attempting to warn viewers about psychological traits that align with common diagnostic language. However, comments under these videos tended to use these terms in a more casual sense than …

Parents’ Lived Experiences With Competitive Integrated Employment For Children With Intellectual And Developmental Disability, Dr. Aisha J. Omar

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

This phenomenological qualitative study explores the lived experiences of Kentucky parents seeking Competitive Integrated Employment (CIE) for their children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). Guided by the research questions—How do parents experience this process, and what barriers or supports do they encounter?—the study highlights systemic challenges despite legislative efforts such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. In-depth interviews with five parents revealed three themes: (a) parental transformation and the pursuit of meaningful work, (b) systemic challenges in accessing CIE, and (c) overcoming protective instincts: navigating fear, independence, and self-advocacy. Findings suggest a …

Factors Associated With Substance Use Treatment Seeking During Covid-19: A Cross-Sectional Study Applying The Gelberg–Andersen Model For Vulnerable Populations, Dorothy Wallis

Social Work Faculty Publications

Treatment seeking among individuals who misuse substances can be a complex process, with many factors contributing to treatment seeking. Guided by Gelberg–Andersen’s Behavioral Model for Vulnerable Populations, this research seeks to establish predisposing, enabling, and need factors contributing to treatment seeking during COVID-19. A total of 201 individuals participated in the study. Contrary to existing literature, no predisposing factors were associated with treatment seeking during COVID-19. However, variations were seen in enabling and need factors. Perceiving a need for treatment and having reliable transportation to treatment were associated with treatment seeking during COVID-19, underlying the importance of addressing both physical …

Child Development Accounts Reduce Adolescent Behavior Problems, Jin Huang, Yingying Zeng, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Adolescence can be a challenging time, and a body of research has investigated options for addressing adolescent behavior problems. This brief presents findings from a new line of inquiry. The analyses presented here draw upon data from the SEED for Oklahoma Kids experiment, a test of a statewide Child Development Account (CDA) policy in Oklahoma. The findings indicate that CDAs positively shape the frequency of adolescent behavior problems.

“Sometimes You Need A Middleman”: Negotiating Family Engagement For Foster And Kinship Caregivers Involved With Child Welfare, Anna Wasim, Catherine A. Labrenz, Nelkasia Graves, Samantha Zuniga Thompson, Monica Faulkner

Graduate School of Social Work: Student Scholarship

Family engagement is increasingly prioritized in child welfare policy and practice, yet limited research has explored how foster and kinship caregivers perceive and navigate this process. Understanding caregivers’ experiences is critical to advancing relational permanency and improving outcomes for children in foster care. Using an adapted grounded theory design, this qualitative study examined the experiences of 24 foster and kinship caregivers from two agencies participating in a family engagement practice model in one state. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and focus groups, and were analyzed thematically. All participants provided informed consent, data were de-identified, and pseudonyms were assigned to …

The Politics Of Remembering: Reconfiguring The Diorama Of Monas As Augmented Living Document, Suprayitno Suprayitno, Zulfatun Sofiyani, Rahmi Rahmi

Proceedings from the Document Academy

This paper examines the Monas diorama as a central apparatus in Indonesia’s politics of remembering, whose narrative consolidation during the New Order rendered it a state-authored monument of national memory. Drawing on Foucault’s distinction between monument and document, Ferraris’s ontology of documentality, and Perret’s concept of document design as projective epistemology, the study reframes the diorama as a documentary assemblage shaped by inscription, power, and institutionalized forgetting. Through diachronic, synchronic, comparative, and experimental analyses, the paper diagnoses failures across the physical, social, and cognitive dimensions of Monas as a document, revealing narrative authoritarianism, representational rigidity, and the absence of plural …

The Disproportionate Impact Of Hiv On Young Women In Durban: Exploring Gendered Vulnerabilities And Socioeconomic Barriers, Adrian A. Nolasco

Capstone Collection

South Africa has a high rate of HIV, with young women in Durban especially affected due to social, economic, and cultural challenges. This study looks at the experiences of young women living with HIV and the views of healthcare professionals caring for them in KwaZulu-Natal. Using a qualitative, phenomenological approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five women and three medical professionals to explore how HIV affects their lives, the challenges they face, and how they cope.

The findings show that both structural and personal barriers make it hard for young women to stick to treatment. Long waits at clinics, limited …

A Reflection On What Pharmacists In Different Countries Can Learn From One Another, Aaryaman Khurana, Patricia Darbishire

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

What would be the first words that come to mind if you were asked about the US health care system? I asked that question to several of my friends and pharmacy peers and received mixed responses such as “expensive,” “confusing,” “hard to navigate,” and “best in the world.” This was not surprising considering the many options and the varying quality of medical procedures, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals available. I wondered how responses might differ if I posed the same question about their health care to those in a third-world country. So, I asked the same question of friends and family …

Perceptions Of Former Inmates’ Mental Health And Substance Abuse Treatment Received During Incarceration, Garla Kathleen Snapp-Hart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Access to effective behavioral treatment is critical for the imprisoned population and newly released individuals to reduce reentry into the penitentiary system. Social workers within correctional facilities can determine the need for treatment, how often treatment is required, what specific treatment is necessary, and what resources will be needed to provide those treatments. A qualitative exploratory design was used in this study. I explored the quality of behavioral health treatment provided to the incarcerated population. Systems theory was used as the theoretical framework this study. There were 17 participants in this study who had been incarcerated in a Kentucky prison …

Ethical Decision-Making And Modification Of Service Delivery: Social Workers In Connecticut During Covid, Marie Elana Hollingsworth

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Social work professionals often experience demanding and intense situations while facing organizational restructuring during crisis situations. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore the viewpoints of frontline social workers regarding their ethical decision-making processes in response to the mandatory modifications of the service delivery protocol during the COVID-19 pandemic. Enck’s biomedical and ethical decision-making framework grounded the study. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews with 10 frontline social workers in Connecticut who had been employed with a social service agency for at least 3 years, but no more than ten. Findings from coding and thematic analysis yielded …

Comments On Treasury Notice 2025-68, Jin Huang, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

In December 2025, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service announced their intent to issue regulations concerning Trump Accounts (also known as 530A accounts), requesting public comments on the intended regulations and related provisions. This testimony presents comments submitted in response to that request. In it, Jin Huang and Michael Sherraden summarize evidence from the SEED for Oklahoma Kids experiment (SEED OK), Maine’s My Alfond Grant, and Rhode Island’s CollegeBound Baby on the effectiveness of automatic enrollment in policy. They discuss the use of Social Security numbers, a centralized clearing fund, and a designated custodian network as tools …

Impact Of Suicide Literacy In Hispanic/Latinx Communities, Denisse Centeno Lamas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Secondary Students’ Mental Health And Absenteeism Post-Covid-19: School Social Workers’ Perspectives, Tiffany Hines Sutton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

School social workers practice in a post-COVID-19 educational context where anxiety, depression, and emotional dysregulation are closely associated with chronic absenteeism among middle school students. This practice problem is central to clinical social work because distress-based avoidance is often misinterpreted as defiance, resulting in punitive responses that intensify disengagement. The purpose of this doctoral project was to explore how school social workers perceive and respond to the interconnected dynamics of student mental health and chronic absenteeism following COVID-19. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory guided the inquiry. A qualitative descriptive design was employed using semi-structured interviews with 10 middle school social workers …

Left Behind In Lockdown: A Scoping Review Of Covid-19’S Impact On The Lives Of Transition-Age Foster Youth, Johanna K P Greeson, Sarah Wasch, John Gyourko, Antonio R. Garcia, Hannah Bennett, Kate Greco, Liya Cha

Faculty Scholarship

This scoping review asked: What is known about the scope and nature of research on the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on older youth with foster care experience in the United States, including the types of studies, samples and outcomes examined? Guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute framework and PRISMA-ScR, we searched 11 databases and grey literature sources (October2024 to January 2025). Eligible studies were United States based, published from 2020 onward and included primary data on foster youth or relevant professionals. Thirty-two studies met inclusion criteria. Most studies were descriptive or cross-sectional, reflecting early phases of the pandemic. Mapping …

We Got You Sis: Body Mapping As An Embodied Pedagogical Approach To Sexual And Reproductive Justice Studies, Renata J. Hall

Feminist Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

Physical And Behavioral Health Diagnoses And Comorbidities Associated With Transition From Military Health System To Veterans Health Care Among Post-9/11 Veterans, Niki Wooten Phd, Lisw-Cp, Megan E. Amaun, Madeleine Myers, Prince N.O. Addo, Jeffrey Bowers, Felicia R. Carey, Rudolph P. Rull, Edward J. Boyko, Nathaniel Bell Ph.D., Ana Lopéz-De Fede, Mary Jo V. Pugh

Publications

Objective

To identify factors associated with transitioning from Military Health System (MHS) to Veterans Health Administration (VHA) care in post-9/11 veterans.

Study Setting and Design

Retrospective cohort study from the Long-Term Impact of Military-Relevant Brain Injury Consortium Phenotype Study.

Data Sources and Analytic Sample

Population-level data were analyzed from MHS and VHA electronic health data (FY2000-2020). Participants received ≥ 3 years of MHS care and separated from the military before October 1, 2016. The primary outcome was transition from MHS to VHA care after military separation. Covariates included demographic, military, and deployment characteristics at military separation; physical, mental, and substance …