Looking Beneath The Surface: Understanding Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Through The Caregiver’S Lens—Support, Advocacy, And Self-Care,
2026
Concordia University, St. Paul
Looking Beneath The Surface: Understanding Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Through The Caregiver’S Lens—Support, Advocacy, And Self-Care, Melissa Fredin
Master of Arts in Human Services
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disability resulting from prenatal alcohol exposure that can affect cognitive functioning, adaptive skills, communication, emotional regulation, and daily living abilities. Individuals with FASD and their caregivers often face complex challenges while navigating behavioral, educational, healthcare, human service, and criminal justice systems. Although awareness of FASD continues to increase, gaps remain in caregiver education, professional understanding, and access to coordinated, trauma-informed supports. The literature indicates that caregiver education is central to improving outcomes for individuals with FASD and is associated with stronger advocacy, more effective support strategies, greater caregiver resilience, and improved …
Reflections In Practice,
2026
University of Montana
Reflections In Practice, Joshua William Erickson
Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects
This portfolio narrative documents my professional development through the Master of Social Work program at the University of Montana. It discusses how I've developed my skills through practicum sites at Youth Villages and the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) at Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) as well as coursework spanning from clinical practice, policy analysis, program evaluation, and community organizing. Using the Five Elements of Advanced Integrated Practice and all ten CSWE competencies as an organizing structure, clinical skills with adolescents, families, and older adults are reflected on. Growth in macro-level practice, program evaluation, and interdisciplinary leadership is …
Msw Portfolio: Tributaries Of Growth,
2026
The University Of Montana
Msw Portfolio: Tributaries Of Growth, Madison Hergenrader
Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects
Tributaries of Growth reflects mastery in the field of Social Work; reflections on the five elements and ten competencies as seen through the academic and practicum experiences at the University of Montana.
Spiral & Wheel,
2026
University of Montana
Spiral & Wheel, Red Audiss
Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects
No abstract provided.
Becoming A Social Worker,
2026
University of Montana
Becoming A Social Worker, Sheyanne Marie Herron
Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects
This portfolio is a reflective overview of my journey toward becoming a social worker. It highlights how my education, professional experiences, practicum placements, and coursework have shaped my development as a clinician, advocate, and leader. The portfolio demonstrates growth across the core MSW competencies, including ethical practice, assessment, intervention, research, policy, advocacy, cultural humility, and leadership. It also emphasizes my person-centered, strengths-based, and trauma-informed approach to practice and my commitment to social justice and lifelong learning.
Restoring Trust And Relational Depth In The Philadelphia Seventh-Day Adventist Church Through Structural Family Therapy Interventions,
2026
Liberty University
Restoring Trust And Relational Depth In The Philadelphia Seventh-Day Adventist Church Through Structural Family Therapy Interventions, Laundale Leopold Munroe
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
This Doctor of Ministry action research project addressed the challenge of unclear relational and leadership boundaries associated with reduced trust, emotional comfort, and healthy communication within the Philadelphia Seventh-day Adventist Church in Bronx, New York. The purpose of this project was to implement and evaluate an eight-week Structural Family Therapy-informed intervention designed to strengthen trust, emotional comfort, leadership clarity, relational boundaries, and healthy communication among church members. The goals were to increase participants’ awareness of congregational relational patterns, encourage healthier interpersonal interactions, and cultivate practices that support sustained relational health. A mixed-methods action research design was employed with eighteen adult …
Exploring The Occupational Risks Among Human Service Professionals: A Trauma-Informed Approach To Caring For Others And Ourselves,
2026
Concordia University, St. Paul
Exploring The Occupational Risks Among Human Service Professionals: A Trauma-Informed Approach To Caring For Others And Ourselves, Shaian Kong
Master of Arts in Human Services
It is known that human service practitioners are often expected to maintain empathy, compassion, emotional regulation, and professionalism during high-stress or uncertain situations. These experiences expose practitioners to a unique intersection of trauma. While helping others through their own trauma, practitioners may also experience symptoms such as intrusive thoughts, emotional exhaustion, sleep disturbances, hypervigilance, and avoidance despite not directly experiencing the traumatic events themselves. Current literature highlights these existing occupational risks that may hinder sustained career development, increased compassion fatigue, and affect workplace standards and support. With things like frequent increase in workloads, workforce shortages, and insufficient professional support, practitioners …
Social Workers’ Perceptions Of Pediatric Hiv Disclosure Process,
2026
Walden University
Social Workers’ Perceptions Of Pediatric Hiv Disclosure Process, Colleen Myrie
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Although the social problem of pediatric HIV disclosure has been studied by researchers internationally, there remains a gap in the experiences of social workers in facilitating this process. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of social workers in the United States regarding the disclosure process for HIV positive children. This study was grounded in Rosenstock’s health belief model, which posits that an individual will take necessary action to prevent or manage a disease based on their perceptions of health. This model was effective in helping to identify what social workers think about …
Exploring The Experiences And Support Needs Of African Immigrant Families Raising Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder In Ohio,
2026
Walden University
Exploring The Experiences And Support Needs Of African Immigrant Families Raising Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder In Ohio, Linda Nkoumba Eteki
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) presents unique challenges for families; however, African immigrant parents raising children with ASD in Ohio experience additional difficulties related to cultural stigma, systemic inequities, and limited access to culturally responsive services. This social work practice problem is important because it reflects disparities in diagnosis, intervention, service access, and family support that align with social work’s commitment to equity, advocacy, and social justice. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of African immigrant families raising children with ASD in Ohio and to examine how they describe autism-related stigma, caregiving challenges, and interactions with …
Non-Veteran Civilian Manager Perceptions About Supporting Employee Military In Civilian Workplace Transitions,
2026
Walden University
Non-Veteran Civilian Manager Perceptions About Supporting Employee Military In Civilian Workplace Transitions, Sandra Gail Piggee
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
One of the largest populations seeking employment in private sector industries is military veterans. The active-duty military careers end for over 200,000 individuals per year, and over two-thirds of veterans resign from private sector industry positions within 2 years of post-service transition due to difficulties with their transition. This can lead to a lack of career advancement, professional development, and employee benefits. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore perceptions of non-veteran civilian managers in private sector industries about how to support employees who are veterans in making a successful transition from the military into civilian employment. …
Exploring Licensed Clinical Social Workers’ Past Trauma And Current Practice: A Strengths-Based Perspective,
2026
Walden University
Exploring Licensed Clinical Social Workers’ Past Trauma And Current Practice: A Strengths-Based Perspective, Michael E. Conner
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of licensed clinical social workers to examine how they manage, reinterpret, and integrate their childhood trauma into their professional clinical identities. Adverse childhood experiences among clinicians are often framed through a risk-based lens of burnout and impairment, leaving social work leaders without empirical models to support post-traumatic growth and workforce retention. The purpose of this study was to examine how clinicians leverage past adversity to inform contemporary practice. A basic qualitative design was used, with semistructured interviews conducted with 11 participants. Participant narratives were examined through the dual lenses of shattered assumptions theory …
Coping With Adversity: Exploring The Role Of Protective Factors And Their Impact On School Enrollment And Satisfaction Among Adolescents Living With Hiv In Low-Resource Settings,
2026
Washington University in St. Louis - Brown School of Social Work
Coping With Adversity: Exploring The Role Of Protective Factors And Their Impact On School Enrollment And Satisfaction Among Adolescents Living With Hiv In Low-Resource Settings, Jennifer Nattabi
Brown School Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations
Globally, an estimated 2.38 million children and adolescents (0–19 years) are living with HIV, with 80% residing in sub-Saharan Africa. In Uganda, adolescents remain at high risk, with approximately 6,600 new infections among 10–19-year-olds in 2023. Despite expanded access to antiretroviral therapy (ART), adolescents Living with HIV (ALHIV) continue to experience poor outcomes, including low viral suppression and high mortality, largely driven by non-adherence. However, ART adherence represents only one dimension of their lived experience. ALHIV must also navigate intersecting adversities, including poverty, stigma, orphanhood, and exposure to sexual and gender-based violence, while meeting academic expectations, particularly in boarding school …
Searching Together: “Research Resisters” And Creating Pathways For Narrative Practice Research,
2026
University of Melbourne, Australia | Dulwich Centre, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Searching Together: “Research Resisters” And Creating Pathways For Narrative Practice Research, David Denborough
The Qualitative Report
This paper conveys eleven research innovations that have recently emerged from the field of narrative therapy and community work. These include multi-storied surveys, testimonies and counter documents; insider researchers navigating pathologising literatures; creative ethical processes and accountabilities; re-imagining research interviews; conceptualising research as resonance; linking insider research and practice; collective narrative documents in research; exchanges of collective documents/letters as methodology; reading back: oral retellings; the development of Indigenist story-journey methodology; and forms of research that are accessible, resonant and useful to the most marginalised. These innovations are linked to histories and ethical commitments that are also described.
Transgender And Gender-Diverse Healthcare Through Virtual Social Networking,
2026
Sacred Heart University
Transgender And Gender-Diverse Healthcare Through Virtual Social Networking, Francis Peter Furmanek Iii
PhD of Social Work
This study examined the behavior of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) utilizing virtual social networking (VSN) to address their healthcare needs. Presently, the TGD community has been facing discrimination in policy and social structure across the United States. Accepting safe spaces are vital to survival and growth of TGD people, and the current wave of anti-trans legislation seeks to eliminate these spaces. This phenomenological mixed-methods study examined mechanisms that TGD people use to address healthcare needs in virtual spaces alongside a backdrop of negative healthcare experiences in traditional settings. Informed by Intersectional theory, Minority Stress Theory, and considering Andersen’s Behavioral …
Autistic Traits And Mental Health Support Service Use Among Parents Of Young Children With Autism,
2026
University of South Carolina
Autistic Traits And Mental Health Support Service Use Among Parents Of Young Children With Autism, Margaret Janse Van Rensburg, Robert Hock, Emmanuella Asabea Twum, Resia-Maria Cooper, Abigail K. Reza Jameson, C. Andrew Conway, Mark Ethan Feinberg
Faculty and Staff Publications
Parents of children recently diagnosed with autism often experience elevated psychological distress, yet little is known about whether parental autistic traits are associated with support-seeking. Using baseline data from a randomized controlled trial of a parent mentoring intervention, this study examined support use among 355 parents of children aged 18 months to 8 years whose child had received an autism diagnosis within the previous 12 months. Parental autistic traits were assessed using the Ritvo Autism and Asperger Diagnostic Scale–14 (RAADS-14). Overall, 36.1% of parents reported accessing support for stress, emotional, or mental health concerns, and 33.2% scored above the RAADS-14 …
What Fire Reveals: A Portfolio Of Integrated Practice, Harm Reduction, And Liberation-Centered Social Work,
2026
University of Montana, Missoula
What Fire Reveals: A Portfolio Of Integrated Practice, Harm Reduction, And Liberation-Centered Social Work, Jackie Brittain
Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects
No abstract provided.
More Than A Profession: A Calling In Social Work,
2026
University of Montana
More Than A Profession: A Calling In Social Work, Paulette Lingle
Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects
No abstract provided.
Cultural Values, Norms, And Mental Health Service Utilization Among Young Adult Guyanese Immigrants,
2026
Walden University
Cultural Values, Norms, And Mental Health Service Utilization Among Young Adult Guyanese Immigrants, Rhonis Alfred
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Young adult Guyanese immigrants living in the United States often face cultural, familial, and social challenges that influence their perceptions of mental health and willingness to seek professional support. Despite growing attention to immigrant mental health, limited research has explored the experiences of this population. This qualitative study aimed to improve understanding of how cultural values, family dynamics, and acculturation stress influence mental health perceptions and help-seeking behaviors. The theoretical framework underpinning this study was acculturation theory. The research explored how participants navigated cultural identity, family expectations, and adaptation to life in the United States. A purposive sampling strategy was …
Ssw 701.50: Social Welfare Policy,
2026
CUNY Graduate Center
Ssw 701.50: Social Welfare Policy, Ian G. Williams
Open Educational Resources
This syllabus is an Open Educational Resources (OER) remixed version of SSW 701.50: Social Welfare Policy, which is taught at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College. This version updated the content and integrated additional OER materials, as part of the Summer 2026 cohort of The Open Knowledge Fellowship at the Mina Rees Library. It is a Zero-Textbook (ZTC) cost course and integrates materials from a range of academic disciplines. Official course description is as follows:
"This foundation course furnishes you with the orienting knowledge and skills needed to examine social welfare policies and to understand their relevance …
Leveraging Technology To Measure The Strength Of Demand For Commercial And Trafficked Sex,
2026
Street Grace
Leveraging Technology To Measure The Strength Of Demand For Commercial And Trafficked Sex, Michael D. Shively, Bob Rodgers, Courtney Furlong, Brooke Ruffin
Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence
The article examines Transaction Intercept (TI), an artificial‑intelligence platform designed to reduce sex trafficking by disrupting the revenue streams that draw organized crime into the market. Transaction Intercept deploys decoy online ads that appear to offer commercial sexual exploitation or prostitution. Automated "decoy" personas connect to individuals who click on these ads and engage them in text conversations. These exchanges can remain fully automated, ending with deterrence messages, or be transferred to police for potential enforcement action or to trained volunteers who attempt to discourage further attempts to buy sex. Transaction Intercept generates extensive, real‑time data on local demand for …
