Policy Impact Assessment: The “Reasonable Break Time” Provision Of The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act, Merritt Juliano

21st Century Social Justice

Breastfeeding continues to be the most optimal source of nutrition for infants under 6 months of age, and has been associated with a wide variety of infant and maternal health benefits, including protection against certain illnesses and diseases. Most health organizations recommend exclusive breastfeeding for at least the first 6 months post-birth. Despite these recommendations, breastfeeding women, especially those in lower socioeconomic groups face many challenges in our society. Moreover, maternal employment stands as a significant barrier to successful breastfeeding durations. To counter these problems, Section 4207 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act [ACA] was enacted to offer …

Conditional Cash Transfers, Community, And Empowerment Of Women In Colombia, Harlan Downs-Tepper

21st Century Social Justice

In 2001, the Colombian government initiated an experiment in poverty alleviation called Familias en Acción. This conditional cash transfer (CCT) program takes a novel approach to poverty reduction by addressing short- and long-term factors contributing to poverty. Though Colombia’s CCT program is just one of a wave of similar initiatives, its unique context and unexpected social effects, beyond the primary intentions of program designers, differentiate it from other such programs. Drawing on 200 interviews and focus group discussions which he conducted with academic experts, program beneficiaries and program administrators in three Colombian cities, the author finds that an unexpected …

The Importance Of Access To Benefits Under The Family Medical Leave Act For Low-Income Families For Bonding And Attachment Facilitation With A Fragile Infant And The Role Of The Social Worker, Theresa Stewart Moran

21st Century Social Justice

Lack of universal family leave discriminates against low-income families with infants who require care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Birth complications tend to occur more frequently in families living with low socioeconomic status, placing a disproportionate burden on an already vulnerable population. Parents in this group tend to be employed in jobs that do not include the benefit of parental leave. Considering that attachment relationships form as the result of bonding transactions during a critical time in development, limiting contact curtails secure attachment. This, combined with other risk factors, increase the odds of lifelong negative outcomes. Family leave policy …

An Examination Of South Carolina’S Institutions Of Reform And Their Impact On The Self-Narratives Of African American Men, Ashley E. Krejci-Shaw

Capstone Collection

In the State of South Carolina (SC), African American male adolescents disproportionately face disciplinary action in public schools and other institutions. In 2013, South Carolina’s Department of Juvenile Justice (SCDJJ) released data that listed Black male children comprising 57% of all juvenile referrals in the state. This disproportionate trend is also present in South Carolina’s correctional system. In 2013, South Carolina’s Department of Corrections (SCDOC) reported that out of 20,777 male prisoners, 13,631 were Black. For adolescents or young adults looking to continue their education, alternative programs are available. One program that captures educationally displaced children in South Carolina is …

Heterogeneous Effects Of Child Development Accounts On Savings For Children's Education, Jin Huang, Youngmi Kim, Michael Sherraden, Margaret Clancy

Center for Social Development Research

In this study, we use data from SEED for Oklahoma Kids (N = 2,77), a statewide policy experiment testing Child Development Accounts (CDAs), to examine effects on individual savings for children’s postsecondary education. Built on the account structure of the Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan, the experiment automatically opened state-owned 529 accounts for children in the treatment group with a $1,000 initial deposit, and encouraged their caregivers to open and save in participant-owned 529 accounts. Using quantile regressions and statistical match, the study focuses on the effects of CDAs on the shape of the savings distribution among participants who hold …

Community Organizing In Rural Areas: Yes, It's Different, Paul Force-Emery Mackie

Social Work Department Publications

This presentation focuses on the theory and practice of community organizing in rural areas. Special attention will be placed on how different organizing practices may be received based on rural cultural norms.

Trust, Cheating, And Dating Violence In Mexican American Adolescent Romantic Relationships, Lela Rankin Williams, Heidi Adams Rueda, Julie L. Nagoshi

Social Work Faculty Publications

Many adolescents experience some aspect of cheating in their romantic relationships, yet developmental and cultural influences on this experience are not well understood. A grounded theory approach was used to uncover the processes through which cheating resulted in dating violence among 64 Mexican American adolescents (15 to 17 years old). Focus groups, separated by level of acculturation and gender (N = 20), revealed paradoxical expectations for trust and cheating in romantic relationships. Low acculturated youth, particularly males, held broader definitions of cheating behaviors, used peers to monitor cheating behaviors, and took breaches of cheating more seriously. Males were perceived …

A Cross-Site Study Of User Behavior And Privacy Perception In Social Networks, Yue Zhang

Open Access Theses

While online social networking sites have brought convenience and diversity in people's social lives, they have also been the source for information leakage. Researchers have been looking for ways to balance user privacy protection and information disclosure. However, literature suggested that many users either failed to perceive privacy risks correctly or they failed to behave in accordance with privacy awareness even they have already perceived potential risks. ^ This thesis conducted a survey to measure social network users' privacy attitude, privacy perception and their actual behavior when using social networking sites. The survey targeted at three populations of different cultural …

Service Provider Promising Practice: Job Squad, Inc. (West Virginia) - A Blog That Conveys The Importance Of Community Employment, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

Job Squad is a medium-sized CRP that provides services to individuals in 13 counties within West Virginia. In 2005, responding to customer demands, executive director Brenda Hellwig and her staff received training from Griffin Hammis Associates to offer community employment services. Once trained, the career counselors at Job Squad found that their most successful jobs were matches between job seekers and small businesses that needed their skills and could provide natural supports. The team then started the Community Economic Development blog at http:// jobsquadinc.blogspot.com/. This is a platform to communicate with employers,

Focal Point, Volume 28, Portland State University. Regional Research Institute

Research and Training Center - Focal Point

Between one–third and one–half of young adults with mental health challenges have co-occurring substance use issues. This issue of Focal Point examines treatments and supports for this population.

Art Therapy For Adult Survivors Of Child Sexual Abuse, Cherie Ferguson

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The current study sought to determine the utilization and effectiveness of art therapy with adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, as perceived by mental health professionals. A total of 33 participants consisting of marriage and family therapists, masters of social work level clinicians and one doctorate level were surveyed. A self-constructed survey, created by the researcher was distributed to the participants. Results demonstrate that about one third of participants perceived art therapy to be moderately effective in reducing male and female issues surrounding childhood sexual abuse. No significant results were found when comparing the effectiveness of art therapy on males …

Relationship Between Mentorship And Child Welfare Workers’ Job Satisfaction, And Intention To Remain Employed In Child Welfare, Aleida A. Murcia, Jovanni L. Holloway

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study explored the relationship between mentoring and social workers’ job satisfaction and social workers’ intention to remain employed in child welfare. This study was conducted in Children Family Services (CFS), San Bernardino. Ninety six child welfare workers completed the survey using the JSS‑CW and the IRE‑CW instruments. A quantitative research design was utilized to analyze the data. Specifically, an Independent Sample T‑Test was used to analyze differences between the social workers who had a mentor and those who did not. Additionally, a Pearson R Correlation Test was conducted to analyze the relationship between mentoring and the different factors influencing …

Assessing The Fit Between Child Welfare Information Systems And Frontline Workers: Development Of A Task-Technology Fit Instrument, Kurt William Heisler

Health Services Research Dissertations

States and the federal government continue to invest heavily in child welfare information systems (CWIS) to improve caseworkers' performance, but the extent to which these systems meet caseworkers' needs is unclear. In the field of child welfare there are no reliable user-evaluation measures states can use to assess the degree to which a CWIS meets caseworkers' needs, and identify which specific features of the CWIS most need improvement. The study developed such a measure based on the task-technology fit (TTF) framework, which posits that users will evaluate the usefulness of a technology based on how well it meets their tasks …

Treating Young People With Co-Occurring Disorders: What Works?, Molly Oberweiser Kennedy, L. Kris Gowen

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Youth with substance use disorders often also face mental health challenges. Two recent studies analyzed two different treatment approaches for co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders: (1) a standardized therapy approach and (2) 12-step support groups, as modalities for effectively treating and continuing positive outcomes for young people with co-occurring mental health and substance use issues. The findings from these studies are summarized below.

Getting Performance Metrics Right: A Qualitative Study Of Staff Experiences Implementing And Measuring Practice Transformation, Devan Kansagara, Anaïs Tuepker, Sandy Joos, Christina Nicolaidis, Eleni Skaperdas, David H. Hickam

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

BACKGROUND: Quality improvement is a central goal of the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model, and requires the use of relevant performance measures that can effectively guide comprehensive care improvements. Existing literature suggests performance measurement can lead to improvements in care quality, but may also promote practices that are detrimental to patient care. Staff perceptions of performance metric implementation have not been well-researched in medical home settings.

OBJECTIVE: To describe primary care staff (clinicians and other staff) experiences with the use of performance metrics during the implementation of the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) model of care. …

A Review Of Mental Health Rehabilitation Technician Qualifications And Training Procedures, Kimberly I. Snow Mhsa, Ba, Nadine Erdis Msw, Janice Daley Msw

Disability & Aging

This report was prepared by Kimberly Irvin Snow, Nadine Edris, and Janice Daley of the University of Southern Maine's Muskie School of Public Service and submitted to the Maine Department of Health and Human Service, Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services. Results of this report were also presented in a webinar on November 21, 2014.

The authors investigated the training and certification processes used by other states for their mental health case management workforce. Ten states were selected for indepth comparative review because they provide a certification process for case managers, provide case management services similar to those …

Education Loans And Wealth Building Among Young Adults, Min Zhan, Xiaoling Xiang

Center for Social Development Research

This study examines the association between education loans and postcollege wealth accumulation among young adults. Data come from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, and the analyses control for a number of student characteristics, college experiences, and parental income. Results from a treatment-effect model indicate that having education loans upon leaving college is negatively related to postcollege net worth, financial assets, nonfinancial assets, and value of primary housing. Furthermore, having education loans also has a negative impact on the value of net worth among Black young adults. The relationship between the amount of education loans and wealth accumulation is …

Evidence-Based Practice Attitudes, Knowledge And Perceptions Of Barriers Among Juvenile Justice Professionals, Esther Chao Mckee

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This mixed methods study examined the attitudes, knowledge and perceptions of barriers toward Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) among Florida Juvenile Justice Service Professionals (JJSP). Previous research established individual factors such as age, gender, years of professional experience and educational attainment are related to attitudes and perceptions of barriers among social service and mental health professionals, but scant research has been conducted among juvenile justice providers (Aarons 2004, 2010; Rubin & Parrish, 2007, 2012; Jette et al., 2003). Most individual factors were found to have no significant effect on attitude and knowledge scores within this population with exception of gender and major …

The Enduring Significance Of Race In Mixed-Income Developments, Amy T. Khare, Mark L. Joseph

Faculty Scholarship

While public housing reforms seek to address poverty among what is a predominantly African-American population, there has been little explicit attention given to the significance of race in the formation of new mixed-income communities. Indeed, the policy framing of these efforts has focused on economic integration and has been essentially silent about racial integration. In this article, we examine whether and how race remains relevant to the everyday life and experiences of residents in mixed-income developments. Drawing on a multiyear research study of three mixed-income developments in Chicago, we examine the nature of interracial and intraracial social dynamics within these …

Lack Of Emergency Savings Puts American Households At Risk, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Blair Russell, Brad Tucker, Krista Comer

Center for Social Development Research

Lack of Emergency Savings Puts American Households at Risk