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Article Index Volume 19 - 20

Volume 21-22

Volume 19-20

Volume 16-18

Year: 2016 (Vol: 19 No: 1 Page: 3)

Title: From the Editor
Author(s): Lauduyt
Abstract:
Article PDF: 191003.pdf

Year: 2016 (Vol: 19 No: 1 Page: 5)

Title: Restoring Rundberg: A Community-Research Partnership
Author(s): Springer, Lauderdale, Fitzgerald & Baker
Abstract: Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work and the Austin Police Department have partnered with community leaders and stakeholders to Restore Rundberg, which aims to “improve the quality of life, health, safety, education, and well-being of individuals living and working in the Rundberg neighborhood.” Sustainable and innovative community engagement is at the core of this effort.
Article PDF: 191005.pdf

Year: 2016 (Vol: 19 No: 1 Page: 9)

Title: Resident Feedback on the Restore Rundberg Community Survey
Author(s): Castro, Casstevens, Garcia & Springer
Abstract: A major goal of the Restore Rundberg project is to increase collective efficacy and community engagement, and community-level interventions are currently being implemented in this vein. In order to assess the effect of these interventions on collective efficacy and community engagement of Rundberg residents, researchers complied a community survey that measures residents’ of perceptions of these factors before and after implementation of interventions.
Article PDF: 191009.pdf

Year: 2016 (Vol: 19 No: 1 Page: 13)

Title:Restore Rundberg: Targeting Hot Spots
Author(s): Whitt
Abstract: Crime is, typically, tightly clustered around specific locations in urban neighborhoods. The disproportionate aggregation of neighborhood disorder into ‘hot spots’ was a conspicuous point of agreement among the many perspectives shared within the Restore Rundberg team of neighbors, law enforcement officials, social science researchers, social workers, and community engagement professionals from the inception. The more challenging compromise between stakeholders of the notoriously disadvantaged Austin, TX neighborhood has been developing the best intervention to reduce violations in the most problematic areas while also limiting the displacement of crime into others.
Article PDF: 191013.pdf

Year: 2016 (Vol: 19 No: 1 Page: 17)

Title: University and Community Engagement-Classes to Promote Youth Leadership
Author(s): Davis
Abstract: There are over 300 colleges and universities that compete in the top division of the NCAA, and over 120 the mirror the size of The University of Texas’s athletic program as members of the upper echelon of football at the collegiate level. Similarly, the impact of those schools AND their respective student athletes on the local community can be as significant. The leadership developed among those student athletes cannot and does not happen in a vacuum: their potential impact on local communities, particularly those in socio-economic disadvantaged neighborhoods and schools can be immense.
Article PDF: 191017.pdf

Year: 2016 (Vol: 19 No: 1 Page: 20)

Title: Restore Rundberg: Developing an Asset Inventory
Author(s): Pitzer
Abstract: The Restore Rundberg Project was designed to address crime and revitalize the neighborhoods within the Rundberg area. As a component of this project, an asset inventory was created to document the resources, services, programs, and initiatives currently present in the community.
Article PDF: 191020.pdf

Year: 2016 (Vol: 19 No: 1 Page: 24)

Title: LaunchPad Photovoice Project: Rundberg Through the Eyes of Middle School Students
Author(s): Streeter
Abstract: Photovoice is a community-based participatory action research method that combines photography with grassroots mobilization to help members of the community gain a greater understanding of their environment and experiences and to share them with others. The pictures, along with captions or narration by the photographers, can be used to document the reality of life in the community through the eyes of the photographer and can drive home that reality to the public and to policy makers to help spur change and improve conditions in the community.
Article PDF: 191024.pdf

Year: 2016 (Vol: 19 No: 1 Page: 27)

Title: Aspects of Organized Drug Trade Affecting Austin
Author(s): Taraba, Lauderdale & Inman
Abstract: Mexico and the United States share a border of 1, 989 miles of which 1,254 is the portion shared by Texas. The Mexican drug cartels have estimated revenues between $18,000,000,000 and $39,000,000,000 every year from selling illegal drugs in the United States. These revenues provide extremely high profit margins as the actual cost of the drugs is around 10% of the price that they are sold. Public safety authorities must recognize these factors and understand the greater vulnerability of Austin, its institutions and its neighborhoods to organized criminal efforts.
Article PDF: 191027.pdf

Year: 2016 (Vol: 19 No: 1 Page: 30)

Title: Measures of Public Safety Needs and Resources: Austin and Central Texas
Author(s): Lauderdale
Abstract: This document is part of a larger effort of the Greater Austin Crime Commission to assess Public Safety Threats, Resources and Needs. It draws upon various data from public safety agencies in Central Texas, mainly Travis County and the contiguous counties of Williamson, Burnet, Hays and Bastrop. Austin has the state capital and the greatest number of state employees in Texas, as well as elected state representatives for many months every year. It is home to one of the largest universities in the United States (over 50,000 students) and has one of the highest educated populations in the nation. After state government, high technology and entertainment are the major economic pillars. With important air, highway and rail connections, as well as electronic communications, the city is becoming a major gateway between the
Article PDF: 191030.pdf

Year: 2016 (Vol: 19 No: 2 Page: 3)

Title: Introduction: Social Work in a Time of Turbulence
Author(s): Lauderdale
Abstract: Social Work began in a time of tumult and cultural and economic change, and is a key player as technology continues to advance and retires older occupations, such as factory workers.
Article PDF: 192003.pdf

Year: 2016 (Vol: 19 No: 2 Page: 6)

Title: Social Work on the Move: Emerging Roles and New Directions
Author(s): Sweifach
Abstract: This article presents findings from a national study of social workers employed in interprofessional organizations. It was hypothesized that this cohort could provide important insights about current and future employment opportunities for social workers. It was surmised that social workers employed within interprofessional settings, with their interdisciplinary experiences, who are exposed to a multi-professional work environment, perhaps see the current and future workforce world through a unique lens. It was imagined that respondents could offer a unique perspective about workforce opportunities currently available, but relatively understated, and insights about roles, thus far unimagined, but which could materialize in the future.
Article PDF: 192006.pdf

Year: 2016 (Vol: 19 No: 2 Page: 16)

Title: The Challenge of Addressing Disability Within Social Work Education: Reconciling Theory and Practice
Author(s): Dupré & Carty
Abstract: Social work education programs addressing disability have not kept up to current theoretical developments within the disability studies literature. While some social work educators support a combined social work and disability studies program, this paper argues that there is a more fundamental issue to be reconciled; the relationship between disability theory and social work practice. The challenge for social work is to embrace critical disability studies by developing practice approaches that are supportive and enabling when working with disabled people. Anti-oppressive social work theory and practice, specifically structural social work, appears to hold potential for meeting this challenge.
Article PDF: 192016.pdf

Year: 2016 (Vol: 19 No: 2 Page: 29)

Title: Researching Orientation, Research Anxiety, Research Courses, and Empowerment Among Social Work Students
Author(s): Crews, Bolin, Lee & Groot
Abstract: The purpose of this current study was to determine if there is an association between research orientation and empowerment. Research orientation (the importance of research, usefulness of research, unbiased nature of research), research anxiety, and number of research courses taken were related to the empowerment of social work students. Three hundred sixty-three social work students were surveyed to explore the relationship between the research variables and the students’ feeling of empowerment. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that research orientation, such as the importance of research and number of research classes taken, were significantly associated with an increase in social work students’ feelings of empowerment. These results indicate social work students may be empowered through research and evaluation as part of the complexities associated with practice.
Article PDF: 192029.pdf

Year: 2016 (Vol: 19 No: 2 Page: 38)

Title: Opportunities for a New Dialogue About Professional Development Through Title IV-E Training: Unexpected Goodness of Fit
Author(s): Willis, Leung & Chavkin
Abstract: This qualitative study of public child welfare workers (N=603) examined the impact of Title IV-E professional development on retention and turnover. Results found that although there are many similarities between Title IV-E and non-Title IV-E trained workers, Title IV-E trained workers were more likely to perceive a lack of fit between their skills and training and their career goals and job duties. This lack of goodness of fit is supported by both research and theory, and may contribute to the turnover that Title IV-E was designed to prevent. These findings create an opportunity for a new dialogue about professional development to address preventable turnover.
Article PDF: 192038.pdf

Year: 2016 (Vol: 19 No: 2 Page: 54)

Title: Engaging the Next Generation of Veteran Services Providers in Professional Development Through an Elective Course
Author(s): Selber, Chavkin, Biggs, Shaffer & Hall
Abstract: This article reports on an effort by one school of social work to introduce social work students to professional development content about working with the military, veterans, and their families through an interdisciplinary elective course about veterans. The course, Helping Veterans Transition, introduces students to the veteran population, the culture, the needs, and the services. The course emphasizes a service learning project which is a first step in engaging those who will work with veterans in the future in their own professional development. The article describes the social work course developed and taught over the past six years, the service learning projects that helped students begin the first steps in professional development, the results of a follow-up survey, and lessons learned. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for social work education and professional development about working with veterans.
Article PDF: 192054.pdf

Year: 2017 (Vol: 20 No: 1 Page: 3)

Title: Postpartum Depression: A Critical Area for Continuing Social Work Education
Author(s): Keefe, Polmanteer & Brownstein-Evans
Abstract: Up to 25% of new mothers develop postpartum depression (PPD) following childbirth. Given their education and training to work in various healthcare settings and with systems of all sizes, social workers are among the professionals most likely to work with these mothers. However, social work journals and textbooks have published little on this topic, and few continuing education programs have provided workshops to train social workers to provide quality services to mothers with PPD. This article provides an overview of a workshop that continuing education programs can use to help social workers work effectively with mothers who have PPD.
Article PDF: 201003.pdf

Year: 2017 (Vol: 20 No: 1 Page: 14)

Title: Victim Assistance Service Providers’ Training Needs Assessment
Author(s): Desrosiers, Sullivan, Lay & Dickinson
Abstract: The process of creating a victim services training is complex, requiring extensive resources to be successfully completed. This article describes the creation of one southern state’s Victim Assistance Academy. This grant funded project provides basic training to victim service providers in a rural southern state. The Training Needs Assessment process is described in detail, and implications for social work policy and practice are discussed.
Article PDF: 201014.pdf

Year: 2017 (Vol: 20 No: 1 Page: 26)

Title: Parallel Process in Final Field Education: A Continuing Education Workshop to Promote Best Practices in Social Work
Author(s): Black, Gigler & Stein
Abstract: A continuing education workshop is proposed to enhance field instructor application of effective parallel process for social work students. Vignettes, depicting authentic supervisory interactions, are presented to reflect various behavioral categories for field instructor deliberation. PowerPoint slides, Clicker technology, and multiple facilitators are used to engage participants and spark interactive discussion. In a test workshop, professional boundaries evoked the most controversial discussions. A common thread that emerged was the importance of viewing each interaction within a contextual framework. The workshop approach served to raise consciousness of participants in the value of parallel process, and the need for discernment in its effective application in field education.
Article PDF: 201026.pdf

Year: 2017 (Vol: 20 No: 1 Page: 38)

Title: Notes from the Field: Four Macro Interventions That Combat the School-To-Prison Pipeline
Author(s): Williams & Guz
Abstract: Although research indicates that the school-to-prison pipeline is an oppressive system which excludes youth of color from education and often leads to their incarceration, interventions have been understudied. Continuing social work education is necessary to inform social work practice around this issue. The Social Work Code of Ethics highlights two principles which include social workers challenging social injustice and addressing social problems. The school-to-prison pipeline remains an ethical issue, removing students of color from schools while increasing their contact with the criminal justice system. This paper focuses on social workers’ use of macro practice as a tool to eliminate the school-to-prison pipeline. Four interventions (demilitarizing schools, improving school policies, implementing restorative justice, and connecting schools to neighboring communities) are recommended for school-based social workers to decrease discriminatory practices in schools and to increase educational opportunities for students of color.
Article PDF: 201038.pdf

Year: 2017 (Vol: 20 No: 1 Page: 45)

Title: A Survey of Continuing Education Programs Conducted by Professional Development: The International Journal of Continuing Social Work Education
Author(s): Landuyt & Traish
Abstract: The needs of individuals and the most effective ways that can be used to help them are constantly evolving. Therefore, social workers involved in helping efforts must continually be engaged in learning and education to stay informed. In order to accomplish this, continuing education (CE) is an integral part of the social work profession. As a result of the importance of continuing social work education forprofessional practice, states and provinces, through governmental authority, have made obtaining CE hours a requirement for maintaining professional competency and skills. However, CE requirements and administration are operated on a location-by-location basis. As a result of this reality, there are different jurisdictions and little connection or coordination in CE program information. A first step in increasing this coordination and communication is to gather information from the various CE programs. The collection and dissemination of programmatic information would act as a benchmark and a resource for CE program directors, program administrators, and the broader social services community. Also such data would operate as an impetus in shaping future collaboration between programs, which has the potential to improve the overall quality and effectiveness of CE programs.
Article PDF: 201045.pdf

Year: 2017 (Vol: 20 No: 2 Page: 3)

Title: The Changing Meaning and Purposes of Social Work
Author(s): Shuttlesworth
Abstract:
Article PDF: 202003.pdf

Year: 2017 (Vol: 20 No: 2 Page: 5)

Title: A New Era of Ethics: The Use of Virtual Reality Interventions in Social Work Ethics
Author(s): Trahan
Abstract: Social work practice is embracing the use of technology for the purpose of providing clients with the most efficacious interventions. Virtual technology, another significant wave in technological advancement, is commercially available to the public and social work practitioners. While social work has been researching the efficacy and impact of virtual reality interventions, social work macro and micro practitioners are not equipped with ethical standards for best practices that maximize client outcomes and reduce risk. The article reviews the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) code of ethics and new standards published by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) to review information pertaining to virtual reality technology including risks and benefits, standards for procedural use, and future direction for establishing best practices. The use of virtual reality with clients has multiple layers of ethical considerations social workers must address before engaging in the use of virtual reality tools. Social work practitioners are provided with suggested guidelines for virtual reality use with clients.
Article PDF: 202005.pdf

Year: 2017 (Vol: 20 No: 2 Page: 25)

Title: Information Communication Technology (ICT) and Social Work: Moving Social Work Education and Practice Into the 21st Century
Author(s): Ausbrooks, Travis
Abstract: As the largest group of mental health service providers, more than counselors, marriage and family therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and school and career counselors combined, social workers are in prime position to make a profound influence on the nation’s well-being through effective integration of technology in social work education and services. Social work programs currently use technology for pedagogical purposes (to reach students across broad geographical areas), but few if any provide instruction on information and communication technology and how to integrate it into social work practice. We have no systematic vision of what social work students need to learn about information and communication technology, or how they can integrate technology into service delivery. To address conceptual gaps we build upon the work of existing research to provide direction for using technology in social work practice.

Article PDF: 202025.pdf

Year: 2017 (Vol: 20 No: 2 Page: 36)

Title: Spiritual Neuroscience: A Review of An Emerging Field and Implications for Social Work Practice and Research

Author(s): Hodge
Abstract: To help social work practitioners provide more effective services to clients that self-identify as spiritual or religious, this paper orients readers to the new field of spiritual neuroscience. Toward that end, the paper describes the parameters of this field, delineates the methods that serve to distinguish spiritual neuroscience, reviews seminal research, and discusses the resulting implications as they intersect social work practice and research. The findings in this emerging field shed a unique disciplinary light on the development of an empathetic stance and intervention selection, key practitioner concerns when working with spiritually motivated clients. The paper concludes by suggesting that social workers can make a significant contribution to advancing research on the relationship between spirituality and wellness by forming collaborative relationships with spiritual neuroscientists.
Article PDF: 202036.pdf

Year: 2017 (Vol: 20 No: 2 Page: 45)

Title: Distance Education in Social Work: A Review of the Literature

Author(s): Hamilton, Brown, Rodgers
Abstract: The growth of online technologies in higher education has presented new challenges for the field of social work education. Some have questioned whether this human interaction-dependent profession can be ethically delivered online. Technology also poses special challenges for social work education and practice in the areas of confidentiality and professional boundaries. These ethical questions have resulted in a lag for research in the area of online social work education when compared to other fields. This review of the relevant literature attempts to discover the current state of knowledge for social work education technologies. Findings indicate that barriers to human interaction and technical glitches are common concerns for educators. However, there is evidence that online social work students have statistically similar outcomes in comparison to traditional students and that technology presents new opportunities to the field if properly utilized.
Article PDF: 202045.pdf

Year: 2017 (Vol: 20 No: 2 Page: 57)

Title: Independent Living Skills: Evaluating Youth Leaving Foster Care

Author(s): Gore, Sullivan, Reid, Irwin, & Smith
Abstract: Youth in out-of-home care are at risk for several negative outcomes as they transition into adulthood. This quantitative study examines the basic independent living skills of 64 youth recently aged out of foster care. The data indicate that youth fared better in basic independent living skills when involved with formal foster youth organizations. Results indicate a significant difference between the scores of youth attending state or national foster care conferences and the general foster care population in all six skill areas measured.
Article PDF: 202057.pdf