Domestic Violence Resources for Women Receiving Intensive Family Preservation Services

Intimate partner violence is a common correlate of child abuse and neglect and often is not addressed in family preservation services. In many cases, the ideologies of family preservationists and advocates for women \u27s safety can be at odds. This article presents a study of a collaborative model of intervention, utilizing family preservation workers and community resource practitioners working with domestic violence as group facilitators. The study utilizes a pretest, post-test design to evaluate a domestic violence resource group for women who were concurrently receiving intensive family preservation services. The study examines the effect of the program on participants\u27 self-perceptions regarding self-esteem, independence, goals, social isolation, and assertiveness. Caseworker perceptions of client characteristics also are evaluated, and qualitative responses of the effects of the program are included

Teaching Spirituality in the Classroom: Building Compassionate and Non-judgmental Conversations with Students

This narrative describes the experiences of three social work professors whose lifelong interest in the spiritual realm guided their presentation of material in the classroom that engaged conversation about spiritual and religious beliefs. Specific skills for students to understand and work with their own spiritually and that of clients are reviewed

Lambs and Lions

Didactic parent training classes are often the treatment of choice for parents reported for child maltreatment. While these classes can be effective, they do little to reduce parents’ social isolation, a key contributor to child maltreatment and family stress. Herein, two psychoeducational support groups for maltreating parents are described, in which parenting is not the primary focus of curriculum. The Learning About Myself group is aimed at parents being served for neglect, and is focused on improving social skills and social networks, in order to reduce depression and social isolation. The Rightful Options and Resources group is aimed at women experiencing woman abuse, in order to increase assertiveness skills in relationships and reduce social isolation. The curriculum and group content of each group is described, with evaluative results of the effect on social relationships

Teacher and Staff Voices: Implementation of a PBIS Bully Prevention Program in an Urban School

Bullying is a problem that impacts the academic, social and emotional well-being of scores of children and youth daily in American schools. Understanding how to influence the environment in which the bullying occurs is essential to creating safe schools. Whole school intervention programs train teachers, school staff and administrators to model, provide practice opportunities, reward and correct children in learning respectful behaviors that will decrease bullying amongst peers. It is important to engage teachers and staff in the development, modification and evaluation of bully prevention programs if the programs are to be effective. Attention to the factors that either support or create barriers to the implementation of the programs are critical to their success. This research project will evaluate the implementation of an evidence-based Bully Prevention in Positive Behavior Support (PBIS) model that was conducted in one urban elementary school. Five focus groups with teachers, support staff or administrators were facilitated by the authors. Findings will assist in a clearer understanding of the factors that contribute to the success of the implementation and additional factors that may need modification to fit the needs of the school, students and community

Getting the job done

Work groups offer the potential to influence the structure, policy and procedures in agency practice. Skilfully led work groups engage workers in a process where problems are identified and explored and collaborative solutions are developed and implemented. A case example of a work group mobilized by a child welfare worker to restore parent child visitation rooms will be used to illustrate the planning process, recruitment of work group members, development of a common purpose and goals and facilitation of sessions throughout the stages of the group’s work. Implications for practice focus on group leadership skills that enhanced the work, resulting in the success of the project and agency change. Barriers to the work will be discussed with suggestions for future projects

Proposed Modification of a School-Wide Bully Prevention Program to Support All Children

Bullying prevention programs in the United States are being implemented in schools from kindergarten through high school to reduce rates of bullying behaviors. The bully prevention in positive behavior support (PBIS) model is an evidence-based, whole school intervention program. The PBIS model trains teachers, school staff, and administrators to model and provide positive reinforcement for children to decrease bullying amongst peers. This article addresses gaps in the current bullying prevention research by exploring challenges and potential modifications to the PBIS model based on staff perspectives of specific student needs. Utilizing focus group methodology, administrators, teachers, and support staff in a northeastern urban elementary school identified challenges experienced by students who were English language learners, impulsive, shy or sensitive, and female. The findings highlight the critical nature of school–parent relationships in addressing student, family, and cultural factors that influence the successful implementation of bullying prevention programs

Immunologic resilience and COVID-19 survival advantage.

BackgroundThe risk of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) varies significantly among persons of similar age and is higher in males. Age-independent, sex-biased differences in susceptibility to severe COVID-19 may be ascribable to deficits in a sexually dimorphic protective attribute that we termed immunologic resilience (IR).ObjectiveWe sought to examine whether deficits in IR that antedate or are induced by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection independently predict COVID-19 mortality.MethodsIR levels were quantified with 2 novel metrics: immune health grades (IHG-I [best] to IHG-IV) to gauge CD8+ and CD4+ T-cell count equilibrium, and blood gene expression signatures. IR metrics were examined in a prospective COVID-19 cohort (n = 522); primary outcome was 30-day mortality. Associations of IR metrics with outcomes in non-COVID-19 cohorts (n = 13,461) provided the framework for linking pre-COVID-19 IR status to IR during COVID-19, as well as to COVID-19 outcomes.ResultsIHG-I, tracking high-grade equilibrium between CD8+ and CD4+ T-cell counts, was the most common grade (73%) among healthy adults, particularly in females. SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with underrepresentation of IHG-I (21%) versus overrepresentation (77%) of IHG-II or IHG-IV, especially in males versus females (P < .01). Presentation with IHG-I was associated with 88% lower mortality, after controlling for age and sex; reduced risk of hospitalization and respiratory failure; lower plasma IL-6 levels; rapid clearance of nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 burden; and gene expression signatures correlating with survival that signify immunocompetence and controlled inflammation. In non-COVID-19 cohorts, IR-preserving metrics were associated with resistance to progressive influenza or HIV infection, as well as lower 9-year mortality in the Framingham Heart Study, especially in females.ConclusionsPreservation of immunocompetence with controlled inflammation during antigenic challenges is a hallmark of IR and associates with longevity and AIDS resistance. Independent of age, a male-biased proclivity to degrade IR before and/or during SARS-CoV-2 infection predisposes to severe COVID-19