The purpose of this study was to conduct a needs assessment of homeless children and explore possible solutions to better meet the needs of homeless children and reduce the risks of intergenerational homelessness in San Bernardino County.

This dissertation has explored the origins of the field of Behavioral Disorders via a qualitative approach. In order to collect data, interviews were conducted with respondents who were selected via purposeful sampling. All respondents have had a significant impact on the field of special education as evidenced by scholarship and leadership throughout their careers. Data analysis of the interview transcriptions was accomplished through the utilization of computer software. The data indicated six areas/topics that were seen among respondents as being significant to the development of the field of Behavioral Disorders.

Child abuse in South Africa is considered one of the foremost challenges the country is currently facing, and is believed to hold long-term consequences for adults if not adequately addressed in the childhood years. In order to meet the needs of abused children in the country, various Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have targeted abused children as the primary beneficiaries for services, and these NGOs rely a great deal on the contributions from formal volunteers. While there is an expansive body of literature on formal volunteering in general, limited research explores target-specific volunteering, especially among children or abused children in particular. Furthermore, the literature on volunteering has not extensively examined the meaning-making process volunteers engage in when seeking an organisation or cause for their target-specific volunteering. The process of making meaning of volunteering is additionally influenced by a complex set of negotiations between individual and broader socio-political factors. In order to expand the current literature on volunteering, this research aimed to explore the meanings volunteers make of their target-specific volunteering in the child abuse services sector in Johannesburg, and to explore how those meanings could potentially be influenced by the dynamics of socio-political realms. This research was located within the interpretive paradigm, and data collection comprised of qualitative semi-structured interviews conducted with six volunteers from the Teddy Bear Clinic for Abused Children. The interview transcripts were analysed using Thematic Analysis (TA), where four primary themes emerged. The four primary themes, namely transformation, prioritisation of children, prioritisation of sexual abuse and vocation, were examined for their resonance with critical theories of governing ‘healthy’ populations. The limitations of this research related primarily to issues of scope and sample, both of which guided the recommendations for future research in this area.

Treatment for child abusers was evaluated using two methods: reviewing three areas of literature and surveying practitioners.

This study explores the historical context of human-animal relationships and examines the important ways that humans benefit from various types of interactions with domesticated animals. Therapeutic approaches that incorporate animals have been shown to have multiple benefits, including improved physical and mental health. Although this area of study is still largely overlooked in scientific fields of study, including social work, Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) has become increasingly prevalent in various mental health settings. Despite its popularity and anecdotal support, research on the benefits of AAT with children is minimal; there are no studies examining the ways in which this approach impacts children under the age of five. Thirteen preschool-aged children from a community-based early intervention program participated in a 16-week pilot study on AAT. The children were considered at-risk for potential behavioral, emotional and psychological challenges due to a constellation of factors, including developmental delays, poverty and early childhood trauma. This research includes case studies for each of the participants, with detailed information about the children as well as an account of their therapeutic experiences during the 16-week program. Thematic Analysis was used to analyze the data. Broad themes emerged in two main areas: demographic factors and intervention strategies. Each of these themes is explored in depth to highlight the most salient features of the cases and effective therapeutic processes. Findings indicate that the population studied shared various characteristics, including poverty, trauma history and complex family sessions. Preschool-aged children with risk factors do benefit from Animal Assisted Therapy in different ways based upon their histories and presenting behaviors. Children who present with internalizing behaviors, fear and disengagement, respond favorably to therapeutic cross-talking and physical touch; children with aggression and externalizing behaviors respond positively to clear limits, identifying feelings in the therapy dog and physical touch; and children who present more typically for the age and development, respond well to various forms of therapeutic interventions that incorporate the dog. Recommendations for therapeutic animal-based approaches are made based on the findings of this research.

Abstract not available

Children are among the most vulnerable to violence. A global problem, child victimization has been extensively studied in the context of public health research. As negative consequences of victimization are demonstrated, estimation of its prevalence and identification of its risk factors are two major concerns of researchers. Intimate partner violence (IPV), a worldwide prevalent family problem in itself, is directly or indirectly demonstrated in association with risk of different child victimizations. However, majority of previous studies on child victimization were fragmented into clusters that center on specific forms of victimization, primarily those involving conventional crime, maltreatment, peer and sibling abuse, sexual violence, and witnessing of violence. Efforts for assessing complete pattern of victimization in children emerged only in recent years. Nevertheless, this initial development that has clear research gaps is far from being enough. In such a context, the present study was conducted, in a comprehensive perspective, to uncover pattern and prevalence, and to identify risk factors of child victimization in the Chinese context. IPV was particularly examined on its relationship with child victimization. The ecological theory and family systems theory were integrated to build the conceptual research framework, a family-based ecological model comprising levels of individual, family, community, and social culture. This study adopts a quantitative approach. Questionnaire survey was successfully conducted among 953 parents of children aged 0-17 years old in Wuhan, China. The respondents were identified through a four-stage stratified sampling method. For the sake of ethical consideration and research requirement, child victimization cases were reported by the parents. The Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ) was employed for measuring child victimization. Approximately one in two children was reported having victimization. Of these victims, the proportion of those who suffered from two or more types of victimization was as high as half; children whose parents reported IPV accounted for one-third. Through multiple logistic regression analyses, the hypothesis that prior victimization can increase the risk of other victimizations was confirmed. A series of factors in the ecological model, including IPV, were identified to have association with child victimization. All the ecological factors were further examined using a structured multiphase logistic regression analysis. The results of two regression models were compared. The factors identified to be associated with the risk of child victimization involve all four levels of the ecological model. The finding suggests that occurrence of child victimization and IPV are associated and share common risk factors in the family-based ecological system. The findings emphasize the necessity of a comprehensive screening for child victimization, and highlight cooperation between services for partners and for children. The implications also include the application of family-based ecological perspective in research, and the formulation of family-based systematic prevention policies on child victimization and related family problems. In general, the reexamination of the ecological theory with emphasis on family in this study promotes the theoretical indigenization in China. The research findings contribute to the scientific database on child victimization and provide valuable implications for policies and practice of child protection. / published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The primary providers of services to Texas children with emotional/behavioral issues are local juvenile probation departments, Texas Youth Commission, Department of Family and Protective Services, local Mental Health Authorities, and school districts. These agencies currently face a variety of issues that impede their ability to deliver effective services. Responses to these issues have included narrowing eligibility criteria and imposing limits on the number of clients served at one time. Unfortunately, many of the individuals who need assistance are unable to access services and eventually find themselves in other less appropriate systems, such as foster care and juvenile justice. This is especially true for rural areas, which often lack the resources found in urban counties. Many believe the solution involves closing the “gaps” in services through interorganizational relationships. However, cooperative efforts require a substantial amount of commitment, time, effort and resources. More often than not, this is a difficult endeavor, especially given the barriers to rural service delivery, funding issues, and state level issues. Concept Mapping was employed to identify and assess the impact of factors that affect service providers’ ability to engage in interorganizational relationships, as well as deliver services to children who are at risk of or possess emotional/behavioral issues. The primary providers of services to Texas children with emotional/behavioral issues are local juvenile probation departments, Texas Youth Commission, Department of Family and Protective Services, local Mental Health Authorities, and school districts. These agencies currently face a variety of issues that impede their ability to deliver effective services. Responses to these issues have included narrowing eligibility criteria and imposing limits on the number of clients served at one time. Unfortunately, many of the individuals who need assistance are unable to access services and eventually find themselves in other less appropriate systems, such as foster care and juvenile justice. This is especially true for rural areas, which often lack the resources found in urban counties. Many believe the solution involves closing the “gaps” in services through interorganizational relationships. However, cooperative efforts require a substantial amount of commitment, time, effort and resources. More often than not, this is a difficult endeavor, especially given the barriers to rural service delivery, funding issues, and state level issues. Concept Mapping was employed to identify and assess the impact of factors that affect service providers’ ability to engage in interorganizational relationships, as well as deliver services to children who are at risk of or possess emotional/behavioral issues. / text

published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Master / Master of Social Sciences

The aim of the study was to explore and describe the experiences of children who have been raped. It is a known fact that children are raped every day in South Africa, but how the consequences are experienced by the child victims of rape is another matter. Specifically, the researcher wanted to determine whether these children receive the support that is their constitutional right and whether or not they are subjected tc secondary victimization. The sampling strategy employed was purposive sampling. This type of sampling wai selected, as the researcher was looking for a particular type of participant, that is, children who had disclosed rape. The sample consisted of six female children between the ages of 5 and 17years. Participants' parents were consulted for their consent at c counseling centre for abused children in Durban, where participants attended group counseling and individual sessions. The data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews and analyzed usin^ thematic analysis. Unstructured interviews were tape recorded and transcribed. Thesi transcriptions were coded for descriptive themes and were analyzed using thematic conten analysis. The research findings suggest that children have mixed views regarding the quality of the help they receive; some had positive experiences and some had negative experiences. Despite the fact that most participants experienced a sense of being interrogated and had feelings of being not involved during discussions, two participants reported that although rape is an atrocious experience there were positive consequences for them. For example, getting attention from significant people in their lives was one of their positive experiences. It was the experience of the researcher that there is a lack of research pertaining to the experiences of children who are rape victims, especially research focusing on the quality of support that rape victims ought to receive. Further research is recommended to clarify and measure the prevalence of typical feelings and experiences of children who have been raped / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.