<p> The purpose of the project was to design a program, identify potential funding source, and complete a grant to fund an educational and supportive program for foster parents who care for autistic foster youth. The services would be offered at SHIELDS a non-profit agency serving the Compton and Watts communities of South Los Angeles. The awareness supportive program will be design to provide educational workshops for foster parents and caregivers who provide care for County of Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services autistic children. The Weingart Foundation was chosen as the best applicant for submitting this grant proposal based on the population they serve and their interests to provide services to disadvantage communities. Research supports the high need for autistic awareness support services for foster parents and caregivers who care for the youth. The submission of a tangible grant application was not required for the completion of this project. </p>

<p> Despite increased numbers of intercultural couples in the United States, data shows that the pairing of non-Hispanic Black-White interracial couples falls short on all scales (Pew Research Center, 2012). The number of cohabitating interracial couples is almost double the number of married interracial couples; however, they have the lowest rates of marriage and are more likely to divorce when compared to all other intercultural couples. To determine what non-Hispanic Black-White interracial couples must do to strengthen and maintain their relationships, this study interviewed seven cohabitating couples. The qualitative analysis revealed five themes: Culture, Secure Attachment, Communication, Authenticity, and Humor. The themes and implications for couple therapy and future research are also discussed.</p>

Thesis (M.Ed.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1997. / Bibliography: leaves 29-35, 43-45.

<p> The advent of the <i>Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies</i> (Ratts, Singh, Nassar-McMillan, Butler, &amp; McCullough, 2016), the <i>American Counseling Association</i> (ACA) <i> Code of</i> Ethics (2014), and a more comprehensive emphasis on multiculturalism and social justice (Haskins &amp; Singh, 2015; Ratts, 2009, 2011; Ratts &amp; Pedersen, 2014; Smith &amp; Okech, 2016) within the counseling profession highlight a movement towards examining practices and social identities grounded in a formative understanding of intersectionality. The institutionalization of intersectionality emerges from a longstanding history of feminist scholars (Collins &amp; Bilge, 2016; Hancock, 2016) critiquing misconstrued gaps and revolutionizing the meaning of multiple social identities and social justice movements (Anzald&uacute;a, 1987; Collins, 1986, 1990, 2004; Crenshaw, 1989, 1991; hooks, 1981, 1984, 1989; Lorde, 1984; Moraga &amp; Anzald&uacute;a, 1983). Although intersectionality has richened the possibilities of social justice praxis, its theoretical connection has been largely absent in the context of empirical investigations. This current study utilized an intersectionality paradigm and methodological strategies of interpretative phenomenological analysis (Smith, Flowers, &amp; Larkin, 2009; Pietkiewicz &amp; Smith, 2014) to examine the lived intersectional experiences of privilege and oppression of Queer Men of Color in Counselor Education and Supervision doctoral programs. Three participants were interviewed across nine interviews approximately consisting of 90 minutes in length. Findings indicated six superordinate themes emerging from the data analysis: (a) Multiple Dimensions of Privilege; (b) Multiple Dimensions of Oppression; (c) Context/System; (d) Complexities of Intersections; (e) Critical Incidents/Conflict; and (f) Congruity/Change for the Future. The discussion considers the themes emanating from the participants in light of previous forms of implementation utilizing intersectional approaches. Implications broadly for the counseling profession, the social context of counselor education and doctoral education, and the praxis of pedagogy are explored. Future directions for research and limitations of the study are also explicated.</p><p>

It is imperative that those who provide personal therapy to others be well-adjusted in their personal and professional lives and possess a keen and accurate perception of wellness. Yet, persons drawn to careers in counseling often have unresolved psychological issues. Counselor education programs should have a systematic way to evaluate and improve wellness in their students. Studies addressing the well-being of counselors-in-training, their perception of wellness, and their need for self-care are lacking in the professional literature. This study, therefore, examined the relationship between psychological well-being and perceived wellness in a sample (N = 97) of graduate students in a CACREP-accredited counseling program. Based on person-centered theory, the participants' psychological well-being was measured with the Scales of Psychological Well-Being (SPWB), and their perception of wellness with the Perceived Wellness Survey (PWS). Multiple regression analysis revealed a significant relationship between psychological well-being and perceived wellness. Adding a self-assessment tool to counselor education and, thus, facilitating the students' best possible psychological functioning has positive social-change implications: Considering that 57.7 million individuals sought mental health services in 2006, at a cost of {dollar}68.1 billion, working toward greater well-being of counseling students will help them provide the best therapeutic care to their future clients.

The current study investigates the relationships between mother-toddler attachment security, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), sociodemographic risk, and parenting stress utilizing the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study (FFCW) longitudinal data set, a nationally representative sample of 4,898 unmarried births. The FFCW oversampled non-marital births from urban, low-income, minority individuals, and the current study utilizes self-report data from mothers during Waves 1, 3, and 6. Sociodemographic risk (Gedaly & Leerkes, 2016) is defined as the potential for increased negative impacts of maternal age at birth, maternal education level, maternal household income, and maternal race on child development due to genetic and/or societal impacts. Data on these variables are collected at Wave 1 per mother report. Mother-toddler attachment security was assessed at Wave 3 using the Toddler Attachment Sort-39 (TAS-39; Bimler & Kirkland, 2002) and parenting stress was evaluated during the same wave. Autism diagnosis in children was evaluated at Wave 6 per parent report. Children in the sample were more likely to be diagnosed with ASD if their mother earned greater than a high school education and identified as White. Results indicated that maternal race influenced both mother-toddler attachment security and the diagnosis of ASD in the sample. White mothers reported higher mother-toddler attachment security when compared to both Black and Hispanic mothers, and children of Black mothers were less likely to have a diagnosis of ASD when compared to children of White mothers. Additionally, toddlers with ASD were less secure at age 3 years when compared to their neurotypical peers. ASD, Black maternal race, and Hispanic maternal race predicted a decrease in mother-toddler attachment security, and both higher maternal education and maternal household income predicted an increase in mother-toddler attachment security. Although mothers of children with ASD reported higher levels of stress when compared to mothers of neurotypical children, parenting stress was not found to moderate the relationship between ASD and mother-toddler attachment security. Parenting stress did, however, negatively impact attachment security. The results of this study provide insight into the unique challenges faced by families with ASD during critical periods of child development and how race may correlate with both the diagnosis of ASD and mother-toddler attachment security. Multicultural considerations at diagnosis and neurodiversity as well as recommendations for family-centered interventions are discussed.