<p> The purpose of this project was to write a grant proposal to develop and fund a College Preparedness Program to educate students in South Los Angeles about college requirements, process and resources. An extensive literature review was conducted in order to examine the risk factors implementing college attendance for students in South Los Angeles and strategies utilized in the past to increase college enrollment. The Annenberg Foundation was selected as the funder for this program. </p><p> The proposed program would be offered to high school students enrolled at Youth Opportunities High School, located in the community of Watts in south Los Angeles. If funded, the program will aid students with college planning, preparedness and workshops. The overall goal of this program will be to increase high school students' knowledge about college, provide guidance and support to increase college enrollment. The actual submission and/or funding of this grant was not a requirement for the successful completion of the project. </p>

<p> Low-income racial and ethnic minority high school students encounter barriers which prevent them from attaining post-secondary education. The barriers include insufficient parental and school support, lack of motivation and self-confidence, socioeconomic status, lack of social capital in high schools and colleges, and inadequate or insufficient resources. Previous research identified college readiness programs as a way to promote academic success and college attainment for low-income racial and ethnic minority high school students. The purpose of this thesis project was to write a grant proposal to secure funding for a college readiness program for low-income racial and ethnic minority students enrolled in Hawthorne high schools in Hawthorne, California. The purpose of the proposed program is to strengthen students' academic and personal skills and provided resources that enabled students to complete high school and move onto post-secondary education. Research on existing college readiness programs was used for the development of this proposed program. The submission and funding of this grant project was not required for the successful completion of this project.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A, page: . Adviser: Wynne S. Korr. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 209-220) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

<p> The purpose of this research is to gain an understanding of the mental health needs of Latino university students particularly those who are participants of the AB 540 program by assessing their level of psychological distress. Comparing Latino college students who are AB 540 program participants to non-program participants will add to the social work knowledge base by providing information regarding the mental health service needs of AB 540 program participants. A survey was administered to determine if there was a difference in psychological distress, anxiety, and stress among documented Latino college students and Latino college students enrolled in the AB 540 program. According to the data that was collected and analyzed Latino AB 540 students reported experiencing more symptoms of depression and anxiety than Latinos who are not enrolled in the AB 540 program.</p>

<p><b>Background</b>: Participation in college athletics comes with inherent risks. Many of these risks relate to the psychosocial safety and well-being of college athletes. These risks include depression, suicide, alcohol abuse, substance abuse, and the development of an eating disorder. This study specifically examined the current state of psychosocial needs amongst college athletes, the availability of services that address psychosocial needs, the comfort level college athletes have with seeking services, and the identification of barriers that influence whether or not a college athlete seeks necessary help. </p><p> <b>Methods</b>: This study used a web-based survey to gather information from a proportionate stratified random sample of both college athletic directors (<i>N</i> = 132) and college athletes (<i>N</i> = 349) across all NCAA division levels. Descriptive statistics, parametric tests, and multivariate tests were used to analyze the research questions. This study used NCAA division level and the profile of a college athlete&rsquo;s sport as independent variables. The researcher created composite scores for athletic, academic, and psychosocial services to serve as dependent variables. The researcher also created a composite score for perceived barriers. </p><p> <b>Results</b>: There were multiple significant findings for this research study. One key finding was that Division I and Division II college athletes had significantly higher psychosocial needs than Division III college athletes. Another key finding was that Division I college athletes experienced significantly lower levels of comfort in seeking psychosocial services than Division II and Division III college athletes. Furthermore, Division I college athletes reported significantly higher levels of barriers to seeking necessary services than Division II and Division III college athletes. </p><p> <b>Implications</b>: These significant findings point clearly to the fact that more must be done to ensure the psychosocial safety and well-being of college athletes. This includes athletic departments more clearly understanding the needs of their college athletes, having services more readily available, finding ways to promote a college athlete&rsquo;s disclosure of a psychosocial risk, and working to address current barriers that prevent college athletes from seeking help. One idea for improving the current state of services explored in this research is the interprofessional collaboration of social workers with college athletic departments. </p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2005. / Title from title screen (viewed 23 March 2007). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the School of Policy and Practice, Faculty of Education and Social Work. Degree awarded 2005; thesis submitted 2004. Includes bibliographical references. Also issued in print.