<p> The purpose of this thesis project was to write a grant proposal to develop and fund a group mentoring program for transitional-aged youth (TAY) ages 16 to 18. The proposed program will be located in Los Angeles, California. The Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC) was selected as the host agency for this project. A literature review was conducted to examine topics related to TAY including their challenges and outcomes. The ultimate goal of this proposed project is to increase the independent living skills in the areas of education, employment, and finances for the TAY population. This grant was written for the Ralph M. Parsons Foundations (RMPF). The actual submission or funding of this grant proposal was not a requirement for the successful completion of the project.</p>

<p> The decision to place a memory-impaired loved one in a dementia care facility can be emotionally challenging for families with many factors to consider. The purpose of this study was to explore the stress and coping of caregivers after the facility placement of their family member. Data were collected through 15 in-depth interviews with caregivers who were within the first 6 months of having moved their love one to this type of facility. Results suggested that dementia caregivers experienced high levels of burden due to the disease-related behaviors of their loved one coupled with the emotionally-laden experience of seeing a loved one move to a care facility. Over half of the participants reported a lack of emotional support from service providers during the relocation period, yet all participants reported the Alzheimer's Association as being the most supportive social service agency. Implications for social work practice and future research directions are discussed.</p>

The overall objective of this study is to identify common characteristics of drug traffickers and assault and battery offenders to better understand and explore factors associated with their problems. To attain this objective, the following areas on the two groups were addressed: (a) family structure, (b) education, (c) peer association, (d) personal areas of their lives, and (e) self-esteem. A comparative research design was used in the study. Questionnaires were given to adolescent, adjudicated, black male residents in the Atlanta Youth Development Center, located in the Atlanta Metropolitan area. A population of 110 males from ages ten to seventeen were being housed at the time of the study. Of this population the sample study consisted of 50, 25 drug traffickers (Group I) and 25 assault and battery offenders (Group II). The hypotheses were as follows: (1) There is no statistical, significant difference in the mean scores between drug traffickers and assault and battery offenders with reference to their measure of education. (2) There is no statistical significant difference in the mean scores between drug traffickers and assault and battery offenders with reference to their measures of family support. (3) There is no statistical, significant difference in the mean scores between drug traffickers and assault and battery offenders with reference to their measures of peer relations. (4) There is no statistical, significant difference in the mean scores between drug traffickers and assault and battery offenders with reference to their measures of self-esteem. The study was an attempt to provide a clear understanding and common characteristics of adjudicated drug traffickers and assault and battery offenders' family status, peer groups and personal areas in relation to their self-esteem. The findings of the study revealed that both of the groups had low self-esteem; however, the assault and battery offenders had higher self-esteem than that of the drug traffickers.

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This study investigated the outcome of juvenile court intervention on truancy among middle school students. Truancy, the unauthorized non-attendance of school has been a major problem for many schools across the United States and abroad. Research supports that truancy can be linked to substance use, low academic achievement, poor school performance and violence (Cho, Hallfors, Iriani, Khatapoush, & Saxe, 2002). These factors indicate the desperate need for changes in laws and programs that affect truancy and many states have begun developing such programs. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of juvenile court intervention on truancy among middle school students. The sample population was taken from Joseph Emerson Brown Middle School (grades 6-8) located in Atlanta, Georgia and consisted of 30 student attendance records from the 2002 - 2003 and 2003 - 2004 school years. These students had been petitioned to juvenile court for truancy. Student attendance records prior to court intervention were compared with attendance records following court intervention, and a demographic questionnaire was developed and utilized. The data was analyzed using the One Sample T-test and descriptive statistics. A pre and posttest model was also used to determine the change in truancy. It was hypothesized that juvenile court intervention, the independent variable, would decrease truancy, the dependent variable, among middle school students ages 11-13. Findings from this study inferred that juvenile court intervention does not reduce truancy rates among students petitioned to appear in court. Because the study was not longitudinal, the researcher was unable to determine the long-term effects of juvenile court intervention on truancy. This study will aid education administrators in deciding whether to continue to utilize juvenile court as an intervention for truant students or to seek other measures to reduce absenteeism.

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