<p>The purpose of this grant writing project was to fund a two-fold support group: one for chronically ill individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, in conjunction with one for family members providing emotional and social support outside the home. The proposed project seeks to reduce conflict and stress by providing consumers and their family members with education about schizophrenia, medications, and interventions to help them better understand and cope with the diagnosis. This program also seeks to increase awareness of the therapeutic value family support plays in fostering hope and empowerment to promote collaboration in the recovery journey. The targeted area is Los Angeles County, specifically communities surrounding Long Beach, CA which are eligible for services at The Village. The California Wellness Foundation was selected as the ideal funding source for this grant project. The actual submission of this grant was not a requirement for the successful completion of the thesis project.

<p> The purpose of this project was to locate a potential funding source and write a grant to implement an Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) intervention program at Westchester Secondary Charter School, a culturally diverse middle and high school located in Los Angeles, California. In addition to conducting an extensive literature review on childhood ADHD, the Eisner Foundation was identified as a possible funding source for this program.</p><p> Due to their impairments in sustaining attention and completing tasks, children with ADHD are more likely to repeat grades, receive special education services, and drop out of school than typically developing children. In order to support these students with increasing their overall academic and social functioning, a comprehensive program was developed combining empirically supported child and parent interventions. Following the formulation of a program budget, lessons learned were discussed. Actual submission of the grant was not required for successful completion of this project.</p>

<p> This program was designed to provide culturally and linguistically relevant mental health education and support for Korean caregivers. The primary goal of this project was to help Korean caregivers increase knowledge and overall awareness of mental health issues of the Korean immigrant older adult population, focusing on how mental health issues are perceived and how they are treated in the United States. Additionally, this curriculum provides interactive activities and discussions to help caregivers develop proper caregiving skills, increase access to available resources in the community, and secure caregiver support to maintain their own physical and mental health. This program was designed based on an extensive literature review that was conducted to identify prevalent information and promising approaches for meeting the needs of Korean caregivers.</p>

<p> The purpose of this project was write a grant and to locate a potential funding source for a psycho-educational program. The program would provide Latino caregivers access to services and information regarding dementia. A literature review was conducted to investigate the obstacles that informal Latino caregivers face and to understand what interventions may reduce the gap between service providers and the caregivers.</p><p> This program would address the issues of the lack of culturally sensitive services and information. The Archstone Foundation was chosen as the funding source for the program. The host agency that was chosen for this project was A Day Away Adult Day Health Care located in La Mirada, California. The actual submission and/or funding of this grant was not a requirement for the successful completion of the project.</p>

<p> The purpose of this project was to design a comprehensive anti-bullying program aimed to not only involve students, but also to involve parents or guardians in order to prevent and intervene bullying at home. Bullying is an ongoing issue that has caused a lot of attention in the media. Although several measures have been taken in order to help tackle the increasing prevalence of bullying, a factor is always left out. Unite Against Bullying An Educational After-School Program aims to empower students and parents or guardians through education. After the 12-week long program, students and parents or guardians will hopefully become more intrinsically motivated to engage in positive behaviors and have a better understanding of the ramifications bullying can cause. The actual submission and/or funding of this grant were not a requirement for the successful completion of this project.</p>

<p> Given the need for higher levels of support and guidance for Transitional Age Youth (TAY) who are diagnosed with a mental illness, the purpose of this project was to identify a funding source and write a grant proposal to design and implement an Internet-based support program to supplement services currently provided to TAY diagnosed with a mental illness. There are many risks associated with TAY including homelessness, substance abuse disorders, and repeated interactions with the criminal justice system. The target area is Los Angeles County, more specifically, Long Beach, California. The potential funding source for this project is the California Wellness Foundation because the criteria of the grant guidelines were consistent with the description of this program and identified population. The actual submission and/or funding of this program was not required for successful completion of this project. </p>

<p> The purpose of this proposal was to address the mental health needs of the homeless population by securing funding for an expressive arts therapy program at the Project Achieve homeless shelter of Catholic Charities, San Pedro region located in Los Angeles County, California. To determine the suitability of an expressive arts therapy program at Project Achieve, a needs assessment for the target population and a review of literature were conducted. Needs assessment and literature review findings indicated that expressive arts therapy has a strong potential for benefitting Project Achieve residents. The results of Internet and grant database searches that were performed to locate potential funding sources identified the Weingart Foundation as the most appropriate fonder for this project. A grant was written outlining the process of establishing an expressive arts therapy program at the Project Achieve shelter.</p>

<p> This secondary analysis of qualitative data explored the development of resilience among 16 women. Their transcribed interviews were analyzed with a framework based on the processes and determinants clusters of resilience among adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse identified in prior research. Processes were defined as the journey participants followed to the situation in their present life, determinants were defined as innate or learned characteristics and environmental factors. The determinants of interpersonal skills, high self-regard, spirituality, and helpful life circumstances (support &amp; services) were found to be present in less than half of the women. The processes of self-realization, self-determination, coping strategies (positive and negative), active healing were present for more than half but less than half have achieved closure regarding the maltreatment. The women reported self-sufficiency in terms of being able to live on their income and educational achievement. The findings have implications for social work practice and research. </p>

<p> Self-care is critical in minimizing the symptoms of burnout among human services professionals, but specific information on the role of self-care among social workers in healthcare settings is limited. This correlational study was designed provide a fuller understanding of this relationship. Orem's theory of self-care and the theory of reasoned action and planned behavior served as the theoretical foundations of this study. The sample included 185 members of the National Association of Social Workers, who volunteered to participate in this study. Participants completed online versions of the Maslach Burnout Inventory and Self-Care Assessment Work Sheet. Correlation and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were performed to test research hypotheses concerning associations between self-care and aspects of burnout among social workers in healthcare settings. The results showed that higher levels of self-care were significantly correlated with lower scores on measures of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and higher scores on measures of personal accomplishment. No significant differences were found by practice setting in mean ratings of specified self-care activities. More years of social work practice were associated with lower burnout. Implications for positive social change include highlighting the need for self-care to prevent burnout, promoting health and wellbeing among social workers, and saving organizations the costs associated with employee burnout. Future research on self-care and burnout will be beneficial to the profession to expand current literature and highlight trends between social work practice and client populations served.</p>

<p> This systematic review of the literature explored the relationship between family, social support and psychiatric re-hospitalizations for those with severe mental illness. Also discussed were specific types of family and social support shown to be beneficial to those with mental illness. The meta-analysis reviewed 33 studies written within the last 10 years and analyzed these studies for content. Results of the analysis indicated family and social support did help to reduce rates of psychiatric hospitalizations. Results of the analysis also indicated that family support consisting of high levels of expressed emotion resulted in negative outcomes for those with severe mental illness, including higher rates of relapse and psychiatric readmissions. Findings also found other themes in the literature correlating to psychiatric readmission rates. Implications for social work and cultural relevance in social work regarding practice, future research and social policy for individuals with severe mental illness experiencing multiple psychiatric hospitalizations were also discussed.</p>