Researchers have indicated that school-aged children with a caregiver who had been deployed were more likely to exhibit emotional and behavioral problems. These problems were impacted by the ability of the parent at home to manage emotions so as to utilize appropriate parenting skills with the child. However, there remained an important gap in the literature regarding the experiences of the military personnel reintegrating with their preschool aged child. Therefore, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to address the experiences of military caregivers with their preschool-aged children through semistructured interviews to better understand the variables that impacted the ability to reattach with the child. The main research question for this study examined reattachment experiences of 11 military parents with their preschool-aged child during reintegration through the theoretical lens of attachment theory because previous attachment literature showed the importance of attachment development during the preschool-aged years. Data from the 11 interviews were analyzed to identify relevant themes that told the story of the experiences of those military personnel, which were then broken into the significant structural and textural descriptions to form the essence of each participant's experience. Data were member checked and triangulated using peer reviewers. Findings from this research helped clarify the positive or negative behaviors of the military parent and contextual factors that impacted the child's ability to reattach with that caregiver. The results also enhanced social change initiatives through increasing awareness and understanding, among all entities that work with the military, of the importance of attachment so as to promote programs that address ways to help those families stay connected during all phases of deployment.

Social workers and other human services professionals helping families reintegrate after parental incarceration deal with multiple issues without a model of for facilitating family resilience. The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to explore the essence of the perceived role, activities, and practices of a sample of social workers and other human service professionals engaged in the use of family group conferences (FGCs). FGCs are also referred to as restorative justice, as they inform and assist human service professionals in developing clinical interventions and best practices to support reintegration, family preservation, and stabilization. The framework for this study was built around restorative justice theory, resiliency theory, and a larger social ecological theory and focused on the use of FGCs as a developing practice within family systems and the community. The primary research questions investigated the practitioners' experiences using FGCs. Data came from interviews of participants (15) drawn from professional associations and included their own case notes and reflections. The data was sorted and analyzed with the assistance of qualitative analysis software (Atlas.Ti7) to search for themes that may assist in identifying the phenomenon. The findings suggest that the FGC model should consist of a training curriculum, consistent practice, and dedicated and committed financial resources to support programs. This study impacts social change by informing human services professionals of current best practices and may provide a model of FGCs that will help implement services to families.

Student Number : 0513998G - MA research report - School of Social Sciences - Faculty of Humanities / This study aimed to investigate how specific needs of the Rwandan child combatants who fought in the Great Lakes Region are being addressed in the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) processes. Data collected by the use of semistructured interviews of demobilised child combatants and key informants revealed that many children were recruited after being orphaned, separated from parents, or because of their search for physical and psychological security which was threatened by war and its immediate effects. Further, it was found that child combatants experienced harsh living conditions in the bush due to both the nature of their work as combatants and their physical and mental immaturity. As far as the DDR processes are concerned, the study revealed many weaknesses in addressing the specific needs of child combatants at least until January 2004. However, there has been a significant positive shift in dealing with the same needs since then. The absence of female child combatants in the DDR process was noted. This research concludes with a number of recommendations for both future interventions and further research.

This thesis looks at the process of reunification for Indigenous children following a time in the care of the child welfare system. To understand what has been studied in the area of reunification of Indigenous children back to their families, a scoping review process is undertaken to gathering and mapping the available research. The initial search produced a total of 1823 abstracts. After applying an inclusion and exclusion reviewing process, the scoping review resulted in a total of 44 literature sources for this study. This study uses Cindy Blackstock’s Breath of Life Theory as the theoretical framework to understand and reimagine the process of reunification from the perspective of the child, the family, the worker, and substitute caregiver. The review found support for the idea that research and programs relating to reunification for Indigenous children needs to use Indigenous methods and ways of thinking. Five themes emerged from this review, the use of Indigenous ways of knowing, this theme is central throughout the literature and informs the other four themes: structural vs. individual assessment/intervention, trauma/reconciliation, connections/relationships, and Indigenous research. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

Introduction: The study provides a comprehensive overview of how it has become increasingly common in today's job market for employers to request criminal record checks during the hiring process. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine how the criminal record affects the employment prospects of individuals with a criminal background and to analyze the methods identified as effective in supporting individuals who have been denied employment due to their criminal record. Method: To address the study's objectives, a qualitative research approach was chosen, involving content analysis and document analysis. Results: Individuals with a criminal record face greater challenges in reintegrating into the labor market due to the stigmatization and labeling associated with having a criminal record. The results showed that individuals with a criminal record experience social exclusion, discrimination, and stigmatization. Furthermore, the findings indicate that these individuals are indirectly punished even after serving their sentence, as they face limitations in their opportunities for labor market reintegration. Society views them as deviant, further hindering the reintegration of individuals with previous criminal convictions and increasing the likelihood of recidivism. Therefore, it is important to implement strategies and interventions that focus on the rehabilitation and reintegration of individuals with criminal backgrounds into the labor market.

In order to reach a sustainable traffic development, the European Union follows the central idea of an integrated transport policy. In contrast to the widely accepted concept, the EU recently had to admit that in fact transport development goes in the opposite direction. This contradiction has to be explained. The article describes the long lasting succession of efforts to implement a far-reaching cooperation in the transport sector as is aspired to by an integrated transport policy. In each case, though, the political idea of cooperation was superseded by the economic one of competition. Therefore, the author argues in favour of a detailed scientific analysis of the necessary political conditions for an integrated transport policy, instead of continuing an untested concept.

Emerging research suggests that childhood adversities may increase both the risk and symptomology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in our veteran population. Over 40% of our reintegrating military veterans return with significant mental health issues led by combatrelated PTSD. PTSD impacts veterans in numerous areas including unemployment, increased criminal justice involvement, increased treatment costs, divorce, co-morbid mental illness, greater levels of domestic violence, homelessness, high college dropout rates, suicide, and long term health problems. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of childhood adversities (abuse, neglect, and poverty) upon the severity of combat-related PTSD in veteran populations. Specifically, the researcher examines the direct effects of: (1) childhood trauma; (2) childhood neglect; and (3) childhood poverty (as assessed based on socioeconomic status [SES]) upon the severity of combat-related PTSD. This study of student veterans (n=102) receiving services from a veteran service center at a major metropolitan university in Central Florida is a non-experimental, explanatory, retrospective survey design using structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the relationships among study variables. Findings strongly supported a relationship between childhood trauma and neglect and the severity of combat-related PTSD. Similarly, findings also supported that no relationship existed between childhood SES and the severity of combat-related PTSD. Both childhood trauma and neglect were significantly associated with combat-related PTSD at an even greater effect than that of combat exposure. SES was not found to be significant in the severity of combat-related PTSD. The findings iv suggest that preventive screening policies to reduce costs and severity of combat-related PTSD might be needed.

The Northern region of Uganda has been plagued by violent conflict for over two decades. The Lord¿s Resistance Army (LRA) has been waging war against the current government of Uganda under the leadership of President Museveni. The Acholi community resident in the North of Uganda has been most affected by this war. In recent years however Northern Uganda has enjoyed relative calm following an agreement for the cessation of hostilities between the LRA and the government to allow for peace talks. Following the anticipated end of this conflict, the international community, the government and local organisations have engaged in a number of interventions and mechanisms that would assist in peace building. A fundamental intervention that has been formulated and administered to this end is the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programme for the ex-LRA combatants. The DDR process has had the sole objective of enabling formerly abducted children to transform their lives from violence into civility and community. It has been the premise that if this transformation were to occur then societies could be made peaceful. There has been growing support for these programmes but there has been very little analysis done of the utility of these programmes and the consequential impacts that these programmes have on the local indigenous communities. Though well intentioned, there is much work to be done to assess the utility and success of reintegration initiatives in granting the formerly abducted children and local populations¿ lifestyles that are reasonably free from fear and want. / John & Elnora Ferguson Trust

Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programmes for ex-combatants have become an important component of many, if not most, post-conflict stabilisation, peace-building and recovery programmes over the 15 – 20 years. They are specifically focussed on ‘ex-combatants’, a category which for DDR purposes includes direct ex-combatants and those closely associated with them including spouses, ‘camp followers’ and dependents. The experience with DDR has provided many lessons. International standards and good-practice guidelines for DDR have become relatively highly elaborated in recent years. The UN Integrated Disarmament, Demobilisation and Re-Integration Standards (IDDRS) represent the fullest expression of this, composed of some 800 pages of detailed guidance to practitioners, as distilled by a special UN Inter-Agency Working Group and the work of dozens of international experts.1 Such standards are recently developed, and their adoption and usefulness has yet to be fully tested. One overall aim of this project is to critically examine the understandings informing such standards, and clarify how they may be revised or developed. It is clear that there are continuing problems in practice. For example, several recent UN-mandated DDR programmes have seriously struggled to establish an effective focus, and have in some cases had to be re-launched several times. Haiti and Southern Sudan provide two examples of this. Part of the problem is that DDR programmes are continuing to be mandated as if they can in themselves address much of a war-torn country’s post-conflict security building needs. In fact, DDR needs to be co-ordinated with a range of other post-conflict security building programmes, including Security Sector Reform (SSR), wider arms collection and management programmes, transitional justice, peace-building and reconciliation processes. DDR needs to be one of several peace and security-building programmes, all co-ordinated within the overall framework of a broad peace-building and recovery strategy and process.

The disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) of former combatants constitutes one of the most crucial activities in a post-conflict peacebuilding context with important effects upon the wider transitional process from war to peace. The efficient implementation of DDR programmes can reassure belligerent parties of the possibility of a permanent cessation of hostilities, as they are often the most visible element of the peace agreement. Moreover, a well-planned and flexible reintegration process can also promote the viability of long-term peace locally, nationally and internationally.1 Since the end of the Cold War, DDR initiatives have been undertaken in more than 25 war-to-peace transition contexts: Afghanistan, Aceh, Angola, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), El Salvador, Eritrea, East Timor, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Kosovo, Liberia, Mindanao, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tajikistan and Uganda. In 2007, over 1,129,000 combatants were taking part in DDR programmes in 20 countries at an estimated cost of US$ 2 billion; one estimate suggests that it worked out to be around US$1,686 per ex-combatant. Some 2/3 of former combatants were from African countries; 42% were members of the armed forces and 58% belonged to armed militias, guerrilla groups and paramilitary groups. Of this statistic, nearly 10% were child soldiers.