Introduction: Homelessness is a complex and systemic problem within the United States, made more complicated by distributing federal funding to address this crucial issue. Regional Continuums of Care (CoC) is the primary method of designating organizational units by geography responsible for addressing homelessness within a given area. The primary duties of each CoC are to oversee the operation for the designated region, to maintain the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), and plan for the CoC. The size and scope of CoCs can vary within some states, indicating larger or smaller groups of counties responsible for addressing homelessness in a given area. However, some states have entities known as Balance of the State (BoS) CoCs, which cover large geographic areas. The extent to which the smaller CoC model or the larger BoS model is associated with the overall effectiveness of addressing homelessness within a given state has not been examined and is the focus of this study. Methods: A cross-sectional study examining CoC structure and homelessness was used for this project. Per capita rates of homelessness were the primary outcome variable of interest. Per capita homeless was derived from general population numbers reported by the US Census Bureau in 2022 by PIT count per state as reported by HUD in the same year. States organizational structure as defined by the number of CoCs in a state was the independent variable of interest. To examine this potential relationship further, as well as the impact of other known factors that impact homelessness, an OLS regression was performed. Results: Overall, the number of CoCs ranged from 1 to 44. Overall the OLS regression model including three variables (CoC, state geographic location, and rurality) was statistically significant, F(6, 43)=4.406, p Conclusion: The initial examination of the relationship between homelessness per capita and the number of CoCs in a state suggests that other elements to account for effectiveness of CoC within a community setting need to be considered. Further explorations such as policy implications, weather patterns, and funding may need to be considered in seeing a reduction of homelessness per capita. A more comprehensive analysis of the relationship between states with exclusively CoCs and those BoS occupying large geographic areas indicates a need for standardization of data collection, distribution of federal funding, and culturally competent strategic planning for the reduction of homelessness.

No description available.

This study examined the extent to which the lifetime traumatic and stressful experiences of incarcerated youths cluster in meaningful and understandable ways. It also evaluated the differential effects of various types of these events on a variety of psychosocial outcomes for this population. The sample consisted of 185 incarcerated male and female adolescents (ages 12-19). Confirmatory factor analysis results suggested that an empirically-derived model based on negative event type (i.e., Community Violence, Interpersonal trauma/stress, and Loss) better predicted how negative life events group together on the Adolescent Stress and Trauma Exposure Questionnaire -Version 2 (ASTEQ-2) than the model based on a traditional framework of traumatic versus less severe stressful events in this population. Further, the empirically-derived factors varied substantially in their ability to uniquely predict different psychosocial outcomes, assessed with the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSC-C) and the Structured Interview for Disorders of Extreme Stress, Adolescent version (SIDES-A). For example, the Interpersonal trauma/stress factor accounted for substantially more unshared variance than other factors in TSC-C Depression and Posttraumatic stress outcomes, while the Community Violence factor accounted for substantially more unshared variance than other factors in TSC-C Anger and SIDES-A Self-Destructive Behavior outcomes. Results both partially support prior research, while also exposing its limitations with regard to the inappropriate generalization of a culturally bound trauma framework to traditionally marginalized adolescent populations.

Telehealth offers an innovative strategy to provide access effectively and efficiently to mental health services for underserved youth, creating a service model that leverages most of the available resources without compromising the quality of care. This presentation will discuss the development of a telehealth program to deliver evidence-based trauma-focused care to children and adolescents in community-based locations. As a part of our ongoing program evaluation, we collected data regarding the feasibility and clinical outcomes of trauma-focused CBT delivered via a telehealth service delivery model. Presentation in J. Cohen's Successful Strategies for Treating Traumatized Children in Challenging Circumstances.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2008. / Title from title screen (site viewed Sept. 18, 2008). PDF text: ix, 185 p. : ill. ; 1 Mb. UMI publication number: AAT 3304202. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Thesis (M.S.)--Indiana University, 2009. / Department of Geography, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Advisor(s): Jeffrey Wilson, James J. Brokaw, Owen Dwyer, Terrell W. Zollinger. Includes vitae. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 41-45).

No description available.

We place deficit-model labels on students who fall behind educational expectations and standards. Public discourses about underserved students pervade U.S-American politics and popular culture and tend to portray these students in a negative light. This study aims to uncover similarities between the dominant societal narratives about underserved students and the stories they tell about themselves on social media. I argue that the labels we use and stories we tell about underserved students affect the students’ identities. I ask three research questions: How, if at all, do underserved college students replicate dominant narratives about education in their self-narrations? How, if at all, do students enrolled in developmental education describe other underserved students? How, if at all, do former underserved college students replicate dominant narratives about education in their self-narrations? I analyzed posts from thirty underserved students on social media sites and the replies in their comments from people who have completed developmental education. I used a combination of critical rhetoric (McKerrow, 1989; 1993), intersubjective rhetoric (Brummett, 1976; 1982), and narrative reasoning (Fisher, 1984) to guide data collection and analysis. Results indicate that the students whose narratives appear in this study express shame and worry about taking developmental courses. Their narratives reflect dominant societal narratives about “remedial” students. The narratives analyzed for this study reflect some of the pejorative uses of the word “remedial” and the image of underserved students portrayed in the dominant societal narrative. The students express shame and worry about their futures and academic prospects. Many former underserved students shared their own stories and offered supportive messages in their replies.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the acceptability, feasibility, potential efficacy, and putative mechanisms of a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) to facilitate stress and smoking urge management that was tailored to low-income female smokers with children. Underserved maternal smokers have elevated levels of stress and depressive symptoms, and greater difficulty managing urges to smoke (key determinants of sustained smoking behavior) compared to the general population of smokers. An MBI that targets such determinants may be useful in facilitating smoking behavior change in this high-risk population. Purposive sampling targeted mindfulness naïve, low socioeconomic status, maternal smokers recruited from dental clinics and healthcare agencies serving low-income Philadelphia neighborhoods. The initial phase of this study used formative assessments to examine the acceptability and feasibility of mindfulness practices and guide the design of a tailored MBI. Next, the study used a randomized, two-group, repeated measures design to assess between-group effects on key factors associated with sustained smoking, comparing participants receiving MBI procedures and a control group receiving a parallel parenting skills intervention. The efficacy of MBI procedures was tested using a single 5-minute audio with MBI instructions vs a child safety recording (control) to examine group differences in negative affect and smoking urge following three massed smoking cue exposure trials at baseline. Subsequently, participants initiated four weeks of either MBI or parenting skills training delivered by daily text messages with prompts and links to group-specific audio. Participants’ smoking urge, perceived stress and daily cigarette consumption were assessed daily over the 4-week intervention via texted survey link and at end of treatment via telephone to examine efficacy in reducing stress and smoking urge and explore effects on daily cigarette smoking. The study also assessed attrition rate, adherence to daily text-based survey completion, and intervention satisfaction as indices of acceptability and feasibility. We hypothesized that the MBI would be feasible, acceptable, and, compared to the control group, demonstrate greater reductions in smoking urge and negative affect (single session assessments at baseline) as well as perceived stress and strength of smoking urge over time (4-week assessments). Between group comparisons on primary and exploratory outcomes were assessed with linear mixed models (LMM). The study also explored the facets of mindfulness and process measures. The participant sample (N = 40) was 88% African American, with an average age of 36 years old and 55% with a high school degree/GED or less. Mean baseline daily smoking consumption was around 10 cigarettes per day. Formative analyses suggested acceptability of mindfulness practice. The main theme that developed from the in-depth interviews was the need for tailored content such as shorter mediations, informal language, and text messages with pictures. Results of the single session MBI following cue exposure procedures showed no between group differences in urge or negative affect. Results of the 4-week MBI suggested that the intervention was feasible, with 4% attrition and an 87% response rate (~6 out of 7 days over 4 weeks). LMMs showed a significant time by condition effect for smoking urge, F (1, 545) = 5.38, PE = −0.038, SE = 0.016, p = 0.021, indicating that smoking urge declined significantly more over time in the MBI group compared to the control group, but no effect over time by condition for perceived stress. Thus, there was partial support for the primary hypotheses. Exploratory analyses showed a significant difference in mean cigs/day [F (1,35) = 6.993, p = 0.012] between groups (MBI mean = 5.51 cigs/day; Control mean = 8.12 cigs/day). Analysis of process measures showed the messages were well received and viewed as helpful, inspirational and motivational, providing further support of acceptability of MBI procedures. Together, results suggest acceptability and feasibility of MBI procedures in this under-studied, high risk population of smokers. Results suggest potential efficacy of 4-weeks of daily guided MBI practice at reducing smoking urges and cigarettes smoked per day among current maternal smokers, even though a single session of guided MBI among mindfulness naïve smokers may not have utility in suppressing cue-elicited smoking urge and negative affect. This study adds to the growing evidence supporting mindfulness practices to aid in smoking cessation. While the generalizability of this study is limited to a highly distressed population of maternal smokers not enrolled in smoking cessation treatment, future research could determine whether initiating this tailored MBI prior to a quit attempt could facilitate preparation of smoking cessation in a population of smokers known to have greater challenges quitting smoking. / Public Health

No description available.