This graduate project was created from identified needs of students from a Masters of Social Work (MSW) program at California State University at Stanislaus. Unmet student needs stemming from time demands and multiple life and work obligations led to . . .

This study explores the lived experiences of Latina women who were raised in a mixed immigration status family in Merced County. This study analyzes state sanctioned violence and the social emotional affects for mixed status families who lived in Cali . . .

Many neighborhoods in the United States are affected by segregation, including by race, ethnicity, or income. One of the major consequences of income inequality is low-income violence prone neighborhoods. The purpose of this study was to examine how r . . .

The purpose of this study was to explore what has helped Latino youth who are undocumented in their pursuit and completion of higher education, i.e., a bachelor’s degree. This qualitative study included two sample groups, one Latino youth who were adm . . .

The purpose of this study was to explore Masters of Social Work (MSW) students' perceptions of the implicit curriculum offered by the Masters of Social Work Program at California State University (CSU) Stanislaus and its correlation with stress. This . . .

The objectives of the current study were to establish if a mindfulness based intervention (The Tools for Well-Being workshop) successfully helped participants to reduce stress, build resiliency, and experience elevated levels of subjective well-being. . . .

The National Vital Statistics reports that suicide is the second leading cause of death among 10 to 34 year olds (Kochanek, Murphy, XU & Tejada-Vera,2016). Although suicide is the number two cause of death for 10 to 34 year olds, it is the second lead . . .

Children experience several stressors in life, at both micro and macro levels, which lead to behavioral problems in school. Mindfulness is emerging as a promising approach to help students better manage these stressors. The purpose of this mixed metho . . .

In some locked psychiatric facilities, there are numerous methods used towards managing injurious patient behaviors aside from physically restraining or isolating the patient. This graduate project considers various studies across the United States th . . .

The purpose of this research was to explore reasons why parents of an intersex child will make decisions such as giving consent for a sex reassignment. Cultural beliefs of parents from Nigeria who migrate to the United States were examined. The role o . . .

The purpose of this quantitative study was threefold: 1) describe and better understand application of strengths-based practice (SBP) by Child Welfare caseworkers, when working with parents suffering from Substance Use Disorders (SUDs), 2) describe an . . .

The purpose of this study is to explore the issues that arise for adolescent Hmong males who were culturally married under the legal age of eighteen, as well as the resulting pressures they experienced due to competing expectations between traditional . . .

Background. Existing research regarding Huntington’s disease caregivers reports that this population demonstrates significant amounts of stress while caring for a person with HD. However, there is little research available that looks deeper into the s . . .

This project was focused on developing and implementing a hands-on gardening activity for Stanislaus State students that would assist students in stress reduction and lead to the idea of self-care, well-being and having a healthy lifestyle. The object . . .

This study explores and describes California State University, Stanislaus graduate social work students’ interest in and perceptions of working with people with disabilities. The purpose of the study was to better understand why they might be less lik . . .

This project introduced the level one cross cutting symptom measure from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5 to clinicians with a strengths based perspective to foster a more humanistic assessment process for clients.

Prenatal care is vital for the developing baby as well for the mother. Seeking prenatal care will monitor the growth and development and assess any potential risks on the mother and baby. Prenatal stress has shown to have negative effects on both moth . . .

This quantitative study examines the relationship between the length of time nonminor dependents spend in extended foster care and: high school completion, post secondary education, employment, participation in programs that target the removal of e . . .

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of mindfulness practices as an intervention for school-aged youth, by conducting a meta-analysis. A thorough review of the literature resulted in only seven studies that met the criteria for the me . . .

The purpose of this study is to understand the needs of Hmong community members. In order to do so, the struggles of the Hmong community are explored to understand the circumstances that led to their needs. The intent of this study is to gain informat . . .

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of law enforcement personnel who were supervising Realignment offenders, or had direct contact with probationers and parolees. In addition, the study seek out to learn, how super . . .

The purpose of this study is to determine if there was a relationship between perceived stress level and connection to a religious affiliation. The question guiding this study was: Does being connected to a religious affiliation reduce the stress of u . . .

Over the last couple decades, resiliency development among youth has become a paramount area of study. Despite limited research on resiliency development, existing research shows specific factors that may help protect youth against a cycle of drugs, g . . .

The purpose of this study was to describe whether people who have lower income, or are closer to the poverty line, have similar responses as to why they attend work while sick compared with those who have higher income. This study is a secondary dat . . .

The purpose of this study was to engage continuation high school students in an opportunity to share perceptions of their high school engagement experiences. Using the lens of social justice to focus on engagement and student voice this exploratory s . . .

The focus of this project was the research, design, and implementation of a Grant Writing Template to be used by the CSU Stanislaus Warriors 4 Warriors Peer Mentoring Program to purchase recreational equipment for their program. The transition from th . . .

Parents are critical to the IEP process considering they are the expert on their child. They are often not included in the planning of their child’s educational needs even though it is required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 200 . . .

The fundamental aspects of the way we die has changed with our medical and technological advances. Before the advancement of medicine, people died at home with their loved ones as caregivers. Today, while most people wish to die at home, the majority . . .

The purpose of this graduate project was to create a website that would provide resources for young adults leaving foster care, in San Joaquin County. The goal of the project was to provide supports and resources necessary for youth leaving care to ac . . .

Disproportionality is complicated; however, it is imperative that the social work community thoroughly investigate all possible causes. This researcher surveyed the worker’ self- evaluation of their cultural awareness and racial bias concerning Black . . .

This project was created to provide a secondary school in Empire, CA with curriculum to assist with preparing teenagers for interviews and to provide instruction to students in the combined junior-senior advisory class. After assessing the needs of th . . .

Bullying is an issue that continues to occur among high school students. Students are engaging in traditional bullying as well as cyberbullying. This study explores students’ experiences with being the victim of bullying and whether these experiences . . .

Adoption of children from the foster care system is not only beneficial to foster youth, but also for society. When foster children are given permanent and loving homes, they are an asset to society instead of a burden. This project gives valuable inf . . .

The purpose of this exploratory study is to develop a cultural understanding of Mexican immigrant women’s beliefs on western mental health services and what factors influence their decision as to whether they seek services. This cultural understanding . . .

Child characteristics which include age at the time of entry into the foster care system, reason for removal, and ethnicity are examined among children in the foster care system residing in kinship and foster placements. Children of all ages are found . . .

In collaboration with Stanislaus County, this project was developed as an orientation for parents who are entering the family reunification process to ensure their understanding of the process and to increase parent-agency collaboration to help increa . . .

Bilingual education has been an option in United States public schools since the 20th century. A variety of programs have been implemented to aid students in becoming bilingual. However, over the last 20 years Two Way Immersion (TWI) programs, also kn . . .

Research has shown that maternal attachment is important during pregnancy. A 10-week Mindfulness- based Prenatal Yoga (MBPY) program, communicated in Spanish, was offered to Latina pregnant women. This study examined the effectiveness of this MBPY pro . . .

Approximately 5.3 million people in the United States are afflicted with a form of dementia. Dementia impacts not only the patient but it also impacts the lives and health of their family caregivers. The amount of stress and low levels of self-compass . . .

Research suggests that 15%-43% of males are dissatisfied with their bodies (Garner, 1997), however, even with recent research revealing that males suffer display similar behaviors as females, the lived experiences of the male population still goes . . .

The purpose of this research was to explore the experiences and perceptions of Latino parents and their parental involvement with the Ceres Unified School District. This qualitative study explored a total of six participants. All participants’ primary . . .

The purpose of this study was to explore and identify the various life experiences and factors that contributed to Hmong adults staying in college and how they ultimately graduated from college while coping with their experiences along the way. In-d . . .

This study explores the psychological effects that witnessing domestic violence has on children from the mother’s perspective, the mother’s reaction to these effects, and what services she found most useful during this period. This qualitative case st . . .

Research has shown that attachment plays a very important role in a child’s development. A 12-week mindfulness-based prenatal yoga pilot program was evaluated for its effectiveness on mindfulness levels and feelings of attachment throughout pregnan . . .

Child welfare social workers have demanding jobs and are often affected by secondary trauma. The purpose of this study was to identify what agency support and resources are available to CWS social workers who experience secondary traumatic stress. . . .

This exploratory study was implemented to broaden the knowledge of clients’ use of prostitutes. The study examined clients’ attitudes towards prostitution and the role this may play in their use of prostitutes. Thirty-eight participants, who were conv . . .

The purpose of this project was to explore the pressing need of the elderly Assyrian community. The wellness faire was developed and implemented to decrease the stigma of mental illness, while promoting wellness of the overall individual. The first . . .

This study examines how corporal punishment impacts the parent-child relationship through an exploratory study of 18 undergraduate students from the California State University, Stanislaus. The qualitative study was guided by the overarching question: . . .

Foster youth in general tend to experience less success in terms of education compared to their non-foster youth peers. One possible explanation for this discrepancy is the fact that foster youth may lack the parental support that has been shown to be . . .

Human trafficking is a $32 billion industry, involving 100,000 children in the United States. Children in care commonly experience emotional impacts due to neglect, abuse, multiple placements and caregivers, school disruptions, among many other issues . . .

The purpose of this research was to get an overall understanding of the level of awareness Hispanic farmworkers from Stanislaus County have in regards to pesticides. This qualitative study explored the knowledge 6 Hispanic farmworkers have in regar . . .

In the United States over 430,000 people undergo dialysis treatment annually to replace the functions of a healthy kidney. To measure the impact dialysis treatment has on patients’ quality of life, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) adopted i . . .

viii ABSTRACT Dependency drug courts have been implemented across the country in an effort to address parental substance abuse in the child welfare system. Additionally, peer mentors, also called Parent Partners, are now being used to assist parents . . .

The purpose of the study is to explore elementary school instructors’ perceptions of why they are interested in utilizing a whole brain teaching approach in their classroom. This study looks at the implementation of utilizing whole brain teaching in . . .

The project, Overcoming Barriers: Taking your Pen to Write for Wellness, was created to help first-generation college students attending California State University, Stanislaus to achieve wellness and mindfulness. The writing workshop achieved this by . . .

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of mindfulness as an intervention for teachers by conducting a meta-analysis. A thorough review of the literature resulted in only 5 studies that met the criteria for the meta-analysis. The five ex . . .

The present study replicated the research questions from the study by Chibnall, S., Dutch, N., Jones-Harden, B., Brown, A., and Gourdine, R. (2003), who researched the perceptions of child-welfare personnel regarding the issue of racial disproportiona . . .

The U visa is currently one immigration policy that can assist undocumented victims of domestic violence obtain legal status to be in the United States. The purpose of the study was to explore the barriers that service providers face when attempting t . . .

This study explored the changes, symptoms, and coping skills that a soldier with war-time involvements experienced. The study focused on the observations of the soldiers’ spouses after the soldiers returned from war-time service. Seven soldiers’ spous . . .

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college aged individuals in the United States (CDC, 2014). In an effort to reduce suicide, the Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) suicide prevention training is being offered to the faculty, staff, and s . . .

This project focused on developing and implementing a peer mentoring program at CSU Stanislaus that would facilitate and improve the military to school transitional experience of incoming freshman and transferring student-veterans. The objectives of t . . .

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine if cancer survivors experienced an improvement in their quality of life after participating in Complementary Therapy Programs offered at Memorial Medical Center. A total of 136 cancer survivors . . .

The intent of this secondary analysis was to examine the demographic and psychosocial characteristics of discharged hospice patients who were Latino or Hispanic. Additionally, this secondary analysis sought to explore differences in the characteristic . . .

This study explored how the social skills of a group of youth, deemed at risk, changes as a result of their involvement in CCPY, an after school mentoring program, through four months of their participation. A descriptive longitudinal study was cond . . .

A holistic approach in treating illnesses is becoming a popular trend in the United States. Patients are now frequently using complementary and alternative therapies to cope with illness and symptoms caused by mainstream medicine. Hospitals and commun . . .

Filipino Americans are the second largest immigrant population in the United States, yet there is very limited literature on their culture and development. This study explored the definition of culture and the process of cultural transmissions among F . . .

The purpose of this study is to examine risk-taking behaviors among youth who participate in the Step-Up part of the CCPY program. This study described youth involvement in risk-taking behaviors throughout the program in attempts to capture significan . . .

The purpose of this study is to examine the experiences and characteristics of men as victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). This secondary analysis was conducted on preexisting quantitative data collected by Pennell and Burke (2002). Using the . . .

The purpose of this secondary analysis study is to determine if there are differences in mental health symptoms an concerns based on the demographic variable race within a sample of gay and bisexual men who sought mental health treatment. The data f . . .

An estimated 1.3 million American high school students drop out of school (American Psychological Association , 2011). Students who drop out of high school are twice as likely to commit crimes than high school graduates (Belfield & Levin, 2009). Calif . . .

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a 24-hour phone toll-free line primarily dedicated to the prevention of suicide and promoting wellbeing. Perhaps unbeknownst to most of the general public, many callers do not require suicide prevention or c . . .

The purpose of this study was to explore the effect afterschool programs have on locus of control (internal and external) scores of students. The participants included 26 ninth-grade students from the Step Up program of California Community Partners f . . .

The purpose of this research study was to identify gateways to human sex trafficking in the Central Valley of California. The three areas studied were the background of the survivors, the events that took place prior to and during the survivor becom . . .

The purpose of this secondary analysis research was to provide some insight on barriers that impede a father’s ability to be an active parent. The study found that co-parenting, perception of fathers, and gender bias were all factors that affected fat . . .

The purpose of this project was to work towards a more integrated system of care for Infant-Early Childhood Mental Health (I-ECMH) services within Amador County. The project revolved around the creation of the Amador County Infant-Early Childhood Ment . . .

The purpose of this study was to explore the educational motivating factors and the parenting styles experienced by Hmong college students. The participants of this study were Hmong college students and alumni who studied at a University of California . . .

The purpose of this study was to gain insight into staff members‟ views of familiarity, value and impact of the Complementary Therapy Program at Memorial Medical Center in Modesto, California. This study employed a quantitative questionnaire which was . . .

This study explored components that help identify and provide effective crime intervention programs for high risk youth in the juvenile justice system in hope of reducing recidivism rates. The researcher conducted a qualitative data analysis utilizing . . .

Technology is a growing commodity that increasingly intertwines daily life. Government and agencies have already anticipated the blend of technology and social/medical services with the adoption of Electronic Health Records of the Health Information T . . .

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of ropes courses as an intervention for at risk youth. This researcher used the statistical technique, metaanalysis, to conduct the study. A thorough review of the literature resulted in only 3 . . .

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, and Questioning (LGBTQ) youth face unique obstacles which have been directly linked to an increase in lifetime suicide attempts. For this reason, this project aims at addressing these obstacles, educating the cam . . .

The purpose of this project was to empower the foster youth of Creative Alternatives by utilizing best practice models in the development of policies and procedures for the agency’s new transitional home. The disenfranchisement of youth in tradition . . .

The purpose of this study is to explore parents’ and guardians’ perceptions of their experiences with Family Support Team (FST) meetings at Orville Wright Elementary School. This qualitative study focuses on allowing parents and guardians to provide i . . .

This project focused on the development, production and management of an electronic directory of resources in Stanislaus County. The objectives for this project were accomplished by developing a simple, easy to access website with over 525 resources a . . .

The purpose of this study was to explore MSW student perceptions about licensure and clinical preparedness in their social work program. This study was guided using a quantitative method and exploratory research by design. Three research questions wer . . .

The purpose of this study is to capture the opinions of juvenile offenders regarding their perspective of how to best lower recidivism rates using Participatory Action Research (PAR). This study employed a quantitative questionnaire which was distribu . . .

The purpose of this study was to explore social worker mentors’ perspectives regarding the effectiveness of the current child welfare training unit in Merced County. It explored the perceptions social work mentors have regarding the recently implement . . .

This project focused on the development and implementation of a protocol for outreach to graduate student-veterans at CSU Stanislaus. These objectives were accomplished by developing outreach materials for distribution to this population, as well as d . . .

The purpose of this study was to explore the successful reintegration process as experienced by men of color. Seven men of color from the County of San Joaquin in the State of California, participated in this study. Several factors were identified by . . .

Research has shown that stress increases during pregnancy. A 12-week mindfulnessbased prenatal yoga pilot program was evaluated for its effectiveness on maternal stress and mindfulness levels throughout pregnancy and during the post-partum period. . . .

The purpose of this quantitative study was to ascertain if caregivers and support persons experienced an improvement in their quality of life as they participated in the Complementary Therapy Program offered by Memorial Medical Center. A total of 35 . . .

The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs that African Americans in the Central Valley of California had concerning the topic of HIV/AIDS. The primary questions of this study were: 1) What factors do Afri . . .

Given the increasing move towards strengths based practice, combined with the limited research on the use of this approach with the older adult population, this research explored APS social workers’ perceptions of the strengths-based approach and thei . . .

Wellness WORKS! offers educational services that extend beyond job training to contribute to the health and healing of individuals, families, neighborhoods, and communities. Wellness WORKs! is currently limited to only serving CalWORKs participants. I . . .

This thesis explored California’s welfare program CalWORKs’ effectiveness, specifically in San Joaquin County, in assisting welfare recipients to becoming self-sufficient. A qualitative survey was sent through email to San Joaquin Delta College CalWOR . . .

This study analyzed the perceptions of geriatric social workers, and others who work in behavioral or physical health care, about 6 of the largest services considered part of the system of long-term services and supports (LTSS). A survey was completed . . .

Mental health is a wide complex topic that has limited information regarding the homeless population’s perception of mental health (Bhui, Shanahan, & Harding, 2006). The purpose of this exploratory qualitative study was to examine the homeless popu . . .

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the community’s knowledge of the Complementary Therapy Program at Memorial Medical Center and to capture the participants’ perceptions of the value of those therapies to the local community. This study used a . . .

The purpose of this project was to increase the awareness of policies stemming from the Americans with Disabilities Act regarding refueling assistance for disabled drivers. The needs of physically disabled drivers at gasoline stations were articulat . . .

This graduate project consisted of producing a curriculum guide for the PEER Project. The PEER Project is a new program through a CalMHSA grant being developed and implemented at California State University, Stanislaus. The PEER Project aims to empowe . . .