Stephanie Bosco-Ruggiero, M.A. is a PhD candidate at Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from Vassar College and an M.A. in Urban Affairs and Public Policy from the Biden School of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Delaware. As an adjunct instructor, Stephanie teaches social policy online for Fordham GSS and the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University. She also has taught Sociology 101 at the undergraduate level. Stephanie has worked with Fordham GSS faculty on federally funded grant projects including the National Center for Social Work Trauma Education and Workforce Development, and the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute. Previously, she worked for Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City as a community organizer and grant writer. Currently Stephanie has a freelance and consulting business focused on her main interests which include social policy, child welfare, spirituality in social work, and child and adolescent mental health. Stephanie is the co-author/author of seven peer reviewed journal articles and a book entitled Adopting older children: A practical guide to adopting and parenting children over age four. Supervisors: Dr. Fuhua Zhai
Context: Recent research into the effectiveness of abstinence-based substance use disorder (SUD) ... more Context: Recent research into the effectiveness of abstinence-based substance use disorder (SUD) treatment indicates that there has not been a substantial improvement since the Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Study research in 1993. Research into medication-supported treatments for SUD are hindered by a dearth of real-world longitudinal outcome studies. Patient registries have dramatically improved survival rates in many diseases by providing researchers with longitudinal data on a broad spectrum of patients undergoing a variety of treatments. Policy prescription: We recommend the creation of a national registry for patients receiving treatment for SUD akin to the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program established in 1971 to track cancer patient outcomes. One option would be to expand the data currently being collected in the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) to include all nonpublicly funded treatment and to allow for longitudinal tracking of deidentified individuals. Inf...
Repeat child maltreatment is a problem in the state of Connecticut as well as other states such a... more Repeat child maltreatment is a problem in the state of Connecticut as well as other states such as New York, California, and Ohio. Although most children will not be victims of repeat maltreatment in Connecticut, a substantial percentage will be. Several family and child variables have been found to be associated with child maltreatment recidivism in previous studies. It was expected similar factors would predict higher risk in Connecticut as well. This study used National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) data for Connecticut for the years 2016 to 2018 to examine whether any child or family variables and risk factors, case characteristics, or services were associated with repeat reports, substantiation, or recidivism. There was a difference in repeat reports, substantiation, and recidivism by most of the hypothesized children and caregiver risk factors (e.g., mental health, disability). Family and child variables, family risk factors, and case characteristics associated with repeat reports, substantiation, and recidivism included child is multiracial, financial problem, housing problem, domestic violence, and unmarried parent household. Case characteristics associated with recidivism included having a report of neglect, a substantiated report the previous year, a shorter length of time between reports, and multiple investigation response counties over 36 months. Those who received more services had more reports and substantiations, most likely reflecting that the agency generally provides more services in families with substantiated cases; however, certain services are provided to most families with unsubstantiated cases as well. Education and training appeared to be particularly effective in lowering risk for families with financial problems. The Connecticut Department of Children and Families can use results from this study to cross validate and/or improve their risk assessments for recidivism
This article examines the factors that can affect job satisfaction, organizational culture and cl... more This article examines the factors that can affect job satisfaction, organizational culture and climate, and intent to leave at a public child welfare agency. Findings from focus group data collected from direct line, middle, and senior managers revealed a passive defensive culture. The authors discuss concrete organizational interventions to assist the agency in shifting to a constructive oriented culture through enhancements in communication, including supervision and shared decisionmaking, recognition and rewards, and improvement in other areas related to working conditions.
This article describes the implementation of a peer network for social work traineeship students ... more This article describes the implementation of a peer network for social work traineeship students pursuing or continuing careers in child welfare. Literature on the best principles and practices for online community building reviewed and an explanation of how these best practices were utilized to build the online community is provided. Initial program design is described as well as program developments that occurred over four years of the program. The article then examines how the program’s evaluation was carried out and reviews some of the evaluation data. The article concludes with a discussion about the successes and challenges experienced in building the peer network and how other social work or traineeship programs, or agencies, might use an online peer network to support social work students and professionals.
This article examines the factors that can affect job satisfaction, organizational culture and cl... more This article examines the factors that can affect job satisfaction, organizational culture and climate, and intent to leave at a public child welfare agency. Findings from focus group data collected from direct line, middle, and senior managers revealed a passive defensive culture. The authors discuss concrete organizational interventions to assist the agency in shifting to a constructive oriented culture through enhancements in communication, including supervision and shared decisionmaking, recognition and rewards, and improvement in other areas related to working conditions.
ABSTRACT This study uses 2016 General Social Survey (GSS) data to examine the relationship betwee... more ABSTRACT This study uses 2016 General Social Survey (GSS) data to examine the relationship between Americans’ religious and spiritual beliefs and behaviors and their mental health. Mental health is measured by days of poor mental health, depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression subscale score), and general happiness. Spiritual/religious beliefs and behaviors measured include afterlife beliefs, belief in God, prayer, service attendance, and self-perceived religiosity and spirituality. More frequent service attendance was the most consistent predictor of enhanced mental health and well-being. Findings are consistent with those of prior studies using GSS data, which showed associations between Americans’ religious/spiritual beliefs and behaviors, especially service attendance, and mental health.
Adopting Older Children addresses the most significant challenges surrounding older-child adoptio... more Adopting Older Children addresses the most significant challenges surrounding older-child adoption (both domestically and internationally), including mental health, behavioral, and educational concerns. This thorough guide enumerates the issues an older adopted child faces and provides a comprehensive overview of problems and how adopting parents can successfully deal with them, including critical information about developmental issues; problems related to the adoptee's emerging sense of self, including sexual orientation and cultural identity; and other special needs that children may have. Adopting Older Children provides prospective parents the essential tools for coping with transition and family dynamics, educating others about adoption, and understanding the personality, background, and problems of an older adopted child. It also provides a comprehensive methodology for coping with a traumatized child who faces grief and loss, attachment issues, difficulty with development...
ABSTRACT In service training in public child welfare agencies in the United States has long been ... more ABSTRACT In service training in public child welfare agencies in the United States has long been viewed as an important vehicle for the improvement of job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and therefore as important to retention in child welfare. This article examines the critical role of transfer of learning strategies in such training and reports on an analysis that was part of a larger study to identify predictors of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. It describes two major transfer of learning training interventions and their association with job satisfaction, organizational commitment and intention to leave the agency. Implications are discussed for child welfare training and professional development.
ABSTRACT In service training in public child welfare agencies in the United States has long been ... more ABSTRACT In service training in public child welfare agencies in the United States has long been viewed as an important vehicle for the improvement of job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and therefore as important to retention in child welfare. This article examines the critical role of transfer of learning strategies in such training and reports on an analysis that was part of a larger study to identify predictors of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. It describes two major transfer of learning training interventions and their association with job satisfaction, organizational commitment and intention to leave the agency. Implications are discussed for child welfare training and professional development.
This study uses 2016 General Social Survey (GSS) data to examine the relationship between America... more This study uses 2016 General Social Survey (GSS) data to examine the relationship between Americans’ religious and spiritual beliefs and behaviors and their mental health. Mental health is measured by days of poor mental health, depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression subscale score), and general happiness. Spiritual/religious beliefs and behaviors measured include afterlife beliefs, belief in God, prayer, service attendance, and self-perceived religiosity and spirituality. More frequent service attendance was the most consistent predictor of enhanced mental health and well-being. Findings are consistent with those of prior studies using GSS data, which showed associations between Americans’ religious/spiritual beliefs and behaviors, especially service attendance, and mental health.
This article examines the factors that can affect job satisfaction, organizational culture and cl... more This article examines the factors that can affect job satisfaction, organizational culture and climate, and intent to leave at a public child welfare agency. Findings from focus group data collected from direct line, middle, and senior managers revealed a passive defensive culture. The authors discuss concrete organizational interventions to assist the agency in shifting to a constructive oriented culture through enhancements in communication, including supervision and shared decisionmaking, recognition and rewards, and improvement in other areas related to working conditions.
This article describes the implementation of an online peer network for social work traineeship s... more This article describes the implementation of an online peer network for social work traineeship students pursuing or continuing careers in child welfare. Literature on best principles and practices for facilitating an online community is reviewed, and an explanation of how these best practices were used is provided. Initial program design and program developments, which took place over four years, are described. An overview of the evaluation data and how the program evaluation was carried out is presented. The article concludes with a discussion about successes and challenges experienced in building the peer network and further research needed to understand benefits of the use of online communities and social media in social work education.
... DOI: 10.1080/03643100903432941 Virginia C. Strand a * & ... Findi... more ... DOI: 10.1080/03643100903432941 Virginia C. Strand a * & ... Findings reveal that mentees have more confidence, their network has grown, and their investment in their job and the agency has increased; mentors identify increased personal satisfaction and a renewed sense of ...
ABSTRACT In service training in public child welfare agencies in the United States has long been ... more ABSTRACT In service training in public child welfare agencies in the United States has long been viewed as an important vehicle for the improvement of job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and therefore as important to retention in child welfare. This article examines the critical role of transfer of learning strategies in such training and reports on an analysis that was part of a larger study to identify predictors of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. It describes two major transfer of learning training interventions and their association with job satisfaction, organizational commitment and intention to leave the agency. Implications are discussed for child welfare training and professional development.
About this edition
ISBN:9780882824826, 0882824821
Format:Paperback
Publisher:New Horizon Press
La... more About this edition ISBN:9780882824826, 0882824821 Format:Paperback Publisher:New Horizon Press Language:English Author:Stephanie Bosco-Ruggiero, Gloria Russo Wassell, Victor Groza Adopting Older Children addresses the most significant challenges surrounding older-child adoption (both domestically and internationally), including mental health, behavioral, and educational concerns. This thorough guide enumerates the issues an older adopted child faces and provides a comprehensive overview of problems and how adopting parents can successfully deal with them, including critical information about developmental issues; problems related to the adoptee's emerging sense of self, including sexual orientation and cultural identity; and other special needs that children may have. Adopting Older Children provides prospective parents the essential tools for coping with transition and family dynamics, educating others about adoption, and understanding the personality, background, and problems of an older adopted child. It also provides a comprehensive methodology for coping with a traumatized child who faces grief and loss, attachment issues, difficulty with development and learning, or physical or mental health concerns, as well as critical resource information for single, LGBT, or older adoptive parents. Adopting Older Children furnishes key parenting strategies, insights, and resources in a clear yet sensitive style, the definitive handbook for adoptive or foster parents and professionals.
Context: Recent research into the effectiveness of abstinence-based substance use disorder (SUD) ... more Context: Recent research into the effectiveness of abstinence-based substance use disorder (SUD) treatment indicates that there has not been a substantial improvement since the Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Study research in 1993. Research into medication-supported treatments for SUD are hindered by a dearth of real-world longitudinal outcome studies. Patient registries have dramatically improved survival rates in many diseases by providing researchers with longitudinal data on a broad spectrum of patients undergoing a variety of treatments. Policy prescription: We recommend the creation of a national registry for patients receiving treatment for SUD akin to the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program established in 1971 to track cancer patient outcomes. One option would be to expand the data currently being collected in the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) to include all nonpublicly funded treatment and to allow for longitudinal tracking of deidentified individuals. Inf...
Repeat child maltreatment is a problem in the state of Connecticut as well as other states such a... more Repeat child maltreatment is a problem in the state of Connecticut as well as other states such as New York, California, and Ohio. Although most children will not be victims of repeat maltreatment in Connecticut, a substantial percentage will be. Several family and child variables have been found to be associated with child maltreatment recidivism in previous studies. It was expected similar factors would predict higher risk in Connecticut as well. This study used National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) data for Connecticut for the years 2016 to 2018 to examine whether any child or family variables and risk factors, case characteristics, or services were associated with repeat reports, substantiation, or recidivism. There was a difference in repeat reports, substantiation, and recidivism by most of the hypothesized children and caregiver risk factors (e.g., mental health, disability). Family and child variables, family risk factors, and case characteristics associated with repeat reports, substantiation, and recidivism included child is multiracial, financial problem, housing problem, domestic violence, and unmarried parent household. Case characteristics associated with recidivism included having a report of neglect, a substantiated report the previous year, a shorter length of time between reports, and multiple investigation response counties over 36 months. Those who received more services had more reports and substantiations, most likely reflecting that the agency generally provides more services in families with substantiated cases; however, certain services are provided to most families with unsubstantiated cases as well. Education and training appeared to be particularly effective in lowering risk for families with financial problems. The Connecticut Department of Children and Families can use results from this study to cross validate and/or improve their risk assessments for recidivism
This article examines the factors that can affect job satisfaction, organizational culture and cl... more This article examines the factors that can affect job satisfaction, organizational culture and climate, and intent to leave at a public child welfare agency. Findings from focus group data collected from direct line, middle, and senior managers revealed a passive defensive culture. The authors discuss concrete organizational interventions to assist the agency in shifting to a constructive oriented culture through enhancements in communication, including supervision and shared decisionmaking, recognition and rewards, and improvement in other areas related to working conditions.
This article describes the implementation of a peer network for social work traineeship students ... more This article describes the implementation of a peer network for social work traineeship students pursuing or continuing careers in child welfare. Literature on the best principles and practices for online community building reviewed and an explanation of how these best practices were utilized to build the online community is provided. Initial program design is described as well as program developments that occurred over four years of the program. The article then examines how the program’s evaluation was carried out and reviews some of the evaluation data. The article concludes with a discussion about the successes and challenges experienced in building the peer network and how other social work or traineeship programs, or agencies, might use an online peer network to support social work students and professionals.
This article examines the factors that can affect job satisfaction, organizational culture and cl... more This article examines the factors that can affect job satisfaction, organizational culture and climate, and intent to leave at a public child welfare agency. Findings from focus group data collected from direct line, middle, and senior managers revealed a passive defensive culture. The authors discuss concrete organizational interventions to assist the agency in shifting to a constructive oriented culture through enhancements in communication, including supervision and shared decisionmaking, recognition and rewards, and improvement in other areas related to working conditions.
ABSTRACT This study uses 2016 General Social Survey (GSS) data to examine the relationship betwee... more ABSTRACT This study uses 2016 General Social Survey (GSS) data to examine the relationship between Americans’ religious and spiritual beliefs and behaviors and their mental health. Mental health is measured by days of poor mental health, depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression subscale score), and general happiness. Spiritual/religious beliefs and behaviors measured include afterlife beliefs, belief in God, prayer, service attendance, and self-perceived religiosity and spirituality. More frequent service attendance was the most consistent predictor of enhanced mental health and well-being. Findings are consistent with those of prior studies using GSS data, which showed associations between Americans’ religious/spiritual beliefs and behaviors, especially service attendance, and mental health.
Adopting Older Children addresses the most significant challenges surrounding older-child adoptio... more Adopting Older Children addresses the most significant challenges surrounding older-child adoption (both domestically and internationally), including mental health, behavioral, and educational concerns. This thorough guide enumerates the issues an older adopted child faces and provides a comprehensive overview of problems and how adopting parents can successfully deal with them, including critical information about developmental issues; problems related to the adoptee's emerging sense of self, including sexual orientation and cultural identity; and other special needs that children may have. Adopting Older Children provides prospective parents the essential tools for coping with transition and family dynamics, educating others about adoption, and understanding the personality, background, and problems of an older adopted child. It also provides a comprehensive methodology for coping with a traumatized child who faces grief and loss, attachment issues, difficulty with development...
ABSTRACT In service training in public child welfare agencies in the United States has long been ... more ABSTRACT In service training in public child welfare agencies in the United States has long been viewed as an important vehicle for the improvement of job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and therefore as important to retention in child welfare. This article examines the critical role of transfer of learning strategies in such training and reports on an analysis that was part of a larger study to identify predictors of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. It describes two major transfer of learning training interventions and their association with job satisfaction, organizational commitment and intention to leave the agency. Implications are discussed for child welfare training and professional development.
ABSTRACT In service training in public child welfare agencies in the United States has long been ... more ABSTRACT In service training in public child welfare agencies in the United States has long been viewed as an important vehicle for the improvement of job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and therefore as important to retention in child welfare. This article examines the critical role of transfer of learning strategies in such training and reports on an analysis that was part of a larger study to identify predictors of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. It describes two major transfer of learning training interventions and their association with job satisfaction, organizational commitment and intention to leave the agency. Implications are discussed for child welfare training and professional development.
This study uses 2016 General Social Survey (GSS) data to examine the relationship between America... more This study uses 2016 General Social Survey (GSS) data to examine the relationship between Americans’ religious and spiritual beliefs and behaviors and their mental health. Mental health is measured by days of poor mental health, depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression subscale score), and general happiness. Spiritual/religious beliefs and behaviors measured include afterlife beliefs, belief in God, prayer, service attendance, and self-perceived religiosity and spirituality. More frequent service attendance was the most consistent predictor of enhanced mental health and well-being. Findings are consistent with those of prior studies using GSS data, which showed associations between Americans’ religious/spiritual beliefs and behaviors, especially service attendance, and mental health.
This article examines the factors that can affect job satisfaction, organizational culture and cl... more This article examines the factors that can affect job satisfaction, organizational culture and climate, and intent to leave at a public child welfare agency. Findings from focus group data collected from direct line, middle, and senior managers revealed a passive defensive culture. The authors discuss concrete organizational interventions to assist the agency in shifting to a constructive oriented culture through enhancements in communication, including supervision and shared decisionmaking, recognition and rewards, and improvement in other areas related to working conditions.
This article describes the implementation of an online peer network for social work traineeship s... more This article describes the implementation of an online peer network for social work traineeship students pursuing or continuing careers in child welfare. Literature on best principles and practices for facilitating an online community is reviewed, and an explanation of how these best practices were used is provided. Initial program design and program developments, which took place over four years, are described. An overview of the evaluation data and how the program evaluation was carried out is presented. The article concludes with a discussion about successes and challenges experienced in building the peer network and further research needed to understand benefits of the use of online communities and social media in social work education.
... DOI: 10.1080/03643100903432941 Virginia C. Strand a * & ... Findi... more ... DOI: 10.1080/03643100903432941 Virginia C. Strand a * & ... Findings reveal that mentees have more confidence, their network has grown, and their investment in their job and the agency has increased; mentors identify increased personal satisfaction and a renewed sense of ...
ABSTRACT In service training in public child welfare agencies in the United States has long been ... more ABSTRACT In service training in public child welfare agencies in the United States has long been viewed as an important vehicle for the improvement of job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and therefore as important to retention in child welfare. This article examines the critical role of transfer of learning strategies in such training and reports on an analysis that was part of a larger study to identify predictors of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. It describes two major transfer of learning training interventions and their association with job satisfaction, organizational commitment and intention to leave the agency. Implications are discussed for child welfare training and professional development.
About this edition
ISBN:9780882824826, 0882824821
Format:Paperback
Publisher:New Horizon Press
La... more About this edition ISBN:9780882824826, 0882824821 Format:Paperback Publisher:New Horizon Press Language:English Author:Stephanie Bosco-Ruggiero, Gloria Russo Wassell, Victor Groza Adopting Older Children addresses the most significant challenges surrounding older-child adoption (both domestically and internationally), including mental health, behavioral, and educational concerns. This thorough guide enumerates the issues an older adopted child faces and provides a comprehensive overview of problems and how adopting parents can successfully deal with them, including critical information about developmental issues; problems related to the adoptee's emerging sense of self, including sexual orientation and cultural identity; and other special needs that children may have. Adopting Older Children provides prospective parents the essential tools for coping with transition and family dynamics, educating others about adoption, and understanding the personality, background, and problems of an older adopted child. It also provides a comprehensive methodology for coping with a traumatized child who faces grief and loss, attachment issues, difficulty with development and learning, or physical or mental health concerns, as well as critical resource information for single, LGBT, or older adoptive parents. Adopting Older Children furnishes key parenting strategies, insights, and resources in a clear yet sensitive style, the definitive handbook for adoptive or foster parents and professionals.
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ISBN:9780882824826, 0882824821
Format:Paperback
Publisher:New Horizon Press
Language:English
Author:Stephanie Bosco-Ruggiero, Gloria Russo Wassell, Victor Groza
Adopting Older Children addresses the most significant challenges surrounding older-child adoption (both domestically and internationally), including mental health, behavioral, and educational concerns. This thorough guide enumerates the issues an older adopted child faces and provides a comprehensive overview of problems and how adopting parents can successfully deal with them, including critical information about developmental issues; problems related to the adoptee's emerging sense of self, including sexual orientation and cultural identity; and other special needs that children may have. Adopting Older Children provides prospective parents the essential tools for coping with transition and family dynamics, educating others about adoption, and understanding the personality, background, and problems of an older adopted child. It also provides a comprehensive methodology for coping with a traumatized child who faces grief and loss, attachment issues, difficulty with development and learning, or physical or mental health concerns, as well as critical resource information for single, LGBT, or older adoptive parents. Adopting Older Children furnishes key parenting strategies, insights, and resources in a clear yet sensitive style, the definitive handbook for adoptive or foster parents and professionals.
ISBN:9780882824826, 0882824821
Format:Paperback
Publisher:New Horizon Press
Language:English
Author:Stephanie Bosco-Ruggiero, Gloria Russo Wassell, Victor Groza
Adopting Older Children addresses the most significant challenges surrounding older-child adoption (both domestically and internationally), including mental health, behavioral, and educational concerns. This thorough guide enumerates the issues an older adopted child faces and provides a comprehensive overview of problems and how adopting parents can successfully deal with them, including critical information about developmental issues; problems related to the adoptee's emerging sense of self, including sexual orientation and cultural identity; and other special needs that children may have. Adopting Older Children provides prospective parents the essential tools for coping with transition and family dynamics, educating others about adoption, and understanding the personality, background, and problems of an older adopted child. It also provides a comprehensive methodology for coping with a traumatized child who faces grief and loss, attachment issues, difficulty with development and learning, or physical or mental health concerns, as well as critical resource information for single, LGBT, or older adoptive parents. Adopting Older Children furnishes key parenting strategies, insights, and resources in a clear yet sensitive style, the definitive handbook for adoptive or foster parents and professionals.