Debora Ortega

Microaggressions are well-documented in education literature, yet they are typically explored on the interpersonal level and less often contextualized within a broader educational context. In this study, we used a critical qualitative approach, pairing a Critical Race Theory framework with a feminist critique, to explore K-12 faculty and staff perceptions of racial microaggressions in U.S. public schools. Twenty-five faculty and staff with anti-oppressive orientations shared their perceptions of pathologizing cultural values or communication styles, a specific type of microaggression. A flexible coding approach, including three coding cycles, was used to analyze the data. Participant narratives indicated how Black, Indigenous, and Latinx students, families, faculty, and staff are regularly pathologized in the K-12 education setting. Findings highlight how microaggressions are a form of institutionalized racism that negatively impacts the educational environment, thus norming and reenforcing the dehumanization of People of Color. Implications for future research and social work practice are discussed.

Family engagement may improve disease management, yet little is known about this topic as it relates to underrepresented minorities who receive care in low-resource primary care settings. This study aimed to explore family engagement in diabetes and hypertension management at an Urban Indian Health Organization to identify opportunities and challenges, and inform care strategies. We employed semi-structured interviews, genograms, eco-maps, and timelines, among 23 English- and Spanish-speaking American Indian and Latino adults with a dual diagnosis of type 2 diabetes and hypertension and 13 family members. Using thematic analysis, we found that family support is not always available, patients have difficulty sharing medical information, and family often live far away. Conversely, opportunities to leverage included a desire for increased engagement, motivation from the younger generation, prevention within the family, outreach to family members with the same conditions, and learning from elders and ancestors. Implications for programs, clinical care, and research are discussed.

The KLCC initiative marked a shift from focusing on the development of individuals. It sought to actively engage citizenry in community issues and change. The vision of KLCC was to develop diverse community leadership that can work across boundaries—geographic, racial, cultural, age, class, or faith by mobilizing collective action to improve local conditions and the quality of life in their communities. Leadership, in this view, is not the purview of an individual leader, rather the collaboration of what leaders and followers do together for the common good. The KLCC initiative focused on the development of more than 25 diverse leadership Fellows in communities across the country. Each site was provided with technical assistance and opportunities to engage in evaluation within their sites and networking across a KLCC national learning community. The sites would learn and enact community-based, collective leadership as a developmental tool that is optimized in both a cultural and iss...

Purpose A single conceptualization of mental health based on empirical research has yet to be adopted by researchers and practitioners. This paper aims to explore how diverse Americans define mental health. The aim of the study was to build a conceptualization of the term “mental health”, using qualitative and quantitative methods, on the basis of definitions provided by an ethnically diverse sample of lay-people and professionals. Design/methodology/approach Concept mapping methods, including multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis, were applied to 146 statements generated by 125 participants of diverse American racial and ethnic groups. The resulting concept map was inspected visually, quantitatively and qualitatively. Findings Out of the 146 statements, 8 overarching themes emerged from multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis. Themes include Well-being, balance, coping, adaptability, relational, self, lack of mental illness and physical. T-te...

responded to a call from the American Immigrant Lawyers Association (AILA) requesting pro bono legal services to women and their children who were being held at a detention center in Artesia, New Mexico. When Professor Graybill and the students arrived at the detention center, they were sur-prised and dismayed by what they found: poor conditions, sick children, policies that subverted access to the legal system, and women and children who experienced multiple and severe acts of sexual and physical violence without hope of protection in their home countries. Incensed by the injustices she witnessed, she approached me as a social work faculty member in order to propose an interdisciplinary course in law and social work that would focus on immigrant family detention. The course included a spring break learning experience in which students would provide pro bono legal and social support services to women and children held in immigration detention facilities in Texas. This project was su...

Abstract Historical and contemporary immigration policies and practices of the United States have been and are intertwined with capitalism, dehumanization of non-white Anglo Saxon Protestants, and institutional racial and ethnic discrimination whose affect extends to its naturalized and natal citizens. As of 2010, foreign-born persons of Mexican origin living in the United States comprised approximately 30% of the total foreign-born population (constituting 11,711,000 people).1 U.S. immigration policies and practices of the 1990s have had an extremely negative impact on immigrants from Latin America, particularly for those from Mexico. Since the implementation of heightened border control initiatives there has been a sharp increase in the risk of injury and death for those attempting to cross the border.2,3,4 The increased enforcement and related detention is further complicated by the for-profit business corporations involved in immigration detention that spend billions of dollars ...

The prison therefore functions ideologically as an abstract site into which undesirables are deposited, relieving us of the responsibility of thinking about the real issues afflicting those communities from which prisoners are drawn in such disproportionate numbers. This is the ideological work that the prison performs; it relieves us of the responsibility of seriously engaging with the problems of our society, espe-cially those produced by racism, and, increasingly, global capitalism. Angela Y. Davis, Are Prisons Obsolete? (2003, p. 16) Mass incarceration is a reality in the United States to such a degree that our nation is known globally for holding more children and adults in jails, detention centers, state, and federal prison facilities than any other country. This culture of punishment has transformed the United States into a ‘‘prison nation,’ ’ described by Richie (2012, p. 3) as the ‘‘ideological and public policy shifts that have led to the increased criminalization of disen...

Purpose Research on factors affecting parenting for Latino families with young children is predominately reported using the aggregate category, “Hispanic” which obfuscates the unique contexts and challenges of specific ethnic/racial groups. Aggregate reporting of results obscures the unique social, cultural and historical experiences that inform parenting behaviors of historically marginalized families. This paper explores within group differences for Mexican and Puerto Rican mothers vulnerable to child welfare involvement. Methods Data were drawn from the National Survey on Child and Adolescent Well-being II—Restricted Release (NSCAW-II), a nationally representative sample of child welfare involved families. Results Puerto Rican mothers were found to have significantly higher rates of risk factors (e.g., unemployment, depression, and IPV) compared to Mexican mothers. Implications/Discussion Results from this study illuminate within-group heterogeneity among Latina mothers related t...

Although various policy analysis frameworks exist within the social work literature, fewspecifically address the racism inherent to policymaking processes. We propose interestconvergence as a conceptual lens for policy analysis to expose the racism inherent inpolicymaking. Transcripts from 19 public hearings of five bills sponsored during the 2017Nevada legislative session were included in the data analysis for this study. A thematic analysistook place at the latent level to identify underlying concepts, assumptions, and ideas within thedata (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Results indicate that the public testimony process and ultimateoutcomes of public policy making protect white interests which sustains structural racism. Inunderstanding the dynamics of interest convergence in policymaking, social work educators,policy advocates, and macro-practitioners would be better equipped to impact the policymakingprocesses focused on racial equity.

An approach to multicultural social work research that is values based and process oriented is being developed by the authors and other faculty and doctoral students affiliated with the Multicultural Research Group at the University of Washington School of Social Work. Members of the group share an interest in the collective creation of models of social work practice, education, and research that reflect a multicultural worldview and a commitment to collaborative work with members of disenfranchised communities - that is, groups in the United States that experience economic, social, and political disadvantage or discrimination. In particular, the authors share a commitment to working with communities of color, women, gay men and lesbians, and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. We believe that too many models of social science research replay and reinforce the theme of disenfranchisement, providing little opportunity for community members to shape research questions, claim ownership of data, develop findings and implications for action, and hone their own critical inquiry skills. The approach discussed in this article reflects the research group's ongoing dialogue on multicultural social work research, practice, and education. It represents a work in progress. An invitation to join a panel on research and diversity at the Council on Social Work Education's 1995 Annual Planning Meeting was the impetus for clarifying and consolidating our current thoughts on multicultural research. We accepted the invitation as an opportunity to struggle with the following questions: What is multicultural social work research? And what are the benefits and challenges associated with teaching, learning, and doing it? The article represents a response to these questions and an invitation to other social welfare researchers to ponder these and related questions individually and collectively. Definition of Multicultural Social Work Research Multicultural social work research should meet three general criteria: (1) It should involve the researcher in a constant process of both private and public reflection on a range of issues critically affecting collaboration - from how her or his own biases and motives affect the research process to the impact of the larger political economy on the sociocultural history of disadvantaged groups; (2) it should democratize the research process, supporting a continuous process of community collaboration rather than token representation of community members in limited advisory roles; and (3) its objectives should be linked to community empowerment, social justice, and social transformation goals. The centrality of empowerment with respect to both the process and aims of research differentiates the group's approach from other applied social work research models that also emphasize cooperation with and direct benefits to communities (for example, the Design and Development Model; Rothman & Thomas, 1994). Although redressing the power imbalance between researcher and community participant is an optional feature under other applied models, it is a defining characteristic or parameter of the approach we describe in this article. Our approach is "values based" because it draws on fundamental values undergirding the profession and practice of social work: social justice, equality, self-determination, and empowerment. It is "process oriented" for two reasons: First, we assume that no single act or set of finite acts performed on research makes it "multicultural"; instead, reflection and collaboration must become organic to every part of the research process (Rogler, 1989). Second, we place trust in the assumption that a process of critically reflective and collaborative inquiry can lead to social transformation. The Ultimate Goal: Social Transformation The social work values of justice, equality, and empowerment are currently given strong voice in the concept of multiculturalism. …

The prison therefore functions ideologically as an abstract site into which undesirables are deposited, relieving us of the responsibility of thinking about the real issues afflicting those communities from which prisoners are drawn in such disproportionate numbers. This is the ideological work that the prison performs; it relieves us of the responsibility of seriously engaging with the problems of our society, especially those produced by racism, and, increasingly, global capitalism.

Historically, child maltreatment has been seen as an issue warranting the involvement of the American government. However, over time, the definition of child maltreatment has changed; typically, maltreatment is often understood as a violation of the parental right to care for and protect a child. Consequently, the government, through systems such as child protective services is expected to be the acceptable parental alternative. As illustrated by the numerous negative outcomes experienced, it is clear that the system is not meeting the needs of abused and neglected children. This bureaucratic neglect is allowed to occur because of population primarily served by the child welfare system, the poor and families of color. In this way, dynamics of power and privilege manifest in the differing expectations of appropriate care between biological parents and the foster care system.

Summary Although migration and immigrant issues have been well studied in sociology, economics, and demography there is significantly less information specific to Latino immigrants within the field of social work. This is of particular concern as the population of Latino immigrants and their children continues to grow and access areas of social work practice and policy development. This research study focuses on understanding the experience of first-generation immigrants of Mexican origin living in Denver, Colorado, through the use of qualitative research methods. Seven Mexican immigrants living in Denver described their experience through an in-depth interview process. Grounded theory was the chosen method for analysis. Findings Four themes emerged during the data analysis process: (1) ‘We are working people’; (2) ‘I am not an animal’ (experiencing racism, prejudice and discrimination); (3) fear; and (4) internal strength. Together these themes create a conceptual framework that is...

If the life and works of Ann Weick could be put to music, the genre would be a border corridor. In Latin America, the corrido is a type of ballad that often extols the virtues, struggles, and accomplishments of a hero or heroine; border ballad tells the tales of bandits whose exploits are fuelled by the frustrations of class struggle and domination. These bandits through heroic deeds strike out against authority. As marginalized people sing them, they become tales of resistance, empowerment, and hope (Kanellos, 2008). Ann’s life embodies the corrido: She was a heroine who fought for justice. Her life was a model of how to create change. She bravely spoke truth to power, and her passing evokes a great lament. Ann was raised in Portland, Oregon, and was the daughter of a father who was a sign maker and a mother who was a homemaker. Her call to social work emerged from Catholic religious tradition. She graduated as high school valedictorian from an all girls’ Catholic school and later served on the board of directors of the National Catholic Reporter for many years. She was loyal to her Catholic spiritual traditions and yet critiqued the papal policies and politics. Her life was one of service and included Peace Corp work with Turkish children in orphanages and schools. While Ann was well known for her systemic thinking and contributions to theory development, her social work experience emphasized direct work with poor families in a variety of capacities. These aspects of Ann, her spiritual tradition, her international work, and exposure to U.S. poverty were the foundation for the contributions that earned her many awards including the Council on Social Work Education Lifetime Achievement Award. Ann Weick was known, with her husband Dennis Saleebey, for the development and promotion of the strengths perspective. However, when Ann Weick’s body of work is reviewed as a whole, the underlying theme is that the amelioration of troubles must include as a fundamental component the respect for and value of client systems. Ann’s writings indicate that her corridor struggle was with an oppressive system that continued to violate people who were marginalized based on race, class, gender, and sexual orientation. The cautionary tale that the corrido of Ann Weick would tell is that becoming completely aligned with the medical

The state of Kansas' implementation of a privatized child welfare system is arguably an ambitious shift in child welfare service delivery. In an attempt to drastically improve services to vulnerable families, privatization resulted in intended and unintended consequences for the child welfare workforce. Some of these consequences, including the influx of inexperienced new workers, high worker turnover, and managing relationships with multiple partners, are issues that affect training needs of child welfare professionals. The following paper offers one approach to addressing these needs as well as identifying the challenges involved in training in a privatized environment.

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Family disputes are the bane of over-burdened court systems and child access issues consume a disproportionate share of court resources. Consequently, family mediation has become a viable method of resolving these disputes and mental health professionals are increasingly called upon to mediate child access and support disagreements. The growing utilization of mediation to resolve child access issues magnifies the need

Does exposure to domestic violence indicate a form of child maltreatment? It is imperative that child welfare workers identify and use interventions that protect families from domestic violence and eliminate harm to children without further stigmatizing victimized women. The research described in this article attempts a first step in understanding the factors involved in the decision making process of child welfare supervisors in domestic violence cases. Findings indicate that the attitudes and beliefs of child welfare supervisors about the overlap between domestic violence and child abuse are influenced by personal experiences, professional longevity, and training.

Youth who transition out of foster care are often overlooked and unprepared for a life outside of the child welfare system. As youth begin to grow up in the foster care system, they are encouraged to move toward the goal of self-sufficiency. This article examines the idea of self-sufficiency as it relates to youth transitioning from the foster care system and proposes a different approach to the state of transition, an approach called interdependent living. Through this examination, the authors suggest a way to reshape practice approaches by emphasizing the values of interdependence, connection, and collaboration. Together these values lead to an empowerment model of practice for youth who transition from foster care.