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Discrepancies between homelessness perception and reality, as well as policymakers' assumptions about their constituents' perceptions, may contribute to policies that exacerbate homelessness and its negative outcomes. To counter these discrepancies, this manuscript introduces a mixed-methods, cross-sectional research protocol that is designed to assess local community member perceptions of and attitudes towards homelessness and potential housing solutions. The results of research modeled after this protocol can be used to inform local housing policy and community awareness campaigns. In this manuscript, we describe the protocol and its accompanying survey instrument, and the lessons our research team learned through the implementation of the protocol during the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers elsewhere can adapt this protocol to capture localized and nuanced data related to local perceptions of homelessness and housing policy. With commitment to representative resident sampling, this protocol and the data it captures can help advocates craft more responsive and individualized community housing policies than would be possible without localized data collection and analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonprofits' engagement with stakeholders ensures their existence since engagement guarantees support for the organization. Social work researchers, leaders, and educators must consider engagement within the context of geographic and online communities. Indeed, learning how to engage with individuals and communities is a core competency within social work education. We believe that it is important to interpret this competency as a mandate for educators who are preparing social work students for nonprofit leadership roles in an online society. After introducing this perspective, we segue into a discussion of our findings from a study of 145 nonprofits' websites. Findings suggest that there are opportunities for nonprofit leaders to enhance stakeholder engagement through their website designs; we discuss implications for social work education.

Thousands of youth are sexually trafficked each year in the United States. In order to address this concern, anti-trafficking advocates often emphasize the importance of uniform screening protocols to assist with the identification of survivors. Unfortunately, an oft-overlooked component of sex trafficking identification is what to do once a victim has been identified, and how to best meet survivors' complex needs. In this article, the authors provide social work practitioners and other advocates with best practice guidelines for how to design and evaluate anti-sex trafficking advocacy programs for children and youth. These guidelines include considerations related to direct services with clients, community partnerships, and organizational capacity, as well as recommendations for how to begin and then evaluate programming. Regardless of the form selected for the program, all anti-sex trafficking programs should be designed to provide effective, client-centered follow-up and advocacy once a positive identification is made in the community. The recommendations included in this paper are based upon extant literature, the authors' practice experience with survivors, and insights from anti-sex trafficking program evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People experiencing homelessness are at increased risk of exposure to traumatic events, and face higher rates of suicidal ideation, traumatic brain injury, domestic violence, and sexual assault than the general population. As a result of this trauma prevalence among homeless populations, it is important that human service organizations (HSOs) integrate trauma-informed care (TIC) principles into their service delivery systems. Many HSOs who serve people experiencing homelessness, however, struggle to fully translate TIC principles into administrative practices that are felt as positive at the client level of care. This case study was conducted with focus groups of people experiencing homelessness (n = 13) to investigate the consequences of administrative practice decisions on participants' perceptions of powerlessness and the quality of care they receive from service delivery systems. Study participants repeatedly described their trauma and sense of powerlessness both while experiencing homelessness and while receiving services. Participants' discussion of the service delivery system's staff, policies, processes, and procedures hinged on whether and how they found these service delivery components to make them feel powerless and confused, or not. Study results point towards specific recommendations for how homelessness HSOs ought to implement TIC principles into the homelessness HSO service delivery context, with an emphasis on reducing clients' perceptions of powerlessness within service delivery systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the overrepresentation of People of Color among people experiencing homelessness and ongoing housing discrimination against racial and ethnic minorities, research has paid scant attention to the intersections of race and homelessness, including assessments of race-related outcomes of permanent supportive housing (PSH), a mainstay homeless assistance program in the U.S. The purpose of this study, therefore, framed by the Public Health Critical Race praxis, was to use secondary Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) data obtained from a Continuum of Care in North Texas to explore the intersections of race and PSH outcomes. Given the high representation of veterans of military service among the sample, and the parallel VA service system generally accessible to veterans, separate analyses examined housing loss among veterans and non-veterans. Findings show that, while race does predict housing loss for all participants or any race or veteran-based subgroup, race was associated with demographic identifiers, such as gender, disabling condition, domestic violence victimization, income, and access to benefits, but these factors were also largely insignificant predictors in regression models. The only demographic identifier predicting housing loss was the number of times an individual was homeless in the last three years, predicting housing loss for all service recipients, White service recipients, and non-veteran service recipients. The results of the study are discussed, including important between-group variations that inform recommendations for administrative policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This brief report presents results from a study that evaluated trainings provided by a local Continuum of Care lead agency to homelessness assistance service providers. The study explored types of trainings desired by participants, benefits and drawbacks of existing trainings and how they are offered, and ways in which trainings and the training delivery system could be improved. Data were collected through semistructured focus groups attended by 21 providers. Data analysis identified themes related to specific trainings that, providers believe, would increase their effectiveness and improve organizational efficiency and culture. Participants also identified ways in which trainings were beneficial, but they also provided feedback about ways trainings could be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the importance of macro practice to the social work profession, research related to social work students' preparation and enthusiasm for macro practice suggests that there is significant room for improvement within macro social work education. The purpose of this report is to describe and explore a novel macro social work pedagogy that is designed to encourage student engagement within macro practice social work courses. The Macro Practice Assignment (MPA) offers students a real-world learning exercise with embedded micro, mezzo, and macro social work applications with one vulnerable population. The results of a multiple case study exploring the effectiveness of the MPA reveals that the MPA 1) reduces students' negative perceptions of macro practice courses and careers, 2) fosters students' interest in future macro practice, and 3) helps students see macro practice as a necessary component of the micro-mezzo-macro practice continuum. In order to address shortcomings in macro social work education, educators should consider adding real-world macro practice learning exercises such as the MPA, grounded in Bloom's Taxonomy, with the goal of enhancing social workers' lifelong commitment to macro practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Thousands of youth are sexually trafficked each year worldwide. Increased public attention to the commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) of children has resulted in the rapid deployment of hybrid community public health and social service programs for these vulnerable youth. Research on the effectiveness of these advocacy programs is lacking, particularly whether they decrease psychosocial distress and increase readiness to leave CSE. Methods and analysis: Cisgender girls under age 18 at the time of CSE, and who were identified as at-risk for sex trafficking revictimization, were included in an evaluation of an anti-trafficking advocacy program in the North Texas region of the United States. The program includes crisis response, case management, referral, and mentoring services in collaboration with multi-disciplinary team (MDT) responses to identified youth sex trafficking. Case management notes, needs assessments and individualized treatment plans were collected at intake and every 30 days until study conclusion. Standardized surveys, including the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), the Coping Self-Efficacy Scale, and the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA) were collected at intake and every 180 days until the study concluded. Analyses included descriptive statistics, paired t-tests, chi-square, multivariate linear and logistic regressions, Poisson regressions, and latent profile analysis. Ethics and dissemination: This study was approved by the Texas Christian University's Institutional Review Board (IRB). Results of this study will be presented to the scientific community at conferences and in peer-reviewed journals and non-scholarly outlets such as public health and social service conferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) is the commercial sexual exploitation of a minor citizen or legal resident within the United States. Previous research suggests that although DMST is often discussed as though it is a uniform phenomenon, traffickers may use different tactics and exploit different victim vulnerabilities depending upon their established relationships with those who are at-risk for trafficking. The purpose of this qualitative study, therefore, is to explore the relationship patterns and dynamics that emerge between DMST victims and their romantic partner traffickers. This study utilizes the secondary case files of 38 domestic minors who were trafficked for sex by their romantic partners in one state in the United States between 2012 and 2017. The study is conceptualized according to the principles of directed content analysis and multiple case study design and relies heavily on previous research findings related to victim-trafficker relationship typology. The authors conducted two rounds of coding before applying themes to the case files. The analysis revealed that DMST victims trafficked by romantic partners are often influenced by environmental circumstances, such as gang involvement and family systems involvement. Romantic partner traffickers use specific recruitment tactics to entrap their victims, and exercise methods such as caregiving, sexual violence, and psychological violence to maintain control over their victims. Study results provide a significant extension to the anti-trafficking field's understanding of DMST and the romantic partner relationships that underpin it. The results suggest that anti-trafficking advocates should screen at-risk adolescents for gang involvement, family involvement in the sex industry. They should also educate at-risk adolescents about DMST as a potential component of teen dating violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extant literature has demonstrated connections between workplace environment and worker stress, as well as between worker stress and direct service provision. Current research on direct service provision to people experiencing homelessness, however, has not established a clear association between the workplace environment and the quality of direct services provided to clients receiving case management. This study extends the existing research by establishing connections between all of these constructs, specifically within the context of case management services to people experiencing homelessness. For this mixed methods study, the authors sampled 16 case managers providing direct services to people experiencing homelessness in one homelessness services organization (HSO) in a large metropolitan area. Through focus group interviews and web-based surveys, the authors collected data on the workplace environment, worker stress, and direct service provision. The authors then analyzed the data using a concurrent nested approach for mixed methods analysis. The results of this study suggest that case managers in homelessness HSOs often experience a stressful workplace environment due to workplace cultural norms, inefficient processes, and high expectations placed upon them by both clients and administrators. The stressful workplace environment can interact with client trauma to produce secondary traumatic stress in direct service providers, which then influences client-case manager rapport development. Study findings point toward specific policies and practices that homelessness HSOs ought to adopt in order to mitigate case managers' workplace stress and secondary traumatic stress, and negative influences of these stressors on rapport development between case managers and clients experiencing homelessness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People experiencing homelessness often present to social service providers with trauma histories. As they seek services, their service providers may be secondarily exposed to their clients' trauma, thereby impacting the level of care these service providers are able to offer. Unfortunately, little research examines the stress burden carried by homelessness service providers, nor the factors that contribute to their stress burden. The purpose of this mixed methods study, therefore, is to characterize the secondary traumatic stress (STS) reported by individuals who provide direct services to people experiencing homelessness, and to explore the workplace experiences that may underlie, influence, or mitigate this stress. The study relies upon a sample of direct service providers and program managers who work with people experiencing homelessness. The authors collected data on STS and workplace stress via a web-based survey (n = 122) and focus group interviews (n = 21). The results of this study suggest that homelessness service providers carry a substantial stress burden. Findings further point towards administrative strategies that may improve service providers' stress burdens, and potentially improve the service quality provided by agencies serving homeless populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most people will experience at least one traumatic event in their lifetime. Considering outcomes such as posttraumatic stress disorder, the question emerges as to what helps people thrive and find peace posttrauma. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the essence of healing for individuals who have survived and thrived in the face of trauma. The content analysis of previously written accounts of healing revealed two major themes: a passageway of trauma and suffering within that passageway. Subthemes for these provide greater insight into two main approaches to assisting a person through their trauma: increasing social support and helping them restore the experience through narrative therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qualitative research is important within the field of social work because it is adept at gathering rich descriptions of social problems. Unfortunately, traditional qualitative data collection methods may limit social work researchers, as face-to-face interviews are time consuming, and may constrain study participation to those who have the ability to engage in an in-depth interview. Changes in the digital landscape, however, have allowed qualitative researchers to expand on traditional data collection methods. The purpose of this multiple-case study report is to explore the feasibility of using a mobile application (app) and text messaging to collect qualitative data. The results of this case study of 15 transportation-disadvantaged adults suggest that mobile apps, with embedded text messaging features, are a promising way to collect qualitative data from research participants, including those research participants who are not particularly familiar with smart technologies. This finding is important for social work researchers since the profession mandates that researchers closely tend to the needs of vulnerable populations. If social work researchers find it difficult to amplify the perspectives of vulnerable populations due to the limitations of traditional qualitative data collection methods, it follows that they ought to explore promising methods that are equipped to do so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) is the commercial sexual exploitation of a minor American citizen or permanent resident within the United States. It is a human rights abuse and carries significant consequences for victims' psychological, physical, and social health. To interrupt DMST victimization patterns, it is important for researchers and advocates to fully understand how victims' vulnerabilities are exploited by different people in their lives, but investigations of DMST victim–trafficker relationships are largely unexplored in the literature. The purpose of this cross-sectional path analysis of archival data, therefore, is to explore the influence of victims' unmet basic needs on their victimization within specific types of DMST relationships. The results of this study suggest that unmet basic needs may play less of a role in influencing victim–trafficker relationship type than might be hypothesized based upon broader understandings of human trafficking vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]