Supporting the end of prostitution permanently (SEPP) prostitution court: examining inter-professional collaboration within alternative criminal justice settings.

Problem-solving courts such as prostitution courts are becoming an important feature of the American court landscape. Internationally, while there is a great deal of skepticism regarding problem solving courts, at least five countries (e.g., England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, and Canada) are deliberating whether this "revolutionary panacea" which has swept America's criminal justice system is the right approach for them. Few studies have explored the benefits and challenges of problem solving courts (i.e. prostitution court) using an interprofessional collaborative framework. The purpose of this case study is to examine contemporary issues related to prostitution courts using Bronstein's model of interprofessional collaborative framework which identifies five components that facilitate optimum IPC: 1) interdependence, 2)newly created professional activities, 3)flexibility, 4)collective ownership of goals, and 5) reflection on the process. Some benefits of IPC include working collaboratively, adaptability, adjusting expectations, investment in the process and making changes as needed. Some of the challenges of IPC were coercive power, dual roles, bait and switch, hierarchy, and push for outcomes at the expense of clients. As criminal justice systems nationally and internationally contemplate widespread implementation of different kinds of problem-solving courts, these benefits and challenges need to be considered before states and countries adopt these courts.

Mind, body, and spirit: a constructivist grounded theory study of wellness among middle-class Black women.

Previous studies show that Black women in the United States experience disproportionately poorer health outcomes compared to women of other racial/ethnic groups. Recently the focus is on improving the health of Black women in the United States. However, there is little empirical evidence on what Black women need to improve their health to be well. The goal of this constructivist grounded theory was to increase the understanding of wellness among middle-class Black women (N = 30) in a large Midwestern city in the United States through an intersectional lens. The findings show that the connection and balance between mind, body, and spirit was the core experience of wellness among middle-class Black women. Mind, body, and spirit was described in three ways-(a) mentally managing, (b) physically caring for my body, and (c) connecting spiritually-with the women also noting the barriers and facilitators they endured to be well. Each of these categories highlight the tension middle-class Black women experience with trying to be well. Implications for future practice and research with middle-class Black women are discussed.

Utilizing a Matrix Approach to Analyze Qualitative Longitudinal Research: A Case Example During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Qualitative Longitudinal Research (QLR) is an evolving methodology used in understanding the rich and in-depth experiences of individuals over time. QLR is particularly conducive to pandemic or disaster-related studies, where unique and rapidly changing environments warrant fuller descriptions of the human condition. Despite QLR's usefulness, there are a limited number of articles that detail the methodology and analysis, especially in the social sciences, and specifically social work literature. As researchers adjust their focus to incorporate the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic, there is a growing need in understanding the progression and adaptation of the pandemic on individuals' lives. This article provides a process and strategy for implementing QLR and analyzing data in online diary entries. In the provided case example, we explore a phenomenological QLR conducted with graduate level students during the COVID-19 pandemic (Saltzman et al., 2021), and outline a matrix framework for QLR analysis. This paper provides an innovative way in which to engage in qualitative data collection and analysis for social science research.

Black women and COVID-19: The need for targeted mental health research and practice.

COVID-19 has significantly impacted a substantial number of Black Americans. Black women, in particular, are facing challenges financially, physically, and mentally during this unprecedented time. Between serving as frontline workers, being concerned about contracting the virus, contributing to their families financially, and worrying about their loved ones' health, Black women are experiencing great strain on their mental health and well-being. These stressors illustrate the need for social work researchers and practitioners to address Black women's mental health. This paper presents our reflections, experiences, and response to COVID-19 as Black women and scholars. Guided by our reflections and personal experiences, we put forth suggestions and reflexive thoughts for social work researchers and practitioners to prioritize Black women's mental health during and after these unprecedented times.

"Keeping It Real": The Relational Effects of Trauma Among African American Women and Their Substance Abuse Treatment Counselors.

African American women experience disproportionately high rates of trauma. Interpersonal forms of trauma often make it much more difficult for trauma survivors to initiate and maintain positive, healthy relationships with others. This study examined the kinds of relationships women with extensive histories of trauma and substance had with their substance abuse treatment counselors and the characteristics that they believe contributed to connected and disconnected client-counselor relationships. Using the case study method, 26 in-depth interviews were conducted with African American women. Data analysis revealed three primary kinds of relationships women had with their substance abuse treatment counselors: reparative, damaging, and transactional. Eighteen (69%) of the 26 women had reparative relationships with their counselors. Reparative relationships had two primary characteristics: empowering and mattering. Two (8%) of the 26 women had damaging relationships with their substance abuse treatment counselors. Damaging relationships had two primary characteristics: unimportant and untrustworthy. Six of the women (23%) had transactional relationships with their substance abuse treatment counselors. Transactional relationships were task-focused and superficial. Healing from interpersonal experiences of trauma is possible only within the context of trusting relationships. Substance abuse treatment counselors have an opportunity to help African American women with histories of trauma heal and recover. Creating positive, therapeutic relationships between clients and professionals is essential.

"Strap up:" Sexual socialization and safer sex practices among African American youth in foster care.

Adolescent sexual health is often reflected through a problem-oriented lens. This serves to reinforce prevailing sexual scripts and cultural images of disenfranchised youth. Very little is known about the support young people in foster care, particularly youth of color, need to stay sexually healthy and safe. This article presents data on the sources and types of sexual socialization experiences that supported African American transitional age youth in foster care to protect against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Eighteen African American participants (18 to 21-years old) who reported condom use in two quantitative interviews were selected to participate in a qualitative interview. A mapping exercise and thematic analyses were used to identify the participants' sources of support and sexual socialization experiences. The study's findings indicated the youth had a combination of informal and formal sources that conveyed four types of STI/HIV prevention messages: Effective, Affective, Affinity, & Tangible. The majority of the participants (83%) received all four types of STI/HIV prevention messages from adult, partner and/or peer sources. Sources who motivated the participants the most to protect against STIs/HIV had a strong relationship with the youth and communicated openly about safer sex practices. Results of this study provide implications for future research as well as indications for practice that may be incorporated into training for child welfare practitioners, foster parents, kinship caregivers, and others who encounter youth in foster care.

School and program related factors influencing disclosure among children participating in a school-based childhood physical and sexual abuse prevention program.

BACKGROUND: School-based child abuse prevention programs were created to provide knowledge so that children can recognize abuse, teach skills that decrease children's risk for abuse, normalize the disclosure process, and provide a pathway for children who may be experiencing abuse to report the abuse. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to explore school and program factors that trainers in a school-based prevention program believed were associated with disclosure among youth from kindergarten through 12th grade. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: This study is based on eighteen trainers and administrators who work with the Play it Safe!® school-based program in Dallas-Fort Worth area. METHODS: Using the qualitative case study method, in-depth interviews were conducted. RESULTS: Data analysis revealed three factors that influenced disclosure: school, school personnel, and program features. The school-related factor was time allotted to the training. The school personnel-related factors were disengagement, ambiguity concerning abuse, prior history with children, and professionals' personal history of abuse. Finally, the program-related factors were the core messages of the training, providing specific examples, and repetition of the program. To date, there is a dearth of studies that explore the role that schools and school personnel play in the disclosure process. CONCLUSION: Child abuse has devastating effects on children's physical, social, emotional, and psychological well-being. Understanding more about schools, personnel, and program-related factors that lead to disclosure, which are more amenable to change, is critical to ensuring the safety of children.