Hide Yamatani

Positive Family Social Support: Counteracting Negative Effects of Mental Illness and Substance Abuse to Reduce Jail Ex-inmate Recidivism Rates

The incarceration and recidivism rates in United States jails are marked by high mental health and substance use problems and racial disparity. Nearly 9 million people cycle through approximately 3,500 jails. For this longitudinal study to identify factors predicting recidivism, data came from a study of Allegheny County Jail inmates (N = 301) that concluded in 2008. Eligible participants were adult men, enrolled in jail collaborative services at recruitment, and were 30 days from release. Examinations were based on multinomial logistic regression methods; positive family social support was found to reduce the effect of factors known to predict higher recidivism rates: substance abuse, Black race, and younger age. Negative perceptions of the helpfulness and support of community-based services were counteracted by positive family social support. Policy and practice implications are discussed.

Gender Differences in Jail Populations: Factors to Consider in Reentry Strategies

Jail populations have declined by 6.4% since 2009 as policy and practice shifts toward offender rehabilitation. However, the U.S. female jail population rose about 45% between 1996 and 2011, which suggests that a greater focus on gender-based needs in reentry strategies may further reduce recidivism. This study examined gender differences in social, medical and human needs in an urban jail population. Results revealed significantly greater problems for women than men. More women than men reported needs for chemical dependency and mental health services, and a greater willingness to receive treatment. Implications suggest that gender-responsive programs are essential for jailed women.

Unveiling Patterns of Salary Inequity: Suggested Measurement Strategy for Health Care Organizations

Abstract This paper focuses on how potential race related salary inequity and racial discrimination patterns can be measured in health care organizations. Incorporating ethical principals to the measurement strategy helps conceptualize potential patterns of salary inequity. Convergent validity assessment through triangulation method allows for the measurement of parallelism, correspondence, and the affirmation of major findings. The most important benefit of the suggested strategies is the ability to assess and identify how discrimination may be occurring in organizations.

Afrocentric Intervention Paradigm: An Overview of Successful Application by a Grassroots Organization

A grassroots social service organizations successful use of Afrocentric ideas, theories, and frameworks in its programs and services illustrates that many African Americans respond more readily to human and social services interventions that value and understand their historical experiences and include their cultural influences as “protective factors” in social service interventions. This article describes how the Community Empowerment Associations programs and services are designed to be culturally proficient by holding African customs, ethos, history, mores, society, and traditions in high esteem.

Male county jail inmates: a profile and self-reported human service needs by race.

With the enactment of the Second Chance Act in 2008, social workers have a greater opportunity for intervention to break the cycle of recidivism. To develop interventions, however, social workers require profiles of incarcerated people and their perceived human service needs. Unfortunately, previous research has focused on prison and not jail inmates and lacks race-differential data. In this article the authors address this gap in the literature by describing the scope of the problem and presenting a profile of male inmates and their perceived service needs by race upon entry into a major urban county jail.

Consequences of Academic Fund Shortages for Low-Income Black Students: The NEED Study.

INTRODUCTION According to Simmons, Finlay, and Young (1992), there were 17 working people to support each retired person in the United States in the 1950s; by 1992, there were only 3 workers for each retiree. They further note that by 2030, the number of senior citizens will equal the number of teens and young adults, and that accompanying this trend of a decreasing proportion of young adults within the U.S. workforce will be increasing proportions of workers from minority groups. Without diverse participation in its educational system, the nation will surely experience the continued erosion of is competitiveness in the global economy. If the U.S. is to develop a competitive edge in this economy, it will do so largely as a function of having a competitive labor base. To develop this base, a more comprehensive system of financial assistance is needed that will expand the number of opportunities available for qualified students who wish to pursue a college education regardless of their socioeconomic status. Since the early 1980s, increases in college tuition rates in the United States have outpaced both personal income growth and inflation. During the 1991-92 academic year, for example, the average increase in tuition and fees for the nations four-year colleges was 12%, while the average national increase in inflation (measured by the consumer price index) was 3.4% (Evangelauf, 1991). Average college costs for that year were approximately

The Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970: Retrospective Assessments of Disparate Treatment and Consequential Impact

7,600 for public institutions and

A Ground-Up Model for Gun Violence Reduction: A Community-Based Public Health Approach.

16,300 for private institutions (Evangelauf, 1991). A 1993 report of the National Commission on Responsibilities for Financing Postsecondary Education notes that paying for college now ranks as one of the most costly investments for American families, second only to buying a home. The report further attests that during the 1980s, the cost of attending college increased 126%, twice the rate of inflation for the decade. Moreover, it alleges that state budget cuts are causing sizable tuition increases at public institutions--increases that have outpaced those in the traditionally higher priced private institutions. Typical U.S. students today may face up to

Racially Destructive Effects of Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970: A Review Summary

5300 in debt their first year in a public institution (see Table I) (all Tables omitted). Thus, if the average increase in college education costs remains constant at 3% per year for the next four years, these college-goers will have to generate approximately

Child Support Conviction and Recidivism: A Statistical Interaction Pattern by Race

22,500 in order to complete a four-year degree. In addition to rising costs, financial support for needy students is also declining. Though Pell grant funding, the mainstay of federal financial assistance for higher education, has increased in the past decade, it has failed to match the rate of tuition hikes (National Commission on Responsibilities for Financing Postsecondary Education, 1993). The issues involved in the development of a well-educated, well-trained workforce are many. Over the last few years, much attention has been given, and appropriately so, to assessing the quality of higher education in the U.S.. Very little attention, however, has been directed to the elimination of nonacademic factors that negatively affect educational opportunity. These factors often manifest themselves as poor academic performance or discontinuation of educational pursuits. Because minority group members, particularly Black Americans, are disproportionately represented among the lower socioeconomic sectors of society, minority group students are disproportionately included in the ranks of those for whom economic disadvantages masquerade as educational deficiencies. According to Fraser (1989), the achievement of academic goals offers the potential for immeasurable benefit to minority youth from low-income families. However, because these families generally do not have large sums of money saved for college expenses, their children are most often forced to seek additional financial support via educational loans and/or employment while in school. …