Stan L. Bowie

Chapter 2 Lessons Learned on Forced Relocation of Older Adults

Abstract This article is an exploratory-descriptive study of older adult public housing residents who were forcibly relocated from their homes when Hurricane Andrew struck Miami-Dade County in 1992. The subjects were all African Americans (N = 58) with a mean age of 67 years (S.D. = 9.8) who lived in economically depressed, low-income communities. Almost 70% were females. The subjects suffered from an array of physical and mental health maladies that were exacerbated when they were uprooted from key support systems, including families, social services, and health care facilities they depended on. A variety of complaints surfaced about their new living arrangements and almost 70% expressed a desire to return to their previous homes after long-term structural repairs were complete. Implications are discussed regarding the need for pre-emptive “elder-sensitive” strategic planning, the role of Public Housing Authorities in properly caring for older adults before and after a hurricane or other natural disaster, the need for appropriate training of public housing property managers, and the key role of social workers during post-disaster interventions with older adults and their families.

African Americans and Graduate Social Work Education: A Study of Career Choice Influences and Strategies To Reverse Enrollment Decline.

This article reports on a study of career influences for a sample of African-American and other black graduates of MSW programs. The study isolated significant relationships between enrollment influences and selected demographic and career-related variables. ”Very important“ influences were career advancement, acquisition of new skills, professional status and credibility, and understanding professionalism in social work. Desire for professional development in social work was the dominant influence. Findings suggest that recruitment of African-American/black graduate social work students should incorporate strategies that address issues of job satisfaction, and recognize career priorities and professional aspirations. Implications for graduate social work education are discussed.

School-Based Violence Prevention Programs

Abstract School violence in the United States is an issue of grave concern for educators, students, parents, and communities. Many schools have responded to the problem by initiating prevention interventions without empirical evidence of effectiveness, assuming it is better to do something rather than to do nothing. In some cases though, more harm than good may result when such intervention strategies and programs are implemented only for the sake of doing something in response to the problem. The literature review examines research on school violence and provides a review of selected school-based violence prevention programs with beginning empirical support of their effectiveness. The authors stress the importance of schools implementing school-based violence prevention programs that have produced empirical evidence of effectiveness.

Metastressors as Barriers to Self-Sufficiency Among TANF-Reliant African American and Latina Women

The mixed-method study examined welfare-reliant, female heads of households and the multilayered and persistent barriers they face in their attempts to obtain employment to sustain their families. The 30 respondents, aged 25–34, were African Americans and Latinas receiving various forms of public assistance and were plagued by a host of serious problems. The African American respondents were native-born American citizens who spoke only English, and almost all the Latina respondents spoke only Spanish and were born in South or Central America, Cuba, or the West Indies. A higher level of interpersonal violence was reported among the African American cohort. There were other strong contrasts between the cohorts, including the mean number of children, educational level, work experience, and type of housing. The theoretical framework for the study was liberationist feminist social work practice. The results revealed an alarming array of simultaneously occurring “metastressors” that are complex, comprehensive, suffocating to many respondents, and more difficult to resolve over time. The study challenges the assumptions on which the Temporary Assistance for Need Families operates, including its political origins and its current regulations that mandate time limits on assistance in spite of persistent national economic problems. The issue of intersectionality is explored in relation to gender and racial oppression in the United States and in terms of promoting positive social change among oppressed groups.

Integrating Diversity Into Graduate Social Work Education A 30-Year Retrospective View by MSW-Level African American Social Workers

The study surveyed a national sample of 100 African American master of social work graduates to retroactively assess perceived diversity content in Human Behavior courses before and after the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) established accreditation standards on diversity. Seventy-one percent of the respondents were females, the mean age was 45.8 years, and their graduation years ranged from 1958 to 2002. Most graduated from northeastern schools (34%), followed by midwestern (28%), southeastern (22%), northwestern (11%), and southwestern (5%) schools. Investigators used the Preparation for Graduate Education Social Work Education Scale and the Human Behavior Survey Addendum (alpha = .97). There were no statistically significant differences on diversity content scores for participants enrolled before and after CSWE diversity standards were established, but graduates of historically Black colleges gave higher diversity content scores in every area. Study includes discussion and implications for Afrocentric theory and the need to prepare practitioners for future social work careers in multicultural communities.

Navigating the concrete jungle: African American children and adolescents in urban public housing developments

Abstract The multi-methodological study examines behavioral and educational outcomes of children and adolescents who live in public housing in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The children (N = 46) were from 14 different families and ranged in age from 1-10 (60.8%), followed by 11-18 (30.4%). Almost 60% were males. The female heads of household were interviewed repeatedly from July 1997-March 2000. Results indicated high levels of parental stress. Adolescents (12–17 years of age) had substantially higher levels of negative school and behavioral outcomes, including those who became adolescents during the course of the research. Ethnographic analysis indicated that stressful life events and violence, child supervision issues, parent-child conflicts, and family health situations were key contributors to negative outcomes. Positive outcomes may be associated with child involvement in organized neighborhood activities.

Perceived Diversity and Multi-Culturalism Content in HBSE Courses

Abstract A purposive sample of African American MSW graduates (N = 89) from predominantly White institutions were investigated to quantitatively and qualitatively assess the extent of diversity and multiculturalism (DMC) content in their HBSE courses. The mean age was 47 years, 72% were females, and they attended graduate social work programs in 23 states, primarily in the Midwestern and Northeastern United States. DMC content was found to be seriously lacking in HBSE courses, and significant correlations were found between perceived curricular relevance to minority populations and sensitivity to minority student concerns by faculty (r = .433, p < .01, 2-tailed test) and administration (r = .386, p < .01, 2-tailed test). Thematic analysis of written comments identified major problems with DMC integration in courses, perceived racism, non-minority student resistance, and non-supportive learning environments. Subjects developed support groups that collectively assured DMC discussion in classes. Recommendations are made for stronger institutional accountability for DMC course content and measurable student outcomes directly related to school re-accreditation.

Intimacy in Poverty’s Midst: Marriage, Intimate Male Relationships, and TANF-Reliant African American Women

This longitudinal study examined attitudes toward marriage and intimate male relationships among female, welfare-reliant African American heads of household (N = 20). Respondents were selected through a purposive and snowball sampling technique. Most were single and 23–49 years of age, and typical families included 4 children. Respondents educational levels ranged from 10 to 14 years, and they had been on welfare an average of 6.2 years. Ethnographic data were collected by repeated interviews for 40 months from 1997 to 2000. Subjective and attitudinal outcomes among respondents appeared to be influenced by differential socioeconomic and life circumstances. Implications are discussed regarding public welfare policies, the impact on low-income families, and the federal Healthy Marriage Initiative.

Introduction to Research Imperatives Regarding African American Human Behavior in the Social Environment

As we begin the sixth year of the New Millennium, the African American community remains, for the most part, in a societal position where we continue to experience a plethora of disproportionately high levels of social, economic, and medical/health care problems. In their annual report on The State of Black America, for instance, the National Urban League (NUL) (2005) developed an empirically-based “equality index” that compares African Americans and Whites in different areas of life, as measured by specific social indicators. Overall, the NUL’s 2005 composite (combined) equality index for Black Americans is only 73% of their White counterparts. The widest and most alarming disparity was found in the area of finance and economics, with a disparity index of only 57%. A similar pattern existed for other crucial areas of family life and sustenance. For instance, in 2005, the Black unemployment rate remained a stagnant 10.8% for the second straight year, while unemployment for White citizens decreased to 4.7%. The health status of African Americans is continuing to decline, and Black people are twice as likely as Whites to die from disease, accidents, behavior, or homicide at

Federal Welfare and Housing Policy at the Crossroads

Abstract A time-series design was used to investigate an innovative, rent incentive-based employment initiative in a predominantly African American public housing community. The purpose of the research was to assess the impact of the Welfare-to-Work (W-t-W) program on resident employment levels and on Public Housing Authority (PHA) revenues and costs. Data were collected on a purposive sample of heads of household (N = 313) representing 78.3% of those in the community. Over half of the residents were under 17 years of age, followed by 24.7% who were 18-34, and 15.5% who were 35-54 years of age. Mean annual income for most participants was less than