Scholarly Works @ SHSU
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- Collections of Oral histories about SHSU and East Texas
- Collection of papers and articles by Donald Albert on the HMS Bounty and Pitcairn Islands
- White Papers written students of the Institute
Recent Submissions
A factorial analysis of families and familial problematic areas based on socioeconomic status
(1970-07-01) Price, Jeanette M.,1946-; Friel, Charles M; Dorothy D. Hayes, James D. McLeod
Purpose: The purpose of this study were to analyze parents who had been classified across income levels, and the problematic areas they verbalized during child-custody investigations at the time of their divorce. It was hypothesized that the higher the family was located on a stratified socioeconomic scale, the more internalized and ideational versus physical and environmental their family problems would become. Methods: Data were recorded from cases found at the Dallas County Juvenile Department. All information was analyzed across the socioeconomic levels--0-$5,000, $5,001-$10,000, $10,001-$20,000, and $20,001 and over gross income per year—to provide a comparative analysis of descriptive factors as well as of familial problematic areas. Findings: 1. Parents tended to be older when they married and separated as income rose, with the length of their marriage generally increasing. Those involved in their first marriage at the time of the custody suit decreased with a rise in income. 2. Average number of children in the custody suit varied between two and three, being slightly less for parents in the highest income group. Ages of children involved tended to rise as income rose. 3. Parents’ educational level rose with a rise in income with parents in the last two income groups tending to have similar higher educational background. 4. Communal effort in employment was noted most in the two middle income groups. The lowest income group followed the highest income group in “Fathers only” being employed. More fathers held positions requiring higher education as income rose with the exception of the highest income group wherein 71 per cent of the fathers could not be classified. 5. Mothers tended to rise in occupational level and in being unemployed as income rose with those in the second income group scoring the lowest percentage of housewives and highest of laborers. Although the hypothesis was not sustained to a significant statistical degree, the following trends were found: 1. Child-centered problems, Sexual difficulties, and Parental strife were the three main areas of complaints for fathers with the order of importance varying with income level. Fathers in the third income group included Emotional instability in their chief complaints. More mothers reported Child-centered problems, Financial difficulties, Parental strife, and Sexual difficulties in all groups with the order of importance varying with income. Emotional instability was a major complaint in the highest income group. 2. Percentages of parents giving similar complaints varied across income levels. The percentage of fathers versus mothers within an income level giving the complaints was often discrepant. 3. Both parents’ complaints in the combined allegation groups showed a split between the two lower and two higher income levels: Child-centered problems were reported most frequently in all groups, and Parental strife and Sexual difficulties exchanged second and third place between the groups. Financial difficulties scored in fourth place in the two lower groups with Emotional instability holding that position in the two higher groups. 4. The third income group scored significantly in excepting to the hypothesis such that, although the hypothesis tended to be supported, it could not be unconditionally accepted. 5. Children were the major focal point of discussion in the child-custody cases studied. More specific and less general information was needed in some areas of parental background as well as in the areas of parental and familial problems.
A descriptive study of seventy-five adult protective service cases receiving services from the Texas Department of Public Welfare in the Houston, Texas area 1972-1973
(1975-05-01) Leisner, Carl W.,1941-
"Purpose: The main purpose of this study was to analyze some of the existing data on the non-institutionalized adults receiving protective services, within the Houston city limits, by the Texas Department of Public Welfare. Since the State Welfare Department has been providing adult services, along with adult protective services, for approximately sixteen months, there has been no accurate data gathering system maintained. The number of protective service cases have not been counted, possibly because of their small ratio when compared to the total non-protective adult services being provided to those financially eligible. The sample with which this thesis deals is, therefore, an incidental and not a random sample. Due to the newness of the adult protective services program on a statewide scale, data obtained at this time will contribute to knowledge about program effectiveness as well as to providing input to further development and/or expansion. Methods: The research data from this study were obtained from reading all case records which I was able to identify as an adult protective service case. The case records read were both active and inactive, maintained by the Texas Department of Public Welfare in Houston, which were open within a sixteen month period beginning January, 1972 and ending April, 1973. The case records were read with a case reading schedule which contained thirty-eight sections. An agency informational face sheet, Department of Public Welfare Form 211, was available in all case records which were read for this study. Information not available on the Department of Public Welfare Form 211 was obtained through reading case recordings written by the caseworker providing services. In some instances it was necessary to interview the actual caseworker to obtain needed information. A total of 120 hours was spent on selecting, finding, and reading case records for this study. Due to the confidentiality of the case records, permission had to be obtained from State Welfare Commissioner Raymond Vowell prior to actual reading of the cases. Findings: 1. The recipient was most often a 75 to 84 year old white widowed female who lived alone in a house which she owned. 2. At the time of referral the primary source of income was an Old Age Assistance check and the average monthly income from all sources averaged $95.00. 3.The recipient had to pay an average housing cost of $29.78 per month for housing which was rarely located in a government housing project. The house most often had less than three rooms including a bath and kitchen and had only one bedroom. 4.If the persons receiving protective services lived with a relative it was most often a son. 5. The majority of the recipients were unable to leave the residence without assistance, but did have a telephone available in a majority of the cases. 6. The persons receiving protective services tended to refer themselves and were found to be cooperative toward agency assistance. 7. The majority of the recipients had never received prior protective services from the agency. 8. Based on narrative recording, a majority of the cases were not contacted by a caseworker until the following day after referral. 9. The majority of the persons who received protective services were found to be unable to provide self care. The major area of needed service was social which included developing a plan of need with the client and assisting to achieve these goals through agency or community resources. The plan of need included arranging for medical, including psychiatric, services which would safeguard and improve the circumstances of the client. Some of the social service needs included assistance in finding social care arrangements, assisting with guardianship, assisting in nursing home placement, and counseling. 10. The protective service recipient was referred to other community resources the majority of the time for assistance not available through the agency. 11. The majority of the clients referred to a community resource were placed in a temporary foster or nursing home. 12. Services determined or needed by the caseworker and/or recipient were met by the agency in the majority of the cases. 13. The recipient's residence at the close of services which averaged 73.6 days from referral to close of services, was most often in the same home they lived in at the time of referral. 14. In the majority of the cases the recipients were not declared incompetent. 15. One of every 15 recipients died during the course of services. An explanation of such a high rate of death is possibly attributed to the age and illness of recipients who had come to the agency's attention."
Father-deserted and father-incapacitated public welfare families in Beaumont, Texas
(1975-05-01) Husband, Armon,1940-
Primary Purpose: The primary purpose of this thesis is to compare father- deserted public welfare families with father-incapacitated public welfare families on thirty-one characteristics representing five broad categories, in order to determine what differences exist be- tween the two types of families. These characteristics were derived from a review of the literature and from the experiences of the author. The five categories include: 1. behavioral reactions of the family members arising from imbalanced family structure (one-parent families); 2. the father's self-image as it is affected by changes in his status and role necessitated by his illness or by his absence from the family; 3. various changes in the father's role functioning as perceived by the wife and children; 4. various employment characteristics of family members 5. various demographic characteristics of the family. Methodology: The case illustrations were selected from the records of those cases which have been personally handled by the author. Twenty cases were selected at random, but only eleven of them fit the criteria of father-desertion or father-incapacity. The sample data used in the statistical analysis was drawn from the records of five-hundred cases in which social service workers had been active between January 1, 1971 and January 1, 1972. Only those cases which involved parental deprivation based upon desertion and physical or mental incapacity were selected. From a total of 500 cases, father-deserted cases represented 20.8 per cent of the total caseload and father-incapacitated cases comprised 23.1 per cent of the caseload. For that reason, it was decided that 52 father-deserted cases would be compared with 58 father-incapacitated cases. Numbers from 1 to 500 were assigned to the total caseload and then a table of random numbers was utilized in drawing the sample from the total population. The data was then gathered directly from the case records and tabulated according to the characteristics to determine the significance of the difference between father-deserted and father-incapacitated public welfare families. Findings: 1. Significantly more mothers were employed in families with incapacitated fathers than in those families where the father had deserted. 2. Significantly more of the mothers from father-incapacitated families had maintained a reasonably stable work history than did those from families where the father had deserted. No other significant differences were found.
A progressive approach to controlling welfare fraud :a description and analysis of the Texas Department of Public Welfare Investigation Division
(1975-12-01) Grantham, Susan,1951-
Purpose The objectives of this study were: (1) to ascertain the meaning of fraud and theft in the context of recipients of unwarranted welfare benefits; (2) to present a philosophy of deterrence; (3) to review the legal history of the Texas Welfare Department; (4) to provide an overview of the catalytic growth of welfare services and spending; (5) to review the development of control systems; (6) to present an overview of the Investigation Division and an analysis of its effect as a control system; (7) to analyze welfare policies for areas contributing to fraud; and (8) to advance proposals. Methods The methods used in this study were: (1) a review of the literature regarding the topic; (2) an organized compilation of that material; (3) a statistical analysis of the investigative results; and (4) an analysis of major welfare program policies. Findings 1. Fraud exists when there is an intent to obtain assistance, services or treatment from the Welfare Department by means of a willfully false statement or representation. Theft is an intent to deprive the owner of property or service or exercising control over the property or service unlawfully. 2. Deterrence is difficult to measure due to its success being based on acts (crimes) not committed due to fear of potential punishment. The Investigation Division theorizes that punishment of individuals obtaining welfare fraudulently will prevent others from committing the same crime. More negative punitive measures would further reinforce the deterrent effect. 3. The Texas Department of Public Welfare was created in 1939 in order to unify the various assistance programs and their related funding, and function as a liaison between the localities of Texas and the Federal Government. 4. The largest monthly increase in welfare rolls on the national level in more than three years occurred in January, 1975. In fiscal year 1974 the expenditures of the Texas Welfare Department totaled $869,013,800 in eight main categories (areas of service) as compared to an annual budget of thirty million dollars for four major programs in 1941. 5. Control systems were initiated in 1963 by HEW(Health Education and Welfare) with the development of Quality control to monitor state validity of welfare cases. Recoupment is the term applied to the process of obtaining repayment to the Welfare Department for overpayments to recipients. Fraud and recovery was a means of processing fraudulent welfare cases which involved a complicated referral system. 6. The Investigation Division of the Texas Welfare Department was developed in order to re-establish and protect the integrity of the Welfare Department and restore the confidence of taxpayers in government administration of welfare spending. During the initial nine months of operation, sustained fraud cases totaled over 1.7 million dollars in funds obtained illegally. 7. The liberalization of policies for determining eligibility for the AFDC and Food Stamp programs have contributed to the incidence of welfare fraud cases. 8. Four approaches of dealing with welfare fraud were proposed: (a) Other H.E.W. agencies should undertake similar investigative activities that would function as controlling methods against abuse of welfare benefits; (b) The classification of welfare fraud as a misdemeanor needs to be reclassified to theft. This would increase the deterrent effect by utilizing sterner punitive measures; (c) Investigative units should be established on the application level. Such would serve as a preventative against individuals initially obtaining welfare illegally.
Evaluation of social service projects
(1973-08-01) Frazier, Robert L.,1936-
Purpose The objectives of this study were: (1) to attempt to determine the basis for the poor state of affairs in social service project evaluation, for the purpose of, (2) defining project evaluation from the point of view of the project manager, (3) to find modern management techniques that would be usable in the social service project and, (4) to demonstrate how the definitions and techniques could be implemented and utilized in the social service project. Overlying the objectives stated above was the objective to attempt to demonstrate how the ideas developed could be implemented within the constraints of the multi-organizational structure found in the social services by defining responsibilities for the project manager, the funding agency and the evaluator. Methods The present status of evaluation in the social services was defined through an analysis of the literature concerning evaluation. The picture thus available was compared to the traditional planning and evaluating sequence for the purpose of identifying a longitudinal and vertical perspective for social service project evaluation. This perspective was then tested in two operational social service projects in order to demonstrate practicality. As a result of the demonstration findings, an attempt was made to describe project evaluation in terms of specific, time-oriented tasks that would lead to a complete evaluation system for any project taking into consideration the decision-making needs of all program administrative levels. Findings The poor state of affairs in social service evaluation can be laid in part to the academic-based approach. This is due to the insistence on utilizing a "methods" approach to evaluation without having given due consideration to the difference between research and evaluation. This is particularly true when it is considered that most social service projects do not belong to a single organization with administrators available to establish management and evaluation guidelines. Thus, many projects are dependent on the evaluator for internal information needs and these needs are not being met. It was further concluded that today's emphasis on overall program evaluation (validation) was often misdirected because it did not meet the requirements of management for information on internal operations. It would seem that evaluators are attempting to answer research questions in the operational project at the expense of management and project development needs. The poor state of affairs in both management and evaluation could be corrected by concentrating on evaluation from an internal project perspective. The funding agencies are obligated to utilize evaluation as a method of building project planning and evaluation "packages" for the purpose of transferring knowledge to other projects. This can be accomplished, and program validation can be enhanced in the long run, if evaluation is recognized as an integral part of project management. Evaluation of social service programs and projects is a new area involving new technology and evaluation efforts should be concentrated on building a base of project data in support of long-range plans developed for each type of project. This planning sequence can be baselined within project types with the result that project development and evaluation, as well as action research are supported. The funding agencies are the key to significant development at this stage. These are the only organizations that can adequately implement the standardization of evaluation that is required between projects. To assure long-term improvement, a new role for the manager and evaluator in the social services must be stressed through courses taught in our colleges and universities.