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As public child welfare agencies continue to experience high rates of workforce turnover and low rates of retention, employee mentoring and coaching has been forwarded as a potential mechanism to p...

In 2017, a small community with a population of approximately thirty-thousand people opened a new facility to serve homeless residents. This facility was organized around Housing First (HF) princip...

The need for a stable, well-trained behavioral health workforce is substantial, especially in rural parts of the United States. As a state with a large land mass and small population, Alaska epitomizes this struggle. This article examines the impact of a rural and indigenous BASW program focused on “growing our own” social workers throughout rural Alaska. Data from graduates demonstrates more than half of the homegrown graduates were still working in Alaska in 2016, most in jobs that could be identified as social work related. Additionally, 33% of graduates were AI/AN, compared to 19.5% in the general population. The study also found that having students first complete a culturally grounded certificate program both increased the likelihood that graduates remained working in Alaska and substantially increased the percentage of AI/AN BASW graduates. These findings suggest a Grow Your Own program may be an effective strategy for addressing rural behavioral health workforce challenges.

This study examines a newly established Housing First program in a small city in Alaska. Statistically significant decreases in tenants’ use of services such as ambulance transports, hospital emergency room visits, nights spent in the sobering center, and contacts with the police department are noted in the first six months of permanent housing. Additionally, pre/post-self-report data on tenants’ sense of well-being show statistically significant improvements in their sense of safety, physical health, and self-esteem. Interestingly, self-report data also showed tenants had an increase in their feelings of isolation after housing stabilization. In addition to describing the outcome data of residents, this study also highlights the community tension concerning homelessness that was present at the onset of this project and the role this rapid evaluation, shared and understood widely, had on the community perspectives. Ultimately, the data helped to move community leadership from passing a “camping ban” just ten months before the opening of housing first to unanimously supporting a financial investment to expand housing first services in the coming years.

In an effort to promote their child’s ethnic identity development, parents of transnational adoptees regularly engage in cultural exploration activities with their children. This practice is aligne...

This study examines the influence of a week-long adoption camp for Chinese adopted teens on how they experience collective identity, marginality, and belonging. Descriptive data from pre- and post-camp surveys, along with post-camp qualitative interviews, highlight the sense of connection and relationship to other adoptees that is gained from camp attendance and the important role this plays in their day-to-day lives as Chinese American adopted teens. Additional data and themes related to the role adoption plays in these youths' sense of belonging and identity are also highlighted.

Social workers are advised to avoid dual relationships; however, this recommendation is not realistic for rural social workers. Using qualitative analysis, this study examines the perspectives of 10 rural social workers in Alaska who are long-term members of their community. From the data, four themes emerged: (1) Rural social workers cannot avoid dual relationships, (2) Healthy dual relationships can have benefits for clients, (3) Social work and other professional education helps rural social workers manage complex situations, and (4) Rural social workers use complex critical thinking and have developed advanced skills to negotiate dual relationships.