Undergraduate Researcher Studies Effectiveness of
Social Workers in Family Services Program with
Travis County Juveniles
July 23, 2009
AUSTIN, Texas - Brittany Burch, an undergraduate at The University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work, has designed and conducted an exploratory study examining the effectiveness of Social Workers in Family Services (SWIFS), a juvenile delinquency supervision and case management program involving youth at the Deferred Prosecution Unit (DPU) of the Travis County Juvenile Probation Department.
The DPU-SWIFS program, overseen by School of Social Work Clinical Professor Mary Mulvaney and staffed by student interns, aims at preventing clients, juveniles ages 17 and under who have committed minor crimes -- possession of drugs, shoplifting and assault, from committing future minor or major offenses and from advancing further into the juvenile justice system.
Mulvaney's interns provide supervision and services to youth and address various issues that negatively affect youth development; services include case management, drug/alcohol assessment and treatment, mental health assessment and treatment, and community and other services needed to support the child and family in order to reduce repeat offenses.
"Juveniles complete the program in 3 to 6 months and on average, 80 to 90 juveniles go through the SWIFS program each year. Detailed records have been kept for each child's case, yet this information had not been assessed or analyzed in years," said Burch.
Burch's research project provided a detailed quantitative understanding of the DPU-SWIFS client population, the outcomes of those served, and the characteristics of those who successfully complete the program and what interventions produce the best results.
"DPU-SWIFS did not have the resources in the past to conduct an evaluation, and my hope is that my research project will be important in improving the program," Burch said.
"We got some significant results from the data analysis," said Mulvaney. "Knowing that active parental support and completion of certain program requirements are strong predictors of success in this program, we can utilize the statistics from Brittany's study in motivating youth to complete the program. She has made a significant contribution to our understanding of our client's demographics, needs, strengths, and challenges, as well as to our understanding of the program's strengths and areas needing improvement."
Mulvaney plans to use the results in working directly with families and juveniles and in training new student interns so they will know more about the types of interventions that are effective.
Burch's idea for the study stemmed from her Research Methods course last year with social work professor Dr. Diana DiNitto who encouraged her to apply for a 2008 University Undergraduate Research Fellowship and create a project proposal. Burch won the fellowship and asked Mulvaney to serve as faculty mentor for her proposed project at DPU-SWIFS.
"Brittany approached me with an interest in learning about research by actually conducting a research project. I was interested in learning more about the impact our program had on our clients, and whether it actually reduced recidivism," said Mulvaney.
Under Mulvaney's supervision, Burch conducted a literature review, completed the IRB, and collected, coded and analyzed quantitative data on all juveniles (n=140) who had gone through the program from 2006 to 2008. Case information was directly obtained from records kept by social work interns and DPU staff and stored at the Travis County Juvenile Probation Department.
"I was so impressed with Brittany's maturity, confidence, intellectual curiosity, self-motivation, drive to complete the project, and her ability to focus on the project even while balancing the demands of classes and work schedule," said Mulvaney.
Research Week 2009 Poster Session -- Student Brittany Burch with social work faculty from left, Clinical Professor Mary Mulvaney, Dr. Rowena Fong, Dr. Mary Velasquez, associate dean for research and director of the Center for Social Work Research; and Dr. Diana DiNitto.
A proposal for an academic paper based on the research findings was submitted by Burch and Mulvaney to the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and selected for presentation at the 2009 annual program meeting to be held in San Antonio, Texas, in November. CSWE is a nonprofit national association representing more than 3,000 individual members, as well as graduate and undergraduate programs of professional social work education.
Burch has already presented her research findings, "Effectiveness of a Juvenile Delinquency Program Staffed by Social Work Interns," at the Poster Session of the University's Research Week 2009 in April and at the Bridging Disciplines Program Poster Session, also held during Research Week 2009. She is a student in the University's Bridging Disciplines Program, which allows undergraduates to earn an interdisciplinary certificate through a course of study that integrates classroom, research and internship experiences. Her program concentration is Social Entreprenuership and Non-Profits with a focus on youth and family.
This spring, Burch used funds from her University Undergraduate Research Fellowship to attend the 17th National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect held in Atlanta, Ga. The conference drew more than 1,000 attendees, including social workers from across the country.
"The conference workshops and poster sessions that I attended validated my career choice -- children and social work," said Burch.
For more information, contact:
Mary Mulvaney
Clinical Professor, School of Social Work
512-471-9827
mmulvaney@mail.utexas.edu