Author: Kara Painter Major: Social Work and Spanish
Kara Painter on graduation day
My name is Kara Painter, and I am a Spring 2021 Honors College graduate. I majored in Social Work and Spanish in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Alishia Ferguson, the Director of the School of Social Work was my thesis mentor. I received funding from the Honors College for 2020-2021 academic year. I will be pursuing my Masters of Social Work through the Advanced Standing program at the University of Tennessee beginning this summer.
As a social work student, I am particularly interested in working with children and families who have been involved with the foster care system. My research topic was born out of this interest as well as guidance from my fantastic research mentor, Dr. Alishia Ferguson. My thesis is entitled “Analysis of Child Welfare Caseworker Attitudes Toward Policies Related to Family Reunification” and focuses on the viewpoints of Arkansas Department of Children’s and Family Services’ Family Service Workers toward reunification-related agency practices. Dr. Kim Stauss met with me to discuss my research interests and paired me with Dr. Ferguson as my mentor.
From start to finish, my research experience was invaluable in helping me learn more about local and federal policies related to family reunification. Early in the brainstorming process, Dr. Ferguson suggested that I conduct focus groups with Family Service Workers, who work more directly with children and families than any other group of DCFS employees. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I was unable to conduct these focus groups in person. I conducted them via Zoom and used part of my research grant funding to have the meeting recordings professionally transcribed. From there, I conducted a qualitative analysis on the themes and ideas discussed by focus group participants. I learned about the importance of providing families with high-quality resources and concrete services, such as utility bill assistance and mental health supports, during the process of family reunification. I also learned about the direct impact of national child welfare policy on efforts to reunify children with their families.
My research mentor played an invaluable role in my research. She guided me as I designed my methodology, gave me advice for conducting the focus groups, and assisted me with my qualitative analysis. She connected me with the members of my thesis committee and gave me feedback on each section of my thesis. Dr. Ferguson’s support and guidance was invaluable in my project and I was honored to have had the privilege of learning from her.
Dr. Ferguson and I will be working to publish my Honors Thesis and to formulate recommendations for DCFS agencies. I will begin attending graduate school in Summer 2021 to earn my Master of Social Work. Following the completion of that degree, I plan to work toward earning my licensure to provide mental health services to children and families involved in the foster care system. My undergraduate research experience played a significant role in fueling my passion for supporting underserved children and families, and I look forward to applying the skills I gained at the University of Arkansas to my future career.