SOC 316: Community Research

“Assessment of the Youth and Family Services of Haddam Killingworth Summer Program for Teens”

for Youth and Family Services of Haddam-Killingworth

by Liana Heitin, Cheryl Lim, Emily Polak, and Jimmy Purvis

The Youth and Family Services Summer Program for Teens is a six week program that runs Monday to Friday in which middle school and high school students participate in field trips and activities, including arts and crafts, sports, movies, and Teen Talks. in this study we attempted to determine what kind of impact the Summer Program has on its teen participants. We gathered information by conducting interviews with students who had participated in the program, parents of student participants, guidance counselors, program staff

“After Riverview: A Survey of the Accessibility and Quality of Aftercare Services, and an Assessment of Former Patients’ Current Functioning”

for Riverview Hospital for Children and Youth

by Doron Taussig, Ryan Ungaro, Andrea Wozny, and Perri Yaniv

This study aims to provide information about the current conditions of adolescents who have been discharged from a psychiatric care facility. The study was conducted by the Riverview Hospital for Children and Youth in Middletown, CT in collaboration with four Wesleyan University students enrolled in Sociology 316: Community Research Seminar. Riverview Hospital is one of five treatment facilities operated by the Connecticut Department of Children and Families.

The study attempts to answer three key questions: 1) How satisfied are the guardians of former Riverview patients with the care of adolescents received at the hospital? 2) How much are patients discharged from Riverview Hospital accessing aftercare psychatric services? and 3) How well are these disch

“Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center Research Report”

for Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center

by Nina Barrett, Ranae DeSouza, Rebecca Joffe-Halpern, and Kristina Koenig

The Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center is a statewide nonprofit organization that offers information and support to the families of children with disabilities and/or chronic illnesses, age birth to 21. CPAC is committed to the idea that parents can be the most effective advocates for their children. The Wesleyan research team was asked to investigate ho CPAC, and parent centers in general, can connect with low income families as well as with racial, ethnic, and linguistic minorities. The Wesleyan researchers, with the cooperation of the Middletown Board of Education, sent out letters to all parents of Middletown public school children with special needs asking them to participate in the project by agreeing to a short interview.

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“Job Skills and Needs in the North End of Middletown: A Survey of Residents’ Employment and Barriers to Employment”

for North End Action Team

by Mary Thomas, Meg Swan, Aaron Welo, and Annie Youngerman

Four Wesleyan students along with several community members spent the last 4 months gathering information from over 60 North End residents in an attempt to give a picture of the barriers and strengths that influence resident employment. This is a summary of our final report. The whole report is available at both the NEAT (North End Action Team) office, 33 Ferry, and the Russell Library. During this time we also collected specifics from certain residents who wanted to participate in a Job Database NEAT is constructing. This Job Database will try to connect participating residents with job openings and training opportunities. If you would like to learn more about this database, contact the NEAT office at 860-346-4845.

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“Affordable Housing in Middletown, CT”

for Middletown Department of Planning, Conservation, and Development

by Ata Suanda, Evan Kultangwatana, Jessica Karp, and Julia Bruckner

This report was produced by four Wesleyan students in partnership with the Middletown Department of Planning, Conservation, and Development (MPCD). The purpose of this report is to give clear, accurate information on the affordable housing situation in Middletown. The data provided are intended to help planners and other concerned citizens make informed decisions about housing in Middletown.

We began this report with one central question: What is the supply of and the need for affordable housing in Middletown? We set out to create a Master-List and map of all government assisted affordable housing units in Middletown, and to use Census data, rental listings, and information on housing sales to provide a picture of both government-assisted housing and market-based housing.

The term “affordable housing” is of

“Transitions from Psychiatric Hospitalization to Aftercare: A Follow-Up Study of Patients Discharged from Riverview Hospital for Children and Youth”

for Riverview Hospital for Children and Youth

by Rebecca Brigham, Corey Orlando, Shani Pavel, and Amanda Westlake

The purpose of this study was to provide information on the effectiveness of hospitalization at Riverview Hospital for Children and Youth, ad to identify factors associated with post-discharge success. Telephone interviews were conducted at two, four, and six weeks post-discharge with the guardians of twelve patients. The interview was designed to assess patient environments, patient functioning, symptoms and diagnoses, aftercare services, and consumer perspectives. Findings indicated that overall patients improved during hospitalization and maintained these gains to some extent during the period immediately following discharge. In general, patients were generally satisfied and complied with aftercare services. Based on this research, we have made recommendations as to how patient follow up can be integrated into Riverview’s clinical practice.

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“Reflections on the Community Policing Initiative in the North End of Middletown”

for North End Action Team

by Kevin Baker, Ilana Cohn, Kristy Mercado, and Maggie White

This study was conducted by a team of student researchers at Wesleyan University on behalf of the North End Action Team (NEAT) to assess how Middletown Police officers and North End community members regard each other, what barriers exist to community policing work in the North End, and what ideas both residents and police have to address those barriers. The entire report is available at the Center for Community Partnerships (167 High Street), the NEAT office (33 Ferry Street), and Russell Library (123 Broad Street).

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“The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Middletown, Connecticut 2004”

for Connecticut Association for Human Services

by Rachel Curtin, Margaret Garrett, Linden McEntire, and Terence Poon

The Self-Sufficiency Standard is a new measure of income adequacy — a calculation of the actual income required for families to meet their basic needs. The Standard is a more accurate and individualized income gauge than the existing Federal Poverty Level (FPL) which, since the 1960’s, has only been updated to reflect inflation. Thirty-nine Standards have been developed at a statewide level, but this project’s goal was to create a Self-Sufficiency Standard as specific to Middletown, Connecticut as possible. The Middletown Standard was written by four Wesleyan University student researchers in collaboration with the Connecticut Association for Human Services.

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“Food Security and Hunger Among Middletown Households with Children”

for Middlesex Coalition for Children

by Beth Coddington,Tiffany Lo, Amelia Long, and Maria Nankova

To assess the rate of food insecurity among Middletown households with children under 18, a research team of four Wesleyan students conducted a telephone and paper survey of 329 households. The survey was designed by the USDA, and is currently used by the federal government to measure food security at the state and national levels.

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“Dissecting the Pink Octopus: A Comparative Study of Arts-Based Programs for “At-Risk” Youth”

for Oddfellows Playhouse

by Azalea Birch, Spencer Christensen, Vanessa Jones, and Hillary Rubesin

Our research team assisted Oddfellows Playhouse, a youth theater based in Middletown, CT, in conducting a comparative study amongst similar arts-based organizations in hopes of compiling a collective body of knowledge that would both improve Oddfellows’ Neighborhood Troupes program and provide relevant information for all organizations involved in the study.

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