Papers by Elspeth Slayter
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Dec 1, 2010
Little is known about the demographic and clinical characteristics of people with intellectual di... more Little is known about the demographic and clinical characteristics of people with intellectual disabilities and substance abuse problems. Drawing on health care billing claims for people with Medicaid coverage aged 12-99 years, the characteristics of people with intellectual disability and a history of substance abuse (N=9,484) were explored and compared with people with intellectual disability but without substance abuse. Age- and/or gender-adjusted odds ratios were derived from logistic regression analyses to consider differences in demographic and clinical diagnoses. People with intellectual disability and substance abuse constituted 2.6% of all people with intellectual disability, most of whom had a diagnosis of mild or moderate intellectual disability. People with intellectual disability and substance abuse problems were, on average, 2 years older than the comparison group and less likely to be White. The sample was more likely than the comparison group to have serious mental illness or depression and substance abuse-related disorders were not prevalent. These data provide a comparison point for existing studies of mental health diagnoses as well as new information about substance abuse disorders. Implications relate to the identification of substance abuse among people with intellectual disabilities as well as the establishment of demographic and clinical correlates.
Health & Social Work, May 1, 2013
Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, Jan 28, 2009
ABSTRACT Violence against women is a top human rights issue for women with disabilities, a popula... more ABSTRACT Violence against women is a top human rights issue for women with disabilities, a population that is more at risk for intimate partner violence (IPV). Existing research on violence against women with disabilities has pointed to the need for population-based sampling, the inclusion of women of non-White descent, and the use of literature-based definitions of IPV, conditions all met by this study. Women with disabilities were less likely to report past-year IPV in the form of verbal abuse, but more likely to report threats and physical violence. Case management implications relate to the need for disability-sensitive IPV assessment training at all state disability offices and the need to facilitate the accessibility of traditional IPV systems.
Journal of Public Child Welfare, May 27, 2015
This study analyzes child protection workers' perceptions of the causes of immigrant families... more This study analyzes child protection workers' perceptions of the causes of immigrant families' fears of child protection systems (CPS) and the effects of these fears on child protection practice based on 24 qualitative interviews conducted with child protection caseworkers in the Northeastern United States. Workers reported three major fear factors among immigrant families: fear of CPS involvement leading to detention and deportation, fear of child removal, and fear of CPS as a potentially repressive government entity. Workers experienced these fears as barriers to rapport-building and led to service initiation and access barriers.
Journal of Social Work in Disability & Rehabilitation, Mar 9, 2016
Despite concerns about health disparities among women with intellectual disabilities, little is k... more Despite concerns about health disparities among women with intellectual disabilities, little is known about substance abuse treatment access in this population. Using standardized performance measures, treatment initiation and engagement were examined retrospectively for women aged 18 to 64 (N = 3,752), men with (N = 5,732) and women without intellectual disability (N = 493,446). Logistic regression models of utilization were conducted. Women in the sample were less likely than males in the sample or females without intellectual disability to utilize treatment, suggesting both gender and disability-related barriers. Policy and practice implications for improving the health and welfare of women with intellectual disabilities are discussed.
Families in society-The journal of contemporary social services, Oct 1, 2007
uring the decade that I have worked with people with mental retardation (MR 1) who have co-occurr... more uring the decade that I have worked with people with mental retardation (MR 1) who have co-occurring substance abuse (SA 2) problems, I have rarely been able to assist people in gaining access to SA treatmentmuch less access to effective SA treatment. In large part, I found that the MR system and the SA system each seemed to speak a different language necessitating the role of a translator of sorts between each systemp. Early on, I turned to the research literature on SA treatment as well as work on therapeutic approaches for people with MR. I had hoped that any knowledge I found could be brokered into access to SA treatment for the people I worked with, but I found very little in the literature. My efforts at translation and in developing collaborative partnerships with SA and MR agencies frequently were stymied by often conflictual treatment paradigms. All too often, the people that I worked with fell between cracks wider than any I could have imagined, with many facing SA-related incarceration at rates disproportionately higher than that in the general population. These are the experiences that led to the development of this work on a framework for managing such cases. SA among people with MR is a documented health issue
Journal of Disability Policy Studies, Sep 25, 2009
Youth with mental retardation* (MR) have experienced increasing levels of participation in commun... more Youth with mental retardation* (MR) have experienced increasing levels of participation in community life over the last 30 years. This freedom has facilitated access to community life beyond school settings; it has also created the potential for alcohol and drug use and for the development of substance abuse (SA). Little is known about access to SA treatment for youth with MR—an especially vulnerable population. Through the application of a set of standardized performance measures, this study examines SA treatment access among youth aged 12 to 21 with and without MR ( N = 150,009). Guided by Andersen’s sociobehavioral model of health care utilization, multivariate logistic regression analyses modeled SA treatment initiation and engagement. Youth with MR and SA were less likely to initiate or engage in treatment. Engagement among youth with MR and SA was associated with being male and/or non-White. Implications relate to a need for improved treatment access for youth with MR and SA through cross-system collaboration.
Children and Youth Services Review, May 1, 2016
Existing literature suggests that youth with disabilities are known to be at increased risk of ma... more Existing literature suggests that youth with disabilities are known to be at increased risk of maltreatment in the form of abuse and/or neglect. Little is known, however, about the experiences of youth with disabilities who are living in foster care or who are supervised by child protection authorities. This study establishes a baseline estimate of the prevalence of youth with disabilities living in foster care, documents reasons for child protection system involvement, identifies placement types while youth are in care and explores case outcomes. This cross-sectional, exploratory study draws on data from the 2012 Adoption and Foster Care Reporting System (AFCARS) for foster youth in 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. A sample of youth with disabilities (N = 36.492) and a comparison group without disabilities (N = 601.539) were identified. Findings about demographics, reasons for child removal, foster care placements, permanency planning goals and case outcomes are presented. Findings have implications for the prevention the removal of youth from caregivers, the need for family supports to prevent foster care involvement, the promotion of community inclusion of foster youth while in foster care and the need for inter-system collaboration at the transitional age stage.
Vestnik Moskovskogo gosudarstvennogo oblastnogo universiteta, 2017
Аннотация. Склонность к суицидальному поведению-важнейшая проблема среди молодежи при переходе к ... more Аннотация. Склонность к суицидальному поведению-важнейшая проблема среди молодежи при переходе к самостоятельному проживанию, однако мало известно о том, как этот феномен влияет на молодых людей с инвалидностью. Целью этого исследования был сбор информации о распространенности суицидальных наклонностей (в том числе, заявленные суицидальные мысли, планы или попытки суицида) среди молодежи переходного возраста 18-24 лет с ограниченными возможностями здоровья и контрольной группы здоровых молодых людей. Наше квази-экспериментальное исследование основано на вторичных данных коллаборационного психиатрического исследования эпидемиологиирепрезентативного исследования вопросов (данные со всей страны (США)), относящихся к поведенческим проблемам. Полученные результаты за прошедший год показывают, что люди с ограниченными возможностями здоровья в переходном периоде почти в четыре раза чаще сообщают о суицидальных мыслях, в девять раз чаще сообщают о составлении планов суицида и почти в одиннадцать раз чаще сообщают о попытках суицида (p<.001). Это исследование углубляет конкретные знания о категории населения молодых людей 18-24 лет, а также расширяет базу данных, подтверждающих наличие такой социальной проблемы в описываемой возрастной группе. Ключевые слова: суицид, склонность к суициду, молодежь с особенными возможностями здоровья, переходный период, самостоятельное проживание.
Social sciences, Jun 9, 2022
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Journal of Social Work in Disability & Rehabilitation, Apr 1, 2011
Access to substance abuse treatment is a noted concern for people with disabilities. Although muc... more Access to substance abuse treatment is a noted concern for people with disabilities. Although much is known about elders with dual eligibility for Medicaid and Medicare regarding any care utilization and expenditures, little is known about their younger counterparts and how substance abuse might contribute. Drawing on national Medicaid claims, treatment utilization was explored for adults with and without dual eligibility for Medicare. People with dual eligibility were less likely to both initiate and engage in treatment as compared to those without dual eligibility. Implications relate to how existing systems provide substance abuse treatment to people with disabilities.
Children and Youth Services Review, Mar 1, 2019
That parents with intellectual disabilities are noted to be involved with child protection system... more That parents with intellectual disabilities are noted to be involved with child protection systems at disproportionate rates is well documented. Drawing on national-level data from the United States' child protection system, this study examines the prevalence of substantiated child protection cases involving a parent with an intellec tual disability as well as information about demographic characteristics, risk factors, child maltreatment types and services provided at the start of a child protection case. Cases involving parents with intellectual disabilities were more likely to involve psychological or emotional abuse, but not other types of abuse and neglect. Problematic disproportionalities in the provision of service types specific to identified risk factors were noted. Implications for casework in both the child protection and disability service systems are discussed.
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Feb 1, 2011
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Oct 1, 2010
Journal of Public Child Welfare, 2024
How child protection and welfare policies address the disability community is a matter of utmost ... more How child protection and welfare policies address the disability community is a matter of utmost importance and urgency in the context of well-established inequalities. We present a policy content analysis of national policy documents across the United States, Northern Ireland, Australia, and the Republic of Ireland through the theoretical frame of a welfare regimes typology. Key findings include the conflation of disability with vulnerability in all but one context. Also evident is a lack of overt definition of disability, and opportunities for developing specific jurisdictional guidance and regulations focussed on embedding best practices in supporting disabled clients at all system levels.
Affilia, Jul 17, 2023
Disability communities engaged with social work recognize how critical feminist inquiry and disab... more Disability communities engaged with social work recognize how critical feminist inquiry and disability justice principles often overlap to promote anti-ableist theorizing, research, practice, and education. Both the feminist scholarship and the disability justice movement center the voices and perspectives of those most excluded, reflecting the intersectional experiences of disability communities in social work. In this brief, we draw on significant events, such as the impact of climate change and criminal legal systems on disabled people, to map connections between critical feminisms, disability justice principles, and social work values. In re-imagining disability justice as a form of critical feminism, we highlight parallels in their guiding principles and explore how their multi-issue frameworks interrogate the same systems of power and oppression. Through this re-envisioning, we build upon the knowledge offered by intersectional disability communities that center interdependence as practices of survival and resistance. The authors suggest that social workers engaged with principles of disability justice and critical feminisms would do well to consider interdependence, collective care, and mutual aid as pathways toward inclusive and anti-ableist professional praxis.
Children and Youth Services Review
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Papers by Elspeth Slayter