One Foot, Then the Next

Feeling anxious -- not much time for writing this week. Did some on Sunday. Fixed some sentences. Edited some extraneous words. Found and added some new references. Accepted some former changes. One foot in front of the other. Eventually I will get there?

This week, have to work most of the weekend. Then visit with my son, the guitarist pictured above performing at the University of Maryland's radio station for a live broadcast.

Work, family, friends. Such distractions from dissertation writing.

Great news is, I went to an acupuncturist. Wanted help with various physical issues. To my amazement, I feel energized, optimistic, enthusiastic, feelings that are normal for me but which have gone missing these past few months. Mind-body connection at work here. At least I have the energy to handle this time crunch I am facing!

Todays To-Do's

1. wake up early
2. don't eat breakfast yet, so I can
3. go to yoga class and
4. feel virtous as result of 1 & 2 above .
5. go to farmers' market, buy fresh veggies and handmade soap
6. listen to musicians, appreciate live music
7. go to bank, deposit funds from last night's contra dance
8. start laundry so I have something clean to wear to dinner tonight
9. work on proposal for a couple of hours
10. nap
11. go to friend's birthday dinner

Time to Chill

Here's a favorite picture. Great one to contemplate to find a sense of peace and unity with nature. Great way to calm yourself when getting all anxious about HOW MUCH WORK you have to do to finish your dissertation!

Major Progress on Chapter 2

The literature review fought me tooth and nail. It did not go down easy but in the end... it is shorter, more focused, not redundant, and even updated with some newer stuff.

Here is a link to a recent Washington Post article that highlights some of the dilemmas in child welfare work. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/08/AR2008070802772.html

Caseloads in DC jumped dramatically following the January 2008 deaths of 4 young sisters, in a family that was known to the child welfare office. Horrifying to think about and of course especially terrible for those who knew the family. Six employees of CFSA were fired. In reaction to that case, there are more referrals to CFSA and casworkers are more likely to remove chldren. Caseloads have swelled to a level far exceeding the national average, and way above standards for best practice.

What happens when you are overworked? You do your best but can't keep up with it all. Very sadly, in June another baby died; the caseworker, whose case load had jumped from 4 to 50, tried but could not make contact with the family. The family and the baby needed help. So did the caseworker. My heart goes out to all.


It doesn't seem to make sense to fire an overwhelmed caseworker. It seems she tried, unsuccessfully to locate and contact the family. She had 49 other cases to try to keep up with. Stories like this make thoughts of improving professional development for child welfare workers kind of beside the point. What's the use if they are working in impossible circumstances?

"How's Your Dissertation Coming?"

You. Alone with a pile of books. Rather than face the need to rewrite your literature review, you will do anything. Even wash, dry, fold and put away that moldering hamperful of laundry.

Events derail you from your intent to get your proposal written and get on with your research. Death in the family. Injury and illness. Extensive work travel. That nagging desire to have a life.

What gets that derailed train back on track? People. The kind who ask with a tough little lvoices, "So, how's the dissertation coming?" You need those relationships. You can't do this alone. Even if you are the product of mainstream, go-it-alone US culture. Sure. you are the one who has to sit down and write. Do the research and write. Analyze the data and write. Update the literature review and write. But all those people care. They want you to finish. Your professors want you to finish. You want you to finish. With all that support and energy pushing you forward, you will finish that dissertation!

Progress on Chapter One

My sister and niece visited for the 4th of July. Though I've lived in the DC area for almost 10 years, this was the first time I went into the city for the concert and fireworks. Great fun! it rained a little but no big thing.

They stayed til about 10 this morning. After they left I made myself work on my proposal. Cleaned up chapter one. I think it's looking a lot better. Though I could probably still tighten it up.

Next time - I will tackle chapter 2, currently a redundant and draggy literature review that needs to metamorphasize into something beautiful. Or, at least readable!

My Topic and Why I Chose It

My topic : Child welfare workers' experiences in working with infants and toddlers.

Why this topic?

a) In 1984, I was working as a mental health counselor with clients from all backgrounds and walks of life. So many who came in, struggling with issues ranging from depression to relationship problems to personality disorders or psychoses had childhood histories of abuse and neglect. At the time I had one child and was pregnant with my second. I looked at my young children and thought about how every baby starts out representing all of the hope, possibility and potential of humanity. Each parent cherishes the dependent being that represents creation, love, and the path to the future. For some babies and parents, things go wrong. I decided then I wanted to dedicate my career to helping young families get off to a good start, helping each baby grow up loved, protected, nurtured and ready to have a successful and productive life. I have been fortunate that my career has allowed me to act on this passion.

b) Infancy is a unique period of rapid development. During infancy, the foundation is laid for all that comes next. Infants and toddlers are particularly vulnerable to the most severe impacts of abuse and neglect, and those impacts can last a lifetime. Infants are overrepresented in the child welfare system, yet child welfare agency policy and practice often fails to respond to infants' developmental needs. Child welfare workers typically have little training or other professional development focused on infant and toddler development and the needs of abused or neglected infants.

c) Child maltreatment is likely a far more prevalent problem than official data indicate for various reasons. Legal definitions are narrower than psychological definitions of abuse, so that many children may suffer harm that does not rise to the level of requiring that the state interfere in a family's life. Underreporting, incomplete reporting, overworked child welfare staff and other systemic issues may prevent the identification of abuse. One recent survey of adults found that 46% of adults reported some form of childhood maltreatment. See www.medicalnewstoday.cm/articles/109087.php

d) One approach to addressing these concerns is to provide child welfare workers with training to increase their knowledge of early development and of child welfare practice that would best support infants and toddlers who have been abused and neglected. While there are some training efforts throughout the country, my literature search has not found any evidence base to support the design or content of these training efforts. My mixed methods study will collect quantitative and qualitative data on the knowledge and experiences of child welfare workers serving infants and toddlers. I hope it will help to create effective and useful professional development approaches to supporting child welfare workers provide services to the very young children in their caseloads.

What is Faffing?

Faffing - a great word to describe my writing process. This blog is my place for productive faffing. I will use it to post questions, ideas, resources as I wend my way through my proposal, data gathering and dissertation.

My goal: to finish these final steps toward Ph.D before I am 55. That gives me a little over 2 years!

From the PhinisheD website comes this discussion of faffing:

Often mistaken for goofing off, the true conniosseur can appreciate the difference. From the master faffer himself, dr 3/e1:"Oh, I think my messages serve better at exemplifying faffing... ...having now posted about five or six different definitions of faffing, each of which was much longer than strictly necessary, none of which were on archived boards, and all of which are now lost to history.... It might of course be appropriate to put un unfinished definition in the FAQs. We'll get around to finishing it someday..." [this space intentionally left blank]If you too wish to journey down the road to faffdom, click here to faff.

PhinisheD is a great online support group for proposal and dissertation writers. Check them out!http://www.phinished.org/index.php