I am an unfinished work, and so are many of my projects. This blog is just an odd collection of things I make and do.

Friday, May 22, 2015

Is that a hot pot? Don't brush off this gift, okay?

Taking lessons from my niece on interesting blog titles. Hers always grab my attention.

My sister has an apple theme in her kitchen, so when I found a pattern for knitted washcloths with apples on them, I had to make them for her. However, I changed it up,being super independent and kind of crazy like I am.  When I got to the binding off, I added a loop for hanging. I added some cotton batting and cotton fabric, stitched them all together, and voila! Potholders for her apple kitchen.

I found these cute little brushes at Target one day, so I just had to get them to go with the potholders.  One day I put them all in a box and sent them "Just because."  It's not even close to her birthday or Christmas.

My sister was going to come to my graduation just a few weeks from finishing these, but hey, it's way more fun to get a package in the mail--a surprise especially--and open it up to see what's inside.

Detail of the stitching on the yellow potholder.
Stitched Side


Knitted Side

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Poster Project

Update: 4 April 2016: There is some helpful information at CSOM. One is  An Overview of Sex Offender Management; the other is Fact Sheet: What You Need to Know about Sex Offenders. There is a specific paper about juvenile sex offenders. All of these are written more for law enforcement, communities, or therapists, but they do contain specific information on the ways that juvenile sex offenders are different from adults and should be treated differently.

April 1, 2015:
I've been working on a huge project--my Master's Poster. In my college, we have to create and defend a poster based on solid research. I have to put the references somewhere easily accessed by a QR Code, so I'm posting them here, along with the abstract for the poster. If your local library does not have information available on the topic, please let them know of the issue and encourage them to consider the issues addressed here.



MEETING THE INFORMATION NEEDS OF PARENTS 
OF JUVENILE SEX OFFENDERS
How Librarians Can Identify Needs, Break Down Barriers, and Provide Resources

     When a juvenile is identified as a sex offender, it creates a need for a new set of information for the parents of the offender. Information may be very difficult to find, and many books and articles cast a stigma on the parents, who are already stricken with shock and dismay that their child is a sexual offender. If the victim is a member of the same family, the situation and need for information takes on an even greater complexity and urgency.
   In my research I identified the major information needs of parents of juvenile sex offenders, such as how to find legal help, obtain treatment, or locate alternative housing for the offender. Parents may want to know the probably of recidivism, or whether their child will be required to register as a sex offender. I examined the barriers to the information, including fear of exposure and difficulty in locating resources. I then sought out resources for parents of the juvenile offender.
   My research included books and articles, trips to libraries for firsthand experience in checking out such materials, and Internet resources. What is needed is a central location with a list of community resources that is easily accessible, private, and neutral, with at least an access point in the public library. The library could collaborate with a children’s justice center or abuse hotline to collect resources, easing the burden on already overburdened parents. 


Adler, N., & Schutz, J. (1995). Sibling Incest Offenders. Child Abuse & Neglect, 811-819.
Associated Press. (2012, Jan 7). Dealing with child-on-child sex abuse not one size fits all. Retrieved May 7, 2014, from USA TODAY News: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-01-07/child-sex-abuse/52431616/1
cassie33. (2010, Sep 7). Is older step son sexually abusing his little brother, if so what do I do????? Retrieved May 6, 2014, from StepTalk.org {Where stepparents come to vent}: http://www.steptalk.org/node/31787
Cedar Rapids Public Library. (n.d.). Summary. Retrieved May 5, 2014, from Cedar Rapids Public Library: http://crpl.ent.sirsi.net/client/crpl/search/results?qu=incest&te=ILS
Chaffin, M., Letourneau, E., & Silovsky, J. F. (2002). Adults, Adolescents, and Children Who Sexually Abuse Children: A Developmental Perspective. In J. E. Myers, The APSAC Handbook on Child Maltreatment (pp. 205-207). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, Inc.
Children's Bureau. (2013, Nov). Clergy as Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect. Retrieved May 7, 2014, from Child Welfare Information Gateway: https://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/clergymandated.pdf
Condrell, K. N. (2006). Condrell, Kenneth N. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.
Dunne, J. E. (2002). Information seeking and use by battered women: A "person-in-progressive-situations" approach. Library & Information Science Research, 343-355.
Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health and Keys for Networking, Inc., Blamed and Ashamed, The Treatment Experiences of Youth with Co-occurring Substance Abuse and Mental Health Disorders and Their Families  Alexandria, Virginia. 2001
Finkelhor, D., & Baron, L. (1986). Risk factors for child sexual abuse. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 43-71.
Google. (n.d.). Google Web. Retrieved May 6, 2014, from Google: http://www.google.com/search?q=my+teenager+abused+his+brother&oq=my+teenager+abused+his+brother&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i64l2.13125j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8#as_qdr=all&q=my+teenager+is+a+sex+offender&safe=active
Lawlis, F. ( 2013 ). Google Web. Retrieved May 6, 2014, from Google: http://www.drphil.com/articles/article/266
Lehman, J. (2014). Empowering Parents: Child Behavior Help. Retrieved May 6, 2014, from Is It Time to Call the Police on Your Child? Assaultive Behavior, Verbal or Physical Abuse, Drugs and Crime: http://www.empoweringparents.com/Is-It-Time-to-Call-the-Police-on-Your-Child.php
Massat, C. R., & Lundy, M. (1998). "Reporting Costs" to Nonoffending Parents in Cases of Intrafamilial Child Sexual Abuse. Child Welfare.
McCallum, S. (2001). Nonoffending mothers: An exploratory study of mothers whose partners sexually assaulted their children. Violence Against Women, 315-334.
Miller, D. (1993). Incest: The Heart of Darkness. In E. Imber-Black, Secrets in Families and Family Therapy (pp. 181-195). New York, NY; London: W.W. Norton & Company.
NCSL. (2011, May). Juvenile Sex Offender Registration and SORNA. Retrieved May 7, 2014, from NCSL National Conference of State Legislatures: http://www.ncsl.org/research/civil-and-criminal-justice/juvenile-sex-offender-registration-and-sorna.aspx
Parker, W. (n.d.). When Do I Need a Family Counselor? Retrieved May 7, 2014, from About.com Parenting>Fatherhood: http://fatherhood.about.com/od/parentingadvice/a/family_therapy_2.htm
Pierce, L. H., & Pierce, R. L. (1990). Adolescent/Sibling Incest Perpretators. In A. L. Horton, B. L. Johnson, L. M. Roundy, & D. Williams, The Incest Perpetrator (pp. 99-107). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Plummer, C., & Eastin, J. (2007). The Effect of Child Sexual Abuse Allegations/Investations on the Mother/Child Relationship. Violence Against Women, 1053-1071.
Smith, H., & Israel, E. (1987). Sibling Incest: A Study of the Dynamics of 25 Cases. Child Abuse & Neglect, 101-108.
Swaggs. (2008). Older son molested younger sister and brother. What to do? Retrieved May 6, 2014, from Yahoo! Answers: https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080519175330AAFFe4I
Thomas, M., Eckenrode, J., & Garbarino, J. (1997). Family Sexual Abuse. In J. Garbarino, & J. Eckenrode, Understanding Abusive Families (pp. 114-130). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc.
Wiehe, V. R. (1997). Sibling abuse : hidden physical, emotional, and sexual trauma. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Worley, K. B., Church, J. K., & Clemmons, J. C. (2011). Parents of adolescents who have committed sexual offenses: Characteristics, challenges, and interventions. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 433-448.

On the poster itself there is:
Reference Librarian Comic created by me at http://writecomics.com/
Conference Room Picture Avila University

Tuesday, January 20, 2015