Contact : a newsletter for the School of Social Work and its alumni

              Contact School of Social Work
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2010
2 Contact | UNC School of Social Work
T his issue of Contact presents a retro-spective
view as we celebrate the 90th
Anniversary of the School of Social
Work.
Our program has evolved from a primar-ily
training institution to one that has earned
national prominence for its quality classroom
and field instruction, cutting edge research,
invaluable public service, community engaged
scholarship and technical assistance. We are
indeed proud of our rich history, and prouder
still of where we are today and the exciting
future that lies ahead.
This year, our MSW program continued
to experience tremendous growth in admis-sions
applications. For the third year in a row,
the number of applicants increased nearly
20%, resulting in an outstanding pool of new
students. Doctoral applications rose as well.
We have also added to our faculty. Na-tionally
renowned child welfare expert Mark
Testa joined us in January as the Spears- Turn-er
Distinguished Professor. Please see p. 25 to
read about his influential work.
In addition, we are welcoming three new
faculty members in July: Professor Michael
Lambert, and assistant professors Trenette
Clark ( MSW ‘ 03) and Amanda Sheely.
Two, however, are moving on — Lynn
Usher and Susan Parish.
Lynn has retired, after being with the
School of Social Work since 1993 as the Wal-lace
H. Kuralt, Sr. Professor of Public Welfare
Policy and Administration.
Susan has been with the School since
2003 and is the director of the Developmen-tal
Disabilities Training Institute. She has
accepted a distinguished professorship at
Brandeis University.
A sincere and heartfelt thank you and
best wishes to Lynn and Susan in their new
endeavors. They will be missed.
Budget realities are still difficult, with
new cuts on the way, but we are making
adjustments. Alumni and friends continue
to support the School and our scholarship
endeavors, which allow us to continue to help
students with financial aid. Sam and Betsy
Reeves have generously pledged $ 250,000
annually to provide multi- year funding for
doctoral students.
These are lean times but we are managing.
Our faculty continue to be very successful in
applying for and getting grants. To note just
a few: Gina Chowa for AIDS research, Joelle
Powers for a project to boost mental health
in public schools, and Gary Bowen and Irene
Zipper to connect resources to military fami-lies
with developmental disabilities.
The School’s leadership in social work
research is further evidenced with two of our
professors now editing journals. Mark Fraser
was appointed editor- in- chief of the newly-launched
Journal of the Society for Social
Work and Research ( www. jsswr. org). And
Matthew Howard has been appointed editor-in-
chief of Social Work Research, the flagship
journal of the National Association of Social
Workers.
Our leadership role extends nationally to
mental health care as well. Mark Fraser and
I are members of the National Academies
of Practice, an interdisciplinary group in
Washington, D. C. that advises public policy
makers on health care issues. Mark was also
recently inducted as a Fellow of the American
Academy of Social Work and Welfare.
And our international work continues.
Faculty and students recently returned from
study abroad in China. Shenyang Guo and I
presented at the 2010 Joint World Conference
on Social Work and Social Development in
Hong Kong in June. Michal Grinstein- Weiss
is leading a new initiative to implement child
development savings accounts in Israel. You’ll
read about helping Haiti post- earthquake, on
p. 20. And we are planning an exciting new
study abroad opportunity — India.
Our students, faculty and alumni are
accomplishing great things despite persistent
economic challenges. With your support,
together we can achieve another 90 years of
innovative teaching, research and service.
From the Dean...
Jack M. Richman
Contact | UNC School of Social Work 3
School of Social Work Celebrates its 90th Anniversary
Honoring our past, shaping our future • 4
School becomes a research force • 8
Maeda Galinsky: For 45 years, ‘ Grand dame’ of the School • 10
Curriculum evolves over the years • 12
Students bring diversity, experience to the program • 13
Personal reflections • 14
School News
Social work meets social media • 16
UNC study: Latino teens happier, healthier if families embrace biculturalism • 18
Student Darshan Mundada passionate about international social work • 19
Faculty members help Haitian agency serve earthquake’s youngest survivors • 20
Social workers will play important role in Haiti relief efforts • 21
Grinstein- Weiss leads effort to implement child development accounts in Israel • 22
School holds 89th annual commencement • 22
MSW and doctoral scholarships and awards • 24
Child welfare expert Mark Testa joins the School as distinguished professor • 25
Faculty spotlight • 26
New books • 29
Faculty member and children’s advocate Gary Shaffer dies • 29
Fraser becomes Fellow of the American Academy of Social Work and Welfare • 29
Carlton- LaNey given national social work education award • 29
$ 1 million project connects resources to military families with developmental disabilities • 30
UNC study: Emotional support crucial to helping military families deal with deployments • 31
Contact Magazine website launches • 38
Winston- Salem MSW program expands • 38
Garland, Weller named Outstanding Doctoral Students • 38
Clinical Lecture Series fall schedule • 38
Alumni and Development News
Distinguished alumni award winners • 32
Alumni update • 34
School receives $ 250,000 annual gift to doctoral program • 37
Alumni president’s letter • 39
Dean
Jack Richman
Associate Dean for Advancement
Mary Beth Hernandez
Director of the Annual Fund and
Alumni Relations
Kristen Huffman
Editor and Designer
Director of Communications
Michelle Rogers
Writers
Michelle Rogers
Susan White
Contributing Writers
Anna Scheyett
Sharon Thomas
Photography
Tom Fuldner
iStockPhoto
Michelle Rogers
Susan White
School of Social Work
The University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill
CB# 3550, 325 Pittsboro St.
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
( 919) 962- 1225
http:// ssw. unc. edu
Printed with soy ink
on recycled paper
Contact contents
Dean Morton Teicher ( 2nd from left) presents the Annie Kizer Bost Award to Betty Kelly, Lura Deaton and Paul Patterson, May 8,1973, in front of Alumni Hall.
Image from the North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library.
Photo on front cover: Class of 1985
4 4 Conttaacctt || UNC SScchooll off SSocciiaall Worrkk
Honoring our past. Shaping our future.
1920 – 2010
The UNC School of Social Work
Celebrates
Florence Soltys
teaching the course
“ Death and Dying,”
Summer 1989
Photo by Billy Barnes
Contact | UNC School of Social Work 5
From humble beginnings to one of the country’s best, UNC’s School of Social Work has defined and redefined
itself throughout its rich 90- year history.
State lawmakers in North Carolina likely never envisioned the significance of their decision to establish the School
of Public Welfare – the predecessor of today’s School. But in 1920, the course was set and renowned sociologist and
reformer Howard W. Odum was tapped as the School’s first leader.
O ver nine decades, UNC’s social work program has evolved from a primarily training institution to a program that
has earned national prominence for its quality classroom and field instruction, cutting edge research, invaluable public
service, community engaged scholarship and technical assistance. This tradition of excellence has enabled the School
to produce practitioners and research leaders who are committed to providing innovative solutions to critical social
problems such as poverty, mental health and domestic violence.
After nearly a century, there is much to be proud of, said Dean Jack M. Richman, but much more work remains.
“ I expect our School of Social Work will be leading in social work education — teaching, research and service —
for the next 90 years.”
M any people and moments are essential to the history of
UNC’s School of Social Work, but three influential change-makers
are largely credited for the program’s growth and
success. Charlotte businessman John A. “ Jack” Tate, School Dean John
Turner and TV journalist Charles Kuralt embraced the vision, pas-sion
and tenacity that launched a historic movement in the 1980s and
1990s, firmly establishing the School’s fiscal,
academic and physical presence.
The numbers tell much of the story.
Twenty- five years ago, the School’s endow-ment
barely stood at $ 40,000. By 1996, it had
grown to $ 4 million. That seed of success
further flourished over the years, enabling
the School to build an endowment now
worth nearly $ 16 million, an amount that
includes funding for student scholarships
and chaired professorships.
Although the School’s very first classes
amounted to less than a dozen full- time
students, more than 300 MSW and 45 Ph. D.
students are enrolled today. In 2009, U. S.
News & World Report ranked the UNC
School of Social Work’s MSW program No. 8
out of 165 programs evaluated nationwide.
The School has grown physically, too.
Back then, there was a small central building
with some office space and only a hodge-podge
of additional offices and classrooms
around campus. By 1995, students, faculty
and staff were celebrating the opening of a
$ 10 million, 75,000- square- foot facility, ap-propriately
named for the men who fought for its construction: the late
Tate, Turner and Kuralt.
Without a doubt, this threesome’s efforts laid the foundation for
the School of Social Work’s achievement as one of the top graduate
programs in the country, agreed current and former School leaders
and faculty members.
“ They not only got the money, they got the people interested in
social work,” said Maeda Galinsky, a Kenan Distinguished Professor
and faculty member for 45 years. “ They helped raise the awareness of
social work within this School, within the University and throughout
the state.”
Historically, the School’s journey began in 1920, one year after
North Carolina lawmakers decided that the
state needed well- trained welfare workers to
serve the public’s needs. Ultimately, the newly
founded School of Public Welfare — a title
that evolved until 1950 when it became the
School of Social Work — helped launch a new
era in the social work profession.
Over the next 50 years, the School
enrolled American Red Cross workers, helped
develop mental health services throughout
the state and organized field placement work
for students. With pioneer scholar Alan
Keith- Lucas on faculty, the program also
began to develop a reputation around group
child care.
The School transformed alongside the
country as it encountered new challenges.
According to an undated, written “ Historical
Perspective,” the program “ shared the post-
World War II preoccupation with a clinical
emphasis, achieving eminence as a functional
casework school. It responded to America’s
awakening to poverty and civil rights with a
range of field and classroom learning oppor-tunities
… ( that included) work with groups
and communities.”
By the 1970s, student enrollment had risen to more than 100,
and the School had extended its curriculum focus to prepare students
for direct and indirect services. However, even with expansion and
academic progress, the School still lacked status, including within the
University’s stone walls.
5
By Susan White
The School’s first leader, Howard Odum
6 Contact | UNC School of Social Work
“ Today, it’s seen as an outstanding School of Social Work around
the country, but it certainly wasn’t even mentioned within that same
breath when I came here,” said Galinsky, who arrived in 1965.
The drive to prominence began with John Turner. A writer, schol-ar
and teacher, Turner joined the UNC faculty in 1974 as the William
Rand Kenan Jr. Professor of Social Work. He was named School dean
in 1981, becoming the first African American dean at the University.
He wasted no time in making his mark.
In Turner’s view, the School was languishing. There was no Ph. D.
program and very little research. Perhaps most striking, there was
barely any funding, nor was there any plan in place to campaign for
donations.
“ When I started, it was kind of a joke that they had received a
$ 75 gift that had been unsolicited,” recalled Elizabeth Benefield, the
School’s former assistant dean for development. “ People just weren’t
being asked to give.”
Even by the mid ‘ 80s, the social work program still longed for a
permanent home. For years, professors and students were scattered
across campus in five different buildings, including the alumni build-ing,
where faculty members often encountered pesky visitors.
“ There were cockroaches in the basement,” said Galinsky, a native
of New York. “ I would come in, turn on the light, close my eyes and
go ( stomps feet on the ground). I wasn’t used to the southern animals
that were here. “
Without a building, School officials were forced to beg for
classrooms every year, a routine that resulted in instructors lugging
teaching materials around campus. Turner and others worried that
the School would struggle to attract and hold on to faculty members.
“ You felt like you were the stepchild of the University,” recalled
Louise Coggins, current chair of the School’s board of advisors and a
1980 MSW graduate. “ You felt like you had to be poor and not wear
good clothes. That’s how we were viewed and where things were.”
Under Turner’s helm, the School soon plotted a new path toward
national recognition and respect. Turner’s first strategic move: asking
retired banking executive and former UNC- Chapel Hill trustees’
chairman Jack Tate for help. Tate, according to a 1996 article in the
Raleigh News & Observer, helped the School develop “ a five year plan
to get better facilities, well- known professors and more resources
for social work programs.” Tate and Turner also assembled a board
of advisors, a power group of business leaders, philanthropists and
politicians. Kuralt, whose father had graduated from the School in
the 1930s, was among those tapped for the board.
Together, the men mapped a plan for the School’s financial
growth. The timing was perfect. The University was about to launch
its Bicentennial campaign and had asked each school to submit a
fundraising goal. With Benefield on board as the School’s first devel-opment
director, Tate and Turner decided to pursue $ 5 million, an
unheard of amount for a School that had no history of fundraising.
But Tate, Turner and Kuralt made quite a persuasive team. Tate
had deep business connections and was skilled at reaching out to
the corporate community. He could reason with his peers that they
had a responsibility to children and families in need. He was also
determined. He had already begun traveling every other week from
In 1966, Hortense McClinton ( far left, 1984) joined the School of Social Work,
becoming the first black faculty member at UNC- Chapel Hill.
Prior to moving into our current building, the School of Social Work’s home was
at 223 E. Franklin Street. This small building housed offices only; classes and
events had to be held elsewhere on campus wherever available space could be
found. Photo by Linda Wilson, 1989.
Contact | UNC School of Social Work 7
his Charlotte home to Raleigh to lobby lawmakers for the millions
needed for a new School building.
Turner was the charismatic visionary, who was highly respected
for his knowledge of the field. He could convince potential supporters
that for the School to develop as a top- notch research base and attract
more well- known professors, it needed a Ph. D. program. Kuralt was
the down- to- earth newsman who brought everyday America into
homes across the country. As the son of a social worker, he valued the
profession and could easily frame a message encouraging supporters
to do the same.
“ They were the perfect team in every way,” Benefield said. “ They
had the passion, and they had a huge following of believers. It felt like
there was nothing we couldn’t do.”
Within five years, the accomplishments mounted. The School
exceeded its fundraising goal, raising an impressive $ 6 million, an
amount that wowed University leaders; many donors included family
names UNC had courted for years. By 1992, the General Assembly
had approved full funding for construction of the School’s five- story
brick and concrete building. Within the following year, the Ph. D.
program was underway, and the School was under new leadership,
following Turner’s retirement. New Dean Richard L. Edwards picked
up where his predecessor left off, guiding the School through more
unprecedented growth and change.
By 1996, all eyes were fixed once again on the School with the
opening of the Jordan Institute for Families, a research, training and
technical assistance institute focused on solving social problems and
strengthening North Carolina’s families. Funded by a $ 1 million dona-tion
from basketball great Michael Jordan, the institute boosted the
School’s name recognition and influence. Additional money continued
to flow in over the years, enabling the School to set up endowed profes-sorships,
including ones to honor Tate, Turner and Kuralt.
UNC’s School of Social Work had finally arrived.
“ Long- standing families who had been committed to social justice
issues in this state wanted to be a part of what we were doing,” said
Mark Fraser, the John A. Tate Distinguished Professor for Children in
Need and associate dean for research. “ It became a movement.”
And that movement led to an awakening, said Benefield, who also
credits the School’s support to a newly crafted message. Instead of
simply asking for money, the School had encouraged potential donors
to invest in the economic and social well- being of the people of North
Carolina.
“ We wanted them to know that they were investing in the future of
our state,” Benefield said.
That investment continues to return benefits, adding to the
School’s esteem. Last year alone, the School received $ 16.2 million in
federal, state and foundation funding to support programs, training,
and technical assistance that directly or indirectly impact the state’s
nine million residents.
A portion of this money also funds the research of faculty mem-bers
who are seeking innovative solutions to society’s most challenging
problems, including issues of addiction, aging, poverty, mental health,
family violence and affordable housing.
“ Our faculty and staff are incredibly strong, have global reputa-tions
and produce important and meaningful research that leads to
more effective social work practice,” said current Dean Jack M. Rich-man.
“ They care about educating our students and are among the best
in the world.”
Financial growth also has enabled the School to attract a diverse
group of students and to assist them in paying for their education.
Over the last decade alone, the School raised $ 21.3 million through
the University’s Carolina First campaign, 152% of its goal. Through
these funds, the School has created three new endowed professorships
and 14 new scholarships. A record amount of more than $ 240,000 in
scholarships was awarded in 2007- 08.
The School’s continued academic and financial success reflects
the vital work of Tom Lambeth, who succeeded Tate as board chair,
and Coggins, the board’s current leader, said Mary Beth Hernandez,
the School’s current associate dean for advancement. Their leadership
ensured that the School “ expanded and strengthened its relationships
internally and externally,” she said.
“ But I also give a lot of the credit for the past decade to our vol-unteers
and to Dean Richman’s leadership and for having a vision and
saying, ‘ This is what we need to do,’ and then inspiring people to give,”
Hernandez added.
Students play a critical role in this growth as well. Many continue
to receive support long after graduation by participating in various
School- sponsored trainings, workshops and lectures. They join the
nearly 4,500 alumni who give back by serving in direct practice and
management positions and working with racially diverse communities
in rural, urban and suburban settings across the country.
“ I think one of the biggest reasons for our growth and success is
because of our students,” said Iris Carlton- LaNey, a social work pro-fessor.
“ The students who graduate from this program are being placed
in positions throughout the state where they are influencing policy,
practice and hiring.”
Collectively, the School’s achievements further support the suc-cessful
social work program that Tate, Turner and Kuralt envisioned
years ago, Coggins noted. And although the legacy is hardly complete,
after 90 years, it’s nice to reflect on how much has changed,
she said.
“ It’s very interesting to have come
so far from being that poor step-child
to being somebody that
everybody is listening to,” she
said.
“ Everyone now knows we
make a difference.”
7
Our building namesakes at its dedication in 1996: businessman Jack Tate,
former dean John Turner, and legendary journalist Charles Kuralt
Pioneer scholar Alan Keith- Lucas
8 8 Conttaacctt || UNC SScchooll off SSocciiaall Worrkk
S chool leaders knew the odds. Building a research program from
scratch at UNC’s School of Social Work would involve a lot
of heavy lifting. But by the late 1980s, the risks of not moving
forward were too great. If the School wanted to take a place among
the nation’s best graduate schools, it had to attract more top- notch
scholars.
In 20 years, it has done just that and more.
“ We have gone from being an unknown to a known, from being
mistrusted on campus to fully trusted ...,” explained Professor Dennis
Orthner, who was hired in 1988 to help develop the School’s research
funding. “ We now can walk into any door, and we’re known. We can
walk next door to Public Health, and we’re respected. We can walk to
Nursing or to the Frank Porter Graham ( Child Development Insti-tute)
center, and we’re respected.”
The pursuit to the top began in the late 1980s and in the most
primitive environment, especially for scholars Maeda Galinsky, Gary
Nelson and Gary Bowen. As Galinsky carved out a niche in social
group work, Nelson and Bowen developed their expertise in aging
policy and services to military families, respectively. The professors
accomplished their work, although there was practically no money for
research or even a research infrastructure, said current Dean Jack M.
Richman.
“ There was no development. There was no external funding. It
simply didn’t exist,” recalled Richman, who joined the School as a
clinical assistant professor in 1983. “ When we did research, it was
small, and we had to fund it ourselves.
“ We didn’t even have computers then,” Richman added. “ We had
one computer with dial- up in a hallway, but that’s it. It was like we
were in the Stone Age.”
Still, John Turner, then dean of the School, saw much promise,
including in Orthner, a professor from the University of Georgia.
At the time, the decision to hire Orthner may have perplexed some.
After all, his degrees were in sociology and economics, not social
work. But Orthner’s research interests were rooted in issues affecting
vulnerable children and families, including poverty and public educa-tion.
Like Bowen, who happened to be a former student of Orthner’s,
School of Social Work becomes a research force
By Susan White
“ Grant to Social Work,” July 3, 1968. Second from left: Samuel Fudge, director of the Group Child Care Project. Far right: Dean Alan Keith- Lucas, who started the
Child Care Project at the School. Image from the North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library.
Basketball great Michael Jordan, Carmen Hooker Odom, and
then- Chancellor Michael Hooker, at the UNC School of Social Work on Oct.
1, 1996 for the dedication of the Jordan Institute for Families
Coonnttaacctt || UNC SScchhooooll ooff SSoocciiaall Woorrkk 99
the Georgia professor was also interested in the welfare of military
families.
Perhaps most important, Turner believed Orthner could success-fully
kick start the School’s research funding as he had done in Geor-gia.
“ Dennis was really at the beginning of all of what we have now,”
Richman said.
One of Orthner’s first responsibilities was to establish the School’s
Human Services Research and Design Laboratory, which helped
promote and support faculty research interests. Orthner’s team quickly
went to work, building a network infrastructure within the School, in-cluding
its first email communications system. The new tools enabled
the School to save thousands of dollars — money that the research
lab in turn offered to faculty members as pilot funding to run small
projects and test new ideas. School leaders hoped that these enterprises
and others would spark further funding as well as boost the social
work program’s overall presence within the scientific community.
Historically, the School had dramatically grown as a training insti-tute,
helping professional social workers
stay up- to- date on the latest evidenced-based
practices in child welfare, aging,
mental health and substance abuse. But
with a more intensive focus on interven-tion
research, the School offered North
Carolina an exciting opportunity — the
chance to engage with academic scholars
committed to providing cutting- edge solu-tions
to some of the state’s most pressing
social and economic problems.
Projects flourished within a decade.
The School’s new research and design
lab managed nearly $ 2 million annually,
including the first major research work for
the state: a five- year evaluation of North
Carolina’s welfare- to- work program.
The state project became a stepping
stone for the School’s efforts in supporting
investigations that strengthen children
and families. North Carolina leaders also
welcomed the diverse contributions of
faculty members and their groundbreak-ing
work. There was a first- of- its- kind
study that examined the effects of welfare
reform on school performance and a
project that tested a collaborative, holistic
approach to improve the state’s adult
services programs. The state valued the
rigorous studies, not only because they informed practice and policies
but perhaps more important to taxpayers, the research ensured that
programs aimed at assisting the state’s most vulnerable were operating
effectively.
“ It was a very radical time because we were experimenting in lots
of ways,” Orthner recalled.
The innovative work demonstrated the School’s commitment to
service, but a multi- million dollar fundraising campaign would posi-tion
faculty closer to the goal of creating lasting social change. The
campaign was spearheaded by Turner, Charlotte businessman John A.
“ Jack” Tate, and TV journalist Charles Kuralt and ultimately garnered
the School $ 6 million to support its academic core, including the cre-ation
of a Ph. D. program.
The money also provided the necessary financial capacity for
the program to create endowed professorships to attract sought- after
scholars. The School wasted little time filling the first two chaired posi-tions,
hiring Mark Fraser, former director of the Ph. D. program at the
University of Utah’s School of Social Work, and Lynn Usher, former
director at the Center for Policy Studies at Research Triangle Institute.
Fraser, the John A. Tate Distinguished Professor for Children in
Need, and Usher, the Wallace H. Kuralt, Sr., Professor of Public Welfare
Policy and Administration, strengthened the School’s social interven-tion
research, especially around at- risk children and families, and
helped raise the UNC program’s profile nationally. Fraser also helped
develop an internal base of people to assist faculty members with grant
proposals, raising the School’s competitive edge for federal awards.
“ For the faculty who came in initially, it was really risky,” Orthner
noted. “ But I think those early steps were very, very important for get-ting
our national reputation off the ground.”
By 1996, the School had amassed a variety of national experts
specializing in school success, violence prevention, child welfare and
eldercare. These scholars regularly published, bringing the program
additional exposure and recognition.
But with the founding of the Jordan
Institute for Families, the School had a
national research model.
The institute, which was created
with a $ 1 million donation from Mi-chael
Jordan, brought together schol-ars
who could work closely with North
Carolina communities to address
problems threatening to undermine
the state’s most vulnerable families,
including poverty, mental illness and
substance abuse.
Today, the institute houses more
than a dozen research, training and
technical assistance programs that
benefit the state, including the N. C.
Child Welfare Education Collabora-tive,
the School Success Profile, the
Behavioral Healthcare Resource Pro-gram,
the Center for Aging Research
and Educational Services ( CARES)
and the N. C. Area Health Education
Center Training Partnership.
“ The Jordan Institute gave the
programs name recognition, cred-ibility
and a banner that we could use
for a lot of different things,” said Gary
Nelson, the institute’s associate direc-tor
for program development and training initiatives.
The institute also enabled the School to demonstrate its wealth of
knowledge within the social work field, added Orthner, the institute’s
associate director for policy development and analysis.
“ Back then, we didn’t have the cachet of being competent in re-search,”
he said. “ Now, there’s no question about our competency.”
The work of individual faculty members, especially throughout
North Carolina, only enhanced the School’s reputation.
“ Not only are we doing training, we have projects throughout the
state that are developing new ideas for how to improve the effective-ness
of social and health services,” explained Fraser, who served as
the first director of the Jordan Institute. “ We have Betsy Bledsoe who
is working with adolescent mothers. We have Rebecca Macy who is
working in the field of intimate partner violence. We have Natasha Bo-
Continued on p. 23
1 100 Conttaacctt || UNC SScchooll off SSocciiaall Worrkk
F or at least half of the School of
Social Work’s 90- year existence,
there has been one constant:
Maeda Galinsky. In 45 years, hun-dreds
of students, dozens of faculty
members and nine deans have come
and gone, but Galinsky, a Kenan Dis-tinguished
Professor, has remained.
Those who know her best are
hardly surprised. Her name is as syn-onymous
to the School and UNC as it
is to the theory and practice of social
group work. In social work circles,
Galinsky is considered a pioneer
scholar for her work on groups and
on intervention research.
“ She is the grand dame of the
School of Social Work,” said Louise
Coggins, MSW ’ 80, and chair of the School’s Board of Advisors. “ She
represents what social work is.”
“ She cares amazingly, deeply about students and about faculty
and has helped this School to be what it is today,” added Dean Jack M.
Richman.
For the 75- year- old Galinsky, teaching, researching and writ-ing
have been her passion since the start of her career in the 1950s,
although the call to “ help others,” came much earlier. “ I’ve had a rebel-lious
streak since I was little,” said Galinsky, who grew up in College
Point, N. Y. “ I would always talk to the person in trouble — someone
whom you weren’t supposed to talk to.”
Galinsky said she fully realized her career path as an undergrad
majoring in social relations at Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Mass.
While there, she served as a volunteer and then director of a program
that enabled student volunteers to work with the mentally ill in a
psychiatric hospital. “ I just knew that
social work is what I wanted to do,” she
said.
Galinsky went on to receive her
MSW and Ph. D at the University of
Michigan, where she also taught for a
year. Then, in 1965, her husband David
was offered a position with UNC’s
Department of Psychology. Soon after,
Galinsky was hired as an assistant
professor at UNC’s School of Social
Work. Although excited about the new
opportunity, she accepted the job with
slight trepidation. After all, for a city
girl raised up North, the South in the
1960s was a tinderbox.
“ I learned, however, that many
people here were eager for racial
equality and that they were willing to work together to effect change,”
Galinsky recalled. “ While the area and the culture felt strange at first, I
grew to love living here.”
Forty- five years later, she marvels at how much the University, but
especially the School of Social Work, have evolved. Although trained
as a researcher and practitioner, Galinsky arrived during an era when
the School was focused on teaching students the functional model of
social work.
“ It was more about building the relationship and working within
the agency requirements,” she said. “ It was really casework. Group
work, community organization and research were kind of on the
periphery at that point.”
However, Galinsky was undeterred and despite the lack of
funding, pursued various pilot studies with then colleague, Janice
Schopler. They paid out- of- pocket for some of their early research.
Over the following two decades, Galinsky’s work flourished along
with respect from other scholars.
“ She was on the ground floor of ( social group work),” Richman
said. “ And over time, she became a stalwart. She historically represents
this whole basis of group work.”
Galinsky has always been a critical thinker and prolific writer, and
she continues to write and publish today. Much of her work has been
accomplished alongside colleagues who respect Galinsky’s willing-ness
to join forces. Collaboration, she said, has taught her to be a
better researcher. Time has shown her the value in embracing others’
perspectives, while standing firm for her own convictions.
“ Her biggest strength is her extraordinary ability to ‘ think with,’”
said Mark Fraser, who has co- authored and co- edited numerous jour-nal
articles, journals, book chapters, books and other presentations
with Galinsky. “ She has the unusual capacity to excite ideas in others.
She simply makes us all better scholars and better people.”
That admiration extends to the classroom, where students have
often been in awe of Galinksy’s ability to “ translate theory to practice
Maeda Galinsky: For 45 years, ‘ Grand dame’ of the
School of Social Work
By Susan White
Galinsky holds a 2009 book she co- authored,
“ Intervention Research.”
Galinsky, sitting on the table, with her students, 1971
Coonnttaacctt || UNC SScchhooooll ooff SSoocciiaall Woorrkk 1111
with ease,” said Traci Wike, a doctoral student. “ She is creative and
intellectually curious,” Wike said. “ This equates to interesting and
sometimes challenging conversations that always involve my learning
something from her.”
Those meeting Galinsky for the first time also quickly learn that
the petite professor packs quite a youthful spirit and a wry sense of
humor. “ Every time my daughter is in the building, Maeda plies her
with candy and then grins and lets me know ‘ She’s all yours now!’” said
Anna Scheyett, the School’s associate dean for academic affairs.
More often, her humor and generosity collide in very subtle ways,
as Wike discovered last winter when she ran across Galinsky’s purple
sweater hanging in the fifth- floor suite outside the professor’s office.
Attached to the sweater was a note, offering the garment to anyone
who might be chilly.
“ It’s ugly, but it’s warm,” the note read.
“ That is what I love about Maeda,” Wike said. “ She is a wonderful
balance of intelligence, warmth, humor, and just general goodness.”
That Galinsky would be thrilled to still be walking the halls of the
Tate- Turner- Kuralt Building when the School celebrates its 100th an-niversary
doesn’t surprise Dean Jack Richman. She remains a valued
voice and will contribute wherever she can, he offered.
At the same time, she is well aware that many others her age are
fully embracing their retirements, enjoying life’s casual pace. And al-though
she’s slowed a bit, she just isn’t ready to join them.
“ It just feels good to be a part of a profession and a School that care
about people and their environment,” Galinsky said. “ Students come
here because they want to help people and make the world a better
place for all. If you can help one person, you’ve done a lot.”
Galinsky, Louise
Coggins and
Janice Schopler,
1980
The School of Social Work used to have a prominent Group Child Care Certificate Program. This photo was taken at the playground at the University
Methodist Church Day Care Center on Nov. 20, 1975. At far right is Samuel Fudge, director of the Group Child Care Project. The children are Galinsky’s:
Adam, Dana and Michael. Image from the North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library.
12 Contact | UNC School of Social Work
T his year, the School will celebrate its
90th anniversary. It’s hard to imagine
that beginning. Cars and “ talkies”
were novelties. Prohibition was in full force,
and the Depression was around the corner.
And in the midst of it all, the School of Pub-lic
Welfare ( our original name) was founded.
Looking back, many changes have occurred
within the School and its curriculum since
1920. Originally focused on public welfare,
the School expanded over the years to also
emphasize social work practice across a
range of fields, including health, mental
health, community practice, administration
and policy practice. Perhaps the most significant change has been the
emphasis on research, including the production of and use of empiri-cal
evidence in practice settings. This decision to strengthen our
School with research hugely affected how students are taught.
Even when I was a student ( back in 1987- 89), we were taught
treatment models, such as object relations and other psychodynamic
approaches and some basic functionalist approaches, but we never
reviewed the literature to critically examine the evidence for the ef-ficacy
of these models and approaches. We simply learned them, and
we were expected to use them in our practice. Intervention research
was hardly on the radar years ago.
Now, the School’s curriculum requires critical thinking and the
use of evidence- based and promising practices — interventions that
have been shown to be effective based on empirical research. Social
workers don’t just learn one model and stick with it. We are expected
to keep learning and growing throughout our careers, critically exam-ining
and evaluating our own practice and the research literature.
What is really exciting and what we can truly be proud of today
is that some of our own faculty members are leading the country’s ef-forts
in generating the social work empirical literature. Students now
have the opportunity to learn about innovative research findings in
domestic violence, mental health, and substance abuse, for example,
within the same academic community where that research is taking
place. Students can even participate in these research projects through
the School’s assistantships and research awards programs.
Although in 90 years much has changed, some of the School’s
core elements remain the same. We still focus on social justice, on the
importance of social work ethics, on education that combines class-room
work with fieldwork in collaboration with community agencies,
and on service to vulnerable individuals, families and communities.
The School remains steadfast with its goal: We prepare social workers
to make a difference.
Curriculum evolves over
the years
By Anna Scheyett,
Associate Dean for
Academic Affairs
Reading Room, 1978 1925 tuition and fees = $ 47.33
Contact | UNC School of Social Work 13
D uring my junior year of
college at the University of
Michigan, I found social
work — or rather social work found
me. I had spent my undergraduate
career searching for a major and
discipline that addressed families
and communities in need as well
as creative intervention approaches
and human service from a strengths-based
perspective rather than a
deficit model. I also needed a place
where I believed I could make a dif-ference.
Finally, one day a college senior I greatly respected who shared
similar interests asked me a simple question: “ Have you ever con-sidered
social work?” Once I researched the field and its mission, I
was hooked! My goal in life was to now become a professional social
worker and to find an MSW program that would prepare me for this
journey.
After researching numerous masters programs across the country,
I decided to apply to UNC- Chapel Hill for fall enrollment in 1996. The
School of Social Work’s national ranking, incredible faculty and the
annual Black Experience Workshop directed by the late Dr. Audreye
Johnson drew me to the program, not to mention the chance to break
from the Midwest winters! I placed a call to the School’s admissions
office and was greeted by the warm southern drawl of Linda Wilson,
student services manager, who mailed me an information packet on
the program. Needless to say, I was elated when I received my offer of
admissions to UNC; I even sent my deposit without ever visiting the
state of North Carolina.
When I reflect on my cohort and time in the program, it’s hard
to believe how much has changed. My full- time cohort included 39
people with only five ( 14%) students of color. This fall, we will welcome
68 full- time students with 17 ( 25%) representing students of color. Just
like today’s students, I graduated with an amazing group of advanced
standing and distance education ( formerly called part- time) students.
My concentration year experience was definitely enriched by the
diversity and life experience that the part- time students brought to the
program as well as the social work practice knowledge and experience
that the advanced standing students shared.
This fall, the School will enroll 320 new and returning students in
its MSW program. I believe that today’s students are motivated to enter
the field of social work for the same reasons that their peers pursued
careers years ago: We are all committed to improving the quality of life
for individuals, families and communities in need.
What has changed is the range of communities students seek to
serve and the range of practice opportunities. Never before has there
been such an interest in international social work settings and in serv-ing
our global community. We have seen a substantial increase in stu-dents
with international human service experience, including with the
Peace Corps and AmeriCorps, and from those with second language
skills, particularly Spanish.
It has been an honor and privilege to return to the School of Social
Work as a faculty member and to serve as the director of recruitment,
admissions and financial aid. It’s hard to believe that it has been 14
years since my first trip to North Carolina and my first meeting with
School admissions officials in the same office where I now work every
day.
I’m pleased to continue the School’s commitment to recruiting
some of the most talented and dedicated students from across the
country and across the globe.
Students bring diversity, experience to the program
By Sharon Thomas, Director of
Recruitment, Admissions and
Financial Aid
In the summer of 1975, 10 social work professionals from other countries studied at the School of Social Work as part of the “ Council of
International Programs for Social Workers and Youth Leaders.”
14 Contact | UNC School of Social Work
Personal Reflections
14 “ I think it’s a huge accomplishment to say that in
90 years, our School not only is in all 100 counties
of the state but that it has also made a nationwide
and global impact based on the research and the
problems that the faculty focuses on and wants to
solve.” – Michelle Turner, ( MSW ’ 03), President of
the School of Social Work’s Alumni Council and member of the Board
of Advisors
“ I think ( the faculty and staff at UNC’s School of
Social Work) should be very proud that they have
educated people from all walks of life. I think the
School continues to ground social workers in the
understanding that they always need to connect
to consumers and clients.” – Diann Dawson ( MSW ’ 74), Director,
Office of Regional Operations, U. S. Department of Health and Human
Services Administration for Children and Families
“ Having the MSW degree itself is something of a
ticket for you. It tends to open doors. It gave me a
foundation on which to practice social work.” –
Bobby Boyd ( MSW ’ 69), retired Director of Catawba
County Social Services with 30+ years of experience
in social work and member of the School’s Board of
Advisors
“ We have become a place of both exquisite research
... and exquisite practice training.” – Mark Fraser,
John A. Tate Distinguished Professor for Children in
Need and Associate Dean for Research
“ I think the School gave us many opportunities
and encouragement. You had the opportunity to
apply a lot of coursework to actual practice. It all
was very useful to me in the varied careers that I
had, including working with welfare departments,
military bases, large general hospitals, field hospi-tals
and military hospitals.” – Ella Hobbs Craig ( MSW ’ 50), former
disaster representative with the American Red Cross and retired social
worker with the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Alaska
“ Nothing speaks so well for the School than the
work of our graduates. All over the state, the coun-try,
and internationally, we have graduates commit-ted
to improving the services, organizations and
communities that support families in need. That is
the best measure of our success.” – Dorothy “ Dee”
Gamble, former Clinical Associate Professor and
Assistant Dean for Student Services
“ The School’s service to some of the must vulner-able
populations in North Carolina is a testament
to the ideals and the values that the social work
profession represents. I am proud to say that I am
a graduate of such a service- oriented institution.
Likewise, I am deeply honored and privileged to
have the opportunity to serve on the faculty and to help educate the
next generation of social work professionals.”
– Travis Albritton, ( MSW, ‘ 03), Clinical Instructor and Director
Triangle Distance Education MSW Program
Faculty member Rachael Dedmon, future dean Jack Richman, and
student Julie Gaskell ( MSW ‘ 85), 1984
Charles Kuralt in the auditorium, 1996
Coonnttaacctt || UNC SScchhooooll ooff SSoocciiaall Woorrkk 1155
“ I think the School can be most proud of turning out
social workers who are really concerned about their
clients and want to help people in any way they can.
It’s not just a job.” – H. Carl Henley, former Professor,
retired from the School in 1999 after 31 years
“ My goal was to go into social services when I
finished school. I really wanted to give back and to
work in a field where I certainly felt I would have
some impact. And I know that the School prepared
me for that and for continuing to learn.” – Dana
Courtney ( MSW ’ 74), independent consultant
with Visions, Inc.; member of the School’s Board of Advisors; Alumni
Council Past President; and former social worker with 25+ years of
administrative and direct experience in human services, social work
services and organizational development
“ In some ways, what’s happened is the School grew
up and became a player in a robust combination of
research, public engagement and teaching. It came
of age and strengthened itself in each of those di-mensions.”
– Gary Nelson, Professor and Associate
Director for Program Development and Training
Initiatives with the Jordan Institute for Families
“ I think our job is like the scholarship says, ‘ to help
improve the quality of life for people.’ But I always
say to students, you can’t be a social worker and go
home at 5 o’clock and say, ‘ Day is done.’ If you’re
committed to a system that’s equitable and just –
you’re always a social worker.” – Iris Carlton- LaNey,
Professor
“ This School is really well- positioned to launch
international social work because of the intervention
scholars we have here now and the high value that
we place on intervention research.” – Gina Chowa,
Assistant Professor
“ We are doing all kinds of interesting research here
that helps make a difference in people’s lives. But the
funding environment is incredibly competitive right
now. So I think a key challenge for the School and
the faculty is to find funding to sustain and extend
the research that we are doing now.”– Rebecca Macy,
Associate Professor
“ Choosing UNC for my doctoral education was
a great decision! I am mentored well, and faculty
members have supported my research interests
since day one. Also, I practiced as a social worker
in North Carolina, so being here is a way of staying
connected to the state through my research.”
– Tiffany Washington, Doctoral Student
“ I think we can be proud that we are serving North
Carolina at the same time that we are advancing the
knowledge base – getting ( the research) into com-munities
as well as into our classrooms.” – Natasha
Bowen, Associate Professor ( Ph. D. ’ 99, MSW ’ 96)
See more 90th Anniversary
stories and vintage photos online at
http:// ssw. unc. edu/ 90
Student lounge, 1982
16 Contact | UNC School of Social Work
A nna Scheyett never considered launching her own Internet
blog until a UNC colleague suggested last spring that Scheyett
should be sharing her social work leadership experience and
expertise with a broader audience.
“ I knew nothing about blogging, and I don’t particularly follow
anybody else’s blog,” explained Scheyett, the UNC School of Social
Work’s associate dean for academic affairs. “ But eventually kicking and
screaming, I set up a blog.”
What resulted was “ Social Work Leadership,” which Scheyett uses
as a space for commentary on the roles social workers and others
play in addressing social injustice issues. The blog is still building an
audience but since finding her footing and developing her own writing
voice, Scheyett said she has grown more comfortable with and has a
greater appreciation for using social media.
“ It really is a quick way to flag issues, which I think can be helpful,”
she said. “ And I think [ blogging is] a great way to disseminate informa-tion
and offer a secondary education around what social work is.”
Social workers and social work educators have been using elec-tronic
bulletin boards, e- mail and online forums to interact with one
another and raise social consciousness for years. But the transition to
social media, where users connect, create and share online content, has
been much slower. Until now. Scheyett is among a growing group of
academics and practicing professionals learning to navigate Web 2.0
technology, a virtual smorgasbord in which communication and inter-action
more commonly occurs in waves of Twitter tweets, Facebook
feeds, YouTube videos and Blogger posts.
“ I have found Twitter very useful,” Scheyett said of the online mes-saging
platform where news, opinions and personal information can
be shared or “ tweeted” in 140 characters or less. “ It’s a way to push out
information to people without being intrusive.”
Like Scheyett, other faculty members at UNC’s School of Social
Work were not initially sure what to make of the innovative technol-ogy
or why they should even experiment with it. However, associate
professors Rebecca Macy and Susan Parish were intrigued and quickly
became the School’s most prolific social media users. Both regularly
post news or social commentary around their research interests on
Twitter.
For Parish, the micro- blogging site has turned into a great
personal assistant, helping her to organize and keep track of research
news around her interests in disability, poverty and health care issues.
Many state and federal government agencies and independent research
institutes have established Twitter accounts and frequently post reports
Social work meets social media
By Susan White
Researchers, social workers champion benefits of blogs, Twitter
Contact | UNC School of Social Work 17
to their pages. “ Followers” of these groups receive tweet alerts when
new information is posted. Parish is among those alerted when, for
example, The Urban Institute issues a new report on children’s health.
“[ Twitter] is a very efficient way to follow breaking news and the
kinds of policy research that I need to follow,” Parish said.
Rebecca Macy, Ph. D., addresses domestic violence issues in her
blog.
Macy started a blog in late 2008 after realizing she could use the
site to connect with social workers in the field and others on her work
around domestic violence and prevention issues. “ I had read an article
that said academics should blog because how many people are really
going to read our peer reviewed
research, and it questioned whether
our work is really that accessible,”
Macy explained. “ So, I’m trying to
take my research and evidence and
make it more accessible. I’m really
trying to connect to people out in
the practice world.”
That more social work re-searchers
and clinicians are starting
to embrace social media doesn’t
surprise Karen Zgoda, a licensed
clinical social worker and Ph. D.
candidate at Boston College Gradu-ate
School of Social Work.
“ I think one of the biggest
arguments for using these tools
is that clients are already using
them,” said Zgoda, whose research
focuses on the role of technology in
social work. Zgoda writes a regular
column on the subject for The New
Social Worker Online magazine.
“ As social workers, I think it is important to go where the clients
are and understand how they are using these tools and how we can use
them to help folks,” she added.
Blogs, which enable virtually anyone with Internet access to pub-lish
their work or opinions, have exploded as evidenced by the tens of
millions of online sites currently in existence.
Although no one appears to track the total number of social work
researchers and clinicians using social media, Zgoda has started com-piling
several lists using Twitter. Many users already work in environ-ments
where social media is gaining popularity.
UNC’s School of Social Work is among numerous schools on the
Chapel Hill campus that have Facebook pages and Twitter accounts to
keep up with alumni, attract prospective students and distribute news
and information.
Research shows that higher ed institutions are learning to harness
social media to increase exposure and improve recruitment efforts.
The National Association for College Admission Counseling reported
this spring that more than half of the nation’s colleges and universities
now monitor social media for “ buzz about their institution.” A third
maintain blog sites, while more than a quarter maintain Internet social
networking pages.
The trend continues beyond college campuses. Businesses, phil-anthropic
groups and others are also capitalizing on social media. For
example, The National Association of Social Workers ( NASW) and
The New Social Worker Online magazine have created blogs, Face-book
pages and Twitter accounts to keep practitioners up- to- date on
research, best practices and available jobs. Both also recently spon-sored
online chats through socialworkchat. org to bring social workers
together to discuss Internet predators and foster care.
A few websites, such as “ Social Work Blogs,” help connect field
clinicians with peers, including to those who regularly blog or tweet
about their daily experiences working in mental health, aging or
domestic violence agencies. Others offer research and statistics tips.
The NASW launched “ SocialWorkersSpeak. org” as a way to get social
workers talking about and influencing how they are portrayed in film,
on television and in the news.
“ Some of the most popular movies and television programs deal
with issues social workers handle each day, including children and
families, the aging, and health and wellness,” said James J. Kelly, NASW
president. “ However, social workers and the issues they address are not
always accurately portrayed in the media. Social Workers Speak will
help us tell the real story and generate a healthy dialog between the
media and social workers.”
Because social workers are
held to ethical standards that ap-ply
to confidentiality and conflicts
of interests, understanding where
to draw the line is a must, particu-larly
for those in direct practice,
said Kim Strom- Gottfried, the
School of Social Work’s Smith P.
Theimann Distinguished Profes-sor
for Ethics and Professional
Practice.
“ I urge people to think about
- is this something that you would
tell somebody else who you have
a general relationship with,”
said Strom- Gottfried, who led a
workshop on the “ Ethics of Social
Networking” in April. “ Think of
your clientele. How would this
be perceived? Does this blur the
boundaries? Does this make you
feel more visible than you want to feel? What are the things that you
are comfortable having known about you?
“ To me, the important part of the conversation is around ethical
challenges and where you set boundaries.”
Still, Strom- Gottfried, who maintains Facebook and Linked- In ac-counts,
appreciates the value of online platforms, especially for sharing
academic research. “ We have knowledge to bring to the town square in
this discourse,” she added. “ A lot of people are also using social media
for problem solving. So I think the risk is worth it.”
Linda Grobman, publisher and editor of The New Social Worker,
and a licensed social worker, counts herself among the “ early adopters”
of new social media, though she has been using the Internet for social
work networking for years. She expects other social workers to eventu-ally
invest in the communication tools.
“ I think today’s traditional- age students already know about it
because kids are growing up with technology- assisted learning,” Grob-man
said. “ They already know about Facebook, text messaging, iPhone
apps, YouTube and so forth. So as younger people enter the social work
field, there will naturally be more social workers using social media.”
Not everyone is eager to dive into the virtual realm. For many
academics, including social work educators, the idea of developing an
online presence stirs up mixed emotions. Many say they just don’t have
the time to blog or tweet, and the rewards of doing either as a scholarly
extension of their research or teaching are not clear. Even among those
already plugged into the technology, the benefits are not always im-mediately
evident.
Rebecca Macy addresses domestic violence issues in her blog.
Follow the School of Social Work
on Facebook and Twitter:
http:// ssw. unc. edu/ about/ social_ networks
Continued on p. 23
18 Contact | UNC School of Social Work
O ver the years, research has shown that Latino youth face nu-merous
risk factors when integrating into American culture,
including increased rates of alcohol and substance use and
higher rates of dropping out of school.
But a new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill shows adolescents who actively embrace their native culture —
and whose parents become more involved in U. S. culture — stand a
greater chance of avoiding these risks and developing healthier behav-iors
overall.
The findings are from a longitudinal study by the UNC- based
Latino Acculturation and Health Project, which is supported by the
U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC) and directed
by Paul Smokowski, Ph. D., an associate professor at the UNC School
of Social Work. Researchers interviewed 281 Latino youths and parents
in North Carolina and Arizona, asking questions about a wide range
of measures of lifestyle and mental health. Participants answered ac-cording
to how much they agreed with each question ( for example,
from “ not at all” to “ very much”), resulting in scores on a scale for each
measure.
“ We found teens who maintain strong ties to their Latino cul-tures
perform better academically and adjust more easily socially,”
Smokowski said. “ When we repeated the survey a year later, for every
1- point increase in involvement in their Latino cultures, we saw a 13
percent rise in self- esteem and a 12 to 13 percent decrease in hopeless-ness,
social problems and aggressive behavior.
“ Also, the study showed parents who develop a strong bicultural
perspective have teen children who are less likely to feel anxiety and
face fewer social problems,” he said. “ For every increase in a par-ent’s
involvement in United States culture, we saw a 15 to 18 percent
decrease in adolescent social problems, aggression and anxiety one
year later. Parents who were more involved in U. S. culture were in a
better position to proactively help their adolescents with peer relations,
forming friendships and staying engaged in school. This decreases the
chances of social problems arising.”
“ Such results suggest that Latino youth and their parents benefit
from biculturalism,” Smokowski said.
The findings are presented as part of a series of articles featured
next month in a special issue of The Journal of Primary Prevention, a
collaborative initiative between UNC and the CDC. The special issue
presents the latest research on how cultural adaptation influences.
Latino youth behaviors — including involvement in violence,
smoking and substance use, as well as overall emotional well- being —
and offers suggestions for primary prevention programs that support
minority families.
“ Bicultural adolescents tend to do better in school, report higher
self esteem, and experience less anxiety, depression and aggression,”
said study co- author Martica Bacallao, Ph. D.,
an assistant professor at the University of North
Carolina at Greensboro, whose work is also
featured in the special issue. “ It is interesting that,
in order to obtain these benefits of biculturalism,
adolescents and parents often need to do the op-posite
of what their natural tendencies tell them.
Parents who are strongly tied to their native
cultures must reach out to learn skills in the new
culture. Adolescents who quickly soak up new
cultural behaviors should slow down and cultivate the richness in their
native cultures.”
Smokowski added: “ The burgeoning size of the Latino population
and the increasingly important roles that Latino youth will play in
American culture are worthy of community attention. Communities
can either invest in prevention to nurture Latino youth as a national
resource or pay a heavy price later in trying to help these youth address
social problems such as substance use, aggression or dropping out of
school; all of which often results from the stress of acculturation.”
Along with Smokowski and Bacallao, Rachel L. Buchanan, Ph. D.
‘ 08, assistant professor of social work at Salisbury University in Mary-land,
was a co- author of the study, titled “ Acculturation and Adjust-ment
in Latino Adolescents: How Cultural Risk Factors and Assets
Influence Multiple Domains of Adolescent Mental Health.”
UNC study: Latino teens happier, healthier if
families embrace biculturalism By Susan White
Paul Smokowski
Contact | UNC School of Social Work 19
S econd- year MSW student Darshan Mundada is passionately
committed to international social work and empowering other
young people to improve human rights for all. Such dedication is
one of the main reasons why Mundada, a Rotary World Peace Fellow
from India, never hesitates to pursue opportunities to learn from world
leaders and why the 26- year- old often spends his semester breaks
abroad.
Last summer, Mundada joined hundreds of other college stu-dents,
including a handful from UNC, to complete an internship with
Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. Microfinance guru and 2006 Nobel
Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus founded Grameen, which
provides the poor with microfinance loans to fund entrepreneurial
endeavors so that individuals can lift themselves from poverty.
During his time with Grameen, Mundada learned how mico-financing
functions on a broad scale — the Bank now serves more
than 7 million poor families. Since it’s founding in 1976, Grameen has
exploded into an institutional family of companies, including one of-fering
affordable health care and another developing renewable energy
technologies.
Mundada also received an insider’s view of the microfinance world
with visits to other agencies in Bangladesh, including BRAC, one of the
world’s largest nongovernment organizations, and Uddipan, a grass-roots
nonprofit. Like Grameen, both agencies focus on empowering
women through educational, financial and other social development
services so that they can build independent, sustainable lives for their
families.
“ It was a great learning experience,” Mundada said.
After several weeks with Grameen, Mundada spent the remaining
half of his summer vacation in an internship with the Central Tibetan
Administration ( CTA), Tibet’s government in exile in Dharamsala in
Himachal Pradesh state. The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader, estab-lished
the CTA in 1959.
For Mundada, the experience was a chance to observe a govern-ment
under a man he has admired since youth. Mundada, who met the
Dalai Lama in 1996, still draws much of his inspiration from the exiled
leader. Their chance meeting years ago encouraged Mundada to form
the Friends’ Society — a community service, social awareness and eco-conservation
organization in India.
During his internship, Mundada observed each of the CTA’s
departments, including health, education, and information and
international relations. “ I learned about how policies are formed and
how to get the support of the people,” he explained. “ I also learned how
nonprofits and governments can function together.”
He was most inspired, he said, in seeing that the government’s
employees are “ not just there for the money.”
“ They are there because they share a passion for their country and
want it to be free,” he said.
Mundada, who graduates this year, plans to return to India, where
he intends to help further develop the country’s nonprofit sector.
“ The work in India is important as the nonprofit sector is currently
disorganized, and there is a lot of overlap in services and a replica-tion
of models consuming multiple resources,” Mundada said. “ It is
necessary to create a network that will enable organizations to share
resources … and a support network for budding entrepreneurs.”
Student Darshan Mundada passionate about
international social work By Susan White
Darshan Mundada with Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhummad Yunus
20 Contact | UNC School of Social Work
T his summer, School of Social Work faculty members Mat
Despard and Gina Chowa had planned to be developing two
projects both hoped could assist in the long- term efforts of
building a healthier and more economically stable Haiti. Then the Jan.
12 earthquake hit. The two UNC colleagues have since shifted their
priorities and are now focusing their energy and expertise to provide
more immediate relief to young survivors in one rural area of the
country.
Despard, a clinical assistant professor, and Chowa, an assistant
professor, have partnered with Fondation Enfant Jesus ( FEJ), an orga-nization
that operates a crèche, clean water project, micro- enterprise
program and school programs in Lamardelle, a rural farming village
about 20 miles east of Haiti’s capital, Port- au- Prince. Despard, who
adopted a little girl from the organization almost two years ago, said
the crèche, which is similar to an orphanage, sustained some damage
from the quake, but the 70 children living there were uninjured.
Prior to the disaster, he and Chowa were in the process of helping
FEJ and its U. S.- based nonprofit, Village of Vision for Haiti Founda-tion,
secure grant funding to establish a health clinic in Lamardelle
and to expand the micro- enterprise program for women. But with the
quake uprooting or leaving orphaned tens of thousands of Haiti’s chil-dren,
government officials recently asked that the organizations step
in to provide additional shelter and services to the disaster’s youngest
victims.
Despard and Chowa are
now assisting the Haitian
organizations with this call
for help. First, the colleagues
hope to find and help obtain
the funding the groups will
need to serve more children.
“ Gina and I are trying to
anticipate what channels of
funding there are and where others could be,” Despard said.
They are also spreading the message of other needed expertise,
including public health experts who can ensure that accommodations
for earthquake refugees have proper sanitation.
“ I really want to emphasize that we are following FEJ’s lead because
there is so much that we don’t know about Haiti,” Despard said. “ We
really want to build a partnership and right now, that means just trying
to figure out the help FEJ needs, even if it only means sending money
and finding more of it.”
Although billions of dollars in donations have been flowing into
Haiti since the earthquake struck, a significant portion of this money is
designated for the larger U. S.- based nonprofits and nongovernmental
organizations working in the country. But getting the Haitian- operated
aid organizations the financial support they need is equally important,
Chowa said.
Faculty members help Haitian agency serve
earthquake’s youngest survivors By Susan White
Gina Chowa Mat Despard
20 Contact | UNC School of Social Work
Contact | UNC School of Social Work 21
Contact | UNC School of Social Work 21
“ International development organizations need to pay attention to
and support smaller nongovernmental organizations like FEJ, because
these small NGOs have been working in Haiti with people at the grass-roots
for a long time and are committed to their people,” she said.
The FEJ, in particular, has a solid reputation
for helping children in its care reunite with their
parents or find adoptive homes in the United
States, Canada and France, Despard said. That
reputation is likely one of the main reasons the
government turned to the organization for help,
especially with a rush of interest from around the
world in increasing adoptions from Haiti.
“ Part of the reason I think the government is
turning to the FEJ is because of their success in
ensuring that children don’t have other family to go live with first,” he
said. “ They are really careful about assessing each child’s situation with
their parents.”
The School could potentially offer the organizations additional
professional and academic expertise on adoption and foster care, but
Despard cautioned that he wants to make sure that any efforts made
are in response to specific needs and requests. As someone who has
closely followed Haiti’s political, economic and social history, Despard
is very sensitive to the country’s challenges and the tradition of other
nations, especially the United States, to jump in with money and ideas.
( Despard, who writes a blog on nonprofit issues, has
written several posts since the earthquake address-ing
relief efforts and Haiti’s challenges.)
Organizations like the FEJ are rooted in Haiti,
employ Haitians and are ultimately linked to the
country’s ability to dig its way out of poverty,
Chowa said. They are founded on long- term sus-tainable
solutions “ that will improve the well- being
of Haitians,” she added.
“ There is a need … for solutions that address
health, education, economic well- being and livelihoods,” she said.
Projects, including the ones the colleagues were originally pursu-ing
before the earthquake, also offer these kinds of promises, Despard
and Chowa agreed. The proposals, they said, would enable Haitians
to care for each other and work together to rebuild the country’s
economy.
L ong before a 7.0 magnitude earthquake
devastated Haiti, social workers were already
among the countless humanitarian workers
and aid organizations attending to the impover-ished
country’s physical and emotional needs. In
the months ahead, these same workers will play an
even more vital role as extensive efforts to rebuild
shattered infrastructure and lives begin.
Although treating the immediate physical
needs of Haiti’s sick and injured remains a top priority, providing
needed psychological first aid must also be a part of growing relief
efforts and the kind of assistance that social workers are well- equipped
to offer, said Joanne Caye, a UNC School of Social Work clinical as-sistant
professor.
Research has shown that such mental health assistance, especially
within the first four to six weeks of a disaster, can help survivors reduce
their chances of developing acute stress and post- traumatic stress
disorder, said Caye, co- author of, “ When Their World Falls Apart:
Helping Families and Children Manage the Effects of Disasters.”
“ What this means is providing people with accurate information,
listening to their needs, letting them know that what they are experi-encing
is normal and giving them hope. That’s what psychological first
aid does,” Caye said. “ Some people may ask, ‘ What good does that do?’
But the research tells us that … with a therapeutic response fairly early
on, people will be able to gain some sense of control over their lives.”
Since the Jan. 12 earthquake, much of Haiti has been mired in
chaos. The catastrophe disabled most of the country’s already worn
or damaged infrastructure, including roads and seaport, hampering
efforts to get medical supplies, food and water to quake victims. Ac-cording
to media reports, the death toll is expected to rise to at least
200,000 in and around the capital city of Port- au- Prince, with thou-sands
more presumed dead around the country and close to 200,000
more injured. Nearly 1 million people have been left homeless in Port-au-
Prince, and thousands of others are reportedly living in squalor in
makeshift camps.
Shelter — even temporary but close to home — can help children
and adults retain a sense of normalcy, a lesson researchers learned
firsthand following Hurricane Katrina, said Caye, who served in 2007
as a co- director for the “ New Orleans Recovery Initiative,” a rebuilding
project through the UNC Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity.
Although thousands of displaced Gulf Coast residents were
evacuated to the Houston Astrodome, many of these evacuees were
unable to immediately find other housing and in the interim, adopted
the astrodome as their “ new home.” When these families were forced
to leave, many were “ re- traumatized” as if they were physically losing
their houses once again, Caye explained.
“ So if people can be kept relatively close to where their homes
are, they don’t go through that,” she
explained.
For Haiti’s children, many of whom
lost parents and their homes, the real-ity
of the catastrophic event may be
difficult to resolve, Caye said. Social
workers can help children deal with the
emotions that even adults find hard to
face, she said.
“ One of the big things we know
is that children look to adults in terms
of how they should respond to a situation, especially younger kids,”
she explained. “ But if there has been a significant loss, we know that
sometimes adults can try and act like they’re not upset or try to shield
a child from that loss. And in some instances, that’s not very help-ful
because it can give kids the impression that they’re not allowed to
grieve or to get angry.”
Social workers can assist parents with interpreting cues from their
children, including depression that may initially mask itself as moodi-ness,
irritability or rebelliousness, Caye said.
“ Understanding a child’s development — where kids are and what
that means to them cognitively, emotionally and physically — is so
critical when you’re doing this ( type of emergency aid),” Caye added.
“ You have to be able to connect with where that kid is, not where you
are.”
Social workers will play important role in Haiti
relief efforts By Susan White
Joanne Caye
Continued on p. 23
22 Contact | UNC School of Social Work
U NC School of Social Work assistant professor Michal Grin-stein-
Weiss, Ph. D. is leading a new initiative to implement
child development accounts ( CDAs) in Israel. In March, she
traveled to Israel for three days of meetings with Israeli government
officials and United States experts on asset building.
Grinstein- Weiss, who is from Israel, and her
team presented a proposal for an Israeli national
CDA policy and a demonstration project to test
the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing
a CDA program building on the child allowance
structure and education system.
The feedback from Minister Isaac Herzog
and the Directors General was very positive. The
Israelis decided to form a steering committee for
CDAs in Israel to move the proposal forward,
which will include Grinstein- Weiss and her team.
The following week Minister Herzog released details about the
proposal to the public. The Marker, an Israeli daily newspaper, pub-lished
an article entitled, “ Herzog’s revolutionary proposal: Long- term
savings in child benefit.” The article covers the specifics of the pro-posed
long- term child development accounts and states that Herzog is
determined to champion this effort.
Meeting participants, pictured left to right, included: Esther
Dominissini, Director General of the Israeli National Insurance In-stitute;
Michael Sherraden, Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor and the
founding director of the Center for Social Development at Washington
University; Isaac Herzog, Israeli Minister of Social Affairs and Services;
Mark Iwry, Senior Adviser to the Secretary of the Treasury and Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Retirement and Health Policy in the U. S.
Department of the Treasury; Ray Boshara, Vice President and Senior
Research Fellow at the New America Foundation; Michal Grinstein-
Weiss; Nachum Itzkovitz, Director General of the Ministry of Social
Affairs and Services; Daniel Gottlieb, Deputy Director General,
Research and Planning National Insurance Institute. Kneeling: Yekutiel
Sabah, Head of Research and Planning Division at the Israeli Ministry
of Social Affairs and Services.
Grinstein- Weiss leads effort to implement child
development accounts in Israel By Michelle Rogers
Michal
Grinstein- Weiss
T he UNC School of Social Work held its annual commencement
on May 8. Over 1,000 people packed Memorial Hall to cel-ebrate
about 120 MSW and three doctoral students receiving
diplomas.
The speaker was community activist Marisol Jimenez McGee,
MSW ‘ 03. Erica Dunkle, MSW ‘ 10, gave a touching tribute in song to
the late Dr. Gary Shaffer.
In a presentation by Dean Jack Richman, JoAnn McCachern
Swart, MSW ‘ 78, and the late Myrna Miller Wellons, MSW ‘ 96, were
honored as winners of the 2010 Distinguished Alumni Award.
The students recognized Melissa Grady as Overall Outstanding
Professor; Mat Despard, Most Innovative Teacher; Marilyn Ghezzi,
Most Supportive Faculty Member; and Beth Sauer, Most Supportive
Staff Member. Shenyang Guo was honored by doctoral students.
School holds 89th annual commencement
Kristie Diehn and Matthew Duncan
See our graduation photo gallery online at:
www. flickr. com/ photos/ unc_ school_ of_ social_ work
By Michelle Rogers
Contact | UNC School of Social Work 23
The proposed health clinic that Despard was helping to write a
grant for would be based on the community- care model pioneered by
the humanitarian organization, Partners in Health.
“ A cornerstone of their model is they hire local people to act
as community health workers and train them to do things like take
daily anti- retroviral medications to people where they are living and
monitor them to make sure they are taking them correctly,” Despard
explained. “ They provide outreach to let people know about the clinic
that is available and education about different diseases and how to
prevent them.”
Chowa’s part of the project focused on educating and training
some of Lamardelle’s young single mothers in the business of micro-enterprise.
Many of the women are extremely poor and have five
or six children, most of whom are malnourished, Chowa said. Her
proposal explored the potential of bringing women together with dif-ferent
strengths and talents to operate and own shares in a business,
enabling them to fiscally capitalize on their collective efforts.
But Chowa was also interested in how such a business venture
and the revenue the women hopefully would earn would affect their
children’s health.
“ With five or six children, can you imagine the impact if you just
make the mother economically stable? The children can then have
health care and money to go to school,” she said.
Despard and Chowa hope that they can eventually pick these
projects back up. In the meantime, they’re eager to help the Haitian
organizations where they can and expect the School of Social Work’s
reach into Haiti to continue.
“ I was interested in Haiti before the earthquake,” Despard said.
“ The questions have always been in my mind … When might there
be opportunities to do research in a way that’s really helpful and not
exploitive? The big question is how can we help but embedded in that
is being accountable to what the Haitians want.”
Mat Despard, a School of Social Work clinical assistant professor,
blogs on “ All Things Nonprofit” and “ Macro Social Work.”
Despard sees a functional purpose in using blogs for “ content
management and connecting people to ideas and perspectives,” and
generally uses his sites to assist students on classroom discussions
as well as others interested in philanthropy. After Haiti’s devastat-ing
earthquake in January, Despard turned to his nonprofit blog as a
space for sharing his knowledge of the country and his personal expe-riences
working with an organization there that cares for children.
Scheyett and others agree their initial hesitancy stemmed from
the unconventional way that social media requires people to com-municate.
“ I think a part of it is that social work, probably more than
any other profession, is about interpersonal relationships,” Scheyett
explained. “ Being able to conceptualize an interpersonal virtual
relationship is kind of challenging. So I think social workers might be
a little more hesitant than other academics. That personal connection
just isn’t there as much. It’s not how we communicate.”
Yet globally, the Internet and social media are forcing a culture
shift over how communication occurs, who participates and what
information is spread.
As a self- proclaimed technology geek, Macy eagerly praises social
media for the advantages she thinks it affords. For example, Facebook,
Twitter and blogs enable her to receive more immediate feedback on
her research, she said. They also let her explore others’ thoughts for
preventing physical, psychological and sexual violence. With just a
few mouse clicks, Macy can tap into the brainpower of people and
experts she probably would never have another chance of meeting.
And as she noted in her first blog posting in November 2008, the
opportunity for such back and forth dialog may lead to new ideas for
social change.
“ I have come to realize that finding the best ways to help violence
survivors and … [ preventing] violence require creativity and innova-tion,”
Macy said. “ And I believe that creativity and innovation do
not occur in isolation. Creative and innovative solutions develop in
conversations with others.”
Social work meets social media, continued from p. 17 Faculty members help Haitian agency, continued from p. 21
wen, who is working in elementary schools on assessment and match-ing
kids’ needs to evidenced- based programs. We have Matt Howard’s
work in the field of substance abuse.
“ Almost everywhere you look now, you find people who are leading
scholars, not just in North Carolina, but in the country.”
Support for these scholars has grown exponentially, largely because
of generous gifts from donors who value the importance of social work
research. In 2004, the School received a $ 1.2 million gift to recruit and
retain faculty from former social worker Miriam McFadden, a Tennes-see
resident and member of the School’s board of advisors.
Three years later, Sam and Betsy Reeves of Fresno, Calif. donated
$ 1 million to establish the Sandra Reeves Spears and John B. Turner
Distinguished Professorship. In 2008, the Armfield- Reeves Innova-tions
Fund was created to provide pilot funding for faculty and student
research. The fund was developed with a $ 333,000 gift from the Reeves
and a $ 250,000 gift from Janie and Billy Armfield of Richmond, Va.
That same year, alumna Mel Adair ( MSW, ’ 76) established a
charitable gift annuity with the UNC Foundation, directing nearly
$ 1.4 million to the School of Social Work, one of the largest gifts in the
School’s history. Adair’s gift created a $ 1 million endowment for the
Johnson- Howard- Adair Distinguished Professorship, bringing the total
number of endowed professorships at the School to eight.
“ Private funding has greatly enhanced our ability to conduct in-novative
research and outreach by enabling us to attract and retain top
faculty and students and to support them in their work,” said Mary
Beth Hernandez, the School’s associate dean for advancement.
Today, with 28 tenured and tenured- track faculty members as well
as more than 50 clinical and research faculty, the School continues to
make new contributions to the social work field, including studies that
address HIV prevention, domestic violence, children with disabilities
and homelessness. Collectively, the school’s faculty members bring in
more than $ 15 million annually in state, federal and foundation fund-ing
to support research and training initiatives.
A few scholars, such as Gina Chowa, are even helping to expand
the School’s reach internationally. Chowa, whose research focuses
on the impact of asset building interventions in Sub- Saharan Africa,
hopes the School will strengthen its ties to international research over
the next 10 years.
“ What happens globally affects what happens here,” she said. “ And
if you look at what is developing internationally, social work has a big
role to play.”
Hiring creative people who have ingenious ideas will continue to
determine the School’s long- term research success, Fraser added.
“ It will depend upon the people who stay and how committed they
are to reforming social work,” he said. “ The crucial question is what is
it we’re trying to do? We’re trying to change the image of social work.
We’re trying to make social work the go- to profession for social justice,
for the design and development of creative social programs that will
solve social problems. This is where the action could be, and we have a
wonderful start at it.”
School becomes a research force, continued from p. 9
24 Contact | UNC School of Social Work
Melvarene J. Howard Adair
Scholarship
Christopher Earl Nealy
Jane Hall and William Johnston
Armfield Scholarship
Jennifer Haynes Bates, Darrell Lewis
Coleman, Jr., Tobirus Mozelle Newby,
April Smith Parker
Annie Kizer Bost Award
Martina Battle Baldwin, Danielle
Renee Doyle, Mary Catherine Hartley
Chaney- Jacobs- Preyer Scholarship
Elina Michailovna Alterman, Tara
Elizabeth Hopkins
Robert and Peggy Culbertson
Scholarship
Sharon Webber Davis, Bang Dinh
Duong
William E. and Catherine M.
Cummins Award for Outstanding
School Social Work Practice
Carlie Beth Ewen
Dean’s Research Award
Lindsey Natasha Atkins, Ryan
Franklin Frack, Laura Bibiana
Gonzalez, Laurie Michelle Graham,
Lauren Jacqueline Hart, Madeline
McIntyre Seltman
Martha Sherrill Dunn Scholarship
Martina Battle Baldwin
Bertie Oscar Edwards Scholarship
Christopher Mark de Beer
Joanna Finkelstein Gorham
Scholarship
Lee Enoch Abernathy, Laura Xiomara
Aponte- Hughes, Limor Bachar-
Schwartz, Kindra Maren Clemence,
Moira Patricia Conlon, Solita Ann
Denard, Erica Shane Dunkle, Sarah
Michele Dunsmore, Carlie Beth
Ewen, Ryan Franklin Frack, Kayla
Anne Fuga, Sarah Elizabeth Furman,
Kendra Malia Johnson, Patricia Anne
McGovern, Kate Troxler Mitchell,
Kathryn Colleen Mulvaney, Lindsay
Marie Penny, Alison Leigh Prevost,
Erin Amelia Ridout, Kristen Jane
Russell, Rebecca Lin Spence
Kirsten E. Hewitt Scholarship
Kathryn Boswell Brockett, Sabrina
Alise Jennette
Alan Keith- Lucas Scholarship
Katherine Vogler Bonanno, Shandra
Taneika Chambers, Beth Noel Rupp
Jeffrey Langston Scholarship
Erin Renee Bowman
Meehan Scholarship
Laura Bibiana Gonzalez, Nicole
Doreen Moore
Betsy Rogers Millar Scholarship
Halley Mira Carmack, Elizabeth Aull
Clift, Julie Owen Goldberg, Lizette
Alicia Lopez, Erica TerChera Mayes-
Gordon, Christopher Earl Nealy
Jane Curtis Parker Award
Erin L. Krauss, Lindsey Anne O’Hare
Joan Phillips- Trimmer Scholarship
Regina Shannelle Boone
Ellen E. Power Scholarship
Lee Enoch Abernathy
Thomas Reid Sr. Scholarship
Shandra Taneika Chambers
Kenneth C. Royall, Jr. Scholarship
Shannon Elizabeth Beavin, Anna
Olivia Kirby
Janice Hough Schopler Scholarship
Jenny Bibiana Forero, Jianrong
Zhang
Social Justice Fund Scholarship
Julie Owen Goldberg
Tannenbaum Scholarship
Terronda Lenette Beatty, Sardie
Rochelle Izzard, Kendra Malia
Johnson, Erik Brandon Osborne,
Glenn Robinson, Lauren Amelia
Thompson, Danielle Yvette Whitaker
Kristen Marie TenHarmsel Anderson
Scholarship
Rachel Marie Coots
Smith P. Theimann Scholarship
Elizabeth Aull Clift, Aislinn Eve Jobes
Walsh- Cioffi Scholarship
Kate Troxler Mitchell
Ellen Black Winston Scholarship
Guadalupe Valentina Huitron
2009- 10 MSW Scholarships and Awards
Armfield Reeves Innovation Fund
Carrie Pettus- Davis
Best Graduate Student Oral
Presentation, University Research
Day 2009, UNC
Eric Lee Garland
Center for Development and
Learning Leadership Education in
Neurodevelopmental and Related
Disabilities Fellowship
Sarah Dababnah
Maternal and Child Health
Leadership Consortium Fellowship
Sarah Dababnah
Center for Global Initiatives
Pre- Dissertation Travel Award
Sarah Dababnah
Center for Global Initiatives Pre-
Dissertation Field Research Award
Dari Jigjidsuren
The Council of Nephrology Social
Workers Educational Stipend from
the National Kidney Foundation
Tiffany Renee Washington
Council on Social Work Education
Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Administration Minority
Clinical Training Fellowship
Carmen Michelle Crosby
Council on Social Work Education
National Institute of Mental Health
Fellowship, Minority Fellowship
Program
Sharon Denise Parker
Tasanee Ross Walsh
Duke Child and Family Study
Center Post- Doctoral Fellow
Bridget Elizabeth Weller
Gordon H. DeFriese Career
Development in Aging Research
Award
Susan Kay Fletcher
Fahs- Beck Scholar for Research
and Experimentation from The
New York Community Trust
Carrie Pettus- Davis
Hartford Doctoral Fellowship
Susan Kay Fletcher
Hartford Pre- Dissertation Award
Tiffany Renee Washington
Lovick P. Corn Dissertation
Completion Fellowship
Traci L. Wike
NIH Ruth Kirschstein NRSA post-doctoral
fellowship with the UNC
Program on Integrative Medicine
Eric Lee Garland
Shaver Hitchings Scholarship
Award for Service in the Area of
Alcohol and Drug Addictions,
from The Triangle Community
Foundation
Carrie Pettus- Davis
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.,
Northeast Region Scholarship
Tiffany Renee Washington
Southeast SAS Users Group
2009 Scholar
Keesha Dunbar Benson
Turner Dissertation Fund
Carrie Pettus- Davis
Tashuna Albritton
World Forum Travel Award to
attend the Conference in Belfast,
U. K., from the World Forum
Dari Jigjidsuren
2nd Place for Oral Presentation in
Social Science, University Research
Day 2010
Carrie Pettus- Davis
Travel Award to attend the 2010
Summer Training Workshop on
African American Aging Research
Tiffany Renee Washington
24 2009- 10 Doctoral Student Awards
Contact | UNC School of Social Work By Susan White
A nationally recognized child welfare expert and the architect of
innovative reforms in the fields of child protection and foster
care is bringing his research and professional leadership exper-tise
to the Tar Heel state.
Mark Testa, Ph. D., a professor and director of the Children and
Family Research Center at the School of Social Work at the University
of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, joined UNC- Chapel Hill’s School of
Social Work in January as the first Sandra Reeves Spears and John B.
Turner Distinguished Professor.
“ I am so pleased that Dr. Testa has accepted our offer to join the
faculty,” said School Dean Jack M. Richman. “ Mark is a gifted teacher
and his strengths will greatly enhance our School, the University and
our ability to serve the people of North Carolina.”
Testa said he is equally thrilled to be associated with the School,
which he said he has always considered one of the country’s “ centers
for child welfare research.” He is also eager, he said, to work with
students and share his experiences, including lessons he has learned
over the years in reforming public child welfare systems and increasing
opportunities for children in foster care.
Testa brings to UNC more than 30 years of research and service,
most of which has focused on improving the lives of at- risk children
and families. Perhaps most notable is his work in Illinois, which led to
a significant overhaul of that state’s Department of Children and Fam-ily
Services and ultimately, a model for national legislation.
For years, more Illinois children were removed from homes
and placed in foster care and more cases were assigned to state child
welfare workers than the nation as a whole. The state’s track record,
which included 52,000 in foster care by the late 1990s and caseworkers
managing three times the number of recommended cases, was highly
criticized. The American Civil Liberties Union ( ACLU) pushed for a
major overhaul of the existing federal consent decree, charging that the
system was failing to protect and care for children in state custody.
Testa’s innovative research helped turn the state around. In 1994,
he was appointed Illinois’ research director for the Department of
Children and Family Services. His leadership and policy analysis led
to a federal child welfare demonstration that enabled the state to assist
relatives who were named legal guardians of children formerly under
their foster care. Guardians were given financial subsidies, funding that
had not previously been available to relative caregivers.
The demonstration and its companion legislation helped move
children out of the foster care system more quickly and into perma-nent
homes. According to Illinois’ Children and Family Research
Center, by 2003, the number of children in foster care had dropped
nearly 62 percent to less than 20,000. The results were so successful,
similar demonstrations were replicated in Tennessee and Wisconsin.
Congress acted on the findings from these demonstrations and created
the kinship guardianship assistance program as part of the “ Fostering
Connections” Act that was signed into federal law last year.
Testa recently completed a book, Fostering Accountability ( Oxford
University Press), with John Poertner on the reform experiences in
Illinois. He hopes the lessons learned will also form the backbone for
a collaborative research project at UNC. Policymakers and academics
in Illinois, Maryland, and North Carolina will have the opportunity
to work with UNC School of Social Work faculty, including research
associate professor Dean Duncan, on how to further improve child
welfare and child practice, Testa said.
The new professor will remain actively involved in other states.
Testa, who is helping states to adapt to the new national foster care
legislation, was recently named as the independent verification agent
under a federal consent decree for Baltimore’s child welfare system. For
more than 20 years, the Maryland city has been under federal court
oversight to improve services and care for children in state custody.
Testa will ensure the city system follows required standards.
With Testa’s arrival to UNC, Richman has also approved for the
School of Social Work to be included among a list of national agencies
affiliated with the Fostering Connections Resource Center. This center,
which spawned from the federal foster care law, offers states access to
data, training information and research experts.
“ I think it’s good for us in that it highlights ( the School) as a
resource, and it creates opportunities for our doctoral students and
faculty to engage in some pretty interesting and new child welfare
work,” Testa said.
Testa has been widely honored over the years for his academic and
professional achievements. He is the recipient of the U. S. Department
of Health and Human Services’ Adoption 2002 Excellence Award for
Applied Scholarship and Research on kinship care and permanence. In
2004, he received the Blue Bow Award for research and leadership in
improving systems of care for children from the Children’s Home and
Aid Society of Illinois, and in 2006, he was nominated by Sen. Dick
Durbin, D- Illinois, and received the Angel in Adoption Award from
the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute.
Long- term, Testa hopes to help the School engage in an even more
active role, locally and nationally, in child welfare reform efforts. One
of his goals is to establish a policy institute from which an education
and training program would be created to merge the best in foster care
research with the best in foster care practices.
“ We have to become smarter in how we serve families and rec-ognize
when child welfare should be more of a support system rather
than one that disrupts lives by needlessly removing children into foster
care,” he said. “ We also need to use the research and knowledge within
the university system to improve the quality of policy and practice.”
Such efforts, Testa said, could offer some real solutions to North
Carolina and other public child welfare systems.
“ The challenge is to improve the evidence base for what works best
in each of these systems and translate the knowledge into more effec-tive
policies and practices for children and families in North Carolina
and across the nation as a whole,” Testa said.
Child welfare expert Mark Testa joins the School
as distinguished professor
Mark Testa
Contact | UNC School of Social Work 25
26 Contact | UNC School of Social Work
Faculty spotlight
By Michelle Rogers
Deborah Barrett
Barrett had two articles published in Fibromyalgia Aware
magazine, entitled “ Caring for Kids — and Yourself ”
( Fall 2009) and “ Steering Clear of Scams” ( Winter 2010).
Betsy Bledsoe
Bledsoe was named a BIRCWH (“ Building Interdisci-plinary
Research Careers in Women’s Health”) Scholar
for 2009- 12. An NIH- funded program, BIRCWH sup-ports
career development of junior faculty members who
are commencing research relevant to women’s health.
Bledsoe was awarded a $ 2,000 grant for her project, “ Per-ceptions
of Breastfeeding Success in Depressed and Non- Depressed
Mothers.” The study will run through March 31, 2011. Funding was
provided by the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences
Institute ( TraCS) at UNC.
Bledsoe is a collaborator with a UNC group on a project looking
at the relationship between perinatal depression and breastfeeding.
The $ 50,000 study, “ Neuroendocrine Pathophysiology in Postpartum
Depression and Lactation Failure,” is funded through TraCS.
Bledsoe was selected for a 2010 NCDEU New Investigator Award.
NCDEU is a meeting that focuses on new research approaches for
mental health interventions, and is co- sponsored by the National
Institute of Mental Health and the American Society of Clinical Psy-chopharmacology.
It will be held in June 2010 in Boca Raton, Fla. The
award entitles her to participate in a closed full- day educational work-shop.
She will also present a poster, “ Treating Perinatal Depression
in Low- Income Adolescents: Results from a Pilot Feasibility Study of
Culturally Relevant, Brief Interpersonal Psychotherapy.” Two master’s
students ( Anne- Marie Olarte, 1st Year; Abby Zeveloff, 2nd Year) and
alumna Amy Sommer, MSW ‘ 04, are coauthors on the poster.
Gary Bowen
Bowen, Kenan Distinguished Professor, was a fea-tured
speaker and panelist at the 2009 RTI Fellows
Symposium: Integrating Basic and Applied Research,
in November. Bowen discussed “ Pathways to School
Persistence” in the section on education opportunity and
achievement.
Bowen was an invited guest speaker at the 2009 Annual Confer-ence
of the National Council on Family Relations in San Francisco. He
served on a panel with Drs. Shelley MacDermid and Dennis Orthner
in a session designed to increase understanding of the factors that
contribute to resilience in military families. Bowen facilitated a special
session at the conference on “ Building Bridges to Support Military and
Veteran Families.”
Bowen spoke to approximately 50 spouses of the Army’s most
senior combat commanders and their command sergeants major on
“ Building Resilient Families through Community Capacity Building.”
The Commander’s Conference was held in November in Atlanta.
Bowen traveled to the Pentagon in Washington, D. C., on Feb.
23, 2010, to deliver a briefing to the Warfighter and Family Program
Managers from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. The brief-ing
was sponsored by the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of
Defense, Military Community and Family Policy. Bowen discussed his
community capacity work that is currently informing intervention and
prevention planning activities in both the Air Force and the Marine
Corps.
Natasha Bowen
Bowen and three doctoral students — Aaron Thompson,
Krysti Webber and Kate Wegmann — spent the first
four days of June 2009 in North Hampton County teach-ing
students at KIPP Pride High School about mental
health, research methods and how to play acoustic gui-tar.
Although KIPP Pride High is a public charter school
in a rural, economically depressed part of North Carolina, 100% of its
graduating seniors are going to college in the fall.
Bowen was invited by the lead school social worker in Wake
County Public School System to serve on the WCPSS School Social
Work Advisory Council. As an advisor, she will help school social
workers in the school district evaluate their practices and show their
impact on student success.
Bowen was also invited by the superintendent of the Chapel
Hill- Carrboro City School district to serve on the Community Ac-tion
Committee for the Success of all Students. The goal of this new
committee is to involve the community in raising the achievement of
African- American, Latino and economically disadvantaged students.
Bowen and Joelle Powers were invited to present on their project
in the Chapel Hill- Carrboro City School district at the Triangle Donors
Forum on March 24, 2010. Bowen and Powers are directing a three-year
longitudinal study at four North Carolina elementary schools.
They are looking at how experiences in neighborhoods, schools, fami-lies
and with friends affect learning, and how to help schools develop
interventions to improve student achievement. The information is col-lected
from students, parents and teachers using an assessment called
the Elementary School Success Profile ( ESSP), created by Bowen.
Iris Carlton- LaNey
Carlton- LaNey participated in the 23rd Women’s His-tory
Month Lecture Series at the University of Texas-
Arlington in March 2009. The theme was “ Life on
the Edge: Women and Hard Times.” She was also the
keynote speaker for the 29th Annual Social Work Educa-tion
Conference at Mississippi Valley State University in
April 2009.
Carlton- LaNey was invited to speak as part of the Summer Lecture
Series at Smith College School of Social Work. She presented “ African
Americans Aging in the Rural South: Stories of Faith, Family and
Community” in July 2009 in Northampton, Mass.
Contact | UNC School of Social Work 27
Joanne Caye
Caye and first- year MSW student Megan Key joined
faculty and students from nursing, physical therapy and
public health on an “ Alternate Spring Break Trip” to
Tyrell County, N. C. in March 2010. The group provided
a health fair in the small community of Alligator with
disaster planning, nutrition items, stress and depres-sion
screenings, exercises, games and other activities. They also helped
some older residents ( referred by Tyrell County DSS), with cooking,
cleaning and yard work.
Mimi Chapman
Chapman was named the Carolina Women’s Center
Faculty Scholar for Fall 2010. Her project will be “ Gang
Affiliation Among Middle School New Immigrant
Latinas in Siler City.” She will investigate the scope of
the problem in the community and develop intervention
models and strategies.
Jodi Flick
Flick is featured in an informative new video on suicide
prevention produced by the Mecklenburg County Health
Department. It is called “ This Will Pass: Suicide Preven-tion.”
The video is available online in the Health Depart-ment
section of the website http:// www. charmeck. org.
Mark Fraser
Fraser, John A. Tate Distinguished Professor for Chil-dren
in Need, presented at the Los Angeles Conference
on Intervention Research in Social Work. The October
2009 conference, hosted by the University of Southern
California School of Social Work’s Hamovitch Center for
Science in the Human Services, in collaboration with the
Institute for Advancement of Social Work Research, provided an arena
for social workers to present their research findings, elaborate on the
importance of research and discuss issues pertinent to the future of
intervention research.
Michal Grinstein- Weiss
Grinstein- Weiss received a $ 145,000 grant from the Ford
Foundation, with Janneke Ratcliffe of UNC’s Center for
Community Capital, for their project “ Learning from
$ aveNYC: Facilitating Savings for Low- Income Work-ers.”
This research project is a collaboration with the
New York City Department of Consumer Affairs’ Office
of Financial Empowerment to evaluate their pilot program aimed at
promoting savings among eligible New Yorkers. $ aveNYC encourages
Earned Income Tax Credit recipients to save a portion of their tax
refund, and leave those funds in savings for at least one full year.
Grinstein- Weiss and doctoral student Pajarita Charles were
awarded one of four nationwide $ 20,000 grants from the National Cen-ter
of Marriage Research for their one- year project, “ Does Homeown-ership
Affect Relationship Stability: Evidence from an Event History
Analysis.” P. I. Grinstein- Weiss’ and Co- P. I. Charles’ paper will address
key questions about the linkages between family instability and well-being.
Grinstein- Weiss received renewal grant awards from the An-nie
E. Casey Foundation ($ 40,000) and the F. B. Heron Foundation
($ 25,000) to support the American Dream Demonstration Wave 4
( ADD4) study, which is testing the long- term effects of individual
development accounts. This study is supported by seven funders and
has raised over $ 1.6 million.
Grinstein- Weiss and Andréa Taylor were awarded a $ 94,638 grant
from the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Admin-istration
for Children and Families ( ACF) as part of the Assets for
Independence Knowledge Development Initiative. The Assets for In-dependence
( AFI) Program, administered by ACF, provides the largest
source of funding for IDAs in the U. S.
Shenyang Guo
Guo was given UNC’s prestigious 2010 Distinguished
Teaching Award for Post- Baccalaureate Instruction. “ The
University Committee on Teaching Awards was greatly
impressed by the abundant evidence they found for your
outstanding contributions to post- baccalaureate teaching
on our campus,” wrote Chancellor Holden Thorp. “ Both
your students and faculty colleagues were enthusiastic in their praise of
your commitment to the highest standards. You have clearly provided
your students with a rich, supportive environment for higher learn-ing
and [ an] exceptionally positive role model for their own careers.”
Award recipients were recognized during a half- time ceremony at the
UNC- GA Tech men’s basketball game in January 2010. In addition,
Guo received an award certificate and $ 5,000 prize at an awards ban-quet
in April.
Guo was promoted to the rank of full professor.
Matthew Howard
Howard, Frank A. Daniels Distinguished Professor for
Human Services Policy Information, was appointed a
member of the National Institute of Health’s ( NIH) Epi-demiology
and Behavior Genetics Study Section.
The Center for Scientific Review of the NIH and the
Italian Ministry of Health, Directorate for Health and
Technologies Research have recently signed a memorandum of under-standing
to collaborate on evaluation of grant applications from Italian
researchers in biomedical fields. Howard was asked to review a portion
of these grants.
Howard presented on inhalant abuse to the Office of National
Drug Control Policy in Washington, D. C. in October 2009. In addi-tion,
Howard was a member of the Epidemiology and Behavior Genet-ics
Grant Review Study Section at the National Institutes of Health on
Oct. 6 and 7.
Howard was asked to review grants for the Italian Ministry of
Health for 2010.
Howard will have a lead article on inhalant abuse published on the
website of the National Institute on Drug Abuse in their journal Addic-tion
Science and Clinical Practice.
Howard was asked to serve on the NIH Epidemiology and Behav-ior
Genetics Study Section for 2010. He was also named regional editor
of the Open Social Science Journal.
Joelle Powers
Powers is the 2010 recipient of the C. Felix Harvey
Award to Advance Institutional Priorities. Given by
UNC’s Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and
Provost, the $ 75,000 award recognizes exemplary faculty
scholarship that reflects one of the University’s top
priorities. This year’s award focuses on engagement and
outreach.
Powers’ proposed project is a pilot test of an urgently needed part-nership
between Durham Public Schools and Durham’s public mental
health provider, The Durham Center. The partnership will include
training staff in one school to recognize mental health problems in
students, creating a school- based referral process, and bringing profes-sional
mental health providers into the school to serve students.
Continued on p. 28
28 Contact | UNC School of Social Work
Jack Richman
Dean Jack Richman presented “ Intervention Research:
Responding to the Gap between Knowledge Building
and Social Work Practice” and “ Intervention Develop-ment:
Data Driven Practice” at the 4th Annual BYU
School of Social Work Conference: Research and Clini-cal
Perspectives in Social Work Practice in Provo, Utah
in October 2009.
Richman, along with Miriam Brodersen, MSW ‘ 07, and Danielle
Swick, Ph. D. ‘ 07, have an article published in the Journal of Social
Work Education, “ Risks and mitigating factors in decisions to accept
students with criminal records.”
Richman was among a group of 35 experts from various social
work higher education, professional association and military back-grounds
who participated in a Washington, D. C., meeting in January
2010 with the Council on Social Work Education ( CSWE). CSWE
has launched an advanced practice in military social work education
initiative to bridge the gap between the number of available prepared
practitioners and the demand for social services with military person-nel
and their families. The initiative will result in an educators’ guide to
advanced social work practice competencies in military social work.
Richman was invited to present at the International Conference
on Social Work Localization, in March 2010 in Shenzhen, China. His
presentation was entitled “ The Role of Government in the Develop-ment
of Social Work Education and Practice in the United States.”
Kathleen Rounds
Rounds and Joanne Caye served on a panel at the 2nd
Annual Training Institute on Trauma- Affected Women,
Children & Families. It was held in June 2009 in New
York City and sponsored by the Association of States and
Territorial Public Health Social Workers. Their panel was
called “ Public Health and Social Work: Academia’s Role
in Educating on Trauma.” Rounds also gave a second presentation on
“ Leadership Programs and MCH ( maternal and child health) Bureau
Resources for Public Health Social Workers.”
Paul Smokowski
Smokowski was asked to review the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention’s blueprint for a national youth
violence prevention initiative.
He was also awarded a highly competitive research
leave for 2010- 11 from the UNC- Chapel Hill Office of
the Provost. He will be writing grant proposals.
Tina Souders
Souders was elected for a three year term to the delegate
assembly of the National Association of Social Workers,
N. C. chapter ( NASW- NC). In addition, Souders deliv-ered
a keynote presentation at the 12th Annual NASW-NC
Clinical Social Work Summer Institute in July 2009,
on “ Terminating Therapeutic Work with Clients.”
Kim Strom- Gottfried
Strom- Gottfried, Smith P. Theimann Distinguished
Professor for Ethics and Professional Practice, trav-eled
to China in October 2009. She was invited to teach
social work assessment and interventions in Shanghai
at the East China University of Science and Technology.
On the same trip, faculty member Katherine Dunlap
and Strom- Gottfried presented on social work practice, interviewing,
and grief and loss at a conference for social work practitioners, field
instructors and students from a variety of agencies in the city.
Sheryl Zimmerman
UNC- Chapel Hill has named Zimmerman a Mary Lily
Kenan Flagler Bingham Distinguished Professor. This
distinguished professorship is one of the most presti-gious
honors the University can bestow upon a faculty
member.
Zimmerman is the director of aging research at the
School of Social Work; director of UNC’s Interdisciplinary Certificate
in Aging; co- director of UNC’s Interdisciplinary Center for Ag-ing
Research; co- director of the Program on Aging, Disability and
Long- Term Care at UNC’s Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services
Research; and an adjunct professor in the Department of Epidemiol-ogy
at the School of Public Health.
Zimmerman’s research has focused on social gerontology, evalua-tion
of practice, psychosocial aspects of health, dementia, hip fractures,
and improving care in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Her
work in the field of residential long- term care for older adults has been
highly influential for policy and practice.
In other news, Zimmerman was a speaker at a November 2009
NASW symposium in Washington, D. C., to launch a new social work
policy institute.
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Contact | UNC School of Social Work 29
Professor Iris Carlton- LaNey,
Ph. D., was awarded the inaugural
Distinguished Achievement in Social
Work Education Award on April 8,
2010, from the National Association
of Black Social Workers ( NABSW).
NABSW wrote the following
about Carlton- LaNey: “ For over 30
years you have served with distinc-tion
as a social work educator. Your
scholarship in the areas of African
American social welfare history and
social gerontology have been vital to
preserving the story of the African
American experience, highlight-ing
the vast mutual aid efforts and
institution building that took place in the Black community, and
providing tangible recommendations for practitioners and schol-ars
to build upon to further culturally competent and effective
practice.”
Carlton- LaNey given national
social work education award
By Michelle Rogers
Iris Carlton- LaNey
Mark Fraser, Ph. D., was inducted
as a Fellow of the American
Academy of Social Work and Welfare.
The organization, established
in 2009, is an honorific society of
distinguished scholars and practitio-ners
dedicated to achieving excellence
in the field of social work and social
welfare through high impact work that
advances social good.
Fraser is the John A. Tate Dis-tinguished
Professor for Children
in Need, and the associate dean for
research, at the UNC School of Social Work. He has authored or
edited nine books and more than 100 journal articles and chapters,
and is the editor- in- chief of the newly- launched Journal of the
Society for Social Work and Research.
The induction event was held at the National Press Club in
Washington, D. C., on April 21, 2010.
Fraser becomes Fellow of the
American Academy of Social
Work and Welfare
By Michelle Rogers
Mark Fraser
Gary L. Shaffer, Ph. D., one of the
state’s leading experts on social
work practice and a staunch advocate
for children who became a recogniz-able
voice against the use of corporal
punishment within North Carolina’s
public schools, died on Sept. 4, 2009.
He was 62.
Shaffer, who dedicated more than
half of his life to the social work field
and to preparing students for social
work practice, joined UNC- Chapel
Hill’s School of Social Work in 1986
as director of the field education pro-gram.
He was later named director of the School’s summer program.
Although he had been battling colon cancer for several years, the
associate professor remained extremely active at UNC and within the
North Carolina community, focusing much of his time and energy
on international social work and the development of the social work
practice within the state’s public schools.
Shaffer is survived by his wife Denise; daughter Lisa; brother Gil
and numerous nieces and nephews.
Faculty member and children’s
advocate Gary Shaffer dies
By Susan White
Gary Shaffer
new books
Professor Shenyang Guo’s book, “ Survival
Analysis,” was published by Oxford University
Press.
Mark Fraser’s book, “ Risk
and Resilience in Childhood:
An Ecological Perspective,”
was published in Japanese by the National
Association of Social Workers Press. Fraser is
the John A. Tate Distinguished Professor for
Children in Need, and the associate dean for
research.
Mark Testa’s book, “ Fostering Accountability:
Using Evidence to Guide and Improve Child
Welfare Policy” was published by Oxford
University Press. Testa is the Spears- Turner
Distinguished Professor.
Marie Weil, Berg- Beach Distinguished
Professor, and emerita faculty member
Dorothy Gamble had a book published
by Columbia University Press, “ Community
Practice Skills: Local to Global Perspectives.”
30 Contact | UNC School of Social Work
M ilitary families struggling to find services for their children
with developmental disabilities will soon have a new net-work
of support.
UNC’s School of Social Work and the Family Support Network at
the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities are developing a
project that aims to connect military families more directly to state and
local resources, activities and services using a “ one- stop” model. The
federal Administration on Developmental Disabilities of the Adminis-tration
on Children and Families is funding the $ 1 million project.
Known as “ Strengthening Military Families with Children Who
Have Developmental Disabilities,” the project is being piloted at Camp
Lejeune and will target Marine Corps service members who live off
base, said Irene Nathan Zipper, a School of Social Work clinical pro-fessor.
Zipper and Gary Bowen, a Kenan Distinguished Professor, are
co- investigators of the five- year project.
Although lower- ranking Marines are usually required to live off
the installation, such arrangements can be challenging for families who
have children with special needs, Zipper and Bowen agreed. Navigat-ing
the military and civilian systems can be intimidating and frustrat-ing,
Zipper added.
“ These are usually the most vulnerable families,” Bowen said.
Through the Strengthening Military Families project, service agen-cies
within the community and the military will work together to give
families one primary place to turn to when they need help and assist
them in quickly identifying available programs and resources, such as
children’s camps and assistive technology.
The project, which expects to serve 20 families in the first year and
60 by the second, began in late September and is currently focusing on
establishing the program and informing families of its availability. Peer
support groups will also be established.
“ Parent- to- Parent support will match families who share common
concerns and common experiences,” Zipper said. “ A family that has
learned to navigate the system can be a real aid to someone who has a
child with developmental disabilities and is new to the system.”
As part of the project, Bowen is also developing a graduate course
that will teach social work students how to work with military service
members and their families. He expects the course to be offered in
spring 2011.
$ 1 million project connects resources to military
families with developmental disabilities
By Susan White
Gary Bowen and Irene Zipper
Contact | UNC School of Social Work 31
W ives of active- duty soldiers are at risk for psychological
problems such as depression, loneliness and burnout, a
study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
has found.
However, spouses are more likely to handle
stress well if they are encouraged to build stronger
relationships with their friends and communities,
and can potentially lower their long- term medi-cal
costs if they receive military support services
— including mental health care — early, the study
concluded.
“ When the military services focus some of
their resources and attention on getting their
families ready for deployments, this clearly pays off in the readiness of
their personnel for duty and can result in fewer emotional and family
problems when they return home,” said UNC School of Social Work
professor, Dennis Orthner, Ph. D. Orthner co- authored the study with
Roderick Rose, a research associate at the school’s Jordan Institute for
Families.
The report is published in the October 2009 issue of the peer-reviewed
journal, Family Relations. The study was commissioned by
the U. S. Army Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command. Or-thner
has been providing research assistance to the Army since 1979.
Orthner said the study’s findings reinforce that on- going efforts to
strengthen military families do work but more preventative programs
are needed to help couples address problems before they become
unmanageable.
“ I think the tendency in any large system is to mobilize a mental
health system in response to a crisis and then allocate to that side
pretty aggressively,” he said. “ What our study points out is that there
really is a need to shift some portion — if not a large portion — of
those dollars to early identification, so that you’re beginning to ID the
risks before they become a crisis.”
The effects of combat tours on the whole family have grabbed
more public attention in recent years because of the U. S.’ s engagement
in two on- going conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and because of the
frequency and length of deployments. Military families repeatedly deal
with constant separation and reunification, forcing moms and dads, for
example, to frequently adjust parental authority.
For their study, Orthner and Rose explored how well Army wives
adjust psychologically when their husbands’ jobs take them away from
their families. Their research was based on data the Army collected
from 8,056 female spouses between September 2004 and January 2005.
About a third of the spouses were “ quite distressed,” and those that
were tended to be younger, have younger children and have longer
periods of separation. Orthner said that was not surprising, consider-ing
the makeup of the Army.
“ It has a high concentration of young couples who are just starting
out their adult lives, and they’re just starting to have kids. So it’s dif-ficult
when a young soldier goes away for 12 to 18 months and leaves a
wife at home with a 2- year- old or a 4- year- old.”
Still, the study found that the risks for psychological troubles are
almost cut in half when spouses receive supportive services from the
military, including relationship skills traini