News
Researcher invited to participate in AARP roundtable because of nationally recognized research with the aging population
The AARP Public Policy Institute has invited KU School of Social Welfare professor Rosemary Chapin to participate in an invitation only AARP Innovation Roundtable: Family Caregivers Providing Complex Chronic Care. The roundtable will be held in early June in Washington DC.
Chapin was invited because of her research that tracked a longitudinal sample of older adults who applied for nursing facility placement but who remained in the community. The sample was tracked over a five-year period. The study measured their community tenure and use of state funded in-home services (such as Medicaid HCBS services). The results have shown that once diverted, older adults can remain safely in the community for long periods of time, often until death, and have helped to demonstrate the cost effectiveness of state funded community based services.
The purpose of the roundtable is to gain a deeper understanding of the complex medical/nursing tasks family caregivers are providing with very little training and what more is needed to support them. The participants will take an analytical look into the lack of family caregivers in current Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation demonstration programs and discuss the value of including them and potential solutions to incorporate them in the future.
Researchers seek to promote positive development in Latino youths
Two University of Kansas professors have landed a grant to address common health concerns and promote positive youth development among urban Latino youth.
Michelle Johnson-Motoyama, assistant professor of social welfare, and Paula Fite, assistant professor of applied behavioral science and psychology, have landed a Strategic Initiative grant from the University of Kansas. The researchers will work with a charter school in the Kansas City area that was founded to address high school dropout rates in the Latino community.
Researchers examine prevalence, challenges of cyberbullying
As long as there have been classrooms, there have been bullies, and teachers have been expected to recognize and stop such behavior. However, the role of teachers in preventing cyberbullying, a means of bullying through electronic devices, is a difficult question to address. In fact, a recent University of Kansas study has shown that when kids collectively perceive their teacher to be effective at controlling bullying in the classroom, rates of cyberbullying may go up.
Anne Williford, assistant professor of social welfare, co-authored the study with L. Christian Elledge, post-doctoral fellow at KU, and Christina Salmivalli of the University of Turku in Finland, along with Todd Little and several KU graduate students. For the study, the authors surveyed students who took part in the KiVa anti-bullying program that originated in Finland and proved very effective. As social media, smart phones and other technologies have increased in popularity and prevalence, using them as a means to bully peers has also grown. And the practice is not as obvious as traditional bullying.
Researcher examining effectiveness of Mental Health First Aid
A new approach to recognizing and helping individuals experiencing mental health distress is steadily gaining in use and popularity worldwide. A University of Kansas researcher is leading efforts to determine the effectiveness of the program, known as Mental Health First Aid.
Mental Health First Aid is a public education program that teaches individuals how to recognize and assist a person in mental health distress and help them access more formal supports, much like medical first aid courses do for physical health problems. It is offered in a variety of settings where individuals have contact with a large representation of the community, including workplace settings, schools, colleges and churches. First developed in Australia in 2000, the program has been adapted for use in 20 countries. It came to the United States in 2008 and is now being taught in nearly every state
Professor offers guidelines for jails to manage mental health populations
Mental illness continues to make headlines in the wake of high-profile
violent criminal incidents, but the intersection of mental illness and criminal
justice, especially in jails, is nothing new. A University of Kansas professor
has published an article and spent a career researching and advising jails
across the country how they can better deal with individuals with mental
illnesses.
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Social Work Day 2013 Registration Now Online
Register today for Social Work Day 2013 “Pulling Together.” Join more than
300 alumni on April 12, 2013 in Lawrence to hear and learn about the latest
developments and therapies in social work today.
Keynote speeches by -
Janis Abrahms Spring, Ph.D., ABPP: “After the Affair: Trauma - and
Forgiveness?”
Sara Kahn, Ph.D., MPH, LCSW: “A View from the Frontlines: Trauma, Burnout and
Mental Health Impacts of Humanitarian Aid Work”
Registration now
online. Remember if you register before March 1, 2013, you receive FREE
parking and a discount on your registration!!
Program designed to prevent re-hospitalization in elderly
By focusing on strengths, a University of Kansas-pioneered program aims to
help high-risk elders reduce instances of re-hospitalization. Based on research
that’s demonstrated a reduction in depressive symptoms for older adults with
chronic illness, program leaders hope it can become a model for hospitals and
communities across the nation.
Rosemary Chapin, professor, and director of the Office of Aging and Long Term
Care at KU’s School of Social Welfare, and Lawrence Memorial Hospital are
partnering on the Peer Support and Wellness for Older Adults Program. The
program will match community volunteers age 55 and older with individuals who
have a chronic disease and have been identified as being at a high risk of being
re-hospitalized after a hospital stay.
View Full Press Release
Social Work Day 2013 Announced
The University of Kansas School of Social Welfare and The Social Work Alumni Society are please to present Social Work Day 2013 on April 12, 2013. This year's theme is “Pulling Together.” The keynote speakers are Janis Abrahms Spring and Sara Kahn. For more information and the full schedule please visit our Social Work Day Web Page. Registration for the event will be online mid January. Remember if you register before March 1, 2013, you receive FREE parking and a discount on your registration!!
Partnership shows 'restorative education' helps at-risk youth succeed in school
A partnership between Kansas Children’s Service League, a private nonprofit social service agency, and University of Kansas researchers has shown that restorative justice helps at-risk youth reach their educational potential while reducing problem behavior.
Kansas Children’s Service League administers the Center for Restorative Education, a Topeka-based center that works with students who are unable to remain in a traditional school setting, and may be at an increased risk for falling behind or dropping out. In 2011, KCSL requested that KU’s Institute for Educational Research and Public Service and School of Social Welfare evaluate the CRE to determine wheter the program was enabling students to meet desired educational goals. The evaluation showed that students increased their grade-point averages by 43 percent, earned 74 percent of the credits they needed to advance to the next grade level and maintained or increased their socio-emotional strengths.
New First Year Fellowships
The KU School of Social Welfare guarantees four years of funding assistance to doctoral students in good standing. To help us with this guarantee, the KU School of Social Welfare is pleased to announce the availability of two new University of Kansas Graduate Studies Fellowships for the Fall 2013 semester.
- One first-year fellowship for a first-year doctoral student
- One first-year fellowship for a first-year underrepresented doctoral student
These two fellowships include a 9 month, $18,000 stipend and Fall/Spring tuition for up to nine credit hours. The School also guarantees 3 additional years of funding, through a GRA, GTA, or combination of the two, contingent on satisfactory performance in the program (see Financial Aid for more information on range of financial aid). The PhD Admissions Committee will establish the award criteria, review applications in early February (application deadline is February 1, 2013), and inform fellowship recipients of their awards in their acceptance letters, to be mailed in mid to late February. (All those admitted will be automatically considered for the fellowships—no separate application is necessary).
KU professor to lead effort to improve social welfare doctoral programs
Accreditation is a standard method of quality assurance in higher education, but it doesn’t reach every department on a given campus. A University of Kansas professor is helping lead an effort to ensure quality standards for social work doctoral programs throughout North America.
Chris Petr, professor of social welfare and chair of the KU School of Social Welfare’s doctoral program, has been appointed to co-chair a task force working to upgrade quality standards and develop new measures of excellence in doctoral education in the field. Kia Bentley, chair of the Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education in social work, selected Petr and Donna Harrington of the University of Maryland to co-chair the task force.
Researchers design system to improve reporting, service at youth psych centers
Researchers at the University of Kansas have developed a performance information system for youth residential psychiatric service centers throughout the state and have found the new method of keeping track of information can help inform practice by giving the service providers information about their own programs. the ability to compare to other programs and help kids.
Steve Kapp, professor of social welfare, and Sur Ah Hahn, April Rand and Jeri Damman, doctoral students at KU, developed the web-based Kansas Result Oriented Management System for psychiatric residential treatment facilities for children and youth. The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services funded the work.
Professors Johnson-Motoyama, Brook, McDonald and PhD student, Yuegi Yan had article accepted by Children and Youth Services Review
"Cost Analysis of the Strengthening Families Program in Reducing Time to Family Reunification among Substance-Affected Families” was accepted for publication in Children and Youth Services Review. KU professors, Michelle Johnson-Motoyama, Jody Brook, Tom McDonald and Ph.D. student, Yuegi Yan, are co-authors on the article.
Researchers land more than $5M to help families affected by substance abuse
When substance abuse necessitates the separation of children from families,
the process of reuniting them while addressing the substance abuse issues is
never easy. Researchers at the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare
have partnered with the states of Oklahoma and Iowa on a series of grants
totaling $5.75 million to evaluate the effectiveness of a system designed to
help case workers reunite children and families affected by substance abuse and
to bring new forms of therapy to the fight.
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Release
FY13 Best Year Yet for External Funding
The School of Social Welfare records indicate that FY13 has been the best year ever in terms of external funding for research and training! ;
Professor Toni Johnson and Kaela Byers' Article Accepted for Publication in Families in Society
"Obtaining Stakehholder Consensus on the Core Components of a Parent Support and Training Model for Parents of Children with Serious Emotional Disturbances" was accepted for publication in Families in Society - The Journal of Contemporary Social Services. KU professor Toni Johnson and Kaela Byers, Ph.D. Student, are co–authors on the article. Both presented the research at the annual SSWR conference last year. Kaela Byers will take the lead on a follow up article.
Professor Johnson-Motoyama and Susana Mariscal Publish Book Chapter
Professor Michelle Johnson-Motoyama and doctoral student, Susana Mariscal, signed contracts for the publication of a book chapter on Latino children and families that will appear in the forthcoming text “Eliminating Racial Disproportionality and Disparities: Multi Systems Culturally Competent Approaches.” The book will be published by Columbia University Press in 2013.
Professor Banerjee and Jeri Damman's Article Accepted for Publication in the Journal of Poverty
“The Capabilities Approach: A Framework to Understand and Enhance TANF
Recipients’ Employability” was accepted for publication in the Journal of
Poverty and will be published in the middle of 2013. KU professor
MahaswetaBanerjee and Jeri Damman, Ph.D. student, are co-authors on the article.
This paper reviews the capabilities approach (Nussbaum, 2001; Sen,1999) to
understand the life circumstances, which affect the employability of
“hard-to-employ” welfare (TANF) recipients. It reports research findings related
to TANF recipients’ employment, and presents key elements of the capabilities
approach. It compares and contrasts functionings that impede and enhance TANF
recipients’ employment. It finds that employability is influenced by seven of
the ten core functioning capabilities identified by Nussbaum. It
recommendssocial workers assess and enhance TANF recipients’ employability by
addressing all these seven functionings as appropriate with particular emphasis
on practical reason, affiliation, and control over environment.
Dr. Banerjee and Damman will be presenting at the CSWE APM Conference on
November 12, 2012. The title of the presentation is “The Capabilities Approach:
A Lens to Assess and Improve TANF Recipients’ Lives.” Damman is the first author
on the presentation.
2012 Margaret Schutz Gordon Lecture Presentation
2012 Margaret Schutz Gordon Lecture, The Changing Geography of Aging Services, Annette Graham, Presenter
Click here to view presentation
KU to offer Master of Social Work program in western Kansas in 2013
The University of Kansas School of Social Welfare has announced it will offer its Advanced Standing Master of Social Work program, titled Western Kansas MSW Program, in western Kansas starting in summer 2013. The program is made possible through a partnership between Fort Hays State University and KU and in cooperation with Garden City Community College.
Professors interview hoarding teams, propose ethical framework for intervention
The TV shows make it look dramatic. A hoarder, someone who has accumulated so many piles of junk and possessions he can barely move in his own home, is nearly buried alive. But the problem is no scripted drama. Real people across the country hoard to the extent they can endanger themselves and public health, but there is no standard approach to help these individuals.
Researchers at the University of Kansas have published a series of articles examining hoarding, multidisciplinary teams that address incidents and ethical ways to approach the problem. Terry Koenig and Richard N. Spano, associate professors; and Rosemary Chapin, professor of social welfare, have published articles in the Journal of Gerontological Social Work and the Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect and are completing another.
“There’s no official agreement on what hoarding is,” Koenig said. “Some argue it’s a facet of obsessive compulsive disorder. Others believe it is a cognitive process problem, and some say it is tied to a traumatic event in a person’s life.”
Study: Welfare system works against some reaching educational goals
During the Great Recession, families of all economic classes have felt the pinch. They have lost incomes and assets, and some families are worse off than others. A new series of reports from researchers at the University of Kansas examines families' economic instability over a 25-year period leading up to the Great Recession, between 1984 and 2009. They ask what predicts families' probability of experiencing economic instability and whether this instability affects children's educational achievement.
A bifurcated welfare system is stacking the deck against lower-income families who experience such financial challenges, often preventing them from achieving the same educational outcomes, the researchers argue.
The reports were written by William Elliott, Terri Friedline, KU assistant professors of social welfare; Ilsung Nam, a postdoctoral fellow at KU; and Devin Fergus, assistant professor at Ohio State University. They were distributed by the Assets and Education Initiative in KU’s School Social Welfare.
"in't I a Person" screening on Sept. 13
The KU School of Social Welfare will be hosting a screening of the documentary "Ain't I a Person" on Thursday, September 13, 2012 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Ecumenical Campus Ministries (1204 Oread Avenue, Lawrence, Kansas).
The focus of this film is the stories of the poor ( and near-poor) about how they manage their lives and families – finding decent housing, finding adequate jobs and pay, dealing with sick children and health problems, finding affordable and quality day care, dealing with the education of their children, getting help when needed – problems that most of us face in this society. How can we have empathy and compassion for the poor without being able to put ourselves into their shoes?
The director of the film, Keith M. Kilty, is Professor Emeritus in the College of Social Work at Ohio State University. He also held a joint appointment with the Department of African American and African Studies. For over thirty years, he has been an active member of the Society for the Study of Social Problems, where he served as Vice President and chaired the Poverty, Class, and Inequality Division. He is also a long-time member (and former Treasurer) of the Social Welfare Action Alliance (a national organization of progressive workers in social welfare). While a faculty member at Ohio State University, he was active with the Ohio State University chapter of the American Association of University Professors, including serving as Vice President, Secretary, and member of the Board. After retiring in June 2007, he began working on a documentary about poverty and inequality, which was filmed largely in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. The goal of the documentary is to put a human face back on poverty after 30 years of conservative efforts to demonize the poor in America. This feature-length documentary, titled “Ain’t I a Person,” was completed in March 2011.
Click here to view the trailer
MSW student Taylor Haun is among this year's honorees in the 2012-13 KU Women of Distinction
Twenty-four current students, faculty members and KU alumnae are among this year’s honorees in the 2012-13 KU Women of Distinction calendar. The annual calendar recognizes women across the KU community for outstanding achievements.
Among the 15 current students and recent graduates, four are recognized for individual achievements, and 11 are recognized among group accomplishments, including advocating for international students and cultures, advancing student achievement, building communities, breaking barriers in STEM fields and leading by example.
A reception celebrating the 2012-2013 Women of Distinction will be from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 22, in the Big XII Room at the Kansas Union.
Taylor Anne Haun, from Olathe, earned her Bachelor of Social Work from KU in 2012 and is currently a graduate student in the School of Social Welfare. Taylor is featured on the calendar in the Leading by Example category. In 2011, she received an Undergraduate Research Award from the KU Honors Program. She is a KU Multicultural Scholar in Social Work. She is a member of the Douglas County AIDS Project board of directors and the Sigma Alpha Lambda national leadership and honors organization.
Toolkit to help those with psychiatric disabilities reach educational goals
All too often, when individuals experience a mental health impairment, it derails their education. Researchers at the Office of Mental Health Research and Training at the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare have released a new iteration of a toolkit designed to help mental health agencies support these individuals in the quest to achieve their educational goals.
The Supported Education Toolkit 3.0 provides measures for mental health agencies to evaluate their programs’ effectiveness, and it offers specific tools for both fidelity reviewers and implementation sites that can be individually tailored to help people who have been hospitalized because of mental health conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or severe depression.
“People in these cases have often had their first psychotic break in late high school or college and had their education put on hold,” said Trevor Manthey, a KU doctoral student and one of the lead developers of the tookit. “Often, just thinking about renewing their education can bring back those negative associations.”
Professor Michelle Johnson-Motoyama Lands Grant to Study, Improve Services for Latino Kids in Child Welfare
Michelle Johnson-Motoyama, assistant professor of social welfare, received a
two-year grant from the Lois and Samuel Silberman Fund of the New York Community
Trust for the project. During the first year she will study newly issued data
regarding Latino children receiving services throughout the nation, and in the
second she will develop curriculum and guidelines for students and practitioners
to help ensure better services.
“The Latino child population is the fastest growing population in the United
States, as far as children go,” Johnson-Motoyama said. “We’ve seen unprecedented
growth in the population overall as well as in child welfare services. It’s very
important to understand how the system is responding. Latinos have been an
understudied group.”
Professor Banerjee Receives JSWE Best Conceptual Article of 2011
Professor Banerjee's article "Social Work Scholars' Representation of Rawls: A Critique," which appeared in the Spring/Summer 2011 issue of the Journal of Social Work Education (JSWE), has been chosen as the JSWE Best Conceptual Article of 2011. Her work was chosen from among all articles published in JSWE in 2011. In choosing the best conceptual article the JSWE Editorial Advisory Board looks for originality of thought, sound or innovative conceptualization of the topic, and conclusions and/or recommendations that significantly to the professional knowledge base and to social work education. JSWE will honor the Best Article Award winners at the Council on Social Work Education 2012 Annual Program Meeting in Washington, DC.
Click here to read full article
KU professor's study calls for establishing savings accounts for all kids
Children who own a savings account early in life are much more likely to have greater financial assets and positive financial habits when they grow older than those who don’t. A University of Kansas professor has authored an article urging policy makers to establish early life accounts for all American children, to ensure kids whose parents don’t have the financial means don’t miss out on a vital piece of financial education.
Terri Friedline, assistant professor of social welfare at KU and a research fellow at the New America Foundation, released the report through the foundation. By ensuring all kids have savings accounts and begin learning about their value early, not only will they have more financial assets as they grow up, but they will hopefully be better-educated and less likely to fall victim to financial problems.
Professor Elliott to speak on the Financing College Success panel on May 31
Financing College Success
Innovations to Promote Readiness, Access, and Completion
While student debt dominates the current headlines, the financial road to college success is built long before debt piles up. It turns out that the financial lives of pre-secondary students significantly impacts college readiness, access, affordability, and degree completion. In the process of gearing up for college and earning a degree, there is a role for savings, loans, public benefits, and financial aid. Since children can perceive college as financially out of reach as early as the 5th grade, the work of increasing post-secondary achievement and meeting our national college completion goals must begin well before they reach the Bursar’s office.
A number of innovative programs are underway to break down barriers to college, get students thinking about higher education from a young age, and meet students's financial needs during their college career. These include efforts to offer savings accounts in primary school, connect them with public benefits and services, and provide access to responsible loans and financial aid. Federal policy efforts should be exploring ways to leverage this work.
What steps can schools, colleges, policymakers, and communities take to support the academic achievement of lower-income students? What policy interventions can build expectations for college success? What tools are or should be available to help students manage their financial lives?
Please join us and a distinguished panel of experts as we investigate these questions and more.
PARTICIPANTS
Featured Speakers
Willie Elliott III
Assistant Professor, School of Social Work
University of Kansas
Kevin Carey
Policy Director
Education Sector
Evelyn Ganzglass
Director, Workforce Development
Center for Law and Social Policy
Reid Cramer
Director, Asset Building Program
New America Foundation
Gift commitment will create scholarship for KU's School of Social Welfare
University of Kansas alumnus Roger Werholtz and his wife, Shirley, have made a $50,000 gift commitment to benefit KU’s School of Social Welfare. Their gift will include $30,000 to establish an endowed scholarship for students majoring in social welfare and $20,000 in unrestricted support for the school. The scholarship will have a preference for students who have an interest in corrections.
“It’s good to have the ability to make the gift,” said Roger Werholtz. “It seems like a small thing in comparison to what I got out of attending KU’s School of Social Welfare.”
Far Above: The Campaign for Kansas
About the Campaign
To enlist the support of alumni and friends – to build capacity and achieve aspirations – KU has launched a $1.2 billion comprehensive fundraising campaign. Far Above: The Campaign for Kansas will advance KU and The University of Kansas Hospital, and benefit every corner of the state. Far Above seeks support to educate future leaders, advance medicine, accelerate discovery and drive economic growth to seize the opportunities of the future.
Major campaign goals include:
Improve student success and expand
opportunities;
Drive discovery, outreach and innovation;
Prepare leaders for Kansas and beyond; and
Emerge as a top-tier research university.
Click here to read the full campaign case statement
A Vision for the School of Social Welfare
Our vision is an audacious one: changing social work practice and social policy to support greater dignity, respect and empowerment for the people and communities served by the social work profession. We challenge our students to think critically and dig deeper to understand the underlying causes and human costs of social problems and to advocate for needed change. We use our research expertise to discover better ways to address critical problems in our communities and to empower organizations that keep our communities responsive to human rights and aspirations.
Campaign Priorities
Increase support for student scholarships, retentioninitiatives and study
abroad classes
Expand doctoral research and support for doctoral students
Invest in the Dean’s Opportunity Fund
Promote research by providing assistantships and support for infrastructure
development
Attract talented scholars by increasing support for endowed and visiting
professorships
Bring research findings to the practice community through lectures and
conferences
Click here to read the full School of Social Welfare case statement
BSW Recognition Ceremony and MSW Hooding Ceremony.
Recognition Ceremony for Bachelor's of Social Welfare
Friday, May 11, 2012
1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The Lied Center
BSW graduates should plan to arrive by noon and will check in on the 2nd Floor of the Lied Center in the Seymour Gallery
Hooding for Master's of Social Work Candidates and Recognition of Doctor of Philosophy Candidates
Friday, May 11, 2012
3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The Lied Center
MSW and PhD graduates should plan to arrive by 2:45 p.m. and will check in on the 2nd Floor of the Lied Center in the Seymour Gallery. Note that the guests will not be admitted into the facility until the previous event has had time to exit.
KU Social Work Day to highlight latest developments, research in the field
About 350 social workers and University of Kansas alumni will gather April 13 in Lawrence to hear and learn about the latest developments and therapies in social work. Social Work Day is an all-day program at the Kansas Union. The day consists of two keynote speakers, Marsha Martin, director of Get Screened Oakland, and Kevin Bomhoff, licensed master social worker in community and organizational development at Wichita State University Center for Community Support and Research, as well as eight workshops provided by KU faculty.
KU to Host Experts on Developing Assets, Reducing College Debt for Students
As total student debt has surpassed credit card debt and tuition has risen across the United States, President Barack Obama and many others have called for plans to keep college affordable. The University of Kansas will host a symposium to discuss ways of establishing assets early in students’ lives as a way to avoid devastating student debt and help more young people reach college.
The Assets and Education Research Symposium, March 29 and 30 at KU, will feature some of the world’s most influential researchers in the fields of assets, higher education and social welfare.
Discounted Tuition and Extended MSW Application Deadline
We are excited to announce that the Kansas Board of Regents approved a revised tuition waiver program that cuts KU Edwards Campus tuition rates for Missouri residents in Bates, Buchanan, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Henry, Jackson,Johnson, Lafayette, Platte and Ray counties. For both BSW and MSW 2012 applications, the new MetroKC tuition waiver will allow Missouri residents in these 11 counties to be eligible for the same resident tuition rate that Kansas students pay for classes at the KU Edwards Campus. In addition to the discounted tuition, the Regents’ also lifted a restriction limiting the reduced tuition to only six credit hours per semester and made the MetroKC tuition waiver available to non-degree seeking students.
In light of these new developments, the KU School of Social Welfare has decided to extend its deadlines for both the advanced standing and traditional MSW programs for residents of these counties only. The new deadline for these residents will be extended to Friday, March 16, 2012.
The 2+2
Bachelor of Social Work degree-completion program application deadline has
not changed and is still due June 1, 2012.
Click
here to apply to the BSW program
Click here to apply to the MSW program
View Full Press Release
Study Shows Inmate Re-entry Programs Not Evaluated Optimally
A recent study shows a government-funded program designed to help prisoners re-enter society and avoid returning to prison did not produce better results for those in the program when compared to those not taking part in the program. But a University of Kansas professor argues that it is not accurate to call such programs a failure and that those most interested in their outcomes are not asking the right questions to truly evaluate their effectiveness.
Margaret Severson, professor of social welfare at KU, co-authored “Prisoner Reentry Programming: Who Recidivates and When?” published in the Journal of Offender Rehabilitation. The article, co-written by Kimberly Bruns, project coordinator, and Christopher Veeh, a graduate of KU’s School of Social Welfare and now a doctoral student at the University of Denver; and Jae Hoon Lee of the KU Center for Research Methods and Data Analysis, summarized a multi-year analysis of a prisoner re-entry program in Kansas. The study followed participants released from prison into one of three county-based re-entry programs and saw how many individuals had returned to prison 12, 18 and 24 months after release to the community. The numbers were evaluated against a comparison group of released offenders who did not take part in the re-entry program.
To Limit Debt, Promote Savings
Student loan debt was a problem long before Occupy Wall Street protesters added it to their list of grievances. The recession hit the younger end of the workforce particularly hard: the combination of a jobless recovery, rising tuition bills and mounting debt have become a crushing burden. Total student debt today is approaching one trillion dollars — exceeding the balance due on credit cards — and is second only to mortgage debt in American households. In fact, it's the only class of debt in which defaults are increasing. Given the state of the economy, much of this debt will never be repaid. It will remain an albatross weighing down an entire generation.
It's time to look ahead to a new paradigm, in which student loans are not the
only answer. Let's consider the power of savings. Currently, we know scores of
students never make it to college because they perceive it as financially out of
reach. Others bail when they realize the debt burden will be too high. The cost
proportionality of getting an education compared to the amount of borrowing
necessary to finance it is way out of line. Students need a way to finance
college without compromising their future financial well-being. Beyond efforts
to limit tuition growth and create affordable educational options, there are
significant advantages for placing a greater emphasis on savings.
Click here to read full article
Ideas for Refining Children's Savings Account Proposals
On January 26, 2012, the New America Foundation and the Center for Social Development at Washington in St. Louis (CSD) released the final paper in the four-part series "Creating a Financial Stake in College." This series of reports presents evidence from a set of empirical studies conducted by William Elliott III, an assistant professor in the KU School of Social Welfare, and colleagues on children’s savings research, with an emphasis on low-income children, relevant to large-scale policy proposals.
The fourth report suggests that Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs) are a type of formal institution designed to alter children’s savings and educational behaviors. Specifically, CSAs have the potential to serve as a policy vehicle to allocate resources (intellectual and material) to low- and moderate-income children so that they can compete in the 21st century. In today’s highly technical, specialized, global world, effort and ability are no longer enough for low-income families to lift themselves out of poverty. Access to high-quality institutions and the resources they provide are critical to being able to compete. Beginning in the 1990s, CSAs were proposed as a way to create an inclusive and accessible opportunity for lifelong savings and asset building. CSAs have been discussed as a potentially novel and promising asset approach for helping children think about their future and prepare for college.
Click here to
read the entire report.
Report I in the series, Why Policymakers Should Care about Children's Savings,
is available here.
Report II in the series, Does Structural Inequality Begin with a Bank Account?
is available here.
Report III in the series, We Save, We Go to College, is available
here.
Professor Chris Petr appointed co-chair of the Task Force on 2013 GADE Quality Guideline
Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education (GADE) produces the document
titled "Guidelines for Quality in Social Work Doctoral Programs." This document
outlines the recommended requirements for doctoral programs in social work and
social welfare. It was prepared to assist faculty and academic administrators in
reviewing and designing doctoral programs in social work.
The new chair elect of GADE, Kia Bentley, released the following statement to
GADE members on January 11, 2012.
"The consensus among our members and our colleagues in other social work
organizations is that GADE should continue to be about quality in doctoral
education. One key mechanism for the expression of that is the publication of
our GADE Guidelines for Quality in Doctoral Education. However these are now
almost ten years old. I am pleased to share with you that I have taken the
liberty in my role as Chair-elect of appointing Chris
Petr (Kansas) and Donna Harrington (Maryland) as co-chairs of a new Task
Force on 2013 GADE Quality Guideline. I am thrilled that scholars and teachers
of this caliber have enthusiastically agreed to take on this important task.
Later this Spring, they will be soliciting volunteers for a small, select group
of GADE members to examine the current Guidelines and propose revisions ready
for final approval at the GADE 2013 conference here in Richmond. That gives them
a year to complete their work. They will design and implement an inclusive
process that finds ways to honor our colleagues work that came before and yet
brings a fresh, forward-looking perspective to the meaning of quality in
doctoral education."
Two KU Graduate Studies Fellowships Available – Apply by Feb. 1
The KU School of Social Welfare is pleased to announce the availability of two new University of Kansas Graduate Studies Fellowships for the Fall 2012 semester.
One first-year fellowship for a first-year doctoral
student
One first-year fellowship for a first-year
underrepresented doctoral student
These two fellowships include an $18,000 stipend and Fall/Spring tuition for up to nine credit hours. The PhD Admissions Committee will establish the award criteria, review applications in early February (application deadline is February 1, 2012), and inform fellowship recipients of their awards in their acceptance letters, to be mailed in mid to late February. (All those admitted will be automatically considered for the fellowships—no separate application is necessary).
Please click here for complete application information.
Eliminating Structural Barriers to Savings Can Promote College Success
On Jan. 19 , 2012, the New America Foundation and the Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis (CSD) released the third of a four-part series of reports "Creating a Financial Stake in College” that focuses on the relationship between children’s savings and improving college success. This series examines: (1) why policymakers should care about savings, (2) the relationship between inequality and bank account ownership, (3) the connections between savings and college attendance, and (4) recommendations to refine children’s savings account proposals. This series of reports presents evidence from a set of empirical studies conducted by Professor William Elliott III and colleagues on children’s savings research, with an emphasis on low-income children, relevant to large-scale policy proposals.
Report III presents additional evidence of a link between savings and children’s college progress. College progress is conceptualized here as students being “on course” for achieving the American Dream via the education path. “On course” is operationalized as being enrolled in or having graduated from a two-year or four-year college by age 23. This report offers evidence of the role children’s savings plays in reducing “wilt”. Wilt occurs when children who have not yet graduated from high school, but who expect to graduate from college sometime in the future, are not currently enrolled and have not graduated from college shortly after high school. Thus, these children “wilt” due to lack of resources as a growing plant loses vitality due to lack of sun and water. If children who expect to graduate from college are more likely to actually attend college when they have savings, we can consider financial barriers rather than a lack of desire as a critical barrier in the path to a college degree.
Click here to read the entire report.
Report I in the series, Why Policymakers Should Care about Children's Savings, is available here.
Report II in the series, Does Structural Inequality Begin with a Bank Account? is available here.
Professor Elliott's third report in the "Creating a Financial Stake in College" four-part series
On Jan. 12, 2012, the New America Foundation and the Center for Social
Development at Washington University in St. Louis (CSD) released the second of a
four-part series of reports "Creating a Financial Stake in College" that
outlines the vital role that children's savings play in achieving college
success. This series builds on CSD research led by Professor William Elliott III
that shows children who expect to graduate from a four-year college and have a
savings account in their name are about six times more likely to attend college
than similar children without an account, controlling for many other factors.
"Structural factors often prevent low-income families from saving and developing
high levels of economic knowledge, this increases disparities in income, wealth
and mobility, including racial disparities. Changing the frameworks through
which we save can help more Americans to develop high levels of financial
capability and increase college attendance and success," said Elliott, Assistant
Professor in the School of Social Welfare at the University of Kansas, Faculty
Associate at CSD, and a Senior Research Fellow in the Asset Building Program at
the New America Foundation.
In this report
"Does Structural Inequality Begin With a Bank Account"
Dr. Elliott argues:
- Children in families with higher incomes and greater assets are more likely to have relationships with banks and access to other institutional structures that support savings.
- Children's acquisition of financial knowledge and resources is strongly influenced by their family units and structural factors connected to social class or race. Higher income families build up institutional knowledge and financial literacy to pass across generations, while lower income families do not.
- Racial disparities in income and wealth persist across generations, affecting children's educational prospects, outcomes and future economic mobility. A study of young people ages 18-22 found that white young adults had saved an average of $2,661 while black young adults had saved an average of $1,666.
- Structural changes should be made across institutions to improve low-income children and families' ability to save, including: improved access and information, appropriate incentives, facilitation of saving, increased expectations about college and children's futures, restrictions on uses of saving, and security of saved funds.
Reports in the "Creating a Financial Stake in College" series will be
introduced over the coming weeks. The series includes: Report I: Why
Policymakers Should Care about Children's Savings; Report II: Does
Structural Inequality Begin with a Bank Account; Report III: We Save, We Go
to College; Report IV: Ideas for Refining Children's Savings Accounts Proposals.
The Role of College Savings Accounts in College Success
Assistant professor Willie Elliot was interviewed by Channel 6 News about how
college savings accounts play a pivotal role in life long success.
A New Program to Fight Bullying in School Could be Coming to Kansas
Assistant professor,
Anne Williford, was interviewed by NBC Action News about bringing a new program
to Kansas to help fight bullying in schools. Finland introduced an anti-bullying
program in 2007, and the country has seen dramatic decreases in the number of
bullying incidents since that introduction. Current programs focus solely on the
bullies and the victims. The Finland program not only focusses on the bullies
and the victims, but it also looks at the role bystanders play in motivating the
bully. Williford is working to find funding to support the program and hopes to
test the program in the Lawrence schools next year.
Researchers Tackle Turnover in Child Welfare Staffing
In Kansas, the average child welfare professional stays in the field for two
years, while the average supervisor only stays three years. Researchers at the
University of Kansas are working to find out why turnover is so prevalent in
what can be a challenging, stressful line of work and help stabilize the
workforce, which will help provide better service to families.
Alice Lieberman, professor of social welfare, and Michelle Levy, research
associate at the KU School of Social Welfare, are co-principal investigators of
a five-year, $2.5 million grant from the Children’s Bureau, part of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. Now in its fourth year, the grant has
funded the Kansas Workforce Initiative, an effort to strengthen the child
welfare field within the state and beyond. The project also yielded a report on
factors that drive private child welfare workers to leave the field.
Important Dates for Students Enrolled in Spring 2012 Classes
Thank you for enrolling in classes for the spring 2012 semester at the
University of Kansas. We are very excited for the semester ahead and want to be
sure that you are aware of several important dates.
For all regular spring 2012 semester courses, the REFUND
PERIODS are as follows:
1/16/2012-Last day for 100% refund
1/23/2012-Last day for 90% refund
2/13/2012-Last day for 50% refund
IMPORTANT DATES:
1/23/2012-Last day to enroll/add online
2/06/2012-Last day to cancel a class (not receive a ‘W’ on transcript)
2/13/2012-Last day to add (petition to enroll form)
4/16/2012-Last day to drop/withdraw
IMPORTANT TERMS:
Drop — to disenroll from one course
Withdraw—to disenroll from ALL courses for a semester or term
To officially withdraw, you must go to http://www.withdraw.ku.edu/.
Please go to the Registrar website to see all important enrollment information
and dates for the spring semester: http://www.registrar.ku.edu/~registr/pdf/enrollment/Spring2012Date.pdf.
Professor Elliott Issues Reports Supporting Savings to Help Kids Reach College
A University of Kansas professor has issued the first of four reports outlining the role savings accounts play in college success and urging lawmakers to support creations of such accounts for children early in their lives.
William Elliott III, assistant professor of social welfare at KU, issued the series "Creating a Financial Stake in College" through the New America Foundation and Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis.
"We should recognize the power of savings to influence college attendance and work to create opportunities for more children to succeed in college," Elliott said.
Elliott’s reports provide evidence that saving during childhood is strongly
associated with positive educational outcomes. One example he has found is, when
controlling for race, family income, parents’ education and academic
achievement, students ages 17 to 23 who had childhood savings accounts are more
likely to be enrolled in or graduated from college than peers who did not.
View
Full Press Release
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Assets and Education Symposium March 29 and 30, 2012
The Assets and Education Symposium scheduled for March 29 and 30, 2012, is
hosted by the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare and the Center for
Social Development at Washington University. The symposium is designed to
present new research on assets and education, stimulate thoughtful review and
critique of the research to date, and guide future research efforts in the
field. The topic of assets and education requires an inter-disciplinary
approach, so the event is certain to be intellectually stimulating because of
the involvement of scholars from diverse fields of study. The symposium will
also focus special attention on educational equity, and the potential of assets
to help close the gaps that exist between those who get the education they need
to build fulfilling lives and those who do not. Knowledge developed for and
through this symposium will help guide future studies on the role of assets in
educational outcomes for children and youth, and may be particularly important
for shaping policies and programs designed to increase access to, and success
in, education for low-income and minority children and youth. Click here for
details and registration information.
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Social Work Day Announced
The University of Kansas School of Social Welfare and The Social Work Alumni Society are please to present Social Work Day 2012 on April 13, 2012. This year's theme is “Social Workers Do It All!”. The keynote speakers are Marsha Martin and Kevin Bomhoff. For more information and the full schedule please visit our Social Work Day Web Page. Don’t forget if you register before March 2, 2012, you receive FREE parking and a discount on your registration!!
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Dr. Rosemary Kennedy Chapin to be Honored with 2011 KABC Caring Award
Kansas Advocates for Better Care (KABC), a statewide nonprofit, dedicated to
“Advocating for Quality Long-Term Care,” announced that it will present Dr.
Rosemary Chapin, PhD, MSW with the KABC Caring Award on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011.
“KABC is honoring Dr. Chapin for her remarkable leadership in aging and
long-term care research, practice and policy,” said Margaret Farley, KABC
president. Dr. Chapin will receive the KABC Caring Award at the annual “Stand By
Me” benefit event at SpringHill Suites in Lawrence, Kan. As the third recipient
of the award, Dr. Chapin succeeds former Governor Mark Parkinson (2010) and
former Congressman, Dennis Moore (2009).
The KABC Caring Award recognizes individuals who have led the way toward
achieving quality long term care for elders and persons with disabilities in
Kansas. KABC created the award to honor individuals who have developed
innovative uses of existing resources, established new practices which improved
the quality of care, or who have advocated successfully for measurable
improvement in services for Kansans needing long-term care and support. “Dr.
Chapin is the perfect candidate for the 3rd annual KABC Caring Award as she is a
leader in her field and has made significant contributions to improving the
quality of long term care throughout the state of Kansas. She not only has
contributed through improving best practices, but she has also provided cutting
edge research that has bettered public policies,” said Mitzi E. McFatrich, KABC
executive director.
Dr. Chapin’s work in social gerontology is well recognized across the nation and
internationally. Much of her work has been in research and training to improve
access and services for older adults, including access to mental health
services. Case management is a key part of long term care services, and Dr.
Chapin was one of the early scholars to pioneer a new case management system,
building on a person’s strengths rather than their deficits. Dr. Chapin has
published widely in the areas of long-term care and mental health policy and
practice. Her most recent published work is Social Policy for Effective
Practice: The Strengths Approach in 2011. Currently a professor at the
University of Kansas (KU) School of Social Welfare, Dr. Chapin teaches graduate
level social policy and gerontological social work courses. She also actively
performs state policy research and consultations in the areas of long-term
reimbursement and services for older adults. In addition to being a professor,
Dr. Chapin is also the founding director of the Office of Aging and Long Term
Care (OALTC) at the KU School of Social Welfare. Organized in the mid-1990’s the
OALTC has worked closely with state agencies to improve social service practice
and policy for older adults, especially for low-income elders. Under Dr.
Chapin’s leadership, OALTC provided the Kansas Department of Aging with
successful strategies to serve hard-to-reach older adults throughout Kansas and
produced important new research demonstrating how strategies to keep older
adults in the community, rather than nursing homes, can improve quality of life
and save money.
Student group wins national award
Please join us in congratulating last year’s BSW policy students
Claudia Alterman, Ben Gerrard, Mona Kassim and Amanda Sprague-Brunk., and their
instructor Vicki Arnett. The group was recently notified that they were the
winners of the national “Influencing State Policy” award. The award will
be presented at the 2011 CSWE APM in Atlanta.
These students titled their advocacy project, "The You Don't Speak for Me
Campaign: A Human Rights Advocacy Campaign in opposition to Kansas House Bill
2006". HB 2006 proposed to overturn the undocumented immigrant student in
state tuition law. The BSW students contacted a film student, organized a number
of other college students including KU, ESU and Washburn and, with the
assistance of the film student, made a video regarding the impact on students of
HB 2006. The video was posted on Youtube. The BSW students also
posted an on line petition to gather Kansas registered voter signatures in
opposition to HB 2006. The petition internet site provided a hard copy of
signatures, including comments, for the students to present the petition with
their verbal testimony before the Senate Committee that heard the bill. HB
2006 passed the Kansas House but was defeated in the Senate committee.
There video You Don't Speak for Me is below.
KU Women of Distinction
We are delighted to congratulate Professors Alice Lieberman and Lori Messinger, along with students Susi Mariscal and Jillian Proctor Fitzmorris for their selection as outstanding representatives of KU on next year’s “KU Women of Distinction Calendar.”
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Kudos to our MSW Student Organization
On May 8, 2011, the MSW Group held a charity kickball tournament to raise donations for families battling cancer. Four teams participated in this event and raised $520.00. MSW students who played in the tournament included James Fullagar, Alicia Douglas, Jacob Nelson, and Jody McCready. The winners of the tournament was team Pita Pit, a local Kaw Valley Kickball Team. Kudos to the students involved, especially MSW II Jody McCready who organized the event.
Donations will go to Jayden Souter’s memorial fund, and other agencies that support families fight cancer. Thank you to all the teams that participated, and soon-to-be MSW graduates that participated in the event!
We are pleased to report that we made an estimated $600.00 in donations from the MSW merchandise sales. As mentioned before, this money will be donated to relief efforts in Japan. Thank you everyone for your participation!
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Building Bridges with Kazakhstan: Social Welfare Professor Receives Fulbright Award
Terry Koenig receives prestigious Fulbright Award to teach and do research in Kazakhstan
As a Fulbright scholar to Kazakhstan, Terry Koenig will teach cross-cultural
social policy in the Social Work Department at Eurasian National University in
Astana, the capital city. Through teaching this course, Dr. Koenig hopes to
create a “community of scholars” bound by a common purpose and whose discussions
and social policy planning will continue long after she leaves Kazakhstan. Dr.
Koenig will also conduct a qualitative study that examines the perspectives of
social work students, faculty and other professionals regarding the current and
future development of social work services and social policies in Kazakhstan.
This project advances Koenig’s work on professional ethical decision-making and
Eastern philosophy in that it allows her to closely examine the impact of
diverse cultural norms and values on the development of social work and related
disciplines.
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Doctoral Student Skye Leedahl receives Fellows Award
Skye Leedahl, a GRA in the Office of Aging and Long Term Care & GTA, is one of two doctoral students selected nationwide to receive the Hartford Dissertation Fellows Award. The award includes grants of $25,000 a year for two years to students doing dissertations in gerontological or geriatric social work field, supplemental academic career guidance and mentoring, professional development through institutes held at annual conferences, and cohort building and peer networking among Hartford Doctoral Fellows, Hartford Faculty Scholars, leading gerontologists, and social work educators.
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Terry Koenig Bulding Bridges with Central Asia
Social Welfare Associate Professor Terry Koenig’s Fulbright project began four years ago when she fi rst met several Kazakhstani students at the University of Kansas who were recipients of Kazakhstan’s Bolashak International Scholarship Award.
During the past year and with Russian language translation support from Aisulu Akhmediyarova, a Kazakhstani graduate of KU’s School of Social Welfare, Koenig was also able to develop professional relationships with Kazakhstani faculty members from Eurasian National University in Astana and El-Farabi Kazakh National University in Almaty. Click here to read the full article.
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BSW Student Bekkah Sperry testifying in front of the Kansas Legislature
On March 2nd BSW Student Beckkah Sperry will testify at a committee hearing during KNASW Legislative Day. Her testimony will share her concern about the future of community health centers. Click here to read her prepared statement.
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KU MSW students learning coveted new skills with SWAAP concentration
Lawrence, Kan. – Coordinators of the Master of Social Work program at the University of Kansas have introduced a blended course option for the Social Work Administrative and Advocacy Practice (SWAAP) concentration, allows students to develop rarely offered, crucial macro skills that are in great need among leaders in social work.
Graduates of the SWAAP concentration will have learned a broad set of skills which immediately benefit clients and their diverse communities through effective and informed administrative and advocacy practices for social service agencies. These skills allow SWAAP graduates to make significant impacts on the lives of the clients they serve, especially in today’s economy.
“The social work administration concentration includes a well-rounded curriculum that prepared me to enter the social work field with confidence,” said recent SWAAP alum Tara Carruth, a project coordinator at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
The SWAAP (Social Work Administration and Advocacy Practice) concentration provides social workers with necessary skills for working with larger systems to improve the lives of children, their families and their communities. Advanced training focuses on key areas such as:
Budgets
Grant writing
Program
design and evaluation
Hiring,
recruiting and developing staff
Community
Organizing
The KU School of Social Welfare offers practicum placements at more than 350 agencies, which allows many students to stay near their homes to complete this requirement. The blended course option for all foundation-level and SWAAP concentration courses combines online learning with face-to-face time in the classroom, allowing students to build in-person relationships while limiting trips to campus and maximizing flexibility for those with jobs and family commitments.
Candidates for this program include those who have earned a bachelor’s degree in social work or a related field (psychology, family case management, etc.). Whether you are a recent graduate or an established professional, the SWAAP program will enable you to acquire macro skills essential to the social service field.
“I have found that the program has been of great value to me in helping me develop new insight and direction in the delivery of services,” said recent SWAAP alum Charles Bartlett, a policy and project coordinator at SRS.
KU’s MSW training is recognized as the best in the region, with distinguished faculty and a nationally-renowned program that consistently ranks among the top 10 in the country.
KU Continuing Education delivers high-quality programs to every corner of the globe, providing development and training for working professionals as well as online courses for KU credit and noncredit programs. KU Continuing Education courses are designed by KU faculty and industry experts for excellence, convenience, and flexibility to advance your personal and professional academic goals. Visit www.continuinged.ku.edu/is to check available Independent Study course listings.
The deadline for 2011 applications is February 15, 2011. For further information about the KU School of Social Welfare’s SWAAP program blended-course option, go to www.socwel.ku.edu/blended.
KU researchers study older adults' plans for relocation
Weighing the comforts of home against the promise of simplified life, thousands of older Americans this year made the turbulent decision to move — or not to move.
The findings show that a survey of seniors’ expectations can predict moves and can be used to estimate the need for accessible housing, said Julie F. Sergeant, lead author and assistant director for research at the School of Social Welfare’s Office of Aging and Long-Term Care. The other authors are Rosemary Chapin, professor and director of the Office of Aging and Long-Term Care; and David J. Ekerdt, professor and director of KU’s Gerontology Center. The work was published in October in the Journal of Aging and Health.
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Professor profile Johnny Kim: Focusing on the solution
In a new KU YouTube video, Kim, assistant professor of social welfare, discusses solution-focused brief therapy, how it can be used in schools to help both disruptive students and frustrated teachers and the importance of educating future social workers.
“solution-focused brief therapy is a strengths-based intervention that has really gotten very popular, especially among social workers and mental health professionals,” Kim said. “It’s a different way of working with clients. Usually the typical approach when working with clients in a therapy session is around what we call ‘problem talk.’”
Researchers win $13 million grant to help foster kids in Kansas with mental health challenges
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas School of Social Welfare has earned a five-year, $13.3 million grant from Department of Health & Human Services Administration on Children, Youth and Families to make family life better for children in foster care who have serious emotional disabilities.
The grant is the largest in the history of the School of Social Welfare, and should result in improved outcomes for kids in Kansas as well as new employment in the state.
“This population is in need,” said Tom McDonald, KU professor of social welfare. “Half the kids who enter foster care have serious emotional disabilities. We’re talking about kids with mental health problems that substantially disrupt social, academic, and emotional functioning. They stay longer in foster care and often have many placements because of some of their behaviors.”
McDonald and KU social welfare researchers Stephanie Bryson and Becci Akin, are co-principal investigators for the new grant.
The funds will create a new initiative — the Kansas Intensive Permanency Project — to serve 2,160 Kansas families of children with the most severe mental health and behavioral problems.
Specifically, the grant will provide in-home therapy and resources to these families while their children are in foster care, with the aim of supporting permanent reunification of those families.
“Sometimes, kids’ behavior is so extreme that they present a danger to themselves or others, and it’s no longer possible to maintain the child in the home,” said McDonald. “For example, kids could be running away, setting fires, or being aggressive to other kids in the home.”
McDonald added, “Yet, there’s good evidence that those children can be best cared for in those families of origin if the families themselves get the support they need.”
The foster care system in Kansas has been privatized since 1997. The grant funds will enable the four private nonprofit providers of family reintegration/foster care services in Kansas —Youthville, TFI Family Services Inc., KVC Behavioral HealthCare Kansas Inc. and St. Francis Community Services — to give a range of new resources to families and to hire new staff to work with those families.
“The grant will allow the foster care providers—who are the experts in these cases—to provide families whatever therapeutic or concrete support they may need,” McDonald said. “Funds will help agencies hire dedicated therapists who can work with families intensively. Funds could also help with things like housing, medical care, or daycare for the child that would allow parents to be employed.”
At the same time, the children in foster care will continue to receive treatment and intervention, with the aim of making family reunification possible.
The grant is part of a federal effort to test child-welfare plans and promote effective initiatives nationwide. Nationally, HHS awarded six grants. The grant to the KU School of Social Welfare is the only such grant awarded to a university.
Working in conjunction with the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, the school will coordinate the efforts of Kansas’ four nonprofit providers of foster care services.
“We’ll take a lead role in terms of working with outside consultants, conducting a thorough needs assessment before implementation, and ensuring fidelity to the program intervention,” said McDonald. “We’ll also come up with screening tools to identify families in need earlier in the life of a case. The hope is that we can change the trajectories of kids entering foster care in the future.”
KU's Master of Social Work now offering blended course option, combining face-to-face and online learning
Lawrence, Kan.–Students seeking a Master of Social Work from the University of Kansas’ nationally renowned Social Welfare program now have a new option for taking their courses.
The School of Social Welfare graduate program’s new blended course option will combine face-to-face and online learning for its students, adding the convenience of web-based coursework to one of the top social welfare departments in the country.
The MSW program contains a pair of successive levels of learning built into the curriculum. The “foundation” first-level and “advanced” second-level coursework have each been developed with the new online component that only requires in-classroom attendance one day every other week at either the Lawrence campus on weekdays or at the Edwards Campus in Overland Park on Saturdays.
The new option carries many benefits beyond the web-based curriculum.
The blended course option is being offered for both the clinical and administrative/advocacy practice concentrations. Students also have the option of having practicum placements in more than 350 agencies, usually in the areas in which they live. Students may also apply for an employment-based practicum at their current workplace.
In surveys with students who had taken blended courses at KU, students praised the added flexibility the new option gave them, as well as the online discussion between their classmates.
“This has been a great class format for me with my full-time job,” one student reported. “I really enjoyed and appreciated the interactive discussion blogs and learned a lot from my classmates who have social [work] experience.”
Graduate applications for fall admission to the MSW are accepted beginning in mid-October. Students must be accepted into the MSW program before they can enroll in blended courses. Traditional classroom-based courses are offered in foundation and clinical concentration.
Students interested in the blended course option should visit KU School of Social Welfare’s website at www.socwel.ku.edu/blended. Additional information on blended courses and the KU MSW program is available by contacting Becky Hofer, Director of Admissions: bhofer@ku.edu, 785-864-8956.
Timeline for Fall 2011 Admissions
October 1: Application materials available
October 15: Begin processing applications for summer/fall 2011
January 15: Deadline for Advance Standing applications
February 15: Deadline for MSW applications
School Launches a Facebook Page
I am so happy to see a page for the School of Social Welfare! I have so many good memories of being on campus, the wonderful faculty, and Dean. It gave me such a solid foundation and I am always proud to say that this is where I got my education!
A week ago the school launched a Facebook page. You can find it at http://www.facebook.com/KUSocialWelfare. We hope this provides a place where current students, alumni, faculty, and staff of the School can connect.
KU lands grant to help improve services for Kansas families
Researchers at the University of Kansas have earned a $3 million grant to expand services such as home visits, crisis support and education for families with at-risk children.
The three-year grant is administered by the Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The project funded by the grant, the Generations Project, is a partnership between the Kansas Children’s Service League — the lead agency — and KU’s School of Social Welfare, Institute for Educational Research and Public Service and Center for Research Methods and Data Analysis.
The Kansas Children’s Service League offers a program to those in need called Healthy Families. Alice Lieberman, professor of social welfare and co-principal investigator for the grant, said the award will allow KU researchers to work with the league to enhance services already offered to families and to test the effectiveness of new services. Full Press Release
Research Office announces Awards
Congratulations to Co-Principal Investigators Tom McDonald, Chris Petr, Steve Kapp, Terry Moore and Megan O’Brien! In August they received their FY2011 contract with the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services for their on-going work “Title XIX Medicaid Children’s Mental Health Services.”
Congratulations to Co-Principal Investigators Charlie Rapp, Mark Holter and Rick Goscha! In August they received their FY2011 contract with the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services for their on-going work “Title XIX Medicaid Adult Mental Health Services.”
Congratulations to Leslie Hasche. She has been named a Hartford Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholar by the Gerontological Society of America. The two-year fellowship award is for her research “Measuring and Understanding Organizational Readiness to Adopt Healthy IDEAS.”
Congratulations to Michelle Levy. In August she received an award from the University of Maryland Baltimore to provide training for the “Title IV-E Public Child Welfare Education Program.”
Congratulations to Terry Morre. He has received a one-year addendum from the state of Maine and from TFI, Inc. for onging work related to his ROM Reports System.
Congratulations to Stephanie Bryson. In June she received an award notice from the Reach Foudnation in support of the Youth Success program at Argentine Middle School in Kansas City, KS. In July she received an award notice from The Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City, also in support of the Youth Success program.
Congratulations to Jody Brook and Tom McDonald. In June they received an addendum to their project “Oklahoma Partnership Initiative Local Evaluation,” a subcontract from a federal grant to the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. In August they received a subcontract for year four of the a...bove-mentioned five-year federal grant to Oklahoma.
Congratulations go out to Amy Mendenhall and Tom McDonald. In March they received an award from The Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City for “The Children’s Enhancement Project Assessment.”
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Toni Johnson awarded prestigious Kemper fellowship
The University of Kansas “surprise patrol” has presented Toni K. Johnson, assistant professor of social welfare, with a $7,500 Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence. The Kemper fellowships recognize outstanding teachers and advisers at KU as determined by a seven-member selection committee. Full Press Release
Toni Johnson believes in giving her students real-world experience so they can make social work practice connections from abstract theory. She has taken her classes to the Topeka Correctional Facility to learn from the employees and inmates about the service needs of incarcerated women. “Toni demonstrates a keen interest and ability to infuse her teaching class with both opportunities and encouragement for students to expand their intellectual abilities and critical thinking skills,” according to nomination materials from the School of Social Welfare. On this point, a graduate student writes: “I appreciated Dr. Johnson’s encouragement to ‘be present, participate and take risks.’ ” Johnson has been at KU since 2005 and earned her doctorate in social work from the University of Texas-Austin. She specializes in children’s mental health, especially children of prisoners; implementation and evaluation of skills linked to culturally competent practice; and international social work practice.
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BSW and MSW programs reaccredited by the Council on Social Work Education
BSW and MSW programs reaccredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) for the full eight year cycle, until 2018. At its June 2010 meeting, the Commission on Accreditation (COA) reviewed the Self-Study, the COA Letter of Instructions, the Site Visit Report, and the program's response to the Report as the reaffirmation application for the baccalaureate and master's social work programs at the University of Kansas (KS). The COA voted to reaffirm both programs' accreditation for eight years, ending June 2018.
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KU Alumnus Tom Gregoire appointed Dean at Ohio State
We congratulate KU School of Social Welfare Alumnus Dr. Tom Gregoire who was recently appointed as Dean in the College of Social Work at the Ohio State University. Dr. Gregoire is a graduate of both our MSW (1987) and doctoral programs (1994). Following graduation, Dr. Gregoire joined the faculty at Ohio State. In 2003 he was appointed Associate Dean, and in 2009, he assumed the position of interim dean. This most recent appointment places him in the official dean role.
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Leslie Hasche selected as a Hartford Faculty Scholar
Dr. Leslie Hasche was named as one of six Hartford Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholars nation-wide. The honor was made in recognition of Dr. Hasche’s prior achievements and her potential to make important contributions through her research and teaching in the field of aging. The selection was from a highly competitive field of scholars.
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Holly Nelson Becker appointed to Ukrainian Advisory Board
Associate Professor Holly Nelson-Becker has been appointed to serve on the National Advisory Board Council for Palliative Care in the Ukraine under state administration of Kyiv. The focus of this work is to develop a greater role for social work, multidisciplinary teams, and inclusion of spirituality in provision of outpatient palliative care
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Lori Messinger awarded CSWE Summer Leadership Scholarship
The CSWE Council on Leadership Development (CLD) has awarded a 2010 CSWE Summer Leadership Scholarship Program to Lori Messinger. This program is a joint effort with the Harvard Institutes of Higher Education (HIHE) for the participation of CSWE-recommended members in HIHE summer residential sessions. Up to five scholarships are available for deans, associate deans, directors, program directors, and administrators to participate in the Harvard programs.The Harvard Management Development Program (MDP) is designed for deans, associate deans, program directors, and other administrators, and the Management and Leadership in Education (MLE) is designed for seasoned-administrators.
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Professor Margaret Severson invited to present at UN Women's Conference.
Professor Margaret Severson invited to Present at the UN's 54th Commission on
the Status of Women in New York City in March.
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Dr. Rosemary Chapin invited to be an AARP Visiting Scholar
Aging specialist Dr. Rosemary Chapin has been invited
to be an AARP Visiting Scholar for International Affairs. She will pursue
an interest in how issues of aging and long term care are addressed
internationally, particularly in relation to mental health issues. - 01/04/2010
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KU MSW alumnus Roger Werholtz honored
KU MSW alumnus Roger Werholtz was recently named by the National Association
of State Correctional Administrators as the national Outstanding Director of
Corrections for 2009 - 01/04/2010
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Social Work Day Announced
The University of Kansas School of Social Welfare and The Social Work Alumni
Society is please to present Social Work Day 2010 on April 16, 2010. This
year's them is Building Connections in a Diverse World. The keynote
speakers are Gary Bailey and Dr. Michael owlin. For more information
please visit our Social Work Day Web
Page.
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BSW Student Group raises money for Lawrence Community Shelter
On Monday eceber 14th the BSW Student Group presented a check for $2100, or
so, to the Lawrence Community Shelter . Thanks to all who attended and
participated in the event. I also want to recognize the BSW Student group for
the impressive job of putting this all together. Everyone’s cooperative
effort made this event fun and beneficial to LCS.
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Lori Messinger named CSWE Senior Scholar
Congratulations to Lori Messinger who recently was notified that she was
selected to give the Ron Federico Lecture at the 2010 Association of
Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors annual conference in Atlanta.
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Chris Petr awarded a Major Project Planning Grant from KUCR
Congratulations to Chris Petr. Recently he was awarded a
Major Project Planning Grant from KUCR in the amount of $4,400 to prepare an
application to the Institute of Education Services (IES) for Transition Outcomes
Model Development. This application is a collaborative effort
with Associate Professor Mary Morningstar in Special Education.
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