Human Development & Family Science News
Falk College honored with 2014 Chancellor’s Awards for Public Engagement & Scholarship
The Falk College is pleased to announce that its students representing 21 courses, student organizations, field placements/internships and community efforts, and their faculty-staff advisors, were recognized with 2014 Chancellor’s Awards for Public Engagement and Scholarship (CAPES) during a ceremony April 23. The Chancellor’s Awards for Public Engagement and Scholarship are given each year to Syracuse University students and groups who exemplify the highest ideal of sustained, quality engagement with citizens in our community.
Social work student, Joshua Berman ’14, received a Chancellor’s Citation. He is an active leader serving as a Falk College peer advisor, teaching assistant for the first-year social work gateway course, and co-executive director and board member of Orange Seeds first-year leadership program. He is also active with SU Collegiate Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Mary Ann Shaw Center for Public and Community Service, and Elmcrest Children’s Center.
Over the years, many students indicated the desire to honor special faculty, staff or community partners who have been motivating to them as they made their way into the community. A 2014 Inspiration Award was presented to Bette Brown Thoreck, B.S.S.W. program director.
FST 402—Feeding the City received an honorable mention in the category of Innovation in Academic Achievement. This course investigates the relationship between food systems and cities, including a deliverable item for a community partner. The Falk College received several honors in the category of Legacy Award for Academic Achievement for meaningful and sustained engagement:
Students enrolled in the Department of Child and Family Studies’ internship courses (CFS 433, 493, and 494) were recognized for their service to the community. CFS internships place seniors in social service agencies, schools, and early childhood education facilities throughout Central New York.
Legacy awards were presented to the Department of Public Health, Food Studies and Nutrition for: HTW 307—Culturally Competent Healthcare; HTW 227—Healthy You; HTW 304—Public Health: Community Health Education; HTW 311—Health Literacy and the Genesis Health Project Network; NSD 511—Nutrition Education; NSD 513—Nutrition Education Experience: Orange Wrap, and; NSD 658—Participatory Program Planning. These groups were selected for their on-going, outstanding work in improving the health of others in the University and greater Syracuse community.
Second-year students in the Department of Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) were recognized for the more than 7,500 hours of individual, couple and family therapy provided. TheMFT Transgender Team, one of the largest transgender programs in upstate New York, was honored for providing access to care many clients might not otherwise be able to afford. School of Social Work students enrolled in field placement courses in the BSSW and MSW programs (SWK 435, 445, 671, 672, 771, 772) and SWK 301—Foundations of Social Work Practice received awards for their on-going, outstanding work in improving the quality of life in the greater Syracuse community.
March is Child Life Month
Sophia Hornick, CFS ’12, and Rachel Hannon, child life specialist at Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital, take a closer look at tools, such as books and play items geared toward children, typically used by child life specialists.
A Child Life Specialist (CLS) plays many important roles in the lives of children and families, from offering psychoeducational support for tests, surgeries and other medical procedures to facilitating therapeutic medical play with special dolls, stuffed animals and medical equipment. The month of March is commemorated annually as Child Life Month. From increased educational awareness about the child life profession to informing communities at large about the special needs of families and children undergoing challenging events related to healthcare, Child Life Month provides an opportunity to raise awareness about the essential roles CLS professionals play every day.
The Falk College’s 124-credit bachelor of science degree includes a Child Life Specialist track. It prepares students to help children and their families overcome life’s most challenging events. Providing emotional support for families, Child Life Specialists encourage optimum development of children facing a broad range of challenges, particularly those related to healthcare and hospitalization.
In honor of Child Life Month in later March, Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital will host a teaching day for Falk College students on the child life track of study. This educational forum will provide students an opportunity to learn about emerging themes and trends in the field of child life.
Looking for the ideal place for your child to learn and grow?
Openings are now available at the Bernice M. Wright Child Development Laboratory School(BMW Lab School). Our newly renovated South Campus facility houses four classrooms, large motor areas, therapy spaces, kitchen and specialized curriculum areas, such as an art studio, woodworking room and library. Classes are offered 9 a.m.-noon for toddlers and preschoolers. An extended-day program from either 9 a.m.-1 p.m. or 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. is offered for preschoolers, only. The BMW Lab School offers five-, three- and two-day program options. Serving a diverse group of children and their families, the school is operated by SU’s Falk College, accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and licensed by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services.
CFS Alumna Honored for Advocacy, Commitment to Developing Child Care Professionals
In celebration of The Week of the Young Child April 6-12, Desalyn De-Souza, Ph.D., assistant professor, SUNY Empire State College, will be honored for her community service, advocacy for children’s education, and commitment to training child care professionals with the 2014 Altes Prize on April 8. A 2012 graduate of the Falk College’s Department of Child and Family Studies at Syracuse University, De-Souza dissertation was entitled, “Child Care Center Directors’ Perceptions of Continuity of Care: A Qualitative Investigation.” Her CFS advisor was Dr. Bruce Carter. The Altes Prize is named for retired, long-time vice president for academic affairs at SUNY Empire State College, Jane Altes, and is awarded annually to a member of the college faculty. De-Souza was awarded the Graduate School All University Doctoral Prize in 2012. This prize is awarded to students who have demonstrated originality, contribution to the field, creativity, methodology soundness, and quality of writing in their dissertation.
The Week of the Young Child is an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the world’s largest early childhood education association, with nearly 80,000 members and a network of over 300 local, state, and regional Affiliates. The purpose of the Week of the Young Child™ is to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs. NAEYC first established the Week of the Young Child™ in 1971, recognizing that the early childhood years (birth through age 8) lay the foundation for children’s success in school and later life. The Week of the Young Child™ is a time to plan how we—as citizens of a community, of a state, and of a nation—will better meet the needs of all young children and their families.
Syracuse University – Penn State – Bloomsburg University 5th Annual Mini-Conference on Play, Development and Early Education
April 10-11, 2014 at Bloomsburg University
The 5th Annual Mini-Conference on Play, Early Childhood Development, and Education is sponsored by Bloomsburg University, Department of Curriculum and Instruction and College of Education, The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Curriculum and Instruction and College of Education, and by the Department of Child and Family Studies, Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics. The opening session will be held on April 11, 2013 at the College of Education, Bloomsburg University in Kehr Union, Multipurpose B, starting at 8:30 a.m. The first presentation begins at 9 a.m., and the conference concludes at noon.
This year’s conference, a joint effort by Bloomsburg University’s College of Education, The Pennsylvania State University’s College of Education and The Falk College, Syracuse University, emphasizes the promotion of developmentally and culturally appropriate practices in early childhood development and education by highlighting the interplay among ecological niches, child development, and early education. The conference aims to increase interdisciplinary understanding of the role of family, community, and educational practices in childhood development. In keeping with the mission of promoting children’s safety and optimal development, this year’s topics include: International Festival of Street Games; Teaching Teachers to Play in Early Childhood Education; International Perspectives on Play; Kids Want Play-Friendly Parents and Teachers, and Doctoral Student Research.
Attention CFS Graduate Students: You’re Invited!
We would like to invite all interested CFS graduate students to participate in a monthly Research Colloquium that focuses on SEM. The seminar will include presentations, discussions around readings, and hands-on experience with AMOS software. The seminar will meet the first Friday of the month starting in February 2014 from 1– 2:30 p.m. in the Ostrom classroom. The first topic will be: An Introduction to SEM with Drs. Rachel Razza and Matthew Mulvaney. This event is sponsored by the CFS Graduate Committee and the Student Council on Family Relations (SCFR).
Dr. Jaipaul Roopnarine Named Visiting Professor at M.S. University of Baroda, India
Dr. Jaipaul L. Roopnarine was awarded a Nehru Distinguished Visiting Professorship at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda Gujarat, India, during the Spring 2014 semester. His appointment in the Department of Human Development and Family Science recognizes his distinguished cross-cultural research and perspectives in Early Childhood Care and Education, fathering and family, according to department chair, Dr. Rajalakshmi Sriram.
“We have had many leading scholars visit the department that has resulted in rich exchange of cross cultural perspectives in collaborative work,” notes Sriram. “The appointment is made to eminent scholars from within and outside India for lectures and discussions.”
Roopnarine will continue his work on the links between fathers’ investment in the cognitive, social, cultural, and community life of young children and childhood well-being with an Indian sample. However, the focus will be expanded to include the impact of children on fathers’ health and well-being as well. Dr. Sriram has an interest in father-child relationships and it is hoped that researchers and doctoral students at Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda Gujarat, India and Syracuse University will collaborate on this project.
Dr. Roopnarine is an adjunct professor of teaching and leadership in the School of Education at Syracuse University and a research scientist at the Family Development and Children’s Research Centre at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago.
He served as a consultant to the Roving Caregiver Program, a home-based intervention program implemented in several Caribbean countries to improve the early caregiving environments of young children, and assisted in the revision of the national early childhood curriculum for the government of Guyana. He was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago and also an Indo-U.S.-Subcommission professor of psychology at the University of Delhi, India, minority scholar in residence at The Pennsylvania State University, and held visiting appointments at the University of Wisconsin, Cornell University, The City University of New York, and The University of the West Indies in Jamaica. His research spans father-child relationships across cultures, Caribbean families and childhood outcomes, early childhood education in international perspective, children’s play across cultures, immigrant families and schooling in the U.S. He has authored and co-authored numerous books, chapters and journal publications, including the following recent publications:
Roopnarine, J. L., Krishnakumar, A., Narine, L., Logie, C., & Lape, M. (2013). Relationships between parenting practices and preschoolers’ social skills in African, Indo, and Mixed-ethnic families in Trinidad and Tobago: The mediating role of ethnic socialization. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. doi: 10.1177/0022022113509884.
Roopnarine, J. L., Jin, B., Krishnakumar, A. (2013). Do Guyanese Mothers’ Levels of Warmth Moderate the Association Between Harshness and Justness of Physical Punishment and Preschoolers’ Prosocial Behaviors and Anger? International Journal of Psychology, doi:10.1002/ijop. 12029.
Roopnarine, J. L., & Hossain Z. (2013) African American and African Caribbean fathers. In C. Tamis-LeMonda & N. Cabrera (Eds.). Handbook of father involvement. New York: Routledge.
Roopnarine, J. L. (2013). Fathers in Caribbean cultural communities. In D. Shwalb, B. Shwalb, & M. E. Lamb (Eds.). Fathers in cultural context. New York: Routledge.
Student Council on Family Relations sponsors food drive to benefit Vera House
Non-perishable food donations accepted at campus drop-off locations through Nov. 22
The Student Council on Family Relations (SCFR), a recognized graduate student organization in the Falk College’s Department of Child and Family Studies, is sponsoring a food drive to benefit Vera House. Non-perishable food items, including packaged and canned goods, are being collected at the following Syracuse University campus locations now through Nov. 22:
- Main Entrance, 426 Ostrom Ave.
- Falk College Student Lounge, Third Floor, Sims Hall
SCFR is an established graduate student organization under the direction and advisement of the Department of Child and Family Studies in the Falk College. SCFR is an active student organization dedicated to service, professional/academic and social activities and strives to provide unique opportunities for its graduate student members. SCFR is a student affiliate of the National Council on Family Relations, a professional organization focused on family research, practice and policy.
CFS Student Organizes Clothing Drive for High School Workshop
In preparation for an hour-‐long workshop geared to target students of junior and senior class standing in Fowler Highschool, WCNY and David B. Falk senior and workshop presenter, Chyna A. Fox, are looking to collect new to gently used business professional garments and accessories to coincide with their presentation.
The newly developed Trying on Success workshop has been structured to provide students with valuable appearance-‐related information about how to dress in job and college interviews as well as “on-‐the-‐job”. During this very interactive workshop, students will learn what appropriate business attire is and how to dress for success.
The workshop will feature…
- “What Will You Wear” a hands-‐on game presented by Syracuse University’s Fashion’s Conscience, where students will dress mannequins to demonstrate the differences between business professional versus business casual dress styles
- A business wardrobe photo-‐shoot where students will be given the opportunity to dress up mannequins in donated clothing and have photos taken of the mannequins they personally style in business attire that they can take home with them as a reminder and a reference for dressing for success.
- A raffle where one student will earn the chance to receive a $50 store voucher for 3fifteen Thrift Shop to pick out their very own business professional outfit.
We want to help make sure that students in our community are career and college ready, to encourage them to have successful and prosperous futures. We want them to exude confidence in professional settings and knowing how to dress appropriately in the business world is one way to help build that confidence.
Could you assist us by donating business-‐type clothing items such as shirts, sweaters, ties, slacks, dresses, vests, hosiery and blazers for use in our workshop?
Falk research team partners with Onondaga County to help reduce adolescent involvement in juvenile justice system
Article by George Bain
A Falk College research team is helping Onondaga County identify risk factors that indicate when children and youth will cross over from the child welfare system into the juvenile justice system. The team includes CFS associate professor, Matthew Mulvaney, the project director; Rachel Razza, assistant professor of child and family studies; Nancy Mudrick, professor of social work; Keith Alford, associate professor of social work, and; Carrie Jefferson Smith, director and associate professor of social work. All bring diverse perspectives and areas of expertise to the project. Suzanne Soule, Falk College computer consultant, is developing the database.
Kimberly Raymond, a doctoral student in child and family studies, directs the research at the OnCare site to integrate the information from the various agencies. “She spent a lot of time looking to see what was available and how we can best approach this,” says Mulvaney.
The researchers will integrate data from all agencies involved in the Onondaga County System of Care (OnCare) into a single database. The researchers’ data analysis will help the county improve its services to children, youth, and families.
“This is an opportunity for us to use our research skills in a way that engages with the community and potentially makes a difference,” says Mulvaney. “We want to identify the adolescents before they get involved with the system.”
The effort is part of a national initiative to reduce crossover involvement of children and families receiving mental health services who enter the juvenile justice system, Mulvaney says. OnCare – a federally funded community initiative developing partnerships among various social service agencies serving children and youth to age 21 – contacted Syracuse University seeking research assistance to combine all data systems and identify families at risk. The federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration covers the Falk team’s participation.
“The primary purpose is to utilize data that exists across systems and across agencies,” says Mulvaney. “We are basically dealing with the task of taking information that exists in client records, which originally didn’t have a research purpose, and identifying how we might be able to compile that data into a meaningful dataset and proceed with analyses.”
The project is in its early stages of gathering data from all agencies involved in OnCare. The county received a six-year federal grant in 2009 to coordinate services provided by the departments of mental health, social services, and probation. The researchers’ current database includes 588 families, Mulvaney says.
OnCare’s initial request was broad, he continues. The Falk team came up with the specific research approach. “Our team felt like this is something that is important and that we could bring our expertise to bear on this issue,” says Mulvaney, adding the topic is closely related to their concentrations in child and family studies and social work.
The county’s human service agencies are reorganizing, says OnCare’s director, Linda Lopez. “Many of the children and families are served by more than one component of the service system and we currently have no mechanisms to identify those children so that we can provide a more intensive, coordinated response,” she says.
That’s where the Falk team’s work will pay off.
“The research shows that there is a much higher risk if the family is already receiving mental health services, and we want to identify the specific processes that might be responsible for it,” Mulvaney says.
“This is definitely Scholarship in Action.”
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