Social Work News
Paulina Colon ’17 selected to Dulye Leadership Program
Sixteen Syracuse University juniors and seniors have earned full scholarships to the prestigious 2016 Dulye Leadership Experience (DLE), including social work major, Paulina Colon ’17. Founded by alumna Linda Dulye ’77, the highly selective DLE, now in its ninth year, promotes students’ self-discovery and critical skills building for finding a career that mutually benefits themselves and their employers.
Since the program’s start in 2008, over 100 SU students have participated in the program, with most advancing to a job or internship within three months of attending. Dulye, an internationally recognized leader in workplace communication and engagement whose firm Dulye & Co. pioneered the Spectator-Free Workplace, is passionate about helping students reach their full potential as they prepare for the overwhelming process of graduating, getting a professional job and pursuing their careers.
A record-breaking 186 applications were received for the 2016 program. After a highly selective review process and live interview sessions, these students earned a coveted place in the DLE Class of 2016.
Find Me: Documentary, panel discussion on foster care, adoptions November 21
In honor of National Adoption Day on November 21, the School of Social Work in the Falk College, in conjunction with Families with Children from China, is offering a screening of the documentary film, “Find Me” with an expert panel discussion to follow. The session will be offered as a continuing education course for LMSWs and LCSWs. Many practitioners will, at some point, work with an individual who has been affected by foster care or adoption either directly or indirectly. This course will help develop a framework for understanding the unique needs of children and families from both the national and international perspective.
Participant learning objectives:
- Recognize the importance of Research Informed Practice in foster care and adoptions within the U.S. and around the world.
- Increase competency and awareness in the multiple aspects that affect successful and healthy adoptions.
- Understand the different cultural influences and definitions of foster care, and how foster care is utilized in China.
- Develop stronger assessment skills informing the need to access added supports.
- Increase knowledge of local supports, as well as develop a network of potential providers.
Co-Presenters Include:
Kristin Esposito, LMSW has 17 years of experience working in a local child welfare agency. Ms. Esposito was responsible for teaching, training and supporting professional staff, foster parents and foster care/adoptive workers throughout the region. Her direct work was with children and families who were affected by multiple transitions, issues of attachment and attunement, and the trauma associated with removal from home. She currently teaches both undergraduate and graduate coursework aimed at integrating social work knowledge, theory and practice.
Kay Scott, RN, NP has worked at SUNY Upstate as a Senior Researcher for the Department of Pediatrics ID, Research Foundation and is currently a substitute nurse for the Syracuse City School District. Aside from her professional career, Ms. Scott is a parent of three children, two of which are children adopted from China. Ms. Scott has combined her professional and personal experiences to be a strong advocate on both sides. She is the Regional Co-Chair of Families with Children from China of Central New York (FCC-CNY).
Eric Kingson honored with awards
Professor of social work, Eric R. Kingson, a faculty affiliate in its Aging Studies Institute, was named the 2015 recipient of the Donald P. Kent Award from The Gerontological Society of America (GSA). The award was presented at the 68th Annual Scientific Meeting in November. It is given annually to a GSA member who best exemplifies the highest standards for professional leadership in gerontology through teaching, service, and interpretation of gerontology to the larger society. Also in November, Kingson, along with Nancy Altman, was honored by Encore.org with the 2015 Purpose Prize for outstanding efforts to improve local communities and the world by taking on powerful social-impact projects.
Kingson honored by Encore.org with the 2015 Purpose Prize
Nancy, a lawyer and former faculty member at Harvard’s Kennedy School, and Eric, a professor of social work at Syracuse University, share a four-decade friendship. Both have created encore roles – for Nancy, returning to work after raising her family, and for Eric, channeling his early political activism into the social-policy sphere, focusing on Social Security. Their joint experience and established professional alliance gave rise to a national organization and coalition to preserve and expand Social Security.
Their encore evolutions have been gradual, they say, guided by their early mentors. People like Robert Ball, Wilbur Cohen, and many others proved that late-life activism is one way of giving back – and pressing forward.
To counter well-financed campaigns to undermine and undo Social Security, Nancy and Eric created Social Security Works (SSW) and the Strengthen Social Security Coalition (SSSC), including over 350 organizations – think tanks, unions and groups focused on the rights of women, people with disabilities, the older population, people of color, low-income Americans, veterans, ‘Netroots’ organizations, and others. Together, the coalition they formed represents over 50,000,000 Americans who have been mobilized to sign petitions, write and call Congress – and vote.
- Formed and co-led a diverse coalition and campaign to remove Social Security from the deficit fights that dominated U.S. government policy discussions.
- Established a sustainable organization with wide national reach.
- Developed information, education, lobbying and citizen advocacy campaign, via traditional and new media, that helped to shift the policy discussion and advance ideas about expanding, rather than limiting, Social Security.
Starting in 2010, SSW and SSSC have shaped the policy debate, developing education materials, creating media and legislative strategies, training grassroots leaders and bringing together academics and policy experts. Together with allies in Congress, they forestalled benefit cuts – and promoted the idea that Social Security is a solution. Expanding it could help address a number of challenges, including the looming retirement income crisis, the economic insufficiency many retirees experience, related financial pressures on family caregivers and income inequality.
Eric and Nancy are using their encores to reinforce the essential human values that underpin Social Security – the responsibility to care for others; the value of hard work and fair rewards; dignity; the common good; and a fundamental understanding that we are all connected. “With the SSSC’s broad-based, diverse coalition, we are no longer on the defensive, but instead, advancing the cause. It’s been a sea change,” Eric said. Key to that future is mentoring a number of talented staffers in their 20s and 30s – the next generation of Social Security’s protectors. Eric aims to move the political agenda further as a Congressman; he’s taken a leave from SSW and SSSC to run for office in 2016.
In March 2015, Rep. John Larson (D-Conn), with 54 original cosponsors (and 70 cosponsors by November, 2015), introduced a bill to expand Social Security benefits and restore Social Security to long-range balance. This is just one of more than a half dozen Social Security expansion bills introduced since the SSC was created.
Just as their mentors devoted their “old-age” years to protecting and advancing Social Security, Nancy and Eric are inspired to do likewise. “We are heightening our advocacy with the passage of time – for the sake of our children, grandchildren and all the generations that follow,” said Nancy. “This is our passion, our encore and our legacy.”
Falk College professor of social work Eric Kingson honored with 2015 Donald P. Kent Award from Gerontological Association of America
Eric R. Kingson, MPA, PhD, professor of social work in Falk College at Syracuse University and a faculty affiliate in its Aging Studies Institute, was named the 2015 recipient of the Donald P. Kent Award from The Gerontological Society of America (GSA). The award, which will be presented at the 68th Annual Scientific Meeting November 18-22, is given annually to a GSA member who best exemplifies the highest standards for professional leadership in gerontology through teaching, service, and interpretation of gerontology to the larger society. It was established in 1973 in memory of Donald P. Kent, PhD, for his outstanding leadership in translating research findings into practical use.
“Professor Kingson’s advocacy and leadership to expand Social Security for all generations continues to inspire our students and all who work closely with him,” says Diane Lyden Murphy, dean, Falk College. “As a recipient of the Kent Award, he joins other visionary advocates, such as Dr. Marjorie Cantor whose pioneering scholarship advanced understanding of the lifestyles of older persons. We are grateful to and proud of Dr. Kingson.”
Dr. Kingson is a past chair of the GSA’s Social Research, Policy and Practice Section as well as a fellow within the Society. From 1984 to 1985, he directed GSA’s Emerging Issues in Aging Project, leading to the publication (with Barbara Hirshorn and John C. Cornman) of “Ties that Bind: The Interdependence of Generations” (Seven Locks Press, 1986) and a companion report, “Investing in America’s Families: The Common Bond of Generations” (1986), which was the basis of a hearing by the House of Representatives Special Committee on Aging.
An affiliated researcher with the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, he is co-founder of Social Security Works, which launched and staffs the Strengthen Social Security Coalition that he co-chaired through June 2015. A founding board member of the National Academy of Social Insurance, he served as policy advisor to the 1982-3 National Commission on Social Security Reform and the 1994 Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement and Tax Reform. An active volunteer on the Obama Campaign’s Retirement Security Policy Advisory Committee, he later served on the advisory committee to the Social Security Administration’s transition team. His most recent book (with Nancy Altman) is entitled, “Social Security Works: Why Social Security Isn’t Going Broke and Why Expanding It Will Help Us All”. An author of articles and books for both academic and general audiences, Kingson studies, researches and writes about the politics and economics of the aging of America, retirement, interdependence of generations and the future of Social Security.
Professor Garcia honored for lifetime achievement
Dr. Alejandro Garcia, the Jocelyn Falk Endowed Professor of Social Work, was honored on October 15 at the Annual Meeting of the Association of Latino and Latina Social Work Educators in Denver, Colorado. He received the first Lifetime Achievement Award offered by ALLSWE for his leadership and contributions to social work practice and education and his advocacy for Latinos throughout his career.
Syracuse University’s Falk College Highlights Graduate Studies at November 6 Information Session
Faculty, staff, students available to talk about programs, coursework, student life
Syracuse University faculty, staff and current students will welcome potential graduate students interested in the Falk College’s graduate programs in child and family studies, public health, marriage and family therapy, nutrition science, social work and sport management during a special Fall Information Session for graduate studies on Friday, November 6. The presentation begins at 4:00 p.m. at Falk College, Room 200.
Detailed information will be provided on graduate programs in addiction studies, child and family studies (M.A., M.S., Ph.D.), food studies (M.S.), global health (M.S.), marriage and family therapy (M.A.), social work (M.S.W.) as well as the dual degree program (M.A./M.S.W.) in marriage and family therapy and social work, nutrition science (M.A., M.S.), and sport venue and event management (M.S.). Details on our Certificate of Advanced Study (CAS) program in trauma-informed practice will be available along with information on other Falk College CAS programs in, dietetic internship, and global health.
Falk College names three faculty to endowed Falk Professorships
As part of their visionary and purposeful commitment to academics as a path to success, Syracuse University alumni David B. and Rhonda S. Falk established a series of endowed professorships in each of the seven academic disciplines of Falk College. Today Falk College announced the following three faculty have been named Falk Endowed Professors:
Alejandro Garcia, M.S.W., Ph.D., Jocelyn Falk Endowed Professor of Social Work
Jaipaul Roopnarine, Ph.D. ,Pearl Falk Endowed Professor of Child and Family Studies
Rick Welsh, Ph.D., Falk Family Endowed Professor in Food Studies.
“We are grateful to David and Rhonda Falk, and the Falk family, for their vision and commitment to create an endowed faculty professorship in every academic program in Falk College. Alejandro, Jaipaul and Rick are internationally recognized leaders in their respective fields and exemplary scholars and teachers. The Falk College and the Falk family are privileged to support their efforts,” notes Diane Lyden Murphy, dean, Falk College.
The Falk endowed professorships allow Falk College to support internationally recognized faculty to enhance the research, academic and experiential components of its programs to advance its mission rich in teaching, research, scholarship, practice and service.
Dr. Alejandro Garcia he has taught in the areas of gerontology, social policy, and human diversity for over 35 years in the School of Social Work where he served as director. He is the co-editor of three books, including Elderly Latinos: Issues and Solutions for the 21st Century (with Marta Sotomayor) (1993), HIV Affected and Vulnerable Youth: Prevention Issues and Approaches (1999) (with Susan Taylor-Brown), and La Familia: Traditions and Realities (1999) (with Marta Sotomayor). He is also the author of numerous articles and book chapters. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including being named a Social Work Pioneer by the National Association of Social Workers and being elected a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America. This fall, he will receive the 2015 Association of Latino and Latina Social Work Educators’ Lifetime Achievement Award.
A professor in the Department of Child and Family Studies, Dr. Jaipaul Roopnarine’s areas of research include father-child relationships, Caribbean families and childhood outcomes, early childhood education in international perspective, children’s play across cultures, and immigrant families and schooling in the United States. An adjunct faculty member in the School of Education, he is an adjunct professor of education and senior research scientist, Family Development Centre, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago where he was a Fulbright Scholar. He was a Distinguished Visiting Nehru Professor at M S Baroda University, Gujarat, India. Among his many books is the recent publication, Fathers across Cultures: The Importance, Roles, and Diverse Practices of Dads, with two additional titles to be released in 2015. He is also the author of over 100 articles and book chapters on childhood development across cultures. He recently finished a three-year term as editor of the journal, Fathering.
Dr. Rick Welsh is a professor of food studies who serves as chair of the Department of Public Health, Food Studies and Nutrition.Under his leadership, Falk College created undergraduate and graduate programs in food studies. Prior roles have included professor of sociology at Clarkson University, policy analyst with the Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture and the director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program for the Southern Region. He also serves as editor-in-chief for the journal, Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. His research and teaching focus on social change and development with emphases on agri-food systems, science and technology studies and environmental sociology. Welsh is co-editor of the volume, Food and the Mil-level Farm: Renewing an Agriculture of the Middle published by M.I.T. Press. He has received grant funding from the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Energy and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, among other organizations.
MSW students focus on mental, behavioral health needs of veterans, military personnel and their families
Four advanced standing MSW students received Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant awards as a part of the Upstate New York Mental and Behavioral Health Education Consortium (UNY-MBHEC). This initiative’s focus is to increase the capacity of the social work profession in Upstate New York to serve the mental and behavioral health needs of veterans, military personnel and their families, and residents of medically underserved rural communities.
Consortium efforts are led by Principal Investigator, Dr. Carrie Jefferson Smith, director of the School of Social Work, and co-Investigator, Kristin Esposito, field placement coordinator, School of Social Work. The project is supported by a three-year, $480,253 competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration.
The School of Social Work has partnered with the Syracuse VA Medical Center on this program since 2013. This year’s cohort who will begin field placements in Fall 2014 with the Syracuse VA Medical Center include:
- Ashley King will be working in the VA’s Homeless Program.
- Sonya Mangovski will be working with the VA’s Crisis Intervention team.
- Karen McClenthan will be placed with the Military Sexual Trauma/Behavioral Health program.
- Theresa Taylor will work with the VA’s Psychotherapy Team through individual and group therapy programs that support individuals with mental health challenges such as PTSD, depression, anxiety, loss and grief.
In 2013, the School of Social Work announced it is part of a consortium of upstate New York schools, led by the University at Albany’s School of Social Welfare, to support behavioral health initiatives for veterans. This collaboration underscores the Falk College, its School of Social Work and Syracuse University’s long-standing commitment to veterans and military families through interdisciplinary scholarship to address issues impacting this community.
Revised Master of Social Work curriculum addresses skill development for practice, supervisory career paths and builds in necessary coursework for automatic eligibility toward LCSW
The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), which accredits social work master’s programs, requires at least one advanced concentration offering. The School of Social Work in Falk College today announced it will offer two new revised and renamed advanced concentrations to ensure that its curriculum prepares graduates in accordance with current best practices.
The concentrations include the Advanced Clinical Practice (formerly the Individuals, Families and Group, or IFG concentration) and Advanced Integrated Practice (formerly Community Organization, Policy, Planning and Administration, or COPPA concentration). The Advanced Clinical Practice concentration offers clinically focused students purposeful opportunities in coursework and practicum settings to obtain deeper clinical skills. For example, courses such as SWK 733—Social Work Practice in Mental Health will deepen the student’s therapeutic skills while SWK 781—Alcohol and Drugs in Social Work Practice, which was previously an elective, is now required. Practitioners need enhanced skills in assessment of substance abuse interventions given the prevalence of substance misuse and its frequent interaction with other mental health problems. SWK 761—Mental Health Policy, and SWK 776—Clinical Practice Evaluation will ensure students develop skills to asses effectiveness of direct practice interventions.
The Integrated Social Work Practice Concentration prepares graduates to work in the increasingly complex settings in community agencies. These settings expect students to possess practice skills and the ability to work and provide leadership in multi-disciplinary practice contexts. The revised concentration ensures all students have substantial direct practice skills by requiring two micro practice courses, plus Psychopathology (SWK 724) and Family Systems Theory (SWK 730). A new course, SWK 743—Advanced Integrated Social Work Practice helps students develop skills for interventions for community-based social work practice and in multi-disciplinary settings such as hospitals, schools and family agencies.
While social work licensing is fairly similar across states, there are sometimes differences in titles and requirements by state. In New York State In the field of professional social work practice, there are two licenses: a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). All students are eligible for the LMSW upon completion of the MSW program. An LMSW can seek the LCSW after three years of clinical social work practice. Previously, all Falk College MSW graduates, regardless of concentration, were LMSW eligible, but only students who followed the IFG concentration were LCSW- eligible for the LCSW. The program revisions announced today make all MSW graduates LCSW eligible in New York State, regardless of concentration.
This concentration revision does not change credit hours required for the M.S.W. degree (60 credits for those without a B.S.W. and 36 credits for persons with a B.S.W. eligible for Advanced Standing). Additionally, it is compatible with the MSW/MFT dual degree program and does not affect timeline for completion. For more information, contact the School of Social Work at (315) 443-5558.
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