CEHD News Jackie Colby

CEHD News Jackie Colby

Larry Shulman featured at social work continuing education event

Lawrence ShulmanThe School of Social Work is offering a special continuing education event on April 4, 2013, with nationally known expert and gifted teacher Dr. Lawrence Shulman. The workshop, titled, “Core Skills in Supervision: Having the Hard Conversations,” will be held at the St. Paul Student Center from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The cost is $75 ($60 for current University of Minnesota SSW field instructors), and lunch is included. Attendees can hear six social work continuing education credits (applicable to supervision). Register here.

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SSW’s Lee, Jin articles accepted to be published

LeeH2010Jin-Seok-Won School of Social Work Associate Professor Hee Yun Lee and current Ph.D. candidate Seok Won Jin published an article regarding depression among cancer survivors. Associate Professor Lee’s article on prostate cancer screening behavior in Korean American immigrant men was also accepted to be published.

  1. Lee, H.Y., & Jin, S.W. (In press). Older Korean cancer survivors’ depression and coping: Directions toward culturally competent intervention. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology.
  2. Lee, H.Y. & Jung, Y. (In press). The contribution of cultural variables to prostate cancer screening adherence in Korean American immigrants. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health.

Two Social Work PhD candidates get faculty positions

Jones-Valandra2012Two School of Social Work doctoral candidates have accepted faculty positions at universities in New York and Arkansas.

Doctoral candidate Annette Semanchin Jones accepted a tenure-track assistant professor position in the School of Social Work at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo. Doctoral candidate Valandra accepted a tenure-track assistant professor position at the University of Arkansas in a joint appointment with the School of Social Work and African and American Studies.

Social Work faculty to study tribal youth gang involvement

Ross VeLure RoholtKatie Johnston-GoodstarSchool of Social Work assistant professors Katie Johnston-Goodstar, Ph.D., and Ross VeLure Roholt, Ph.D., have been awarded a two-year, $437,261 Tribal FIRE grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. They will work with a local tribe to assess, identify, and understand risk and protective factors for tribal youth in a community perceiving increased gang involvement.

Using a community-based participatory research approach, the project’s short-term goals will be to: (1) assess needs of tribal youth, (2) examine risk and protective factors for tribal youth, (3) determine the feasibility of conducting longitudinal research with tribal youth, and (4) conceptualize and investigate new research questions to inform program and policy development in juvenile justice, delinquency prevention, and victimization for tribal youth. Intermediate and long-term outcomes include developing recommendations for culturally appropriate and effective policies, and intervention and prevention strategies.

Oliviah Walker and Clarissa Siedl, students in the Youth Development Leadership master’s in education program, will assist on the project.

Social Work faculty members publish book on civic youth work

Roholt-BaizermanSchool of Social Work faculty members Ross VeLure Roholt and Michael Baizerman and University of Minnesota Ph.D. graduate Roudy W. Hildreth have published a new book, Civic Youth Work: Co-Creating Democratic Youth Spaces.

The book introduces the concept of co-creation as a way to better organize and support youth in their contribution to public life. The authors view youth as not just a developmental stage, but as a time to begin participating in the community as citizens. Youth collaborate with youth workers to create and sustain safe spaces for civic engagement.

The book features case studies that show how civic youth workers in many countries have mobilized and empowered young people to address the public issues most affecting them. From developing strategies for conflict reduction in Africa, to mending religious division in Northern Ireland, the examples show how to coordinate, support, and manage programs with young people to effect positive change.

“The theoretical, value-based, and practical ideas contained within this text will appeal to both academics and practitioners alike. This is a timely book, forward thinking in its reframing of old ideas about how we view youth,” reviewer Heather Sanrud of Vancouver Island University, said.

Find out more about the book at the Lyceum Books website

Learning Dreams featured in Hennepin Gallery

DreamcycleLearning Dreams, a project of the School of Social Work faculty member Jerry Stein, is featured in a new art exhibit, LEARNING DREAMS: Art + Community + Curiosity, in the Hennepin Gallery in downtown Minneapolis.

Learning Dreams’ goal is to create a culture of learning by providing support to adults, youth and children to pursue their learning goals. With backing from Hennepin County’s Multicultural Arts Committee and Hennepin County Library, Learning Dreams artists Jena Brune and Matt Carlson developed a mobile “Dreamcycle” to tour the region and collect people’s responses to the questions: “What do you want to learn?” and “What do you dream of doing?”

The Hennepin County exhibition, which will run though Oct. 30, features the Dreamcycle as it reveals the stories of participants, past and present, who have realized their dreams. A special feature is the Dreamcycle itself, which will be active on the Public Service Level of Hennepin County Government Center from noon to 1:30 p.m. each Friday during the exhibition. See the slideshow about the exhibit on the gallery’s website.
The display was organized by Forecast Public Art, sponsored by Hennepin County’s Multicultural Arts Committee, designed by Witt Siasoco and produced in part by MCAD/DesignWorks. Support for the project was also received from Hennepin County Library, Learning Dreams, the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota and an anonymous donor.
For more information about Learning Dreams, visit their website.

Author speaks at M.S.W. orientation

Author Mark Anthony Rolo was a guest at the orientation program for master’s of social work students this fall. He spoke about his memoir, My Mother Is Now Earth. The book tells the story of Rolo’s family, as seen through his eyes from the time he was 7 years old until his mother died when he was 10. The story gave students and faculty the opportunity to discuss issues related to race, class, gender, identity and social justice. In this video, Rolo talks to students about writing the book.

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Ph.D. information session

An information session regarding the Social Work Ph.D. Program at the University of Minnesota will be held on Monday, October 8, 2012, in 280 Peters Hall, 5:30-7:30 pm. Learn about the Ph.D. curriculum and dissertation process, find out about admissions, and talk with faculty and current Ph.D. students about the program. Light refreshments will be served. Please RSVP to Jan Goodno, jgoodno@umn.edu or 612-624-4258.

Article on health beliefs and practices of East African refugees published

Doctoral students Jennifer Simmelink and Jennifer Blevins, Associate Professor Liz Lightfoot, former Associate Professor Terry Lum, and their community partner Amano Dube from the Brian Coyle Center, recently published an article in the American Journal of Health Behavior.
Simmelink, J., Lightfoot, L., Lum, T., Blevins, J., Dube, A. (2013). Understanding the health beliefs and practices of East African refugees. American Journal of Health Behavior, 37(2), 155-161.

School of Social Work receives grant to establish Minnesota Center for Mental Health

Minnesota Center for Mental Health leadersThe Minnesota Department of Human Services Mental Health Division has awarded a $900,000 grant to the School of Social Work, the College of Continuing Education, and the Department of Psychiatry to establish the Minnesota Center for Mental Health.

The mission of the center is the preparation of a strong, well-trained workforce delivering evidence-informed, integrated mental health services. “The emphasis will be on fostering mental and behavioral wellness for all Minnesotans,” said co-investigator Peter Dimock, faculty member in the School of Social Work.

The center will help meet the increasing demand for clinical competence and for holistic, integrated care that uses evidence-informed services, Dimock explained, “so the people of Minnesota can count on the services they receive regardless of where they are or what situation they find themselves in.”

In addition, as more mental health and substance abuse treatment programs gear up to work with clients with both conditions, the demand for trained professionals is likely to increase, Dimock said. Thus, a major goal of the center is to develop a continuing-education credit certificate for professionals who want to work in this area.

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Gibson receives grant to study out-of-school suspensions of black students

GibsonP-2012School of Social Work Associate Professor Priscilla Gibson has received a $100,000 award from the University Metropolitan Consortium for her research project, “Reducing Out-of-School Suspensions of African American and African Immigrant Students: Building a Well-Educated Minnesota Workforce for the 21st Century.”

Gibson is the principal investigator for the project, and Professor Wendy Haight, Gamble-Skogmo Land Grant Chair in Child Welfare and Youth Policy, and Post-Doctoral Associate Misa Kayama are co-principals.

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CASCW Adoption Coordinator JaeRan Kim on MPR

Kim-JaeRan-sm On Friday, July 13, 2012, JaeRan Kim, Stability, Permanency & Adoption Coordinator for the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare was a part of a Roundtable discussion on MPR’s Daily Circuit with Tom Webber. The subject of the discussion was adoption. JaeRan and the panel covered a wide variety of topics, including transracial/transnational/transcultural adoption, as well as a discussion of the the importance of the adoptee experience in discussions around adoption. You can listen to the segment on MPR’s website.

“Fatherhood” forum to present ways to support new fathers and prevent domestic violence

babydaddy

Researchers from the School of Social Work, led by principal investigator Professor Jeff Edleson, Director of the Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse (MINCAVA) and graduate research assistants Robert Wilson, Juliana Carlson, and Ericka Kimball, completed a two-part study called “First Time Fathers” exploring new and expectant fathers’ experiences of support during their transition to fatherhood from both the perspective of practitioners as well as parents themselves. The first part of the study gathered data from practitioners who serve new and expectant parents in the Twin Cities, including professionals from health care, home visiting, parent education, and fatherhood programs, to map how the process of engagement. Then, eight focus groups with fathers and mothers were conducted to explore the supports and barriers for new and expectant fathers. Data also included the fathers’ and mothers’ responses to the questions: What a program to support expectant and new fathers would include? And, how would it best be administered?

One of the goals of the research is building knowledge on the content to meaningfully connect with new and expectant fathers and strategies to successfully meet them where they are. Another goal is to understand how formal supports for new and expectant fathers could expand and increase their informal connection to each other. This knowledge will help inform a prevention focused intervention to both help provide formal support for fathers during the transition to fatherhood, as well to reduce risks associated, including child exposure to domestic violence and violence against women, issues central to Professor Edleson’s current research agenda.

Transition to Fatherhood: A Hopeful Approach to Engagement
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center
2001 Plymouth Avenue North, Minneapolis MN 55411
Space is limited, registration required. Admission is free (lunch included).
More information and to register.

Ph.D. student earns $10K fellowship to examine urban youth, media literacy

Sethi-JennaCurriculum and Instruction Ph.D. student Jenna Sethi was awarded a $10,000 Kappa Omicron Nu Marjorie M. Brown Fellowship to help fund her research. Sethi is examining how urban youth, who are often marginalized and oppressed by violence in their communities, address this violence by producing their own media. Her study will include interviews with filmmakers and with mural and spoken word artists.

Sethi is a student in the family, youth, and community doctoral program. She received her M.Ed. in the Youth Development Leadership program. With the encouragement of her mentor and adviser, Associate Professor Yvonne Gentzler, Ph.D., she has been able to pursue interdisciplinary interests around critical media literacy and youth studies leading to her dissertation topic. She also teaches courses in the Youth Studies department in the School of Social Work.

In addition, Sethi received a $2,000 2012-2013 CEHD Seashore Graduate Fellowship, which is awarded to a doctoral student whose research focuses on issues of broad social inquiry problems, social and cultural change, or social justice.

Hee Yun Lee is principal investigator for $675,000 cancer grant

Hee LeeSchool of Social Work Assistant Professor Hee Yun Lee; Dr. Doug Yee, Director of the Masonic Cancer Center, and Dr. Rahel Ghebre, Assistant Professor at the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health were awarded the Investigator-Initiated Research Grant from the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Lee is the principal investigator, and Yee and Ghebre are co-investigators. The research team will receive $675,000 over three years for their project, which aims to develop and assess an intervention to promote breast cancer screening in an underserved minority community using mobile phone technology.

MSW Field Placement Choice Forms Due May 7

M.S.W. students who are doing field placements during the 2012-13 school year need to submit a Student Choice of Placement form by May 7. Agencies will need to express their preferences about students by filling out the Agency Selection of Student form. Students and agencies will be notified of field placment matches via email May 17, 18 and 19. Students and agencies who did not match will also be notified.

SSW Ph.D. student awarded research grant

Sheetal RanaSchool of Social Work Ph.D. student Sheetal Rana was awarded a $9,600 research grant by the University’s Consortium on Law and Values in Health, Environment & the Life Sciences. The grants are for research that addresses the social implications of problems in health, environment, or the life sciences.

She received the stipend for her expenses for her research titled “Frontline Youth Work with Street Children and Youth in Nepal: Edge Work, Boundary Work, Hard Work.” Her study examines youth work with street children and youth in Nepal, including how the work is practiced, what determines how it is practiced, and what can be changed to enhance effective, evidence-based practice. The study is being conducted in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Free screening of film on battle over Arizona Mexican American studies

PreciousKnowledgeThe documentary Precious Knowledge: a Revolutionary Education will be screened on Friday, April 20 at 7 p.m., in the Bell Museum Auditorium. The free screening will be followed by a question-and-answer session with Crystal Terriquez (pictured), one of the students who is featured in the film.

Precious Knowledge interweaves the stories of students in the Mexican American Studies Program at Tucson High School. While 48 percent of Mexican American students currently drop out of high school, Tucson High’s Mexican American Studies Program was a national model of educational success, with, on average, 93 percent of enrolled students graduating from high school and 85 percent going on to college. The filmmakers spent a year in the classroom documenting the ways the innovative social justice curriculum transformed students into informed and engaged community activists.

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Imho Bae to accept Distinguished Leadership Award for Internationals

Bae-Imho-forblogThe School of Social Work and the University of Minnesota will honor Dr. Imho Bae, Ph.D. ’91, at a reception on April 11 in Peters Hall. Bae is a recipient of the University’s 2011 Distinguished Leadership Award for Internationals. This University-wide award honors alumni, former students, and friends of the University who have distinguished themselves as leaders in their post-University careers.

Bae, who is dean of the College of Social Sciences at Soongsil University in South Korea, is an international scholar and a leader in the field of conflict resolution. In his acceptance speech, he will talk about the People-to-People Dialogue approach to peacemaking that he has used as he works for peace throughout the Korean peninsula.

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Umbreit to keynote international conference in Istanbul

Mark UmbreitProfessor Mark Umbreit, director of the School of Social Work’s Center for Restorative Justice & Peacemaking, has been invited to give the keynote address at an International Conference on Restorative Justice in Istanbul, Turkey in March 2012. The Turkish Parliament is working on legislation to implement victim offender mediation and civil court mediation throughout the country. Umbreit is helping to organize an international panel of experts to travel to Turkey, with colleagues from Brazil, Spain, Italy, Austria, Finland, Norway, Belgium, Scotland, and the U.S. He is also helping to organize a study tour for Turkish legislative leaders and policy makers to meet with national leaders in the mediation field in Washington, DC, New York, and Milwaukee.
Umbreit will also be providing extensive technical assistance, training, and research over the next 12 months as the Turkish Ministry of Justice attempts to more thoroughly implement and assess the practice of victim offender mediation and alternative dispute resolution policies and practices. Umbreit and the Center for Restorative Justice & Peacemaking have been involved in building increasing bridges of understanding and support between Islam and the global restorative justice movement. The work in Turkey, as a large democratic Muslim country, will significantly expand this initiative.