Esther Wattenberg, a longtime professor of social work and a member of the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, passed away on July 19 at the age of 99. She was a fierce advocate for underserved women and children. Among her many achievements is the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare (CASCW), which she co-founded at age 73, when most people are considering or already in retirement, and served as its first director.
As part of its 20th anniversary celebration, CASCW published a booklet of editorials written by Wattenberg. The foreword notes her “exceptional talent for succinctly, astutely, and, when necessary, sharply, getting to the heart of challenging issues in the field. She posed thought-provoking questions, encouraged critical thinking and discourse, and challenged everyone from community members to practitioners to politicians to take responsibility for the outcomes of vulnerable children in our society.”
During her tenure in social work, she taught three generations of students the importance of child welfare both as a social good and as a wise career choice. As an academic, Wattenberg saw an inextricable connection among research, practice, and policy. There was no point in doing research in her field that didn’t connect back to the lives of children and families.
In order to change policy in child welfare, Wattenberg went right to the source. She would talk to social workers in the field and hear what they were struggling with. By traveling all over the state, visiting counties rural and urban, she knew exactly where the most pressing issues were. She also was famous for bringing social workers together for a series of conferences. She and the audience were surprised to find that there were gaps in the conversation. In many places, school social workers were not seeing eye-to-eye with county social workers. Wattenberg got them talking simply by putting them in the same room. The results of these meetings gave her good ammunition when she next visited lawmakers. She was a master of translating a good story into policy.
In a paper called “Notes from a Cluttered Mind: Recollections from a Late Stage of Life” that she wrote as an afterword to comments she made at a School of Social Work 100th anniversary event in 2016, she issued a challenge:
“For the best and brightest (students in Child Welfare), the challenge awaits your dedication to the pursuit of improving life chances for the children with problematic futures. Each new year opens with a stern command: Improve the life chances of children born into high-risk families. Construct the escape route for children born into high-risk families.”
Her funeral has been held. Her family asks that memorials to be given to the Esther Wattenberg Fellowship in the School of Social Work at the University of Minnesota. Give online at https://z.umn.edu/EstherWattenbergFellowship. Read the Star Tribune story about Wattenberg.
