social work Inside:
ASU and Westward Ho launch innovative partnership Bridging Success: how a new program helps foster youth achieve college education Honoring achievement: Flavio Marsiglia named ASU Regents’ Professor
Fall 2015 Issue school of social work | college of public service and community solutions
new programs in social work community advocacy & social policy, B.A. The BA in community advocacy and social policy degree is offered on campus and fully online. It focuses on advocacy strategies by exploring, analyzing and comparing social service systems and policies in-depth and from an empowerment perspective. Emphasis is on examining the needs of individuals, families and communities that have been historically underserved. Students complete courses in two core areas: diversity and oppressed populations, along with social issues and interventions.
master of social work online The Master of Social Work (MSW) online program at Arizona State University was developed to create access for any student looking to elevate their social work career by providing skills to identify practical solutions to pressing community issues. The program’s concentration in Advanced Generalist practice focuses on effective and culturally competent service practices and strategies coupled with research evidence.
school of social work socialwork.asu.edu
part of the college of public service & community solutions
inside this issue fall 2015 Published By Arizona State University College of Public Service and Community Solutions School of Social Work 411 North Central Avenue Suite 800 Phoenix, AZ 85004 socialwork.asu.edu Director, School of Social Work Michelle Mohr Carney, Ph.D. Editorial Adrianna Ovnicek editor-in-chief Jessica Smith copy editor Design Bryan Mok Contributors Paul Atkinson Heather Beshears Emma Greguska Christopher Hernandez Shawna Malvini Redden Kennedy Munter Adrianna Ovnicek Photography Heather Beshears Christopher Hernandez Charles Leight Bryan Mok Nick Wicksman Savannah Sanders
director’s welcome
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research with impact $1.24 million grant funds collaborative to help child sex trafficking victims ASU partnership to expand peer-delivered services Intervention aims to decrease severity, rate of domestic violence cases Research examines individual impact of social media
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innovation in education Feature: New program helps foster youth achieve college education Multidisciplinary teams receive funding for gerontological work Social work program selected for interprofessional initiative
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global reach Social work collaboration in China slated to expand ASU hosts Japanese and South Korean delegation
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engaging the community Feature: ASU and Westward Ho launch innovative partnership Arizona panel keeps kids safe through community collaboration
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student success Social work student refuses to yield to adversity Social work student to lead undergraduate student government Spring outstanding grad: Molly Gebler Foster-care research earns students prestigious fellowship
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honors, highlights & awards Feature: Marsiglia named Regents’ Professor Expanding our expertise
director’s welcome Director At the Arizona State University School of Social Work we School of Social Work are committed to addressing pressing issues and finding practical Michelle Mohr Carney solutions. The school offers one of the largest and most diverse social work programs in the world with more than 1,400 students enrolled in Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff and online, and more than 10,000 alumni.
Arizona, if you “ Inhave a master’s
degree in social work, it’s likely from here. So we have a really powerful role in what social work looks like in the state of Arizona at the graduate level.
Our expertise and attention to cultural diversity and the distinct populations of the Southwest are unique. Among our areas of strength are child welfare training, health and behavioral health, and innovative services for children, youth, and families. We also have expertise in gerontology, forensic social work, integrative health and interprofessional practice. A career in social work provides great opportunities to make a real difference, helping those in need through direct service provision to families, developing innovative public and nonprofit programs and creating more just social and economic policies. More than 800 field placement sites offer Arizona State University social work students the chance to complement classroom learning with hands-on experience while delivering valuable human services.
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We offer BSW, MSW, and Ph.D. degrees, a bachelor of arts in community advocacy and social policy, as well as many certificate and continuing professional education programs. Online and nontraditional hour courses enhance educational access and field placements offer exciting opportunities to serve diverse populations across Arizona.
research with impact $1.24 million grant funds collaborative to help child sex trafficking victims Paul Atkinson
A five-year, $1.24 million grant
will help to better identify children who are victims of sex trafficking in Arizona and provide training to child welfare professionals to improve outcomes.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children, Youth and Families awarded the funding to social work professors Dominique Roe-Sepowitz and Judy Krysik. The project will be a collaborative effort involving the ASU Office of Sex Trafficking intervention Research, the ASU Center for Applied Behavioral Health Policy and the Arizona Department of Child Safety. “We’re very excited to partner with the Arizona Department of Child Safety to develop a system-wide awareness of the commercial sexual exploitation of children,” said Roe-Sepowitz, director of the Center for Sex Trafficking Research Intervention. ”We look forward to helping child welfare workers prevent, identify and find appropriate treatment resources for victims of sex trafficking.“ The Center for Sex Trafficking Research Intervention provided training earlier this year to representatives for 32 Arizona agencies that deal with kids in the state’s juvenile delinquency system. A follow-up survey identified 161 sex trafficking victims who receive services through a juvenile court-approved program. The survey
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Study on sex trafficking during 2015 Super Bowl finds increase from prior year A study of sex trafficking during the week leading up to the 2015 Super Bowl found the number of online sex ads grew 30 percent from 2014. Conducted by the Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research at Arizona State University, the study shows the majority of those who responded to sex ads were from the local area. The research was conducted as part of a series of studies funded by The McCain Institute for International Leadership to develop new knowledge about the incidence of sex trafficking surrounding major events such as the Super Bowl. “Patterns and trends from the three cities gives us greater knowledge about how traffickers are operating, how victims are being moved and gives us all more information to fight sex trafficking each and every day,” said Cindy McCain, co-chair of the Arizona Human Trafficking Council and chair of the Human Trafficking Advisory Council at the McCain Institute.
First cohort completes new child welfare program The School of Social Work celebrated the completion of the first cohort year of the Undergraduate Child Welfare Core Program for Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) case aides. The program is a new collaboration between DCS and the School of Social Work. The program was designed to provide child welfare education and create a career ladder for long-term Arizona DCS case aides by preparing them to be eligible for promotion to the Specialist I position. Course requirements included three core social work courses, a child welfare elective and three one-credit seminars designed to integrate core social work course competencies with child welfare-specific content while addressing the development of writing, critical thinking, ethics, and professional identity, knowledge and skills. The initial cohort was piloted in Maricopa County with students traveling from Tucson to attend classes at the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus.
was considered a snapshot of the problem. The federal grant will allow researchers to more thoroughly examine the magnitude of children who are exploited through sex trafficking. Roe-Sepowitz says the first step is to identify the prevalence of sex trafficking victimization seen in children in the child welfare system. “To be able to do that, we have to train child welfare workers how to recognize these situations,” she said. The project will include an annual statewide summit to increase community awareness of children who are sex trafficking victims. It will feature multiple days of clinical training for professionals in the child welfare system. The grant will also create a community work group that spans Arizona allowing various agencies to discuss specific cases in the child welfare system. “So, what we really want is for child welfare workers, number one, identify this is as a safety issue for youth,” said Roe-Sepowitz. “Number two, intervene as needed. Number three, if they understand there are risk factors that are specific for these kids--things like running away multiple times a year, having a history of childhood sexual abuse, teen dating violence, not having really high self-esteem, being drawn to boys or men who are older than them—those are some of the things that we know make someone more likely to be victimized in sex trafficking. So, if we can train child welfare workers to identify those predictors and then ask some extra questions, maybe we can prevent quite a number of victims.”
ASU partnership to expand peer-delivered services in behavioral health Heather Beshears The Arizona Department of Health Services/Division of Behavioral Health has recently awarded a two-year contract to Arizona State University to coordinate a Peer Career Advancement Academy. The academy will provide advanced training and educational opportunities to certified peer specialists. “People who have achieved and sustained recovery from mental health and substance abuse conditions are powerful supports for individuals seeking their own path to recovery,” said Kathy Bashor, bureau chief for the Office of Individual and Family Affairs’ Division of Behavioral Health. Bashor notes that the program will be the first of its kind in the United States. “It gets individuals out of the system and into providing services,” Bashor says. Peer support services have demonstrated positive outcomes in the areas of parenting, loss and bereavement, cancer and chronic illnesses.
Jana Spalding from the Peer Career Advancement Academy speaks with Kathy Bashor, bureau chief for the Office of Individual and Family Affairs Division of Behavioral Health. Photo by Heather Beshears
“One of the most powerful outcomes of peer support is that it has a mutual benefit. Peers not only help someone else, they help themselves,” said Vicki Staples, associate director for clinical initiatives for the Center for Applied Behavioral Health Policy. The Center for Applied Behavioral Health Policy will be coordinating this new initiative. Over the course of the next two years, the design of the Peer Career Advancement Academy will be finalized while health and wellness coaches, special assistance advocates, housing support and supported employment specialists undergo training. Peer specialists
will be individuals recovering from mental illness or addiction who are employed by behavioral health care providers. “This is a great collaboration between state agencies building a program from the ground up with community input,” Staples said, adding that ongoing community support will be critical to the program’s future.
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Intervention aims to decrease severity, rate of domestic violence cases Heather Beshears
It’s estimated
that nearly 25 percent of women will experience severe violence at the hand of an intimate partner. The first step to seek help: call the police.
Yet, this is only half of the equation, says Jill Messing, associate professor in the School of Social Work, citing the need for safety planning. “Police may remove the perpetrator, but the victim is left with the question of what to do next,” she said. Physical violence is shown to be the largest risk factor preceding homicide—and researchers estimate that prior violence occurred in up to 80 percent of cases that end in murder. Messing recently completed a study examining the effectiveness of The Lethality Assessment Program, a collaborative intervention that brings together police and social service providers in an effort to implement a more holistic solution. The intervention consists of two steps. First, the police officer completes a brief,
11-question risk assessment, called the Lethality Screen. Second, victims identified at high risk of homicide are put in immediate contact with a social service provider to discuss short-term safety plans and resources for other needed services. Police are also encouraged to help implement any immediate actions. Messing says the question is whether this brief intervention decreases the number and severity of violent attacks while at the same time increasing help-seeking among victims. Her study began in 2008 with seven police jurisdictions in Oklahoma, a state with a very high incidence of intimate partner violence and homicide, particularly among Native American women. Messing’s research team collected data over the next five years from women who called the police due to domestic violence. Their quasi experimental field trial was able to assess differences between a comparison group of women who received usual police treatment and an intervention group of women who participated in the Lethality Assessment Program. All participants spoke with researchers by telephone immediately after a domestic violence incident and again an average of seven months later.
“We learned that the intervention group reported less severity and frequency of violent occurrences and was also more likely to engage in protective actions,” Messing said. She also notes a “durability of intervention”— with a greater number of victims continuing to seek help over time. The Lethality Assessment Program was created by the Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence. The program has expanded to 30 states. This evaluation, funded by the National Institute of Justice, was the first comprehensive analysis of the program’s impact. “This is a relatively quick, easy intervention that utilizes services already in place,” Messing said. “And it works.” She also notes that facilitating these collaborative partnerships between police and advocacy organizations has offered additional benefits. The Lethality Screen is also being used by police in additional ways. It has led to a “strengthening of evidence collection for stronger prosecution,” and the screens are being used in applications for protection orders.
Dissertation research examines the individual impact of social media Christopher Hernandez In a social climate where individuals clamor to text, tweet, etc. details about their personal lives, does the feedback, positive or negative, ultimately shape who they are as an individual? It’s a question that social work doctoral student Megan Lindsay has been examining through her dissertation work. Lindsay has been researching the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) within the everyday lives of females ages 18-29, the highest user group in the United States. ICTs are any device used to reach out to another individual, including cell phones, email and social media. “Everybody is having several interactions online, everyday through mediated communications,” said Lindsay. In 2012, Lindsay co-wrote an article with professor Judy Krysik, published in the journal Information, Communication, & Society.
The quantitative study indicated that mediated interaction was meaningful and influential during the young adult years. Lindsay recruited 22 females aged 18-29 for her research. Each participant had an account to at least two social media sites that they visited every day. Lindsay would then examine what type of feedback they would receive from various postings about themselves or their views on varying topics. “I wanted to know as a whole what people do to internalize these interactions and how it influences who they become,” Lindsay said. As the study progressed, it began to produce some intriguing results. Despite the majority of ICTs being very versatile, many participants admitted to being selective about what to post and where they posted it. “[The participants] do not want to be shoving social issues down their families’ throats, and create controversy with people they have important relationships with in real life,” continued Lindsay.
“They were more inclined to keep their controversial or charged opinions to themselves on Facebook, and let them out on Twitter or Tumblr.” Cases of online abuse or even cyberbullying are unfortunate issues that frequent users of ICTs are subject to come across, and what Lindsay found in these cases also came as a bit of a surprise. “More than one participant mentioned having what I considered to be online abuse experiences from their adolescence,” Lindsay explained. “But it did not stop them from having a robust and fulfilling online life in their adult years.” As ICTs continue to be a major means of communicating in our daily lives, the thought process of individuals shaping decisions about who is allowed to see various aspects of their lives becomes more significant than ever.
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innovation in education
New program helps foster youth achieve college education Heather Beshears
The Arizona foster care tuition waiver,
a bill signed into law by former governor Jan Brewer in 2013, helps Arizona’s foster youth earn a college degree by offering free tuition. But getting students into college is just part of the goal.
Bridging Success, a program piloted by the Arizona State University College of Public Service and Community Solutions, is designed to connect current and prospective foster care students with resources to pursue and finish their college education. Cynthia Lietz, associate dean for the college and a professor in the School of Social Work, notes that although the program is administered through the college, it supports former foster youth in all programs at ASU. “Increasing graduation rates is a challenge that we can solve by putting the right support systems in place,” said Lietz. “We are not only providing these talented young people the chance to pursue an education, but the opportunity to reach for larger goals.” Raymundo Cruz, an undergraduate student in the W.P. Carey School of Business, says when he came to Arizona State University, he didn’t quite know what to do. “ It can be overwhelming and a resource like this helps put you in the right direction,” Cruz said. Justine Cheung, an ASU MSW alumna, heads the program. Three MSW interns will work with her as part of the school’s pedagogy to engage students in the solution. The Bridging Success program will reach out to community members and organizations to raise awareness about the tuition waiver and support services available for former foster care youth.
Arizona-based company Insight Enterprises donated laptops to prepare the first cohort of Bridging Success Early Start for their college experience. Photo by Heather Beshears
Working closely with ASU’s University Academic Success Programs, admissions office, financial aid and scholarships, housing and counseling services, the program will provide a network of services available to former foster care youth and help staff and faculty understand the needs of youth who have been in foster care. The program will also offer guidance to assist in streamlining the application process and ease the transition into the ASU community. “I am so excited to see this take off,” said Cruz. “Once you are here, you realize that you can do whatever you want to do with your career.” “The partnerships we are developing with units across ASU are a critical component of the Bridging Success program,” said Jeanne Hanrahan, liaison for the University Academic Success Programs Administration. ”We can reduce the barriers that can challenge youth who wish to pursue an ASU degree and get them connected to resources that will support them - from the first day of classes to graduation day,” said Hanrahan.
Multidisciplinary teams receive funding for gerontological work The Arizona state University Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Team (GWEP) received a three-year award of $600,000 to provide training and partner with community-based resource centers addressing the needs of older adults. The ASU GWEP team includes interprofessional faculty from the College of Public Service and Community Solutions’ School of Social Work and School of Community Resources and Development, College of Nursing and Health Innovation, and College of
Health Solutions, as well as community partners including the Area Agency on Aging Region One, Inc., Alzheimer’s Association Desert Southwest Chapter, and Westward Ho. The three-year project includes four initiatives led by ASU professors and community partners. Empowering Caregiver Self-Care, coordinated by ASU College of Nursing and Health Innovation researchers Nelma Shearer and Julie Fleury, is designed to increase the competency of health professions students, faculty and practitioners to assess and address the needs of a growing and diverse population of family/informal caregivers. Team members include ASU professors Teri Kennedy, Sun Fei and David Coon. Supporting Family and Informal Caregivers through Patient Care Transitions will target hospital personnel involved with patient care at five Maricopa County hospitals to increase their competency to assess and address the needs of family and informal caregivers. Team members include community partners from Region One Area Agency on Aging and area care transitions program Healing @ Home. Graduate Certificates in Gerontology will offer a joint seven-credit graduate certificate in gerontology through the University of Arizona’s Center on Aging and the Arizona State University School of Social Work as well as an 18-credit Graduate Interprofessional Healthy Aging Certificate housed in the ASU College of Nursing and Health Innovation. Courses are available entirely online and the certificates are designed to enhance the disciplinary competence of students and professionals who want to work more effectively with older adults. The Westward Ho Initiative is a collaboration between interprofessional students and older adults to enhance health and wellness in urban lowincome senior housing. The project is coordinated by social work professor Robin Bonifas and will enhance health and wellness among the tenants of the Westward Ho, a low-income housing community for seniors and persons with disability in downtown Phoenix, as well as provide an urban training site for students in social work, nursing, nutrition, and recreation therapy.
Social work program selected for interprofessional initiative The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) announced 10 social work programs and collaboratives selected to participate in Social Work HEALS: Social Work Health Care Education and Leadership Scholars. The partnership between CSWE and the National Association of Social Workers Foundation aims to develop the next generation of leaders in healthcare social work who will stand ready to lead efforts to address system-level changes, heighten awareness of prevention and wellness and to address the issues of structural racism that are embedded in social institutions. Programs at each of the 10 universities selected will serve as the hub for scholarships to support education in the field of healthcare for baccalaureate and master’s social work students and field instructors. Throughout the course of the Social Work HEALS program, approximately 200 students will have the opportunity to experience robust healthcare education and training, connect with peers, advocate for policy issues, and practice as members of interprofessional healthcare teams.
“a nurse can’t do his or her work independently. they need to work as a team.” associate professor Robin Bonifas on why interprofessional education is so important
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global engagement
Social work student Savannah Sanders traveled to Fiji after her 2014 graduation, working in several villages on sustainable global health initiatives. The opportunity was in part due to the Nina Mason Pulliam Scholarship she received. Photo by Savannah Sanders
Flavio Marsiglia, Judy Krysik and Fei Sun visited two universities in central China in July.
Social work collaboration in China slated to expand As part of a five-year initiative launched by the Council of Social Work Education (CSWE) in the U.S. and the China Association of Social Work Education (CASWE) the Arizona State University School of Social Work entered the third year of its collaboration with social work schools in central China. The project with the Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) and nine other Chinese universities focuses on providing training and assistance related to the large-scale development of social work education in China. In April, the School of Social Work hosted a group of eight Chinese delegates at a six-day workshop at ASU. Delegates joined seminars on various topics including Master of Social Work curriculum design, cognitive behavioral therapy and shared their perspectives on future collaborations. Flavio Marsiglia, Judy Krysik and Fei Sun also visited the HUST and the Jiangxi University of Finances and Economics (JUFE) in July, meeting with participants from 30 universities and 10 Chinese service agencies.
“The workshop was very well received. Participant numbers increased by 150% compared to last year, and 98% of them rated high satisfaction with this learning experience,” noted Guohe Jiang, training coordinator at JUFE.
ASU hosts Japanese and South Korean delegation Collaboration will expand in the fall to include a student exchange program. With the support of Social Work directors Michelle Carney and Jianding Ding at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Fei Sun, David Androff and Barbara Klimek are working together to develop a study abroad program focusing on civil leadership and community development from a cross-cultural perspective. Delegates from refugee resettlement and asylum organizations in Japan and South Korea met with researchers at the School of Social Work to discuss a good practice exchange project on refugee social integration.
is the director of external relations for the Japan Association for Refugees in Tokyo. The cities of Phoenix and San Diego were recommended to the foreign delegates by the Refugee Council USA for their comprehensive and successful refugee resettlement programs. Social work professor Barbara Klimek is a principal investigator on the collaborative Ethnic Community Based Organizations grant awarded to the School of Social Work. The school earned the grant under collaboration with the Department of Economic Security Refugee Resettlement Program. “I cannot be more proud of our community leaders,” said Klimek. “It has been so amazing to our guests that we have been able to establish such a great collaboration among different ethnic groups.” The grant supports projects striving to empower strong and sustainable communities through applying social work approaches such as community development, social pedagogy, cultural competence, participatory action and social entrepreneurship.
ASU alumnus Brian Barbour headed the delegation of seven people from nonprofit Japanese and Korean organizations. Barbour
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engaging the community
ASU and Westward Ho launch innovative partnership Paul Atkinson
Residents living
in a landmark downtown Phoenix high-rise will benefit from a new state-of-the-art clinic being built through ASU’s Center for Applied Behavioral Health Policy. The facility will also serve as a valuable training ground for health services students working under faculty supervision. The new facility was made possible by a lease recently approved by the US Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) between ASU and Westward Ho developers and property managers. President of Property Advisory Group John Bentz says this is a rare project for HUD due to the lease and the related programming in the affordable housing facility. “The lease represents the culmination of years of discussions with ASU and will be a true community asset, not only to the residents of Westward Ho, but also the general public,” said Bentz. He adds that having ASU expand north of Fillmore Street for the first time will help activate a new area of Central Avenue and improve its walkability. “This is a great example of a public-private initiative between multiple organizations coming together to create a unique and special community asset,” Bentz said. ASU nursing and social work students currently provide residents with health services including blood pressure checks, nutritional help and disease prevention programs. The expanded facility will also give residents access to counseling, referral services, community assistance as well as educational and cultural enrichment opportunities.
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Professor Michael Shafer and Westward Ho owner Jack Bentz meet at the construction site. Photo by Heather Beshears
The clinic will provide hands-on experience and professional development training for students majoring in social work, nutrition, therapeutic recreation and nursing. “An integral part of our mission is to fuse research, service and learning. This innovative partnership does exactly that; and the Westward Ho initiative exemplifies our dedication to developing collaborative solutions in our community,” said dean Jonathan Koppell.
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destination for Presidents John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.
In 1979, the 600-room hotel was converted to affordable housing. Today, the Westward Ho is a 289-unit elderly preference affordable the Westward housing development Ho initiative located along central exemplifies light rail artery and many our dedication downtown amenities.
to developing collaborative solutions in our community
The 16-story Westward Ho opened as a hotel in 1928 with 600 elegant rooms. With the exception of one building in Long Beach, California, the hotel was the tallest reinforced concrete structure west of the Mississippi.
Its famous Thunderbird Room was added in 1951. The 1,000-seat dinner theater was the site for many grand Phoenix society receptions and was, at one point, the
“It is great to have companies such as PAGCDG investing in the community as they have done for over twenty years,” said District 7 Councilman Michael Nowakowski.
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“Top that with ASU’s Center for Applied Behavioral Health Policy running some of the most innovative social programs in the country, and we have a great one-of-a-kind neighborhood asset,” Nowakowski said.
In addition to renovating office space for the faculty, staff and students working with the Center for Applied Behavioral Health Policy, the Westward Ho plans to repair and upgrade various building components including central plant mechanical and plumbing system repairs and replacement of select in-unit features. Dr. Michael S. Shafer, professor of social work and director of the ASU Center for Applied Behavioral Health Policy says “establishing an ASU presence within this historic landmark of our community is the embodiment of the university’s commitment to community embeddedness. The clinic is scheduled to open in the coming fall semester, according to Shafer.
The new ASU Center for Child Well-Being led by Judy Krysik will also be housed in the Westward Ho. It is an integrated service and research hub dedicated to improving the life trajectories of children in our local, national and global communities. The Center helps to enhance the knowledge and skills of the child welfare workforce, improves coordination and alignment among community partners and increases public awareness around issues related to safety, permanency and well-being of children in Arizona.
Arizona panel keeps kids safe through community collaboration Shawna Malvini Redden They say it takes a village to raise a child. Sometimes it also takes a village to keep a child safe. Every year, children across the country face neglect, abuse, and even death at the hands of people close to them. According to the Child Crisis Center, child abuse and neglect costs the United States $124 billion. And unfortunately, Arizona ranks fifth nationally for credible reports of child abuse and neglect— almost twice the national average. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) was the first major federal legislation addressing child abuse and neglect. CAPTA provides federal funding to
states in support of child abuse prevention, assessment, investigation, prosecution and treatment. A critical part of comprehensively addressing child welfare? Community participation. In fact, citizen input regarding the child welfare system is so important, it was formally initiated through a 1996 amendment to CAPTA, which required states to establish a minimum of three Citizen Review Panels (CRPs) by 1999. CRPs consist of volunteer community members who review systemic issues within child welfare, including child welfare policies, practices, and specific cases. CRPs also make recommendations to improve the Child Protective Services (CPS) system at state and local levels. The purpose for establishing CRPs was to increase transparency, accountability and to provide citizens the opportunity to help their states meet goals for protecting children from abuse and neglect. “It is a way of engaging citizen participation in child welfare work and it can lead to tangible improvements in policy and practice. It can and it has,” said Judy Krysik, associate professor in the School of Social Work.
Arizona has three panels—representing
Southern, Northern, and Central Arizona—and each meet quarterly to address current issues, cases, and policies, in addition to attending conferences and helping write an annual report for the Department of Child Safety (DCS).
In 2008, the Center for Applied Behavioral Health Policy was awarded the contract to facilitate the Arizona Citizen Review Panel (ACRP) Program and works in coordination with the DCS to meet federal requirements. “The CRP members come from all different walks of life and professions so they provide an outside perspective on the internal workings of the child protection system,” said Sandra Lescoe, MSW, ACRP program coordinator, who came to ASU after 20 years of working in child protection services. “That many eyes on a case or on a policy and you get a lot informed discussion,” added Krysik. “And you combine that with people from Department of Child Safety who are in charge of making and implementing policy. That’s one of the ways you can have a process of improvement.”
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student success
Arturo Virgen-Sandoval is endured treatment for stomach cancer as he completed his undergraduate work. Photo by Charles Leight
Social work student refuses to yield to adversity Virgen-Sandoval, who took classes through the School of Social Work in Tucson, received his degree May 11 at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.. Photo by Charles Leight
Emma Greguska, ASU News
After performing some tests and an X-ray, the doctor sent him directly to the hospital, where more tests were performed.
Arturo “Art” Virgen-Sandoval was 19, he and a friend were cruising along University Drive when his friend pointed in the direction of the Old Main building and said, “That’s Arizona State University.”
Finally, after many hours of nervous waiting, doctors brought him into a small exam room.
In 1981, when
Having grown up in Tucson, Virgen-Sandoval had never seen the campus before, though he had always harbored a desire to one day be among the students on its grounds. However, on that day, at that point in his life, he simply thought to himself, “I’m too stupid to go to ASU.” Now, 34 years later, he is proud to say he was among the nearly 8,500 undergraduate students who had their degrees conferred on May 11 at Sun Devil Stadium. His path to that final walk across the stage was not always easy. Just four weeks ago he ran into an obstacle that, for most people, might have delayed indefinitely a dream of graduating from ASU. But Arturo Virgen-Sandoval is not most people.
Facing Down Adversity Virgen-Sandoval had been experiencing severe stomach pains for a few days when he decided to make a visit to the doctor.
“One of the most important things in social work: first you have to listen. If you’re not listening, then you don’t know [how to help],” he said. When he speaks of his experiences interning at various hospitals and care centers while working toward his degree, Virgen-Sandoval’s enthusiasm is evident. In particular, he remembers working at a crisis center in Tucson with specialneeds children.
“They looked at me and said, ‘there is a malignant tumor in your intestines, and it’s cancer, and it’s spreading,’ ” VirgenSandoval said. “So I looked at them and I said, ‘OK.’ I guess they were expecting another reaction.” His doctors advised him to put everything on hold, including his studies at ASU. But Virgen-Sandoval had already decided nothing was going to keep him from walking across the stage at ASU’s commencement. i “I told them, ‘I’m taking off all these things, all these tubes, off me right now. You are not going to keep me from graduating from ASU.’ ”
Always Moving Forward
“That was an incredible experience,” he said. “It really fired me up.” Though it took Virgen-Sandoval three decades to return to school, he says it’s the best decision he ever made, and he’s not letting his cancer diagnosis stop the him from achieving his goal.
see “ walls,
but there is an opening, i am moving forward
Virgen-Sandoval always knew he wanted to work with people. After decades of odd jobs, he decided it was time for a new direction in his life. So in 2012, he enrolled in ASU’s School of Social Work in Tucson as an undergraduate.
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“I accept what people tell me but I ignore it enough to keep it from being a barrier from moving forward. It’s like, ‘Okay, I see the walls, but there is an opening, I am moving forward.’”
Indeed, Virgen-Sandoval has already been accepted to the master’s program at the School of Social Work, which begins only a week after he graduates. He’ll know his full prognosis a few days after he walks across the stage.
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He says he’s looking ahead.
just
concentrating
on
“I plan ahead, and if [the next day doesn’t come], it doesn’t matter. It’s better to always keep moving forward,” he says. Virgen-Sandoval hopes his experiences dealing with cancer can help others, especially those he encounters in his social work, to get motivated and take advantage of their lives. “I want them to … take that experience and be able to use that for themselves, and to share it with other people,” he says. Virgen-Sandoval recently made a trip to ASU’s Tempe campus to explore some landmarks he’d never seen before. He’d only ever driven by Old Main since that day back in 1981, but on this visit, he had the chance to get a glimpse inside the historic campus landmark and witness some of the history. Spreading his arms wide as he took it all in, he said, “This is my dream. To graduate a Sun Devil.”
Social work student leads undergraduate student government USGD President Corina Tapscott, 20, speaks with a student on campus in downtown Phoenix. Photo by Nick Wicksman
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it is our job to work alongside students, growing together as one cohesive team, to foster change on every level and in every environment
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Kennedy Munter Social work student Corina Tapscott was elected to be the new Undergraduate Student Government President for the downtown campus in April. Along with her Vice President Ryan Boyd and Vice President of Services Kat Hofland, both studying Public Service and Public Policy, Tapscott plans to “[run] the most open government in Downtown history.” New plans for USGD involve making student government knowledge more accessible to the students. “…Students can now attend our Presidents’ Meetings [where all large-scale projects are discussed], without an invitation and even over the summer,” Tapscott said. Students can also call in to meetings, access agendas and minutes online following
meetings and call or text Tapscott directly with any concerns. Tapscott believes in the power of unity to generate change within the ASU community. “It is our job to work alongside students, growing together as one cohesive team, to foster change on every level and in every environment,” she said. Tapscott and her team say they will continue to increase USGD’s transparency to help keep as many students informed as possible. “I pursued a position within student government because myself, and my amazing team, live to empower each and every student,” said Tapscott. “Doesn’t that sound like one of the best jobs ever?”
Supporting collaboration with American Indian communities The Office of American Indian Projects (OAIP), hosts two stipend programs for master’s students of American Indian and Alaska Native backgrounds and students with a demonstrated interest in working with these communities. Weaving Native Perspectives, funded through Health Resources and Services Administration and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, focuses on integrated behavioral health, providing field placements in settings that offer behavioral health and primary care and/ or medical services. This enables students to gain interprofessional practice skills. Funding of $473,246 over three years will provide stipends to 33 students. Partners include Gila River Health Care, Native Health, Native American Connections, and Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation. Molly Gebler earned her ASU degree in Tucson. She is excited to work for the Department of Child Safety helping families and creating larger social change. Photo by Adrianna Ovnicek
Spring 2015 outstanding grad Molly Gebler Adrianna Ovnicek Graduate student Molly Gebler smiles big in a small classroom in Tucson, Arizona. As the close-knitted Tucson campus’ student council president, she leads with an unstoppable positive attitude and a desire to help others. “When I lead, I try to show my passion and enthusiasm because those are two things that people can feed off of and in turn get as equally excited.” Gebler said. Gebler says she’s lucky to have made so many connections with her classmates and professors.
Gebler competed her degree in the spring of 2015 and was recognized as the School of Social Work’s outstanding graduate. After graduation, she will work for the Arizona Department of Economic Security as part of her stipend agreement. Gebler says every social worker has “this grand idea to save the world,” but knows that initiating macro-level change starts with small steps.
“ if we can all
just work on being really good people, i think we can make that macro change
“It’s just the small connections I’ve made with the individuals here,” said Gebler. Through the Child Welfare Stipend Program, she spent hands-on time seeing what she would do as a child welfare worker.
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“If we can all just work on being really good people, I think we can make that macro change,” said Gebler.
University Partnerships, funded through the Children’s Bureau and the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute, is focused on child welfare practice in tribal nations and communities. It builds on the strong relationship between the OAIP and the lead agency to develop a change initiative, challenging the School of Social Work to improve curriculum through the inclusion of historical trauma as an aspect of traumainformed care in a way that is relevant to AI/ AN tribes, nations, communities, families and individuals. Funding of $588,000 over four years will provide tuition and fees and stipends for up to 20 students. Partners include lead agency Gila River Indian Community Tribal Social Services, Fort McDowell Wassaja Family Services, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Social Services, and Navajo Division of Social Services.
New student organization engages Latino community Trabajadores Social en Acción, a new ASU student club housed on the Tucson campus, brings together students in the master of social work program whose aim is to strengthen, empower and advocate for Latino communities. MSW students Faby Brink, Melissa Novelo and MSW graduate Juana Ambrose organized the group. Trabajadores provides a space for groups to practice social work benefitting the community. Members of the club share an interest in Spanish-speaking social work, better social work practice with Latino clients, and the inclusion of advocacy for Latino students in the social work curriculum. The club recently hosted their first Tertulia, a round-table discussion with attendees in Tucson and Phoenix.
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Foster-care research earns students prestigious fellowship Christopher Hernandez Francie Julien-Chinn knows that a lot of factors can affect a child’s permanent placement in the foster-care system. The second-year social work doctoral student, who has 11 years of work experience with Child Protective Services, has received a highly competitive Doris Duke Fellowship to research some of these factors.
Julien-Chinn joins three colleagues who have also won the award: Jennifer Mullins Geiger part of the inaugural cohort in 2011, 2013’s Megan J. Hayes and Elisa Kawam. Geiger applied her stipend to enhance research for her dissertation study of the cycle of child maltreatment, in which she looked at young adults aging out of the child-welfare system and the challenges that face them as potential parents themselves.
Since its inception, the Doris Duke Fellowship has been awarded to 70 doctoral students from more than 50 colleges nationwide. ASU’s School of Social Work is one of only two schools to produce four fellowship winners.
The fellowship allowed her to observe the perceived social-support system, as well as the living situations of 183 youths across Arizona who were a part of the child-welfare system. Geiger aimed to predict potential risks and challenges they would face should they become parents.
The $30,000 annual stipend will help support her dissertation work aimed at highlighting how the perceptions case workers have about their organizational culture correlate with permanency outcomes for children in out-of-home care.
“It was always my intention to take what I learned and bring it back to the field,” Geiger said. “It’s about getting information out there to potentially change people’s mindset about how we establish policy and practice working with this population.”
“There’s so much that goes into how we can get children into legal permanency in a timely manner, but that’s not happening,” JulienChinn said. “I think this is an innovative way to look at some of the factors that might be impacting these decisions.”
With nine years of experience working in behavioral health in foster-care group homes, Hayes’ doctoral dissertation took a closer look into former foster children who have transitioned from child-welfare and mental health systems. She examined the decision-making process regarding mentalhealth service utilization after turning 18.
Julien-Chinn hopes to survey approximately 100 child-welfare workers to understand how they feel about their organizational culture using the Organizational Social Context Scale. The fellowship will help tremendously with that.
“One of the things that is most helpful is the peer learning network that the fellowship provides, where we are able to connect with other emerging scholars across the country,” said Hayes.
During her research, Hayes interviewed 29 former foster children and eight professionals in the field associated with independent living programs or behavioralhealth agencies. The first phase of interviews and focus groups informed the development of a survey administered to 224 foster alumni to determine the most intense and frequently encountered situations. “It’s important to make sure my research is practice-oriented so that I can remain engaged in the community,” Hayes said. Kawam was a pre-med student before she chose to enter the field of social work, specializing in child welfare. “Social work changes the foundational fabric of who you are, because it makes you look at the world differently,” said Kawam. Kawam, who worked as an investigator for Child Protective Services and a supervisor at a transitional-housing facility for pregnant and parenting teenage mothers, focused her study on PTSD and trauma in the mothers of young children who are involved in child welfare. The cyclical and intergenerational nature of child maltreatment was of particular interest to her in her study. In the course of her work, Kawam not only credits the fellowship but how the ASU School of Social Work helped her as well. “I believe the reputation of ASU and our social work programs really carried me throughout this process,” Kawam said. “From researching and teaching, I’m grateful for the well-rounded experience I had.”
honoring achievement
Marsiglia named Regents’ Professor
Four Arizona State University professors have joined the ranks of the highest faculty honor at the university, as Regents’ Professors for the 2014-2015 academic year.
The title is conferred on full-time professors who have made exceptional achievements that have brought them national and international distinction. The expertise from this year’s candidates ranges from Chinese culture to earthquake engineering. Flavio Marsiglia, the director of the Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center and professor of social work, received one of four honors for the 2014-2015 academic year. Flavio is an internationally recognized expert who has not only brought innovative ideas to the forefront of health disparities and minority health research but has brought communities together to enact solutions. His commitment to community-embedded research has demonstrated the power of treating our neighbors not as research subjects but research partners.
His previous honors include being selected as a recipient for the Google Award for Diversity and Inclusion, the Community, Culture and Prevention Science Award and in 2012 he was inducted into the National Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare. His work on diversity, substance use and youth development has been credited with a measurable reduction in drug use and high-risk behavior among youth in more than 30 U.S. states and foreign countries. In partnership with Arizona school districts and with support of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Marsiglia developed keepin’ it REAL, a culturally grounded substance abuse prevention program for middle school students. The highly successful program has been implemented across the U.S. and adapted in Mexico and Latin America. Yvonne Fortier, chair of SIRC’s Community Advisory Board, notes Flavio’s innate ability to inspire collaboration. Dr. Marsiglia influences and motivates community action. He leads with grace and humor, consistently encouraging, honoring and celebrating contributions from each member,” said Fortier.
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The Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center will launch the Center for International Translational Intervention Research with the mission of advancing the well-being of children and youth worldwide by creating lasting solutions that address the root causes of unmet social needs.
In Brief Investigating adolescent risk taking behaviors Tucson-based Lela Rankin Williams is principal investigator for the Mexican American Teen Relationships (MATR) study, funded through the office of the vice president for research and economic affairs and the Lois and Samuel Silberman grant fund. The goal is to better understand risk and protective factors for teen dating violence. The study uses a novel approach to study teen dating violence through a multiinformant (adolescents, dating partners) and multi-method (web-based surveys, video-taped couple interactions, focus groups) design. It includes 305 self-identified Mexican-American youth ages 15 to 17 who completed the survey and 34 couples who participated in a videotaped interaction task. Rankin Williams has partnered with several community agencies and high schools, leading to over 25 dating violence workshops for parents and teens. Collaborative program helps at-risk youth succeed Professor Jose Ashford is a leading expert on the intersections between criminal behavior, poverty and mental illness. Ashford is leading several collaborative research projects with Maricopa County, including a study of the Maricopa County Work Investment Act (WIA) Youth Program. The program aims to remove barriers facing at-risk youth in need of additional support to complete education programs or to secure and hold employment. At-risk groups include offenders, school drop-outs, immigrants, youth with parents in prison, disabled youth, parenting or pregnant youth and youth transitioning from foster care. The program targets youth ages 14-21. Initiative aids refugee population in Arizona What began as a project designing and delivering trainings for case managers and community leaders who want to work with refugees has grown into a blossoming community engagement to help refugee populations in Arizona and beyond. Through the Office of Global Social Work, David Androff and Barbara Klimek are building on their work to help local organizations create cultural orientations. Locally, they are leading a collaboration among organizations to create a cohesive, consolidated effort—and branch into social entrepreneurship. Globally, they are taking pilot projects for more efficient, effective models of refugee integration into Europe.
Successful substance abuse intervention program expands Keepin’ it REAL, or Manténte REAL in Spanish aims to increase youth’s drug resistance skills, enhance risk assessment and decision-making skills and promote anti-substance use norms and attitudes. Keepin’ it REAL teaches students how to use four drug resistance strategies: Refuse, Explain, Avoid, and Leave (REAL), commonly used among early adolescents. Manténte REAL is a linguistically adapted Spanish version of keepin’ it REAL. It is currently being tested for its applicability and effectiveness in Guatemala, Mexico and Uruguay. Culturally grounded prevention curriculum adapted for urban American Indian parents A new study will create and test a culturally grounded parenting intervention for urban American Indian families through a cultural adaptation of an existing prevention program, Families Preparing the New Generation (FPNG). The research process involves the three largest urban American Indian communities in Arizona while the adaptation process tailors the program to the new target population in ways that increase cultural fit while maintaining fidelity to core components of the original FPNG program. The new intervention is being adapted, piloted, evaluated, culturally validated and tested in a randomized control trial involving 600 families in partnership with the urban Indian communities in Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff. In addition to testing the intervention’s efficacy, the study will assess the participants’ connection to native culture and whether changes in overall family functioning lead to specific parenting practices directed at reducing their children’s risk behaviors.
Faculty Awards
2014-2015 Honors & professional associations
Expanding our expertise new faculty joining the School of Social Work
Mary-Ellen Brown joins ASU from Louisiana State University where she was research associate in the Office of Social Service Research & Development. Her areas of specialized research include community advancement, promoting effective human service organizations and transforming systems that perpetuate poverty in order to impact the social determinants of health and improve quality of life outcomes for vulnerable populations. She was one of 17 students to receive the Doctoral Dissertation Research Grant Award from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Prior to pursuing her doctoral degree, Brown served as the director for the Institute of Human Services and Public Policy at Louisiana State University. Kristin Ferguson-Colvin joins ASU from the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College in New York. Ferguson’s research focuses on the design, implementation and evaluation of vocational interventions for homeless youth that integrate employment and clinical services, including supported employment and social enterprises. She was previously the principal investigator of an international, interdisciplinary research project that identified best practices in faithbased organizations servicing street-living children in Los Angeles, Mumbai and Nairobi. Her research interests include homelessness and runaway youth, commercial and sexual exploitation of children, social enterprises,
university-agency research partnerships and global social work.
Katie Cotter’s research focuses on the risk and protective factors associated with youth development with a focus on aggressive and violent behavior among female adolescents. As a doctoral student at University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, she taught intermediate social statistics, a social justice oriented service-learning course, and a course on working with groups and communities. Using data collected for the North Carolina Academic Center for Excellence in Youth Violence Prevention (NC-ACE), her dissertation work examined the construct validity of aggression and violent behavior measures and identifies relational risk and promotive factors associated with adolescent female aggression. Cotter plans to further develop the knowledge base and ultimately use this information to develop and evaluate female-specific prevention and intervention programs. Hyunsung Oh earned his Ph.D. from the School of Social Work at the University of Southern California in 2014. His dissertation work focused on depression severity, self-care behaviors, and self-reported diabetes symptoms and daily functioning among low-income patients receiving depression care. He is particularly interested in understanding the influence of patient’s social network on patient’s activation for self-care behaviors (e.g., exercise, healthy food selection) and collaborations with health professionals in or out of a primary care clinic.
Fei Sun, associate professor in the School of Social Work, was named a Fellow of the Gerontology Society of America. Judy Krysik, associate professor in the School of Social Work, has been selected to be a member of the National Ethics Committee of the National Association of Social Workers. Robin Bonifas, associate professor in the School of Social Work, has been selected to serve on the Editorial Board Executive Committee for the Journal of Gerontological Social Work. Social Work professors Stephen Kulis, Lela Rankin Williams and David R. Hodge were named 2015 Fellows of the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR). Robin Bonifas, associate professor in the School of Social Work, received the Faculty Achievement Award from the Association for Gerontology Education in Social Work. Teri Kennedy has been elected to a threeyear term on the national nominating committee of the Council on Social Work Education. Dominique Roe-Sepowitz, associate professor in the School of Social Work and director of ASU’s Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research was appointed to the Arizona Governor’s Human Trafficking Council.
Community engagement & excellence Dominique Roe-Sepowitz, associate professor in the School of Social Work, and Commander Jim Gallager of the Phoenix Police Department received the Paladin Award from Free to Laugh, Laugh to Free. The National Association of Social Workers named Maricopa County social worker Adrienne Decker-Delgado its Social Worker of the Year for her website FindHelpPhx.org, a one-stop reference for people seeking free and low-cost health or social services. Dominique Roe-Sepowitz, associate professor in the School of Social Work, was one of nine recipients of the 2014 Commission on the Status of Women 15th annual outstanding achievement and contribution awards. Michael Shafer, professor in the School of Social Work, received the ASU Faculty Achievement Service award for his impact in the health solutions field. Pamela Scala received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Social Workers Arizona chapter
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about the school of social work The School of Social Work is part of ASU’s College of Public Service and Community Solutions, a comprehensive college that is advancing research and discovery of public value and furthering the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves. The School of Social Work is motivated by its steadfast commitment to promote social, political, and economic justice, with special emphasis on populations of the Southwest. The School prepares professional social work practitioners and scholars who are committed to enhancing individual, family and group problem-solving capacities, maximizing human potential, and creating a more just and humane society.
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