Outreach 2020-21

IN “I know this could work.”

Yolanda Smith is seeking investors for a mobile laundry service for her hometown

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MISSION STATEMENT

The University of Alabama’s School of Social Work prepares scholar-practioners and researchers committed to ending adverse social conditions and promoting societal well-being through teaching, research and service.

EDITOR

WRITERS

DESIGNER

COPY EDITOR

DEAN & PROFESSOR

David Miller

Melissa Parker David Miller

Joshua Clayton

David Miller

Lesley Reid

OutReach is published by The University of Alabama School of Social Work, Box 870314, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0314 ©2021 The University of Alabama School of Social Work All rights reserved. Information contained in the publication is gathered from sources considered reliable. The School of Social Work cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions in this publication. The University of Alabama is an equal opportunity educational institution/employer.

SIDE

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Student News 11

Smith to Focus on Women, Addiction During Schweitzer Fellowship

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Barnett inspired by food insecurity in hometown, MSW professor in successful city council campaign

School News

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BSW STUDENT CHANNELS LOSS OF MOTHER IN ADDRESSING STUDENT SUICIDE PREVENTION

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NIA, NSF to Fund Ruggiano’s Tech-Focused Dementia Care Projects

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Lee, interdisciplinary UA team awarded $1 million to address opioid abuse in Alabama

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Student services responds to COVID challenges

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Field helps students complete placements during pandemic

Alumni News

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Faculty and Doctoral Scholarship

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Stout: Washington, D.C. Internship Program was ‘Life Changing’

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New Faculty & Staff

OWN YOUR VOTE: DIVERSITY COMMITTEE’S SPEAKER SERIES COVERS KEY ELECTION TOPICS

S O C I A L W O R K . U A . E D U

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Follow us on Twitter @UA_SocialWork

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BUFORD AWARD: UA EPC DIRECTOR HONORED FOR RESEARCH, ADVOCACY FOR HIGHER ED EQUAL ACCESS

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MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN

Dear Alumni and Friends, If you go to the third floor of Little Hall (the floor that did not exist until 2017) and enter the Coy Stout and Jeffrey Faulk Board Room (made possible by the generosity of our alumni), you will find two display cases that house the archives of the School of Social Work. These bound volumes of newsletters, press clippings, and past issues of this very publication record the history of the School. It is a history embedded in the broader milieu of the times. In 1970, broad antiwar protests spread across campus, including the School of Social Work. In 2011, the School supported the Tuscaloosa community in the aftermath of the devastating tornado that ripped through our city. In twenty, forty, sixty years, future members of the School of Social Work will look to the archives of 2020-a year when the resiliency of American democracy was challenged and held fast. A year when the power of collective action moved us just a bit further along Martin Luther King’s proverbial arc of the moral universe toward a more racially just society. A year that would stand as remarkable even in the absence of the global pandemic that has upended our lives and taken far too many souls from this Earth before their time.

What will those future generations of social workers find in these archives? They will find students, faculty, and staff who came together to address the challenges and uncertainty of this year in remarkable ways.

Our teaching faculty redesigned their classes to online instruction, creating continuity and stability for our students, enabling the Class of 2020 to graduate as planned despite the physical closure of the university.

The field education program office worked with students whose placement sites went virtual or could no longer take field students at all. They brought creative problem solving to the fore, developing a case management program that paired our MSW students with the University’s Office of Student Care and WellBeing to provide more extensive support to students across campus who were experiencing pandemicdriven hardships. Our faculty and research staff redesigned study methodologies and implemented broad safety protocols to ensure the health of their research participants. And the School found new ways to extend student engagement outside of the classroom in virtual and socially-distanced ways. We moved our Washington, D.C. Fly-In to Zoom, continued with our Own Your Vote programming online, instituted a new Noontime Knowledge speaker series for our students, and even screened the movie Selma on the Little Hall lawn.

Future generations will look back at how The University of Alabama School of Social Work fared during the COVID-19 pandemic and find that we did not just make it through the year, in 2020 we thrived. We found new ways to support our students and each other. We embraced challenges and found opportunities to improve our teaching, our research, and our service to the university, the profession, and our community. We will all emerge from this pandemic different than we entered it, but I am confident that the School of Social Work will emerge a stronger and more resilient institution prepared to face a new and better future together.

Sincerely, Dr. Lesley Reid Interim Dean and Professor

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COLLABORATE • INNOVATE • TRANSFORM

BY THE NUMBERS

Calculated at the median pay rate for state of Alabama social workers, representing service worth in excess of $7.6 million.

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STUDENT NEWS

Neal helps launch Students Tide Against Suicide September 2019 is a month Ashlyn Neal will never forget.

Her mother, Jessica Key, died by suicide at age 40. Then, two weeks later, one of Neal’s classmates took their own life.

“If you’re someone who’s never experienced that, it’s not something that crosses your mind,” Neal said. “It’s still confusing to me.”

Grieving and coping with the loss of family and friends can include a matrix of health and wellness routines, along with talking through one’s grief, according to psychcentral.com. For Neal, a senior BSW student and former nursing major, finding students on campus who share her story became a priority.

Neal would eventually find Tide Against Suicide, a campus suicide prevention initiative organized by the UA Counseling Center. The initiative offers trainings and resources and is rooted in the international Zero Suicide Initiative, but Neal and a handful of students wanted to do more to engage students on campus. So, in early 2020, Neal and four of her UA classmates formed “Students Tide Against Suicide,” a branch of the larger campus initiative that will focus exclusively on anti-suicide awareness, programming and training for UA students.

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The group grew to more than 30 members in Fall 2020, mostly through word-of-mouth advertising and through affiliations to other campus organizations. Students Tide Against Suicide launched its first social media account in the middle of the fall semester.

“We’ve invited members to join based on their unique situations,” Neal said. “We have so many people from all walks of life join, share their stories and give their views on what they want our group to be.”

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BSW Neal serves as secretary for Students Tide Against Suicide. She said four of the five group officers have lost either friends or family to suicide. And while their circumstances and experiences are different, their shared grief and motivations power a “sense of community,” Neal said.

Student News

“I wanted to be a part of starting a conversation of helping to prevent other cases,” she said. “I wanted to make people stop asking, ‘what could I have done?’ I wanted to be the difference.”

Starting those conversations has been challenging, as COVID-19 has limited in-person meetings and events that are staples for their outreach plans. Their events are aimed at being flexible and unique, from offering Question, Persuade, Refer training – which helps people recognize warning signs of a suicide crisis and provide early intervention – to relaxation and destress events.

Neal says the group’s limitations due to health and safety protocols were “a little discouraging” early in 2020, particularly in keeping members, campus and the community engaged. However, COVID-19, coincidentally, was a “big push” to launch in spring 2020.

“We looked at this like it’s a perfect time to be that group to reach out to students when they need us most, to know they had a group to reach out to,” she said. “Suicide during the COVID pandemic … it’s prevalent; there’s been a spike. People aren’t able to reach out to others as much. They’re unable to go to the doctor right now. Many places are trying to do counseling over Zoom, and that’s incredibly impersonal. People are feeling isolated. Us, starting this group, we’re able to bring people to together to feel like they’re being heard.”

Neal will earn her BSW degree in December 2021 and will pursue a career in healthcare social work.

Smith named CBC Foundation intern Yolanda Smith, BSW student from Tuscaloosa, participated in the Fall 2020 Congressional Black Caucus Foundation virtual internship program.

Smith’s internship began on Sept. 8. She worked and attended professional development programs and CBC events virtually, five days a week.

CBCF’s internship programs prepare college students and young professionals to become principled leaders, skilled policy analysts, and informed advocates by exposing them to the processes that develop national policies and implement them – from Capitol Hill to federal field offices.

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By David Miller

Smith: COVID-19 has exacerbated a long-running need for affordable, accessible laundry service

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COLLABORATE • INNOVATE • TRANSFORM

T

he warmth and humidity on this early September morning is an unwelcome reminder that summer’s reprieve is nowhere in sight.

Alabamians, though, are used to the balmy days of late summer. They proudly weather the heat and wear their dampened skin like a rite of passage.

Of course, sheltering in an air-conditioned room helps them endure these days. But, while most every home is outfitted with an air conditioner, this retreat comes at a price, especially for low-income people.

Yolanda Smith, a Tuscaloosa native and undergraduate social work major at The University of Alabama, feels the pinch of high energy costs. She rents a house on Tuscaloosa’s West Side, where she says her landlord will not outfit her home with an energy efficient A/C unit and windows, or improved insulation. And, as a caregiver for her mother – a stroke survivor who lives with her – the home needs to be cooled 24 hours a day.

Unpaid utilities and rent, regardless of circumstances, can result in wage garnishment and eviction, Smith said.

“It’s a challenge, not just for me, but a lot of people on the West Side,” Smith said. “There are a lot of people struggling to make ends meet, and with COVID-19 forcing everyone inside and the majority of people’s jobs putting them in direct exposure to COVID, it’s made surviving even more difficult.”

Paying bills and putting food on the table are essential duties, and, as a result, other needs sometimes go unmet, she says.

One glaring deficit for many low-income families is having clean clothes, a need that’s been heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic, Smith says. Additionally, the effects of infrequently washed laundry

have deeper, longer-lasting effects on one’s confidence and perception from others. Smith remembers times when her family struggled to have power to wash clothes for her and four younger siblings.

The experience taught her to “make the best with what you have,” but “growing up poor” leaves few options to navigate these obstacles.

But, as Smith is learning, motivation, coupled with innovation, can be a launching point for change. Smith, a BSW student in The University of Alabama School of Social Work, is keen to bring her passion project – a mobile laundry service – into operation.

Inspired by a Tide mobile wash truck that offered to wash and fold laundry for Tuscaloosa residents after the April 27, 2011 tornado, Smith has worked for more than a year to build a plan and infrastructure and secure funding for a similar, full-time service in Tuscaloosa. “[Tide] came to the University Mall parking lot and picked up all those clothes, and washed and folded them for me,” said Smith, whose home was destroyed by the tornado.

“I couldn’t thank them enough. It’s those kinds of little things that people need to recover.”

Smith currently holds a federal contractor license and is seeking funding to start a non-profit mobile laundry service. She has a business plan and has identified a company from which to purchase trucks that meet emergency management specs. However, building partnerships and raising capital has proven difficult.

“Things have slowed down since COVID, and I feel like I’m trying to speak [the project] into existence,” Smith said. “Every social service worker I see asks if I’ve started it yet, but I don’t have the credit or collateral.”

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STUDENT NEWS

Coping with COVID-19 The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a devastating toll on Smith’s family and her neighborhood. She says that both of her neighbors have died due to COVID-19, and that four of her family members have passed since March, 2020.

Her brother, Christopher Smith, suffered a stroke and died at age 31. Yolanda had custody of her siblings since she was 18 and had been Christopher’s caregiver after his first stroke.

An autopsy of Christopher’s body ruled out COVID, Yolanda said, but his passing was a shock to the family.

“We knew [Christopher] was high-risk for another stroke,” she said, “but a fever worsened to him not waking up at all.

“He was taking his meds, and we were monitoring his blood pressure, so we don’t know what happened.”

Yolanda now works to keep her mother, who cannot walk on her own or speak, isolated from visitors and safeguarded against COVID-19.

Being a caregiver is one of many challenges Yolanda and her family face, but her family extends beyond the walls of her home.

She serves her West Side neighbors in a variety of ways, from helping connect them to social services and delivering food boxes from area agencies, to cooking meals and helping guide neighbors through the federal unemployment process.

Getting these meals to people has inherent challenges due to lack of transportation for many of her neighbors, and the risk of exposure to COVID-19 keeps many neighbors indoors and limits deliveries.

Yolanda, though, coordinates with other neighbors to work around these limitations.

“I can’t sit in my home and know people are starving,” Yolanda said. “And I can’t give

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them canned goods because of the sodium, so we are cooking the food for them.”

Limited transportation – regardless of potential exposure to COVID-19 by leaving one’s home – and a lack of appliances also forces families to be creative when doing laundry, often relying on other families and friends to host a “wash day.” But, if that family can’t afford detergent or to contribute to the host’s water bill, then that option isn’t available, Yolanda says.

The Passion, The Plan, The Pitch When Yolanda worked at Community Service Programs of West Alabama, she was able to connect her experiences as a client with the tedious and sometimes complicated process of paperwork, policies and procedures. There, she helped streamline the process for residents to get their power restored to their home, and she built valuable rapport with elderly clients.

That job showed Yolanda that she could not only help people directly, but that she could also launch and operate her mobile laundry as a non-profit. She eventually left that job to pursue a BSW at UA. “I saw where my limitations were,” she said.

“I needed to go back to school.”

Almost immediately upon enrolling in the School of Social Work, Yolanda found a familiar and welcomed voice in Kristy Holt, instructor and Title IV-E Coordinator for the School of Social Work. Yolanda said she was one of Holt’s clients while Holt worked for the Alabama Department of Human Resources.

“When I started class, I was just so happy to hear [Holt] acknowledge their system was flawed for certain people,” Yolanda said. “It brought my anxiety down and motivated me even more.”

Yolanda’s other experiences at UA have been equally fruitful and formative, especially as it relates to her project. For instance, in one of her early semesters, she mistakenly enrolled in an English engineering class and considered dropping it, but her professor, upon learning of her passion project, encouraged her to stay in the class. There, she learned of the Edward K. Aldag Business Plan Competition, where students pitch business plans and prototypes and compete for cash prizes.

Statewide business leaders judge the competition and provide feedback to entrants.

Yolanda would compete in the 2019 Aldag competition, and though she didn’t place or win a cash prize, the feedback and networking opportunities were invaluable, she says. For instance, one of the judges told her to consider partnering with military veterans’ support agencies or with the City of Tuscaloosa’s emergency management department.

“A lot of people from Aldag have kept in touch, but they were honest: people needed to see it in action to spur investment,” Yolanda said. “I’ve talked to a few people – I met a man from Southern Research Group who reached out to Alabama Power to see if they wanted to coordinate with me.

“But after Aldag, I didn’t know what to do because I knew this wouldn’t make a lot of money.”

Yolanda is “out of ideas” and is desperately seeking a government or non-profit agency to partner with.

She could use help in writing grants, too.

“I just feel like I’m lost,” she says.

“How can I get this off the ground and put it to use in my city? I know this could work.”

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STUDENT NEWS

12-step recovery meetings, reducing a significant barrier “that impacts a large number of women receiving any form of mental health treatment.”

At Still Waters, Smith said she found this barrier, among others, is greater for mothers due to stigmas and an expectation that women quickly return to the home to care for their children.

“I think there are issues that don’t get addressed because of gender,” Smith said. “So that’s where my passion lies.”

Madison Smith began her Albert Schweitzer Fellowship in Spring 2020.

Smith to Focus on Women, Addiction During Schweitzer Fellowship

By David Miller Sometimes, it takes just one class to solidify a major, and just one internship to calibrate one’s direction.

MSW student Madison Smith’s original plan was to major in nursing upon enrolling as a freshman at The University of Alabama in the fall of 2016. But, inspired to learn about the risk factors of drug addiction, she enrolled in HD 201 (Understanding Addiction) before declaring a major.

“My grandparents are addicts and were actively using during my early childhood,” Smith said.

“I saw the family dynamic of that, along with the family dynamic since they have been in recovery, and (I) wanted to understand more about the disease. So I took the addiction course to learn more about addiction as a whole.

I found studying addiction came more naturally to me than nursing did, and I enjoyed it more.”

Smith would major in addiction and recovery in the College of Human Environmental Sciences, a program that would yield an impactful internship with Still Waters for Women – a 12-step

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immersion program for women outside of Nashville – and help steer her toward the UA School of Social Work, where she is currently in her second year of UA’s MSW program.

Smith has since combined her research interest of addiction with a focus on women and their barriers to resources and recovery. Announced in late 2019 as one of 17 graduate students in the 2020-21 class of the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship of Alabama, Smith has since developed research partnerships and implemented her service plan.

Each year, Alabama Schweitzer Fellows, comprised of graduate students across the state, develop and implement service projects that address the root causes of health disparities in underresourced communities, while also fulfilling their academic responsibilities. Each project is implemented in collaboration with a community-based health and/or social service organization.

Smith was most eager to implement a plan to provide child care for women going to

Smith said her field placement at The Bridge, an Alabama-based Department of Youth Services diversion program and outpatient substance use treatment program, helped prepare her for the design of the Schweitzer program.

The Bridge provides individual and family therapy as well as case management, but it’s been Smith’s administrative work at The Bridge that’s helped “change my whole focus.” In November, her supervisor at The Bridge, Tangi Landers, commissioned her help with data collection and analysis of a Department of Youth Services annual report, which yielded interesting statistics about crimes and demographics, and “impacted successful outcomes for the clients.” “[Landers] allowed me to sit in on meetings with the judge and others to discuss the annual report and how to plan going forward,” Smith said. “The idea of running a program, growing it and developing it is something I want to do. The Schweitzer program is a small version of that.”

Smith is eager to partner with faculty who have an interest in working with female addicts. She has worked with UA social work researcher Dr. Karen Johnson in a lab where women with HIV risks in the criminal justice system are the focus. Johnson has helped Smith connect with resources for her Schweitzer Fellowship.

“My overall goal is to develop a residential treatment program for female addicts where kids can come as well and receive treatment for any trauma they’ve experienced,” Smith said. “This can hopefully help extend the mother’s time in treatment and prevent future issues for the child.”

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MSW Student News Furr receives Graduate Council Fellowship Kayliegh Furr, the second student in the history of the School of Social Work’s MSW/JD program, was awarded a Graduate Council Fellowship, that began the Fall 2020 semester.

Furr is one of a few MSW students who are fluent in Spanish, said MSW Program Director, Sebrena Jackson.

As an undergraduate in social work, Furr received UA’s Presidential Scholarship and the Hill Crest Foundation Endowed

Scholarship. She was enrolled in Honors College and received the Social Work Dean’s Scholar Award in 2017.

Furr’s service work includes the Good Samaritan Health Clinic in Tuscaloosa, where she served as a Spanish interpreter, and Read Alabama, where she served as a student mentor. Furr also volunteered for Hope for Guatemala in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

Hayes awarded National Alumni Association Fellowship Andrea Hayes, culturally and linguistically fluent in Spanish, aspires to work with the Latinx community in Alabama.

An MSW student and recipient of the National Alumni Fellowship, Hayes specialized in healthcare analytics while completing her undergraduate business degree at UA. She works as the clinical coordinator at Maude Whatley Health Services.

Hayes was selected as a Pickens County Fellow in 2018 and oversaw four UA projects there, including health advocacy and a countywide transportation assessment.

Hayes is a former recipient of the Daniels Community Scholars Program, where she received $5,000 to implement a community program in Holt.

Worthington receives new Capstone-McNair Fellowship Veronica Worthington was awarded a Capstone McNair Graduate Fellowship, a new fellowship offered by UA. Worthington’s undergraduate research was lauded at Winthrop University, where she was a member of the McNair Scholars Program and received numerous awards for academic achievement. Her McNair research

project, Active shooter protocols: Perceptions, preparedness, and unintended consequences, was supported by two faculty members. She’s presented her work at four professional conferences and plans publication for the study.

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STUDENT NEWS

BARNETT INSPIRED BY

MSW Professor to Run for City Council West Blocton native motivated by lack of resources to fight hunger

By Melissa Parker

After 16 years of working in the child welfare system, Holly Barnett had maxed out her options for moving up in her field.

With hopes of advancing her career, Barnett, a social worker who lives in West Blocton, Alabama, decided to go back to school. Little did she know, she’d be inspired by her college courses to run for, and win, a city council seat.

“I wanted to help license foster homes, and in order to do that, I had to have a higher degree,” said Barnett, who holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of West Alabama. “I was encouraged by a former supervisor to pursue a master’s degree. When I applied to UA, I honestly didn’t think I’d get in because it had been so long since I was in college. But UA worked with me.”

Barnett enrolled at UA in the fall of 2019 in the Master of Social Work distance learning program.

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MSW student and West Blocton city councilor, Holly Barnett.

“I’m a married, 39-year-old, working mom of a two-year-old daughter,” Barnett said. “So even though UA is basically in my backyard, going to in-person class is not feasible for somebody like me. Even though I don’t see my professors face-toface, they’ve been great with answering all my questions. And I’ve received a ton of support from my online classmates.

I’ve gained more knowledge in the field of social work while taking online classes at UA than I have in all my years of working in the child welfare system.”

Last spring, Barnett took two social work courses that would change the direction of her life: social work practice with community, taught by Dr. Carol Drolen, associate professor of social work, and advanced social welfare policy analysis, taught by Dr. Karen Starks, assistant professor of social work.

Through research required for the courses, Barnett discovered there was an

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exceptionally high poverty rate in her town, in addition to a particularly high disability rate.

“To me, that’s the ideal social worker … to help, encourage, empathize and support those in our community to be the change and to advocate for a better community.”

When she started looking into the city’s laws and attending town hall meetings, required for the policy course, she realized that some important issues, such as food security and bill assistance, were not being addressed.

“People are struggling to even pay their water bills,” Barnett said. “There are areas that need to be brought to light in my town, with the poverty and disability rate so high, only having one food bank in town that requires individuals to show proof they need assistance, not having a grocery store, no dentist. There are things I want to help my town do, to create resources to better ourselves, to better our town.”

Even though holding political office was far beyond what she had planned for her life, she

decided to run for a city council seat in July of 2020, with a vision to help strengthen the town’s current assets and develop new ones to address its challenges.

She ran her campaign with just $150 and with the help of her husband, daughter and a few family and friends. She spent hundreds of hours in her neighbors’ living rooms, conveying her vision to bring needed help and change to their town.

Barnett won the election in August and was sworn into office at the beginning of November.

She will graduate from UA in May 2021 and hopes to continue to use her knowledge of social work to benefit the residents of West Blocton.

“To me, that’s the ideal social worker,” said Barnett. “To help, encourage, empathize and support those in our community to be the change and to advocate for a better community.”

Holly Barnett, far right, was sworn into the West Blocton City Council in early November.

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STUDENT NEWS

PHD Student News Haley Beech and Amber Sutton received the School of Social Work Ph.D. Program’s Outstanding Contributions to Scholarship, 2020

Kun Wang received the Gerontological Society of America Mentoring and Career Development Technical Assistance Workshop Junior Investigator Diversity Fellow Award

Qingyi Li received the School of Social Work Ph.D. Program’s Outstanding Contributions to Teaching and was named a 2020 Post-doctoral Research Associate at Cornell University Department of Human Development

Kirsten Laha-Walsh received the School of Social Work Ph.D. Program’s Outstanding Contributions to Service, 2020

Edson Chipalo received the Graduate Council Fellowship for incoming students, 2019-2020 and the Graduate Council Fellowship for current students, 2020-2021

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COLLABORATE • INNOVATE • TRANSFORM

Gloria Abura received the Graduate Council Fellowship for incoming students, 2019-2020

Natasha Langner Smith received the UA National Alumni Association Graduate Fellowship for incoming students, 2019-2020

Kefentse Kubanga received the UA Center for CommunityBased Partnerships Graduate Fellowship, 2020-2021

Yan Luo received the UA Center for Community-Based Partnerships Graduate Fellowship, 2020-2021

Burcu Ozturk reached the UA Graduate School Three-Minute Thesis Finals, 2019

Laura Boltz, a 2020 Ph.D. program graduate, was hired for a tenure track position at Mississippi State University, 2020

Taylor Ellis was a UA representative at the Reimagining Social Work Research Symposium, 2019, and was named to a tenure track faculty position at Jacksonville State University, 2020 SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK

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STUDENT NEWS

American Cancer Society to Fund Godfrey’s Dissertation Research Study will explore psychosocial needs of military members, dependents diagnosed with cancer

By David Miller Kelli Godfrey’s bout with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2014 lasted six months before she was declared cancer-free.

Reaching remission was and still remains a blessing, but as a military spouse, she was uniquely isolated to navigate the arduous path of treatment and recovery.

Godfrey and her husband at the time were stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, where she worked as an advocate for sexual assault victims with the U.S. Army. Godfrey was diagnosed with cancer that May, the beginning of logistical hurdles of using both military and civilian healthcare, coupled with the daily challenges of managing both her family and career.

“My primary care doctor was on post, where I’d have my bloodwork, but my treatments were done off-post, so there was a lack of continuity in trying to figure out where to go, and also in having those doctors communicate,” Godfrey said. “My husband at the time still had a very active role on the

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Kelli Godfrey’s ACS grant is for $40,000 over two years.

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brigade staff, so [I was] trying to take care of my daughter and take off work to go to radiation treatments.”

Godfrey didn’t live near family or friends who could shoulder some of the burden of transportation and childcare while she underwent treatment. She didn’t have an organized support network from the military, either.

For Godfrey, her experiences begged the question: how do the psychosocial needs for military members and dependents battling cancer differ from those experienced by civilians? That question would eventually shape her dissertation focus at The University of Alabama School of Social Work, where she is pursuing a PhD. Her dissertation, Psychosocial Needs of Active Duty Military or Spouses with Cancer Diagnosis, has been funded by the American Cancer Society through its Doctoral Grant in Oncology Social Work.

The ACS grant is for $40,000 over two years.

Godfrey’s mixed-methods dissertation will include a survey of people currently undergoing cancer treatment, and those in remission, along with in-depth interviews to better understand details of each patient’s psychosocial needs.

Godfrey said that, during her treatment, the landscape for online support groups was virtually non-existent. It wasn’t until recently that she found and joined a Facebook group where

she’s been able to connect with others who are undergoing treatment, are in survivorship, or with memories of those who’ve passed away.

Still, despite pleas from Dr. David L. Albright, her dissertation chair, to pursue the topic, she “kept fighting it.”

“I was staying away from this topic for the longest time because it was too close to home,” Godfrey said. “But, another professor I know was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer and has stepped away [from work] to take care of her health. She’s a former Marine, and so it hit home that these answers are still very much needed, and it’s up to me to take on this space.”

Godfrey is seeking IRB approval to begin researching this spring. She hopes to defend her dissertation and complete her PhD by spring 2022.

Dr. Ellen L. Csikai, an expert in end-oflife and palliative care, will “have an active role” in shaping the research of the study, Godfrey said.

“I’m grateful and thankful for the support from Dr. Albright, who has given me so many opportunities since I started working with him in Fall 2016,” Godfrey said. “I have international publications because of him. The support he and Dr. Csikai give me is immense. Sometimes they’re overlooked with things they’re doing with students, but they’ve helped me tremendously.”

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STUDENT NEWS

“He didn’t remember the accident … didn’t remember who [his family] were,” Zee said. “He was in and out of a lot of treatments and rehabilitation.”

Danbaba would pass away on June 28, 2017.

News of Danbaba’s injury and passing were covered extensively in Nigerian and African news media, but for Zee and her siblings, including three younger than her, it was difficult to separate truth from fiction, both in the “very political” news coverage, but also in how family elders shielded the children from the reality of Danbaba’s condition – typical in Nigerian culture – she said.

Late father’s traumatic injury, family’s grieving fuel Suntai’s doctoral work

By David Miller Families process tragedy and grief differently, but when it plays out in news media, families are forced to dispel rumors and combat misinformation, not just for the public, but for their own children.

Zainab (Zee) Suntai was a child when her father, Danbaba, a pharmacist and Bali-born politician, became governor of the Taraba State of Nigeria in 2007. In 2012, just a year after Danbaba was reelected, he suffered a traumatic brain injury after a plane he was piloting crashed.

Danbaba’s cognitive impairment affected his mobility, activities of daily living, and memory, Zee said.

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“The last few years I had with him might have been much better if I’d had full knowledge of what’s going on, instead of wondering and questioning,” Zee said. “There was uncertainty and self-doubt – I was observing things that weren’t true.

Then I was reading things being said about my dad – a different story from what I was hearing from my family.

“It’s hard to have a total reconciliation because I don’t get to re-do the experience, but I think I’m at peace with it.”

Zee’s experiences in processing and grieving her father’s injuries and death shifted her focus from business to social work. Currently pursuing a PhD at The University of Alabama School of Social Work, Zee aspires to help traumatic brain injury survivors, their family members, and their caregivers.

Zee and PhD classmate Kirsten Laha-Walsh are working with the Alabama Head Injury Foundation

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and Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services to provide caregiver advocacy training throughout the state of Alabama.

Zee is also helping in facilitating AHIF’s “Bright Ideas Camp,” a three-day, UAhosted camp that engages campus experts from music, nursing, nutrition and social work.

Zee says engaging TBI survivors and their families allows her to help them cope and navigate their situations better, but to also help her process her own grief that “never goes away.”

“After I got to the acceptance stage of grieving, I developed this passion to help others who are grieving or going through this,” she said. “I turned my research attention to grief, loss, caregiving and traumatic brain injury. At that point, I felt I had first-hand knowledge, and while this is an academic field, having a personal connection really drives the work we do.”

A friend, a passion project Laha-Walsh, a former hospital corpsman in the Navy, says both she and Zee have “personal connections” that power their service work with AHIF. Balancing service with course work, research and apprenticeships can be difficult, Laha-Walsh says, but her and Zee’s shared motivations are buoyed by their friendship, which began nearly two years ago when they first met at a luncheon organized by others in the PhD program.

They’ve since collaborated on research that explores the experiences of caregivers of military veterans in the state.

“We engaged as classmates, but as you go through the program, it gets difficult, and you start to rely on each other,” Zee said. “Kirsten has been like a mentor to me, giving me advice and passing along opportunities like AHIF – she invited me.”

In their project with AHIF, Zee and LahaWalsh meet with 10 caregivers over

a 15-week span and cover pain and medication management, grief and loss, and caregiver burden and stress. This pilot project also incorporates feedback from the caregivers themselves, which helps shape each class. Zee says that she and Laha-Walsh will sometimes pivot from their planned topic in the middle of a session if the engagement or demand warrants it.

“We gave the participants a survey, and they identified key areas like how to apply for a power of attorney, Medicaid, medical resources, funding and stipends,” Laha-Walsh said. “So we found a couple of lawyers who share this passion to help them draft a will and speak to them directly to meet these needs.”

Laha-Walsh says their work with AHIF has been a joint effort, as organizing curriculum and presentations and executing the 15-week training calendar would be “too much for one person.”

“Zee designed the entire schedule,” LahaWalsh said. “I threw topics and ideas out there, but she designed it by week to get a firm outlook.

“Zee also catches my mistakes and will say, ‘it’s OK, I told the caregivers to expect this …” It’s those tiny things sometimes ... but when blended into the entire project, it adds the color and life to it. I’m a very dry person, and Zee adds that life to it and helps me translate my dry, monotone stuff into something exciting.”

Zee says that their work with AHIF has been incredibly enriching and rewarding, “even if it’s just one resource we’ve made someone aware of.”

“Research can sometimes be very detached,” Zee said, “but when you’re working with these people, it reminds you why you’re here and getting a PhD – to serve these people. We know the work we’re doing is worth it. It humanizes us.”

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STUDENT NEWS

Beech, Sutton Moving Forward with Research, Partnerships in Perry County

Doctoral students beginning mixed-methods study with focus on women

By David Miller University of Alabama School of Social Work doctoral students Amber Sutton and Haley Beech are combining their research interests of maternal health and intimate partner violence to help strengthen the population of one of Alabama’s poorest counties.

In Spring 2020, Sutton and Beech began working with Sowing Seeds of Hope, a non-profit organization in Perry County, on a community-based participatory research project that provides a broad range of data in areas such as domestic violence to better inform policy and services decisions in the county. The pair are diving deeper beyond current statistics to fill gaps and provide more accurate data; for instance, the true number of domestic violence victims is hard to truly know because the FBI’s data only includes reported cases, Sutton said.

“So, we are missing the victims that don’t report,” Sutton said. “There are a lot of other factors going on, and there’s a huge gap in the literature, especially from a social work perspective.”

Beech and Sutton, through the help of Sowing Seeds of Hope’s Executive Director, Frances Ford, and Director of

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Haley Beech, PhD student in the UA School of Social Work, details the work she and fellow PhD student Amber Sutton have done in Perry County during a Spring 2021 presentation at the Student Community Engagement Center.

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Communications and Special Projects, Susan Jones, created a mixed methods study to collect survey data and followup data through interviews. The process has been “challenging,” Beech said, but they gained IRB approval and began data collection in May. In early March 2020, Beech and Sutton shared the details of the study at the Student Community Engagement Center on UA’s campus. Their talk included logistics in recruiting participants and the incentives they could offer, along with the “required cultural humility” to let the people there determine what was best for their community, Beech said.

“Knowing these areas around the state, we started asking questions about lack of services and intimate partner violence [in Perry County], and then we started to contribute our expertise,” Beech said. “We asked if they’d be interested in partnering, because there are limited services available in the community.

“So, we began to envision how we would gather that information. There was a community domestic violence training for community members, and we were able to understand what was being taught and was able to make partnerships. We had follow-up meetings and continued conversations and saw an opportunity to do a deeper dive into an area that affects the entire state, but especially poor areas.”

The bigger picture, Beech says, is capacity-building for Perry County, where a significant portion of the population lives below the poverty line. Additionally, the county has been without a hospital for more than 20 years.

“The initial data will probably be more than what we wanted to know, but it will help Sowing Seeds of Hope and Perry County to determine next steps – do they table some things? Do they Move forward with certain projects?” Beech said. “We’re trying to help the community make informed decisions for their population.”

PhD student Amber Sutton: many victims of domestic violence don’t report, leading to inaccurate data.

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SCHOOL NEWS

Members of the School of Social Work’s Diversity Committee pose for a photo with Dev Wakeley, of Alabama Arise, and Kathy Byrd, of the League of Women Voters. Wakeley and Byrd were Own Your Vote presenters on Jan. 9, 2020.

Diversity Committee wraps Successful ‘Own Your Vote’ speaker series

By David Miller While the country implored its citizens to vote in the 2020 Presidential election, The University of Alabama School of Social Work aimed to equip students, faculty and staff with relevant history, details of legislation, logistics of voting, and barriers to voting to help shape more informed voters across campus.

The “Own Your Vote” lunch-and-learn series included topics such as the restoration of voting rights for previously incarcerated people, challenges Hispanic people face in voting, the historical context of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the 100th year of women’s right to vote through the passage of the 19th Amendment.

The School hosted six lunch-and-learn events from September 2019 through March 2020, including calls-

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Charles Wood, of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, speaks about the Voting Rights Act of 1965 during the Own Your Vote lunch-and-learn on Nov. 14, 2019.

to-action, like voter registration drives. The climax event, the annual Dr. Ethel Hall Colloquium, was held Feb. 27, 2020.

The lunch-and-learns were held at Little Hall and were open to the public. The speakers included:

SEPT. 12, 2019 John Paul Taylor, voting rights fellow, Southern Poverty Law Center, described his work and how he organizes to overcome systematic challenges to vulnerable populations.

OCT. 10, 2019 Diana Martinez-Garcia, Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama, brought awareness to the challenges of Hispanic constituents and how they can empower their communities to vote.

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NOV. 14, 2019 Charles Wood, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, provided historical context of the voting rights struggle that contributed to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Andrew Grace and Chip Brantley, authors of the podcast series “White Lies,” described the work they completed while investigating the murder of Rev. James Reeb in Selma, AL.

JAN. 9, 2020 Representatives from the League of Women Voters and Alabama Arise provided information about the voting process, including how to register, read ballots and qualify for absentee ballots, and how to get involved in helping people register and working polls.

T. Marie King (center), keynote speaker for the 2020 Dr. Ethel H. Hall African-American Heritage Month Celebration, poses for a photo with members of the School of Social Work’s Diversity Committee.

King headlines Ethel Hall Celebration

By David Miller

FEB. 14, 2020

T. Marie King, Birmingham based educator and activist, was the featured speaker for the 31st Annual Dr. Ethel H. Hall African-American Heritage Month Celebration on Feb. 27.

Tate Fall, coordinator for the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program, discussed barriers to voting that people with disabilities face, such as lack of ramps at polling sites.

King has more than 20 years of service, education and community experience. As a member of the Local Voices Network, she travels the Southeast and trains people on how to have difficult conversations about race, and how race intersects with politics.

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During the colloquium, King addressed using voting to create social change through active collaboration.

Jay Williams, UA MSW alumnus and Census State Coordinator for the Hard to Count Initiative, held a pre-census launch at Little Hall, where he discussed the impact of an accurate census, particularly for federal funding for crucial social programs in Alabama.

Just 24 hours prior, King held a workshop for SSW students, faculty and staff that covered social awareness and included various exercises to help participants recognize bias and privilege.

The colloquium closed with remarks from Nicholas Miller, grandson of Dr. Ethel H. Hall.

The event honors the memory of Dr. Hall, the first AfricanAmerican and woman to graduate from the School of Social Work’s doctoral program.

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SCHOOL NEWS

“Our technology will be similar to the sensory and communication boards we see with students with autism,” Ruggiano says. “It’ll be a customizable tablet with all the things the person really likes – pictures of their favorite foods, their favorite clothing. So, when caregivers are engaging with them, if they have trouble with words or confusion due to cognition problems, it’ll make caregiving activities a lot easier.”

The project will span five years and will include a pair of clinical sites at both University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Memory Disorder Clinic and Miami Jewish Health.

Dr. Nicole Ruggiano, UA social work researcher, provides dementia care training throughout Alabama and studies the needs of patients and their caregivers.

NIA, NSF to Fund Ruggiano’s Tech-Focused Dementia Care Projects

By David Miller The National Institute on Aging in August 2020 awarded $1.6 million to researchers from The University of Alabama and Florida International University to design touch-screen technology to improve communication between dementia patients and their caregivers.

Dr. Nicole Ruggiano, associate professor in the UA School of Social Work and co-principal investigator for the project, said that dementia patients often struggle to communicate about their daily care and symptoms they’re experiencing, like trouble sleeping or severity of pain. This can lead to “care-resistant behaviors” that are misunderstood by their caregiver.

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Since 2016, Ruggiano has worked extensively with families affected

by Alzheimer’s Disease and other types of dementia in the state of Alabama and has a keen interest in alleviating burdens for caregivers.

In Alabama, there are roughly 300,000 people providing care for someone living with dementia, Ruggiano said.

Beyond her research, Ruggiano has worked with the Alabama Department of Senior Services to provide statewide trainings on dementia care and caregiving.

Additionally, Ruggiano was recently appointed to the Alabama Lifespan Respite Coalition.

Ruggiano’s interest in using technology to improve dementia care spans several years and continued collaborations with Dr. Ellen Brown, associate professor of nursing at Florida International University and CoPI for this project. In 2016, the pair created “CareHeroes,” a

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multi-function app designed to improve communication between physicians providing dementia care and caregivers. The app also aims to decrease caregiver burden and depression symptoms, which are often experienced because of the stress of caregiving. In 2018, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality awarded Ruggiano and Brown $300,000 to test the app with more than 60 participants at sites between Alabama and Miami.

Bridging the gap between the “digitally underserved” can remove complex barriers to care by understanding how different vulnerable groups experience technology, Ruggiano said. For instance, in her work in rural Alabama, where specialty care is limited, African-American caregivers have lacked education and information about dementia and were more likely to view symptoms of dementia as normal signs of aging.

“I’ve had people tell me that, for the first time, they really understand what’s going on with their loved one,” Ruggiano said.

NSF awards Ruggiano planning grant for resource app Through a $150,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, Ruggiano, along with computer science faculty Drs. Monica Anderson, Jeff Gray and Zhe Jiang, will develop a resource database for dementia care across Alabama.

There isn’t currently a standard database or resource repository, so caregivers don’t know what’s available, Ruggiano said. This database would require crowdsourced data from caregivers and providers.

“For instance, for incontinence supplies, they’d put how much they paid and where they were cheapest,” Ruggiano said. “Additionally, the database will selfassess that information for accuracy.”

After a year of development – focus groups, surveys and a prototype – researchers will apply for another NSF grant to build a web app for the database.

The final product will allow users to perform needs assessments, and the app would provide resources and maps to match their needs.

“A lot of dementia care is being done in primary care, and those providers aren’t really sure about services, so they can’t make referrals for their patients and caregivers,” Ruggiano said. “This database can be extremely helpful.”

Ruggiano: narrowing the digital divide can help rural areas compensate for lack of dementia specialists.

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SCHOOL NEWS

HRSA pledges $1 million to implement Grow Alabama Lee, UA colleagues to build on successful planning phase from 2019

By David Miller

Following a year of community engagement and assessments of health and rehabilitation services across rural Alabama, a University of Alabama-led team of researchers is ready to implement a robust opioid prevention, treatment and recovery network in the state.

The Health Resources and Services Administration has awarded UA researchers $1 million for the Greater Rural Opioid Wellness in Alabama Project (GROW Alabama), which aims to connect health care providers, emergency services and community members to deliver opioid education, resources and outreach. GROW Alabama will target Franklin, Marion, Winston, Lamar and Fayette Counties, areas identified by HRSA as “high-risk” for opioid-related mortality or morbidity, said Dr. Hee Yun Lee and Dr. Josh Eyer, UA researchers and co-principal investigators for GROW.

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Since mid-2019, UA’s multidisciplinary research team has executed the first stage of the project, a “planning” grant from HRSA to identify gaps in services and urgent needs to address in GROW Alabama, a three-year project that is already underway.

GROW Alabama’s green light comes at a pivotal time, as COVID-19 has had a “particularly devastating” impact to those suffering from opioid use disorders in the state, according to Dr. Matthew Hudnall, associate director of the Institute of Business Analytics at UA and a coinvestigator for GROW Alabama. Hudnall said that opioid-related emergency room visits statewide increased by 81% from the end of January through July.

Opioid abuse and misuse are nationwide crises that are magnified in Alabama, which, in 2018, had the highest opioid prescribing rate in the country – a rate that has declined in recent years but is nearly twice the U.S. average – according to drugabuse.gov.

Lee says her team has a “true pulse” of rural communities after extensive interviews, surveys and focus groups.

Additionally, the 12-member consortium developed over the last year includes a varivety of community leaders, including

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CEOs and executive directors of community agencies and clinics and their “passion and effort” are powering GROW Alabama.

“Health care professionals all talk about needing ongoing education for their profession,” Lee said. “Currently, there’s no ongoing education about how to work with opioid-addicted people; health care workers go to a once-per-year conference, and that’s it.

“Additionally, we learned that health care professionals want peer recovery specialist education for community members, who can help lessen the stigmas around opioid use.”

Peer recovery specialists are people who are in recovery from substance use who are certified to provide counseling and support to others battling addiction.

In GROW Alabama’s three-year plan, peer recovery workers will team with community volunteers to staff health outposts, a public health concept in which workers are trained to treat basic medical conditions and prevent lifethreatening events. In this instance, these community health workers will be trained to deliver intranasal naloxone, a rescue medication that interrupts opioid toxicity, and how to refer people for care at partnering clinics. These health outposts can be located in a variety of common, high-traffic areas, such as churches, public libraries and clinics.

“You may think that the librarian is only there for books, but because of the web they have within the community, they know the community,” Lee said. “So they’re being trained on how to work with people in addition crisis.

“But it can be others, like school teachers and pastors – if they’re well known and

reachable by community members, we’ll train them, and we’ll work with them to create space for opioid related resource centers and will train them as a paraprofessional for opioid crisis intervention.”

In addition to the health outposts and peer recovery network, the project will implement two other key strategies. The GROW ECHO program, a collaborative health provider network that will provide continuing education about opioid use and abuse, and the GROW App, a web application created by Dr. Jeffrey Carver, professor of computer science at UA, that will provide residents of this region with local information about opioids and opioid prevention, treatment, and recovery resources.

Other UA co-investigators include Carver, who will be developing the innovative web app for the project; Dr. Rebecca Allen (Department of Psychology); Drs. Monika Wedgeworth and Mercy Mumba (Capstone College of Nursing); Dr. Martha Crowther (College of Community Health Sciences), and Dr. Jason Parton (Institute for Business Analytics).

This project also grows from a robust community consortium in the previous planning grant: Northwest Alabama Mental Health Center; Lakeland Community Hospital; the Departments of Human Resources for several of the counties; PRIDE of Alabama; Five Horizons Health Services; Drs. Sonya Heath and Ricardo Franco at UAB Medicine; Alabama Medicaid; the Alabama Department of Public Health; and the Alabama Department of Mental Health. This project was also informed by a community advisory board made up of Rob Alley (UA); Marisa Giggie, MD (CCHS); Billy Kirkpatrick (Five Horizons); and Gwen Thomas-Leblanc (NWAMHC).

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SCHOOL NEWS

‘My high-risk students were in crisis’ Williams, SSW student services meet students’ financial, academic needs during pandemic

By David Miller When the global pandemic intensified in the spring of 2020, University of Alabama School of Social Work students were abruptly sent home from both campus and field placements just before the start of Spring Break.

The first step for the School’s department of student services was to check in with each student and assess their situations and needs. The School

learned quickly that things were already “worse” for its students.

“We wanted to find out where our students will be going, and whether or not they had the resources – computer, internet access – to complete the semester,” said Dr. Javonda Williams, associate dean for student services. “But we quickly learned that, for a lot of our students, they were without a job, and some were hungry. Some of our students were losing multiple relatives, with families trying to figure out how to have a funeral.”

Dr. Javonda Williams, associate dean for student services, meets with senior BSW student Ashlyn Phillips.

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Williams said the school was “well equipped” to reach its students and get the necessary information for immediate interventions – if necessary. It became evident, Williams said, that at-risk students – first generation, students of color and low-income students – were “in a really bad place.”

“One student from out West was able to get home, but when she did, her father, who is a bit older, didn’t have lights, toilet paper or food,” Williams said. “And it wasn’t just that student – my high-risk students were in crisis.

“Typically, my job is about retention, so it became very clear that if we did not address those basic needs, there was no need in asking if they’re coming back.”

Fundraising Typically, the School offers scholarships to students in need, but the COVID-19 crisis required additional campus, community and university alumni connections to direct emergency funds to students. These channels included the Division of Student Care and Well-Being, but with the university closed during the initial COVID shutdown, campus “felt very closed to the students,” often resulting in being “left in an email queue.”

For immediate and pressing needs, this kind of a stall was challenging. In response, the School of Social Work created a COVID-19 student relief fund last spring and accepted donations from faculty, staff and alumni. The fund raised $1,700 for 44 students.

“Because we have such a small school, we could call our students, and it made it easier to get in touch with them,” Williams said. “I could get an e-gift card to Target to them within minutes.”

Class logistics The spring 2020 semester felt like it would never end, Williams said. From virtual course completion to field placement obstacles, the School’s faculty and administration faced the challenge of keeping students motivated to finish the semester.

“A lot of our students don’t have a lot of life experience, and they didn’t have a lot of the coping strategies to deal with the deaths,” Williams said. “Trying to get students to complete the course was really, really hard. So, working with faculty to adjust courses so that they were doable was monumental.”

Some of the adjustments were simple, like extending due dates for assignments or accommodating students who lived in rural areas with poor internet access. But for group projects in classes that typically meet face to face for collaboration, requirements such as interviewing a social worker at a nursing home had to be scrapped. Faculty also had to pivot around students’ required volunteer hours at local agencies.

Community engagement would remain a challenge in the fall, too, particularly in teaching direct-practice skills, like how to run a therapy group or interview a family.

Additionally, faculty continue to teach around the nuances of COVID-19 variables, like wearing masks, as the tone of a client’s voice or facial expressions are difficult to read.

“Social work is a very person-oriented profession, so that pivot for us was very hard when making decisions about students connecting with the community and vulnerable populations,” Williams said.

“When I recruit students, I reinforce the idea that they’ll get this before they leave UA. These experiential experiences are vitally important.”

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SCHOOL NEWS

Return in the fall School staff safeguarded Little Hall in line with health experts’ and UA’s COVID-19 protocols. This included marking desks for social distancing in classrooms, installing sanitizer stations, erecting clear signage that indicates restricted access, and limiting occupancy in areas of the building.

Classes were either fully online or “hybrid,” a mix of online and inperson instruction, with students attending class in small rotations.

Operating classes on these models was met with mixed reactions from students, Williams said.

“And for those who are on campus, that experience isn’t meeting expectations,” Williams said. “No one being in Little Hall, finding dark faculty offices … those have been some of the very real issues, and we’ve tried to address those with our campus events, and in having office hours so that they see a light in the building.”

Ultimately, the uncertainty of COVID-19 bore an emotional toll on students, Williams said. Faculty and staff have been focused on “giving a lot of grace.”

“The students are very worn down,” she said. “They have the ability to withstand any amount of ambiguity and change, but these kinds of changes sometimes come with major, emotional breakdowns.

There’s a vulnerability in trying to get through the semester, but the students are incredibly resilient.”

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Welcome back: ‘First Day UA’ festivities for School of Social Work students in August were toned down to adhere to COVID-19 health protocols.

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Flexibility, strong contingencies help field staff pivot during COVID Virtual internships, remote learning pods help students fulfill placement requirements

By David Miller The spring 2020 semester began like any other for the University of Alabama School of Social Work’s Field Office.

The staff was preparing for roughly 200 Elephant Plan MSW students and 115 BSW students to enter fall and summer field placements.

BSW students who’d applied for field at the beginning of the semester were enrolled in SW 444 (field seminar), a prep course for what to expect in their 450hour internships. Students in SW 444 typically begin interviews with agencies and get matched for their placements midway through the semester.

But, by mid-March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down campus and the country. Field placements for UA social work students were officially in limbo.

“At that point, I have some students who have interviewed with their agency and some who haven’t,” said Shayla Smith, BSW field coordinator. “And, at the same time, when [agencies] are in turbulence, you’re throwing everything overboard to manage the storm.

So, at that time, are they even going to take students?”

Additionally, the School had more than 300 students already in placements, including those in the Washington, D.C. internship program, who would be sent home to complete their placements virtually, either in with their agency or via remote activities from a list developed by the Field team.

“We each partnered with specific faculty liaisons to provide additional touch points and support,”

said Kimberly Gibson, MSW field coordinator.

Those in the final stretch of an MSW placement and set to graduate in May 2020 would satisfy all program requirements and earn their degrees, in spite of the abbreviated placement experience.

But for those slated to finish their degrees in August 2020, December 2020, or May 2021, the prospects of completing field were grim.

Two guiding principles The field team’s quandary in the spring was met with creativity, resilience, improvisation and heightened motivation, attributes proudly embodied by social workers.

Their malleability would be buoyed by “two guiding principles,” said Allison Curington, director of the School’s field office.

“We want to keep students and communities safe, and move students forward with educationally sound plans,” Curington said. “There are many values that guide social workers, but we narrowed down our purpose at that time in a very targeted way.”

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SCHOOL NEWS

The field team met extensively once campus shut down, sometimes “overcommunicating” to make sure everyone agreed on the plan and how to execute it, Curington said.

and complexity once campus shut down.

Beginning in summer 2020, more than 20 MSW students began handling these cases, which ranged from financial strains and academic concerns, to feelings of anxiety and fear.

The plan included:

“It kind of created a new flexibility with field to have contingencies, which were important when factoring a possible second wave of COVID,” Smith said. “This structure could sustain if we had to go back to remote learning.”

• Student surveys of needs and comfort level in doing an in-person placement • Agency surveys of internship plans (inperson, remote, potential for interviews, COVID safety protocols) • Weekly virtual town hall meetings to help calm students’ anxiety and to answer questions • Similar town halls with adjunct field faculty and agency partners • Timely email updates to students that outlined changes from every entity • Field seminars moved completely online • Town halls recorded and distributed to students and field faculty • Curated lists of remote practice opportunities

Smith said the Field faculty and staff learned that most BSW students who’d applied for field preferred an in-person placement, but for the handful who didn’t, Curington and field faculty designed remote learning pods for students to achieve their competencies, with engagement through Zoom or telephone.

The Field Office also launched an innovative Case Management Program, in partnership with UA Student Care and Well-Being, which saw its referrals and cases grow in volume

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Curington said that, just one year prior, the School of Social Work was in the process of designing contingency plans to respond to emergency situations. Likewise, the field office had been working on contingencies for other emergencies – like weather and chemical spills – that could potentially shut down field placements or limit access to campus.

But, while the additional planning helped the field team pivot during the spring, student safety and well-being presented unique challenges. Curington said some School of Social Work students became sick, and some were caregivers during the spring.

“There was loss during this,” Curington said.

“As social workers we know that loss goes far beyond the death of a loved one. Some lost jobs or had employment issues … agencies were sending students home because they were shut down, and this too was a loss for our students.

“For our students in both programs (BSW and MSW), everything was exacerbated because many of our students had families and children whose education was moved virtually.”

Students are placed Sixty BSW students entered field placements for the fall 2020 semester, including five in remote learning pods. Most of the agencybased placements were virtual, though some

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BSW student Mischaela Cole (right) fulfilled an in-person field placement in Fall 2020 at Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue’s EMS Prevention program.

EMS Prevention is directed by UA MSW graduate Brianna Jones (left).

local agency partners, like Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue’s EMS Prevention program, have in-person placements for multiple students.

Additionally, 41 MSW students entered remote placements in the summer, while roughly 175 were placed in the fall. Some of the students placed in summer 2020 shifted to in-person placements with their agency once the fall 2020 semester began.

Thirty MSW students opted for virtual internships in the fall and were placed in six learning remote pods, Gibson said.

Gibson said the challenge of placing students wasn’t limited to COVID-19 – a string of hurricanes along the Gulf Coast impacted some students and agencies.

However, the field team, just like their colleagues across the country, were forced to brainstorm innovative field practices and unique opportunities for their students.

Gibson recalls a placing a student who’d recently shifted her career to social work and was interested in a field with a narrow population.

“Before COVID, we would have been focused solely on opportunities in her

geographic area, and the scope of agencies available was much more narrow,” Gibson said. “As the field program had been intentional about surveying agencies about remote learning options, I was able to match this student with a placement several hours from home that perfectly fit her learning goals for the placement.”

Smith said there were initial safety concerns for students entering placements, particularly those who’d been infected or exposed, and clients of varying degrees of vulnerability. Smith said each agency has its own protocols and safety measures, and those who’ve had students test positive ultimately welcomed their interns back once they’d tested negative.

“We’ve maintained communication with field instructors and liaisons, as we knew they’d have a lot of questions,” Smith said.

“We’ve covered a lot of bases to make sure we’re on the same page.

“I’m amazed we’ve overcome so many challenges, and I’m humbled by the number of agencies that, in spite of all their own challenges, were still committed to having interns.”

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SCHOOL NEWS

SSW, Student Care and Well-Being launch Case Management Program

By David Miller Amid the uncertainty of getting students placed for the fall 2020 semester, the University of Alabama School of Social Work Field Office had a more immediate, pressing issue when the COVID-19 pandemic began: students in need of direct practice hours after placements were moved online.

meet.” For instance, one UA junior explained to his professors that, since campus was shut down, he didn’t have reliable internet for classwork, and how losing more than 20 hours a week from his job made it difficult to afford insulin medication and supplies to treat his Type 1 diabetes.

Meanwhile, there were emerging needs for students across UA, some of whom were stranded on campus, had lost jobs or were experiencing anxiety and fear. UA’s Office for Student Care and Well-Being began to encounter students whose needs “far exceed the capacity of the university to

“Most of our faculty, staff, and students don’t have the amount of time necessary and have limited resources to see about a student’s needs such as these,” said Allison Curington, director of the Field Education Program in the School of Social Work. “Students like these would benefit from a strong case

Case Management Project MARCH 2020

UA shifts to remote learning in wake of COVID-19 Student hardships increase; caseloads begin to overwhelm Student Care and Well-BeingUA Social Work field office moves placements online

Fall 2020

MSW field interns will continue gaining direct practice hours in the CMP; faculty are strongly encouraged to refer students to SCWB and the CMP.

April 2020

August 2020

To date, the CMP has received 124 referrals from Student Care and Well-Being and have made 382 “touches” (e-mail, phone call, text, Zoom).

School of Social Work and SCWB begin planning a case management project for MSW field interns to take deeper dives into student needs.

June 2020

CMP pilot begins with 20 MSW interns who are trained in case management framework, FERPA, remote work best practices and suicide prevention and action steps.

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COLLABORATE • INNOVATE • TRANSFORM

management model to assess their needs and coordinate services to help meet those needs.”

By April, the Field Office had begun exploring a pilot program with Student Care and Well-Being that would address students’ needs on a personal level, a fitting strategy for varying levels of crisis. By June 2020, 20 MSW interns had launched the Case Management Project and began accepting referrals from Student Care and Well-Being.

CMP interns engage with UA students via e-mail, phone call, texts and Zoom. Needs and outcomes varied, but financial strains, like paying rent and buying groceries, were among the most prominent issues for

students. By early fall, approximately 100 agency contacts had been made on behalf of undergraduate students to find financial assistance.

Some of students’ financial concerns manifested into other issues, like anxiety.

In one case, a CMP intern talked with their client about anxiety, family dynamics, and coping skills.

Students also had academic-related issues, like applying for financial aid for the first time. In this instance, the MSW intern helped connect the client with the financial aid office and joined their appointment to help ask specific questions.

Case Management Project

Fall 2020

MARCH 2020

MSW field interns will continue gaining direct practice hours in the CMP; faculty are strongly encouraged to refer students to SCWB and the CMP.

UA shifts to remote learning in wake of COVID-19 Student hardships increase; caseloads begin to overwhelm Student Care and Well-BeingUA Social Work field office moves placements online

August 2020

April 2020

To date, the CMP has received 124 referrals from Student Care and Well-Being and have made 382 “touches” (e-mail, phone call, text, Zoom).

School of Social Work and SCWB begin planning a case management project for MSW field interns to take deeper dives into student needs.

June 2020

CMP pilot begins with 20 MSW interns who are trained in case management framework, FERPA, remote work best practices and suicide prevention and action steps.

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SCHOOL NEWS

The MSW interns are trained in case management framework to support students in higher education, which begins with an assessment, then a blend of advocacy and student empowerment to navigate the landscape of services and find a resolution. Additionally, CMP interns are trained in telehealth, FERPA, suicide prevention, and motivational interviewing.

Carrie Turner, MSW field coordinator for the School of Social Work, said the most beneficial training CMP interns received were basic interviewing and case management training.

“The students were initially quite nervous about meeting with their assigned students, particularly through Zoom and the added need to navigate technology,” Turner said. “The training provided an opportunity to review the intake assessment form and discuss fundamental aspects of case management. The field faculty who served as the field instructors were available to help guide the interns through any crises that arose, and group supervision provided a time where students could share information about available resources that might be beneficial to their clients.”

Curington said that, in order to minimize duplicating services and to strengthen process and infrastructure the field faculty meets weekly with a representative from the Student Care and Well-Being Office to address student updates, receive important information, such as SW Cares Act and

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Food Box drops as well as to close cases.

Field faculty also provide weekly supervision to MSW student interns in the CMP project. During this time cases are reviewed, ideas are brainstormed and discussed, and feedback from faculty is given.

Field faculty also survey students who receive services, and case managers are evaluated on their communication skills, engagement, and if they understood the client’s concerns. Clients rate if the services were helpful and if they’d refer someone to the program. Clients can also provide detailed feedback about their experiences. Case managers have received an average rating of 4.8 on a five-point scale.

“One of the things I’ve said for a while – higher education needs social work case managers,” Curington said. “… more than what Student Care and Well-Being has because there are so many students and so many needs – food insecurity, rent assistance, first-generations, students who need mentors, academic resources. Maybe there hadn’t been the reason to create this until the pandemic, but it’s something that’s been on my mind for several years – to increase the use of the case management model in higher education.”

The Case Management Project continued through the fall semester and will continue through the end of the spring.

COLLABORATE • INNOVATE • TRANSFORM

Faculty Scholarship Catherine Carlson

Daphne Cain

Jones, S., Carlson, C., *Sumner-Jones, F., *Musoni, O. (accepted). Bridging the Know-Do Gap in African Road Safety through Social Work. International Social Work.

Lee, L. H. & Cain D. S. (2020). Mental health policy for offenders: Exploring history, discourses, and models in the U.S. Best Practices in Mental Health, 16(2), 55 – 68.

Maternowska, C., Shackel, R., Carlson, C., & Levtov, R. (2020). The global politics of the agegender divide in responding to sexual, physical, and emotional violence. Global Public Health.

Online first. 10.1080/17441692.2020.1805783.

Mootz, J., Onyango, P., Carlson, C., Helpman, L., Wainberg, M., Stabb, S. (2020). Why place and space matter for intimate partner violence survivors’ mental wellbeing and communities in Northeastern Uganda. Women and Health.

Online first. https://doi.org/10.1080/03630242 .2020.1784366.

Carlson, C., Namy, S., Norcini Pala, A., Wainberg, M., *Ikenberg, C., Michau, L., Naker, D. & Devries, K. (2020). Violence against children and intimate partner violence against women: overlap and common contributing factors among caregiver-adolescent dyads. BMC Public Health. Online first. 10.1186/s12889-0198115-0.

Albright, D.L. McDaniel, J.T., Godfrey, K. & Carlson, C. (2020). Intimate partner violence among service members and veterans: Differences by sex and rurality. Traumatology.

Online first https://doi.org/10.1037/ trm0000236.

Lee, H. Y., Eyer, J. C., Lee, D., Won, C. R., Hudnall, M., Cain, D. S., (2020). The opioid crisis in Alabama: Actionable recommendations for prevention, treatment, and recovery in rural communities. Best Practices in Mental Health, 16(1), 1 - 11.

Kimberly Gibson Horton, A.G., Gibson, K.B., & Curington, A.M. (accepted). Exploring Reflective Journaling as a Learning Tool: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing.

Sha-Rhonda M. Green Fisher, A.; Green, S. M. and Gunn, H. E. (accepted). Social-Ecological Considerations for the Sleep Health of Rural Mothers. Journal of Behavioral Medicine.

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SCHOOL NEWS

Faculty Scholarship Hee Yun Lee Kim, S. Y., Guo, Y., Won, C. R., & Lee, H. Y. (2020). Do Caregiving Hours Impact on Female Caregivers’ Receipt of Mammogram?: A Comparison with NonCaregivers. BMC Women’s Health Lee, H.Y., Li, Q., Luo, Y., Ball J., Guo, Y., & Lee, D. (2020, Sept.). Is Awareness of Low Dose Computed Tomography (CT) Lung Cancer Screening Critical to Participation in Screening? Public Health and Healthcare, 2(2), 1-6.

Roh, S., Lee, Y-S., McKinley, C. E., Liddell, J. L., & Lee, H. Y. (2020). American Indian Women Cancer Survivors’ Experiences of Community Support in a Context of Historical. Journal of Community Practice http://doi.org/10.1080/10705422.2020.

1798833.

Lee, H.Y., Yoon, Y.J., Xiong, S., Wang, K., & Choi, Y.J. (2020, Aug) Colorectal Cancer Screening Awareness and Literacy among Korean American Women: Importance of Health Care Accessibility.

Public Health and Healthcare. 2(1), 1-7.

Choi, E. Y., Kim, Y., Chipalo, E., & Lee, H. Y. (2020).

Does Ageism Widen the Digital Divide? And Does It Vary by Gender? The Gerontologist, 72(5), 836845. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnaa066 Guo, Y., Yang, F., Hu, F., Li, W., Ruggiano, N., & Lee, H. Y. (2020). Existing Mobile Phone Apps for Self-Care Management of People With Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias: Systematic Analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research, Aging. DOI:10.2196/preprints.18754 Lee, H.Y., Choi, Y.J., Shin, J.H., Yoon, Y.J., & An, S.O.D (2020, April 27). Adherence to Cervical Cancer Screening in Korean American Immigrant Women: Identifying Malleable Variables for Intervention Development. Journal of Transcultural Nursing.

Preprints. DOI: 10.1177/1043659620914693. PMID: 32336226. Online ahead of print.

Kim, J. Lee, H. Y., Won, C., Barr, T., & Merighi, J. R. (2020). Older Adults’ Technology Use and its Association with Health and Depressive Symptoms: Findings from the 2011 National Health and Aging Trends Study. Nursing Outlook. https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2020.05.001. Accepted May 3

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Lee, H.Y., Eyer, J., Lee, D., Won, C.R., Hudnell, M., & Cain, D.S. (2020, April 1). The Opioid Crisis in Alabama: Actionable Recommendations for Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery in Rural Communities. Best Practice in Mental Health. 16(1), 1-11.

Ko, K.S., Lee, H.Y., & Won, C.R. (2020, May 1). Latent Growth Model of Predictors of Health Status in Korean Older Adults. American Journal of Health Behavior, 44(3):364-374 https://doi.org/10.5993/ AJHB.44.3.9. PMID: 32295684 An, S.O., Lee, H.Y., Choi, Y.J. & Yoon, Y.J.,D (2020, June). Literacy of Breast Cancer and Screening Guideline in an Immigrant Group: Importance of Health Accessibility. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 22(3), 563-570. PMID: 31956925. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-020-00973-z.

Accepted 2020, January 19 Lee, H.Y., Hwang, J., Ball, J., Lee, J., Yu, Y., & Albright, D. (2020, May 1). Mental Health Literacy Affects Mental Health Attitude: Is There a Gender Difference? American Journal of Health Behavior, 44(3), 283-291 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5993/ AJHB.44.3.1. PMID: 32295676 Lee H.Y., Ham, Y.H., & Lee, J.W, (2020, April). HPV Literacy as a Crucial Determinant for Completion of HPV Vaccine Series in Young Adult Women.

Social Welfare Policy and Practice. 6(1), 149-178.

Lee, H.Y., Zhou, A.,D Lee, R. M., & Dillon, A. L. (2020, March). Parents’ Functional Health Literacy is Associated with Children’s Health Outcomes: Implications for Health Practice, Policy, and Research, Children and Youth Services Review,110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104801.

Accepted 2020, January 22 • Elizabeth A. Rogers, E.A., Chanthanouvong, S., Saengsudham, C., Tran, V., Anderson, L., Zhang., & Lee, H.Y. (2020, April).

Factors Associated with Reported Colorectal Cancer Screening Among Lao-American Immigrants in Minnesota. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 22, 375-382. doi:10.1007/s10903019-00899-1. Accepted 2019, May 16 Choi, Y.J., Lee, H.Y., An, S.O., Yoon, Y.J.,D Oh, J.M (2020, February). Predictors of Cervical Cancer Screening Awareness and Literacy Among KoreanAmerican Women. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 7(1), 1-9. DOI 10.1007/s40615019-00628-2. PMID: 31410785. Accepted 2019, August 13

COLLABORATE • INNOVATE • TRANSFORM

Lee H.Y., Hwang, J., Ball, J.G., Lee, J., Albright, D.L. (2020, April). Is health literacy associated with mental health literacy? Findings from Mental Health Literacy Scale. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 56(2), 393-400. https://doi. org/10.1111/ppc.12447. Accepted 2019, October 11

Robert McKinney Aalsma, M., Brooks, M., Galagali, P., McKinney, R., McManus, P., Pinto, M., Pitts, B., Radovic, A., Richardson, L. (2020-08) Improving integration of behavioral health into primary care for adolescents and young adults. Position paper in the Journal of Adolescent Health, 37 (2020), 302-306.

Lippe, M., Stanley, A., Ricamato, A., HalliTierney, A., & McKinney, R. (2020). Exploring End-of-Life Care Team Communication: An Interprofessional Simulation Study.

American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, 37(1), 65–71. https://doi. org/10.1177/1049909119865862

Nicole Ruggiano Ruggiano, N., Washington, K. T., *Luo, Y., Noh, H., & Brown, E. L. (2021) Feasibility of Using Secret Facebook Groups for Community-based Dementia Caregiver Support. Best Practices in Mental Health. Accepted October 2020.

Ruggiano, N., *Ellis, T., Gibson, K., Smith, S., Turner, C., Curington, A., Phelps, C., Ferruccio, A., & Fendley, K. (2020).

The Unity Wall Project: A Student-led Community Organizing Effort to Advance Public Discourse on Social Justice. Journal of Community Practice, 28(2), DOI: 10.1080/10705422.2020.1757007

Guo, Y., Yang, F., Hu, F., Li, W., Ruggiano, N., & Lee, H. Y. (2020). Systematic Analysis of Existing Smartphone Apps for People with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias to Support Self-Care Management. Journal of Medical Internet Research-Aging, 3(1) e15290. *Hao, Z. & Ruggiano, N. (2020). FamilyCenteredness in Dementia Care: What is the Evidence? Social Work in Health Care, 59, 1-19.

Hyunjin Noh Jung, S., Noh, H., Ellis, A., & CroweWhite, K. (2020). Dietetic Students’ Perceived Facilitators, Barriers and Perceptions of Working with Older Adults: Implications for Curriculum Development. Journal of Nutrition in Gerontology and Geriatrics. 39(2), 143-153. *Suntai, Z., *Won, C., & Noh, H. (2020).

Access Barrier in Rural Older Adults’ Use of Pain Management and Palliative Care Services: A Systematic Review. American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1177/ Douglas, J. W., Jung, S. E., Noh, H., Ellis, A. C., & *Ferguson, C. C. (2020). ‘If they don’t like you, they are not going to eat for you’: Individual and Interpersonal factors affecting certified nursing assistants’ ability to provide mealtime assistance to residents with dementia. Gerontologist. doi:10.1093/geront/gnaa145 Douglas, J., Jung, S., Noh, H., Ellis, A., & *Ferguson, C. (2020). Organizational and healthcare policy barriers to providing mealtime assistance to nursing home residents with dementia: An original research article. Seniors Housing & Care Journal. 28(1), 3-11.

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SCHOOL NEWS

Faculty Scholarship M. Sebrena Jackson

Leah P. Cheatham

Jackson, M.S., Colvin, A. & Bullock, A., *Li, Q. (2020). Teaching practice skills to MSW online students: An examination of a blended skills lab model. Advances in Social Work, 20(1), 172-183. DOI: 10.18060/23614

Beech, H. B.*, Sutton, A.*, & Cheatham, L. P. (2020). Parenting, privilege, and pandemic: From surviving to thriving as a mother in the academy. Qualitative Social Work (Special Issue, Reflections on a Pandemic: Disruptions, Distractions & Discoveries).

Accepted August, 2020.

Jackson, M.S., Colvin, A., Bullock, A., & *Dozier, K. (2020). Foster youth pre-college programs: Advantages of building community partnerships. Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship, 12(2), 44-54.

Schiele, J.H. & Jackson, M.S. (In press). The Atlanta School of Social Work and the professionalization of “race work.” Phylon: The Clark Atlanta University Review of Race and Culture.

Brenda D. Smith Li, Q. , Luo, Y., Hao, Z., Smith, B.D., Guo, Y., & Cheng, T. (2020). Risk factors of cyberbullying perpetration among school-aged children across 41 countries/WHO regions: A perspective from Routine Activity Theory. International Journal of Bullying Prevention, 2(3).

School of Social Work Diversity Committee Cheatham, L. P., Smith, S., Siler, M., Johnson, K., Turner, C., Wilkes, S., Shah, A., Johnson, L., Swails, P., & Lopaczynski, L.* (2020). “Own your vote”: A novel approach to teach social workers about voting rights. Professional Development: The International Journal of Continuing Social Work Education. Accepted August, 2020.

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Cheatham, L. P., Randolph, K., & Boltz, L.* (2020). Youth with disabilities transitioning from foster care: Examining prevalence and predicting positive outcomes. Children and Youth Services Review, 110, doi. org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104777 Cheatham, L. P., & Randolph, K. (2020).

Education and employment transitions among young adults with disabilities: Comparisons by disability status, type and severity. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, doi.org/10.108 0/1034912X.2020.1722073 Laklija, M., Milić-Babić, M., & Cheatham, L. P. (2020). Institutionalization of children with disabilities in Croatia: Social workers’ perspectives. Children & Youth Services, 41, doi.org/10.1080/0145935X.2020.1752170

Amber Sutton (Phd student) Beech, H.H., Sutton, A., & Cheatham, L.P. (In Press). Parenting, privilege, and pandemic: From surviving to thriving as a mother in the academy.

Qualitative Social Work.

Sutton, A., Beech, H., Ozturk, B., & NelsonGardell, D. (2020). Preparing mental health professionals to work with survivors of intimate partner violence: A comprehensive systematic review of the literature. Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work: 1-15.

Sutton, A., Beech, H.H., & Nelson-Gardell, D. (2020). Intimate partner violence and reproductive coercion. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Social Work. Oxford University Press.

COLLABORATE • INNOVATE • TRANSFORM

Rahill, G., Joshi, M., Zlotnick, C., Lamour, S. Beech, H., Sutton, A., Burris, C. & Phycien, P. (2020). “Give me proof”: A covert but coercive form of non-partner sexual violence contributing to teen pregnancy in Haiti and opportunities for mental health intervention. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 29(7), 835-855.

Beech, H., Sutton, A. & Potock, C. (2020).

Preliminary lessons learned from facilitating group work for justice-involved women in rural communities: A case study in an Alabama correctional facility in the Era of COVID-19. International Social Work, 63(5), 681-684.vvv

Haley Beech (Phd student) Beech, H.H., Sutton, A., & Cheatham, L.P. (In Press). Parenting, privilege, and pandemic: From surviving to thriving as a mother in the academy.

Qualitative Social Work.

Sutton, A., Beech, H.H., Ozturk, B., & NelsonGardell, D. (2020). Preparing mental health professionals to work with survivors of intimate partner violence: A comprehensive systematic review of the literature. Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work, 1-15.

Sutton, A., Beech, H.H., & Nelson-Gardell, D. (2020). Intimate partner violence and reproductive coercion. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Social Work. Oxford University Press.

Rahill, G., Joshi, M., Zlotnick, C., Lamour, S. Beech, H., Sutton, A., Burris, C. & Phycien, P. (2020). “Give me proof”: A covert but coercive form of non-partner sexual violence contributing to teen pregnancy in Haiti and opportunities for mental health intervention.

Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 29(7), 835-855.

Kun Wang (Phd student) Lee, H.Y., Yoon, Y.J., Xiong, S., Wang, K., Choi, Y.J. (2020). Colorectal Cancer Screening Awareness and Literacy among Korean American Women: Importance of Health Care Accessibility. Public Health Healthcare 2(1): 001-007.

Paxton, R., Bui, C., Fullwood, D., Daniel, D., Stolley, M., Oliver, J., Wang, K., & Dubay, J. (2020). Are Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Associated With Cancer-Related Symptoms in Real Time? A Daily Diary Study.

Cancer Nursing. Vol. 00, No. 0, 2020.

James Meadows (Phd student) Ellis, T., Li, Q., Bertram, J.M., Meadows, J.T., Ozturk, B., NelsonGardell, D.. (2020) Poetry authored by vulnerable populations as secondary data: Methodological approach and considerations. Journal of Poetry Therapy, DOI: 10.1080/08893675.2020.1803614.

Zainab Suntai (Phd student) Suntai, Z., Won, C., & Noh, H. (2020).

Access barrier in rural older adults’ use of pain management and palliative care services: A systematic review. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

Suntai, Z. (2020). Finding the positive amidst a pandemic: How the shift to remote interactions has increased access to services. Journal of Social Work in End of Life and Palliative Care

Beech, H., Sutton, A. & Potock, C. (2020).

Preliminary lessons learned from facilitating group work for justice-involved women in rural communities: A case study in an Alabama correctional facility in the Era of COVID-19. International Social Work, 63(5), 681-684.org/10.1177/1049909119865862

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SCHOOL NEWS

Faculty Scholarship Krystal Dozier (Phd student) Jackson, M. S., Colvin, A.D., Bullock, A.N. & Dozier, K. (2020). Building University-Community Partnerships: A Pre-College Program for Foster Youth.

Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship, 12(2) 44-54.

Kirsten Laha-Walsh (Phd student) Albright, D.L., McDaniel, J., Laha-Walsh, K., Morrison, B., McIntosh, S. (2020).

Polysubstance abuse associated with more frequent opioid use among patients in rural primary care settings. Journal of Opioid Management.

Albright, D. L., Laha-Walsh, K., Thyer, B. A., Godfrey, K., & Waller, R. J. (2020) Combat veterans with polytrauma and traumatic brain

Books Peggy L. Swails, MSW, LMSW Book Review Swails, P.L. (2020, Fall). [Review of the book, “Gerontological Social Work and the Grand Challenges: Focusing on Policy and Practice, by S. Sanders, S. Kolomer, C. Spelleman, and V. Rizzo].

Best Practices in Mental Health, 16(2), p. 69-70.

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injury: Exploring variables affecting access to social work outpatient services. Traumatology.

Albright, D. L., Holmes, L., Lawson, M., McDaniel, J. T., Laha-Walsh, K., & McIntosh, S. (2019) Veteran-nonveteran differences in alcohol and drug misuse by tobacco use status in Alabama SBIRT. Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions. doi: 10.1080/1533256X.2020.1705109 Albright, D. L., McDaniel, J., Kertesz, S., Seal, D., Prather, K., English, T., & Laha-Walsh, K. (2019) Small area estimation and hotspot identification of opioid use disorder among military veterans living in the South. Substance Abuse. doi: 10.1080/08897077.2019.1703066 McDaniel, J., Albright, D. L., Laha-Walsh, K., Henson, H., & McIntosh, S. (2020). Screening and brief intervention for alcohol use among service members and veterans: Rural-urban disparities. BMJ Military Health.

Parrott, S., Albright, D.L., Eckhart, N., and Laha-Walsh, K. (2020). The pictures (and words) in our heads: Mental representations of military veterans. Journal of Veterans Studies.

COLLABORATE • INNOVATE • TRANSFORM

Book Chapters Hee Yun Lee

RESEARCH

By The Numbers

Lee, H.Y., Hasenbein, W.,D & Gibson, P. (2020, August). Mental Health and Older Adults. Encyclopedia of Social Work. Oxford University Press

SUBMISSIONS Nicole Ruggiano Ruggiano, N. (2021). Health Information Technology and Family Caregiving Policy Solutions. In J. Gaulger (Ed.) Bridging the Family Care Gap (Chapter 14). Forthcoming in 2021.

22 #5

Submissions for external funding, FY 2020 In number of universitywide external submissions, FY 2020

AWARDS M. Sebrena Jackson Schiele, J.H., Green, K., Jackson, M.S. (2020). Racial control and resistance among African Americans in the aftermath of The Welfare Reform Act of 1996. In J.H. Schiele (Ed.) Social welfare policy: Regulation and resistance among people of color.

Book Reviews

$21M #3 50%

Total external funding, FY 2020 In number of universitywide external awards, FY 2020 Increase in external research funding, FY 2019 - FY 2020

TOP FUNDING SOURCES • Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services • United States Department of Justice

Kirsten Laha-Walsh

• Health Resources & Services Administration

(Phd student)

• National Institutes of Health

Laha-Walsh, K. (2020) Combat Social Work (Figley, C. R. et al., 2020) [Book Review]. Accepted to Research on Social Work Practice

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SCHOOL NEWS

Research Funding Sha-Rhonda M. Green Role: Co-Principal Investigator Funding Agency: Pickens County and College of Community Health Name of Project: Assessing psychosocial and sleep health needs of mothers of infants and young children.

Period: FY 2020 Funding Amount: $25, 000 Role: Co-Principal Investigator (Multiple Co-PIs) Funding Agency: National Institutes of Mental Health P50 Name of Project: UA ALACRITY Center: Accelerating Implementation of EvidenceBased Intervention in Schools Period: Submitted May 2020 Projected Funding Amount: $5,935,899

Hee Yun Lee Lee, H.Y. (2020-2023). Principal Investigator. Implementation of an Integrated TeleECHO and Health Outpost Model for Opioid Prevention Treatment, and Recovery in Rural Alabama. $1,000,000. Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) (Grant Number: 1 GA1RH39611­01­00) Lee, H.Y. (2020-2023). Principal Investigator.

Mobile Mental Health Education, Awareness, and Learning (mHEAL) Initiative for Law Enforcement. $375,000. Mental Health Awareness Training Grants, Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) (Grant Number: 1H79SM081438-01).

Lee, H.Y. (2020-2023). Consultant. Mobile Web App Intervention to Promote Breast Cancer Screening Among American Indian Women (PI: Soonhee Roh, PhD). $550,000. National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities

Catherine Carlson Role: Principal Investigator Funding Agency: National Institute of Mental Health Name of Project: Implementing treatment for adolescent depression in Ugandan schools Period: 2017-2021 Funding Amount: $636,571 Role: Principal Investigator Funding Agency: Columbia University Global Mental Health Small Grants Program Name of Project: Cultural adaptation of the Safety Planning Intervention (SPI) for survivors of human trafficking in the Philippines Period: 2019-2021 Funding Amount: $20,000 Role: Principal Investigator Funding Agency: University of Alabama Small Grants Program Name of Project: Promoting Resilience for Survivors of Trafficking: Evaluating a YogaBased Approach in Kampala, Uganda Period: 2019-2020 Funding Amount: $5,992

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Daphne Cain Role: Primary Investigator Funding Agency: Alabama Department of Human Resources Name of Project: University of Alabama Title IV-E Program (to educate prospective child welfare workers and provide continuing educational opportunities for existing child welfare workers) Period: FY 2020 Funding Amount: $5,214,823

M. Sebrena Jackson Role: Primary Investigator Funding Agency: Alabama Transportation Institute (ATI) Name of Project: The National Social Work Enrichment Program (NSEP) Transportation Initiative Period: 2020 Funding Amount: $67,381

COLLABORATE • INNOVATE • TRANSFORM

Retirements Nicole Ruggiano Role: Primary Investigator (Multiple PI) Funding Agency: National Institute of Aging. 1R01AG068572-01 Name of Project: Integration of Health Information Technology and Promotion of Personhood in Family-Centered Dementia Care.

Period: 2020-2025 Funding Amount: $1,208,647.

Role: Primary Investigator Funding Agency: National Science Foundation Award Number 1951974 Name of Project: Planning Live, Sustainable Community Asset Mapping for a Dementia e-Friendly Alabama.

Period: 2020-2021 Funding Amount: $150,000.

Role: Primary Investigator Funding Agency: University of Alabama Community Engagement Graduate Fellowship.

Name of Project: Planning Live, Sustainable Community Asset Mapping for a Dementia e-Friendly Alabama.

Period: 2020-2021 Funding Amount: $41,000

Mandi R. Fowler Role: Primary Investigator Funding Agency: Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Name of Project: OJJDP 2020 Continuum of Care Project Program Expansion to Rural Alabama Period: FY 2021-2023 Funding Amount: $469,168

Jill R. Beck Role: Primary Investigator Funding Agency: Alabama Department of Human Resources (ADHR) Name of Project: Trauma Systems Therapy Period: FY 2021 Funding Amount: $80,000

Angela Lockhart After serving The University of Alabama School of Social Work for eight years as an instructor, Angela Lockhart retired in 2020. Angela is a 1977 UA School of Social Work graduate and a Certified Academic Language Therapist.

Her expertise includes counseling, supervision and field instruction. As a field instructor, she partnered with Tuscaloosa EMS and co-developed the School’s EMS Prevention Services program.

Carol Drolen For over 30 years, Carol Drolen has dedicated her life to the School of Social Work and to the education of our students. Over her many years of service, she has been instrumental in the development of thousands of social workers across the state, the nation, and even the world.

Her committed service to the School and the field will continue to be felt long past her retirement.

From serving as MSW program chair here in the SSW, to assisting with the development of substance use and abuse curriculum for CSWE, the reach of Carol’s impact has been broad.

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SCHOOL NEWS

New Staff

Vicki Hobbs,

Program Assistant November 2019

Megan Stewart,

Bingqing Lu,

Accountant March 2020

Project Coordinator June 2020

Hope Holemon,

Ellen Robertson,

Program Assistant July 2020

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Jonna Williams,

Program Assistant December 2019

Program Manager October 2020

Patricia Lowery,

Grants & Contracts Specialist February 2020

Kimbley Terrell,

Mental Health Professional June 2020

COLLABORATE • INNOVATE • TRANSFORM

Promotions

Appointments

Amy Traylor, BSW Chair January 2020

Nicole Ruggiano Angela Young-Hobbs, Fiscal Manager January 2020

• Appointed by Governor Kay Ivey to the Alabama Lifespan Respite Coalition, September 2020.

Shanna McIntosh, vitAL Director August 2020

M. Sebrena Jackson • Appointment as member of the CSWE Council on the Role and Status of Women in Social Work Education (3-year term)

Nicole Ruggiano, Permanent DSW Chair

• Appointment to Full Graduate Faculty Status, University of Alabama

August 2020

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SCHOOL NEWS

outcomes for students and families of Alabama’s Black Belt region, higher education policy, and community college funding, organization, and governance.

EPC director receives Buford Peace Award Katsinas a champion for Pell, HBCU funding

By David Miller Dr. Stephen Katsinas has more than 35 years of higher education teaching and leadership experience and has dedicated much of his research and service toward increasing access to higher education by ensuring equity in both policy and funding.

Since 2005, Katsinas has served as director of the Education Policy Center at The University of Alabama, which, under Katsinas’ leadership, has been awarded more than $6 million of external grants and contracts for research and analyses of education issues throughout the country. The EPC’s reports have focused on community college transfer students, affordability of higher education for students (particularly the impact of Pell grants), quality of life and educational

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In recognition of these efforts and his career accomplishments, Katsinas was named the 2020 recipient of the Lahoma Adams Buford Peace Award, given annually to a UA faculty member who is both professionally and personally active in causes that promote peace and justice. The award is named for Lahoma Adams Buford, who served her community without desire for recognition and dedicated her life to building a better, more just and peaceful world.

“I’m extremely honored to have our work in the Education Policy Center recognized,” Katsinas said.

As workforce dynamics have changed, Katsinas has focused his research on community colleges, which are a vital pipeline to the manufacturing and trade sectors and typically service rural areas in the Deep South.

“Pell grants are critical to the future of the Deep South’s economy,” he said.

In that vein, Katsinas continues to support bi-partisan efforts to fund “College Promise” programs to support five key student populations – DREAMers, traditional-aged students, adult students, student veterans, and formerly incarcerated students

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– to help stem the student debt crisis and expand labor market participation.

He routinely speaks to policymakers on Capitol Hill about the importance of funding community colleges and improving access, specifically through Pell Grant funding, which has been subject to significant cuts and changes to eligibility requirements over the years. Katsinas has led numerous studies on how Pell restrictions will impact the Deep South economy, often partnering with colleagues in Mississippi and Arkansas for regional analysis. Through this research and advocacy, Katsinas found a strong ally on Capitol Hill in the late Thad Cochran, former senator from Mississippi who supported the EPC’s research and advocacy.

Colleges and Universities, which are facing significant financial hardships.

Nearly all HBCUs receive Title III funding, though a small percentage of HBCUs take advantage of TRIO programs, which feature outreach and student services aimed at low-income and first-generation students and have seen budget increases in recent years.

Katsinas is keen to improve access to HBCUs and student support through TRIO funding and has presented these opportunities and funding projections to HBCU leaders.

The School of Social Work thanks Dr. Katsinas for his tireless efforts in research and advocacy for vulnerable student populations. Dr. Katsinas embodies the helping spirit of Lahoma Adams Buford and is the 2020 recipient of the Buford Peace Award.

Katsinas has also been a strong proponent of funding Historically Black

Katsinas and EPC staff meet with the late Senator Thad Cochran in 2013.

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ALUMNI NEWS

Stout: Washington, D.C. Internship Program was ‘Life Changing’ Gilead Sciences VP keen to ‘nurture’ critical alumni support system for students

By David Miller Coy Stout was working through his undergraduate degree at a feverish pace, hoping to graduate early from the University of Alabama and minimize his student debt.

He’d planned to attend medical school and focused on the hard sciences like biology and chemistry. Stout had his heart set on helping people, but “not necessarily in medicine.”

Stout was on track to earn a degree in psychology by the summer of 1992, just three years after first enrolling at UA. His career direction still unclear, an elective class during his final year would bring his passion into focus and set his course for the next 25 years of practice and macro social work.

The elective, an intro to social work course taught by Dr. Lucinda Roff, dean of the UA School of Social Work at the time, was both revealing and inspiring for Stout. “[Roff] did a terrific job to help me see the variety of ways that social work changes communities,” Stout said. “I had preconceived notions of social workers and the traditional roles they’ve had in social safety nets and child welfare. This class helped me see how they impact policy and healthcare.”

Stout would earn his MSW from UA in 1994 before doing case work and program administration in the Washington, D.C. metro

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Stout poses for a photo while holding an archived alumni newsletter featuring a story about him receiving a social work society scholarship.

area, focusing extensively on support for people with HIV and AIDS. Stout is currently the vice president for U.S. Commercial Access and Reimbursement for Gilead Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company where he’s worked in a leadership role for the last 16 years.

At Gilead, Stout’s primary aim is to link the company with communities to help eliminate the many barriers people face in accessing health care, treatment and support. Stout said the United States healthcare system has become even more complicated over the last 26 years of his professional career, so it’s critically

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important that biotech companies like Gilead have someone to help them view their mission through a social work lens.

“If people don’t have access to treatments, it’s just a scientific experiment,” Stout said. “What I do is come up with solutions for access, whether it’s a safety net program for people who lack coverage, or a community partnership to help people access HIV prevention drugs.”

Social work’s role in biotech is vitally important during the COVID-19 pandemic, Stout said, as companies, including Gilead, which has been testing one of its investigational antiviral drugs as a potential COVID-19 treatment, scramble to develop and test treatments.

Back in D.C. Stout returned to work in Washington, D.C. in October after 15 years working for Gilead on the West Coast. In many ways, it was a Homecoming for the Alabama native.

Before finishing his MSW at UA, Stout, through the School’s long-running Washington, D.C. Internship Program, completed a field placement with the Whitman-Walker Clinic, a non-profit clinic focused on HIV/AIDS healthcare in the D.C. area.

Stout would later work as a home healthcare coordinator at Whitman Walker for two years during the mid 1990s, one of four Washington, D.C.-area agencies or non-profits he would work for between 1995 and 2003 before joining Gilead to lead U.S. managed markets in 2004.

Those beltway experiences, which began in the D.C. Internship Program, were “foundational” for the work he does at Gilead.

“While I really wanted to get the frontline experience working with individuals and groups in healthcare settings, I was able to set my next career goalpost and figure out how to take these experiences to the

next level in a macro or systems approach,” Stout said. “It really started the career arc I’ve followed since then, so it was absolutely life changing.”

Giving back Though Stout had applied to two MSW programs, he only considered UA. He has been “very much in love” with all things University of Alabama since the 1970s.

As a seven-year-old boy, he once wrote a letter to former UA football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, who wrote a short letter back to Stout, which is displayed in a frame on a wall in Stout’s office. “[Bryant] said, ‘I hope you go to the University of Alabama one day,’” Stout said.

“It’s such a throwback. It’s something I really treasure.”

Stout’s appreciation for the University is further evidenced in his continued contributions to the School of Social Work through the Board of Friends, the naming of a third-floor conference room for he and husband Jeffrey Falk – whom he met during his field placement – and their endowed scholarship for the D.C. internship program.

“It was a huge financial stretch for me to go to D.C.,” Stout said, “and [he and Falk] hoped that we could foster the next generation of students to create something lasting for people who needed financial assistance to go to D.C.” Stout makes it back to campus roughly twice a year and has attended Honors Day celebrations and Board of Friends meetings.

He also speaks to Washington, D.C. interns.

He considers himself a lifelong learner, so he’s modest when asked to impart his wisdom on young social workers. But, in “listening, sharing and reflecting,” he’s happy to give back to the School.

“The world needs social workers now more than ever,” Stout said. “Social workers graduating from UA seem very, very called to the profession, and doing whatever we can as alums to nurture that is very critical.”

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ALUMNI NEWS

DONOR Roundup Philip Browning MSW (’72) Philip Browning has supported the School through his philanthropy for 30 years. He is the retired director of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. He established the L.C. Keasler Rural Student Scholarship in memory of his good friend who was director of Pickens County DHR for 20 years. Browning says that Keasler always had a great sense of humor and wit and epitomized the qualities that a good social worker should have. The School looks forward to supporting a rural student through this gift. “Every night I would ask myself if I had made a difference in the life of a child and if I could say yes, it was a good day,” Browning says. “And The University of Alabama School of Social Work helped me implement this concept, and I hope this scholarship can help others.”

Johnny Prewitt MSW (’78) Johnny Prewitt established the Johnny Prewitt Endowed Scholarship to support students that have financial needs and are from the Mobile, Alabama area. Prewitt is from Mobile and was the recipient of the Lorraine Bedsole Tunstall award while attending UA. This financial support was very special and provided him with a lasting impression of how the School of Social Work supported him as a student. He hopes that his endowed scholarship will have the same financial impact on a student, allowing them to be successful in their college career and beyond. “I’ve lived in California for 40 years, but UA and the School of Social Work remain deep in my heart,” Prewitt said. “UASSW provided me with skills that I continue to apply in business and everyday life. I am honored and humbled to be able to give back a small token of appreciation to UASSW.”

Emily Hill Dr. Ben Avis Orcutt was the beloved aunt of Emily Hill, from whom Emily learned patience, kindness, and work ethic. Orcutt loved her students, her profession, Alpha Delta Pi sorority, and The University of Alabama. Because the School of Social Work was so important to Dr. Orcutt, Hill wants to further her legacy by offering summer support to SSW Ph.D. students. Her dream is to continue growing the Dr. Ben Avis Orcutt Endowed Doctoral Student Fellowship Fund, with the hope of providing a full semester’s tuition. This gift to SSW PhD students will be very impactful and special.

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Julia Caddell MSW (’84) An active member of the School of Social Work’s Board of Friends, in 2001, Julia Caddell created the Julia B. Caddell Endowed Scholarship to support students that have financial need and are interested in healthcare or childcare.

Recently, Caddell provided a gift to further support students in need. The Julia Caddell REACH Program Endowed Support Fund was established to provide need-based support for REACH students across campus. Her generosity to Social Work and beyond is inspirational.

Vulcan Materials Company The Vulcan Materials Company Foundation established the Vulcan Materials Washington Program Endowed Scholarship in 2008. Additionally, Vulcan has provided nine years of annual support through the Vulcan Materials Washington Program Annual Support Fund. Since 2008, over 50 students have benefited from Vulcan’s generosity, which allows Masters of Social Work (MSW) and Bachelors of Social Work (BSW) students to participate in the Washington, D.C. Internship Program. Of the 600 Schools of Social Work in the nation, The University of Alabama is the only school, outside of the D.C. Metro area, that offers students this unique opportunity, which prepares students both personally and professionally by exposing them to cutting edge direct service programs as well as public policy and advocacy implementation. Students work in social service and public policy agencies in and around the nation’s capital. The School of Social Work sincerely appreciates the Vulcan Foundation’s support of the Washington, D.C. Program, made possible through David Donaldson, vice president, governmental and community relations; Carol Maxwell, Vulcan Foundation secretary/treasurer; and Janet Kavinoky, vice president, external affairs and corporate communications. Vulcan’s scholarships have led to life-changing opportunities and many eyeopening experiences in Washington, D.C., which is vital for the growth and success of our students.

Carol Maxwell

Janet Kavinoky

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SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK

Alums, Friends of Social Work and Supporters, The past year has been full of unexpected surprises, and while there have been many challenges, I would like to focus on the many opportunities that came as a result, and simply say THANK YOU. Pre-COVID, my alumni and donor visits may have included a rental car, a hotel and maybe an airport.

In April of 2020, I discovered that I could travel from the East coast to the West coast in a matter of hours, all via ZOOM! Our wonderful donors and alumni have embraced this virtual opportunity to connect with the School, and I am so grateful. The continued generosity and the genuine concern for our students, faculty and staff is appreciated and has not gone unnoticed. I have had the pleasure of speaking with hundreds of alums and donors across the country, and I consider it a privilege to develop these relationships and listen to stories of philanthropic joys and wishes.

So, I simply want to say, thank you. Thank you for taking my calls, participating in virtual visits, asking about our students, and continuing to give of your time, talents and financial resources. Because of your ongoing support, the future of the School of Social Work is bright.

Roll Tide!

Laurie Wright Associate Director of Development for Social Work

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7,308

Alumni Worldwide Leading in Policy Advocacy & Research

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International Alumni

(with Hong Kong having the largest representation)

4,768

Alumni living in Alabama (next largest states are Georgia & Mississippi)

$5,700

Raised by Bama Blitz

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gifts fueled the SSW Bama Blitz passion project, “Social Work Field Students Support Fund” to offset out of pocket expenses as a result of their placement.

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SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK

Social Work Society Terrie Reid, President | Sharonda Pettaway, Vice President | Shannon Hubbard, Secretary

Committees SCHOLARSHIP | NOMINATING | HALL OF FAME | MEMBERSHIP | BY-LAWS

The Social Work Society is an affiliate organization of UA’s Capstone Foundation. All board members are active supporters of the Social Work Society Annual Fund. The Society’s signature event is the Alabama Social Work Hall of Fame, which honors the accomplishments of the state’s most distinguished leaders in the field of social work.

New Members

Kimberly Gibson

Brittany Phillips

Stephanie Streeter

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Wilson Morgan

Clarissa Harris

Angela McClintock

Scott Batey

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Board of Friends Veronica Elder, Chair | Karen Thompson-Jackson, Vice Chair

The purpose of the Board of Friends is to affect a close working relationship between leaders in the community and the faculty, staff and students in the School of Social Work. The Board also works to influence development and advancement activities for the School.

The objectives of the Board of Friends are to: •

Assist the School in securing financial resources

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Study needs and opportunities for private funding for the School

Assist in the recruitment of outstanding students to the School

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Advise the School on long-range planning

•

Function as an advocacy group for the University and the School

New Members

Linda Bibb

Johnny Prewitt

First-Time Donors (FY 19-20) Jennifer T. McKeon Darryl W. Sockwell Eddie J. Hardaway Charlotte D. Eubanks Wesley J. Gabbard Renea D. Motte Phillips N. Thomas Hornbuckle Miranda L. Casey

Lionel G. McAlpine Lisa E. Long Ray C. Minor Hannah C. Blanchard Virginia S. Cole Deborah A. Land Adrienne S. McCollum Sharron R. King

Virginia A. Holloway Gwen S. Weed Rebecca H. Williams Maribeth Bowman Cleophus Thomas John M. Gilmer Shannon D. Williams Hawken T. Brackett

Morgan A. Holcombe Gabrielle A. Angelillo Allison M. Curington Catherine E. Carlson Chuck Werner Dena L. Boggs Beverly A. Turbett Angella M. Watson-McHalffey

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Box 870314 Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0314 www.socialwork.ua.edu

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage Paid The University of Alabama