USC Hamovitch P.I. Volume 4, Issue 3. Fall. 2014

Hamovitch PI

Fall 2014

A research publication of the Hamovitch Center for Science in the Human Services at the USC School of Social Work

Researchers get boost from private support In an increasingly competitive funding environment, researchers at the USC School of Social Work have found success reaching out to new sources of support.

Although faculty members are continuing to compete for grants from federal funding agencies that have become more selective and rigorous, they have been concurrently seeking partnerships with private foundations, individuals, and corporations to move their research projects forward. And it is becoming clear that this multifaceted approach to securing research support is essential.

“Everybody is becoming much more accustomed to the idea that research is supported by a blend of funding sources,” said Marilyn Flynn, dean of the USC School of Social Work. “The smartest researchers are still being somewhat successful in attracting public support at the same time they are engaging private donors and private foundations and businesses to support aspects of their work. This kind of portfolio is what is really needed to advance our research.”

This issue of Hamovitch PI features a series of articles highlighting how these streams of private and philanthropic funding have benefited researchers at the school, allowing them to pursue critical research on topics such as providing housing for people who are chronically homeless and ensuring veterans and members of the military receive the support they need in their local communities. t

Children’s Data Network expands focus with financial assistance from Conrad N. Hilton Foundation

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New report outlines negative consequences of imprisonment policies in the United States

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Social work and sociology scholars pursue common ground during recent conference

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Vol. 4, Issue 3 fall 2014 From the Director

In previous issues of this newsletter, we have reported on dynamic challenges of the nation’s research funding environment; achieving success in external funding has become increasingly competitive. Our researchers have successfully countered this dire situation with two main approaches: an increased number of research proposal submissions (a surge of more than 55% during the last two years) and diversification of the school’s research portfolio by bringing in private foundations and individual donors to complement highly competitive federal funding. This newsletter issue is dedicated to innovative research projects enhanced by private funding secured via collaboration among our faculty researchers, the Hamovitch Center for Science in the Human Services, and the school’s Advancement Office.

In particular, the school’s research enterprise has benefited from private support for major initiatives such as our Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military Families and our new Children’s Data Network, both of which are critically important to ensuring the health and wellbeing of vulnerable members of our community.

We also report on our international conference on sociology and social work research, which took place for the first time in the United States.

Finally, the United States has one of the highest per capita incarceration rates (approximately 700 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2013, more than 60% of whom are Hispanic or black). We describe a federal report on harmful prison policies developed by experts, including one of our faculty members.

Haluk Soydan, PhD Director of the Hamovitch Center

Dean Marilyn Flynn Editor Eric Lindberg Staff Writer Charli Engelhorn

Front page graphic/Eric Lindberg

Hamovitch PI is a research newsletter published quarterly by the Hamovitch Center for Science in the Human Services at the USC School of Social Work. Send questions, comments, and reprint requests to elindber@usc.edu

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Private funding enhances innovative research projects service members, veterans, and their families; a newly established data network that is linking information on child welfare and well-being across agencies (see article on page 5); and ongoing efforts to help people experiencing chronic homelessness transition from life on the streets into supportive housing.

Anthony Hassan, a retired Air Force officer who now directs the school’s Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military Families, said he has instituted A large grant from the National Institutes a three-pronged approach to securing of Health can propel a young faculty mem- funding for research and other initiatives ber’s career forward and sustain ongoing at the center. In addition to several major research for years. research grants from the U.S. Department But as public institutions tighten their of Defense, he relies heavily on assistance purse strings and the federal funding envi- from private foundations and in-kind or ronment grows increasingly competitive, corporate donations. researchers at the USC School of Social The center has drawn support from the Work have begun exploring previously Unihealth Foundation, Lincy Foundation, overlooked forms of support, particularly Deloitte, Prudential, and Newman’s Own from private foundations, businesses, and Foundation, among other private-sector philanthropic donors. organizations, foundations, and businesses.

These private sources That funding allows staff of funding are not neces“If you think of the members at the center sarily supplanting mulfunction of private to engage in community timillion-dollar grants foundations in research, from public agencies, outreach, communication they are usually most and dissemination, and but often allow faculty effective in helping continuing education. members to focus on “If I don’t have those selective issues or explore start up programs. They extra sources of funding new areas of inquiry, allow for innovation, expand the scope of their allowing the center to for extension, and research, or disseminate extend our work, to for communication of their findings in exciting disseminate our prodresearch in ways that and inventive ways. ucts, and to explore “If you think of the func- would not otherwise be innovations, then we tion of private foundaare nothing more than a possible.” tions in research, they are single research project,” most effective in helping Marilyn Flynn Hassan said. “Our censtart up programs,” said ter’s global leadership Marilyn Flynn, dean and engagement is made of the school. “They are most effective in possible because of the foundations, the assisting researchers in areas where for one corporations, and the donors who believe reason or another there is no federal funding. in our mission and allow us to do our work They allow for innovation, for extension, and without traditional project boundaries.” for communication of research in ways that One shining example of how the center would not otherwise be possible.” has been able to leverage this sort of Major initiatives at the school that have funding is a recent effort to assess the needs benefited from grants or gifts from founda- of veterans in Los Angeles tions, corporations, and individuals include and Orange counties. A the creation of a center focused on military $125,000 award from the

In the world of academic research, streams of funding from federal and state agencies are king.

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Photo/Eric Lindberg

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Newman’s Own Foundation and pro bono support from Deloitte helped researchers at CIR collect information on service members, veterans, and their family members throughout Los Angeles County, in addition to assessing the extent of available services to address their needs.

Although researchers are still analyzing the results of the comprehensive survey, they are confident the findings will significantly affect policies and programs related to the military community.

The success of the initiative in Los Angeles County inspired other philanthropic organizations and businesses to contribute to the project and a similar effort in Orange County.

“With that initial seed money, we have been able to partner with Deloitte, which has invested over half a million dollars in

in-kind support, and we now have Unihealth to pick up where Newman’s Own left off,” Hassan said. “It’s given us national attention regarding a very important community problem.”

The Unihealth Foundation provided $150,000 to support CIR’s efforts to analyze findings from the Los Angeles survey.

The foundation also chipped in an additional $50,000 to help launch a survey in Orange County in collaboration with the Orange County Community Foundation (OCCF), which awarded a $94,000 grant to CIR. Shelly Hoss, president of OCCF, said the center’s record of successful research on military-related topics, including the previous survey in Los Angeles County, made it an ideal partner.

“As more and more servicemen and women will be leaving the military and reintegrating into

civilian life, it is important to us that Orange County is a welcoming and supportive environment for them to come home to,” she said. “This assessment will help us to identify what gaps there are and how we can provide effective support where it is needed.”

CIR’s reputation also played a major role in drawing funding from the Unihealth Foundation, which has been supporting veterans for more than a decade through partnerships with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and other nonprofit organizations. Mary Odell, president of the foundation, said the benefit of support from private sources is that it tends to be more flexible.

“Public dollars are very restricted in terms of use,” she said. “The gift of philanthropic dollars is they can be applied more broadly.”

Researchers with the Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military Families, led by director Anthony Hassan (right), rely on private and philanthropic funding to support training, education, and community outreach.

Hassan agreed, noting that federal funding, although essential to supporting innovation and discovery, often includes restrictions regarding how that money can be used.

Coupled with the fact that many private organizations are increasingly interested in supporting research on militaryrelated issues, particularly as more service members return home from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the lure of seeking philanthropic support is strong.

However, Hassan noted that he has become increasingly Funding | continued on page 10

Photo/Eric Lindberg

Iris Chi, who was named the Chinese-American Golden Age Association/ Frances Wu Chair for the Chinese Elderly in 2004, said the title brings added weight to her efforts to explore issues related to aging among Chinese populations.

Endowed professorships bring prestige to researchers To many it may seem like a simple title, but earning an endowed professorship or chair at the USC School of Social Work sends a strong message.

“It’s an excellent way to attract outstanding faculty and it’s a very important mechanism for recognizing research accomplishments,” said Marilyn Flynn, the school’s dean. “It’s one of the few ways we have of publicly endorsing and honoring the achievements of research faculty.”

The school currently boasts nine named professorships and chairs, and in addition to recognizing individual talent, Flynn said they help promote the school’s presence and expertise in particular areas of research, including aging, vulnerable populations, child welfare, health and mental health, and social policy and development.

“It is also an enduring way of ensuring

that we will have a very highly qualified her research and ensure that her findings are faculty in perpetuity,” she said. published in leading medical journals.

On a practical level, the funding supports “It carries with it some recognition outside the salaries of top scholars and can even of social work,” she said. “People who review include assistance with travel and other grants recognize it. It signals that you are aspects of research. To the faculty mem- doing something important and unique.” bers who receive an endowed professorship, Similar sentiments were shared by however, there is an added layer of meaning. her colleague, Iris Chi, who was named Kathleen Ell, the Ernest P. Larson the Chinese-American Golden Age Professor of Health, Ethnicity, and Association/Frances Wu Chair for the Poverty, views the honor Chinese Elderly upon as lending a certain sense joining the school’s faculty of legitimacy to her work. “If you are an endowed in 2004. Although she had A member of the facbeen a well-established faculty member, it ulty since 1980, Ell has and recognized researcher carries some weight. dedicated her career to in gerontology and issues It carries with it some research on the interplay of aging among Chinese recognition outside of among chronic illness, older adults, Chi said she depression, and mortality. social work.” has also noticed a change “The title emphasizes my after receiving the title. career aims, which are to Kathleen Ell “Many people knew study and ultimately help about me and my work low-income populations, before I came to USC, but ethnically and racially diverse populations,” after I joined USC with an endowed chair, she said. “That’s where my heart and mind people who would have in the past seen me have been for a long, long time.” as a colleague now refer to me more as the As a social work scholar who specializes leading person in this area,” she said. in health-related issues, Ell said she believes That has led to opportunities such as having a named professorship has been crit- being asked to convene an interest group ical to her ability to secure federal grants for Prestige | continued on page 11

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Foundation support expands reach of data network When they launched an innovative effort to link data on child welfare and well-being across various agencies and organizations, Emily Putnam-Hornstein and Jacquelyn McCroskey initially planned to focus only on very young children.

Receiving funding from First 5 LA to develop the Children’s Data Network (CDN) meant the two researchers from the USC School of Social Work would be prioritizing information related to the initial phases of life, from infancy to 5 years old.

But the groundbreaking project quickly drew interest from other institutions, including the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, which had worked with Putnam-Hornstein on a previous project and recently developed an initiative to support teens who were close to transitioning out of the foster care system.

The foundation approved an $800,000 grant to the data network to help researchers acquire and integrate information on transition-age foster youths, in addition to promoting the use of existing linked data and supporting a postdoctoral research scholar to advance research on this vulnerable population.

“There is a tendency on the part of philanthropists to want to go immediately to the tangible and concrete— how do I give someone something or provide a service?” said Putnam-Hornstein, an assistant professor.

“But you have to first understand what policies and programs are effective and you need data and research to do a lot of that background work. I think it’s terrific that the Hilton Foundation carved out data and new knowledge as a core part of its initiative.”

Because the foundation is interested in research on challenges during adolescence, collaborating with First 5 LA to support the CDN seemed like a natural fit.

There are problems and issues unique to each stage of childhood, said McCroskey, who serves as the John Milner Professor of Child Welfare, but events and experiences that occur during those discrete periods inevitably affect outcomes in later life.

“You can learn a lot by looking at what happens to young children, but if you aren’t also looking at development and what happens in adolescence, you

Photo/Eric Lindberg

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aren’t getting the full picture,” McCroskey said.

With funding to support data acquisition and research on both ends of the childhood development spectrum, researchers will be able to generate more knowledge about how children and families change over time based on various factors, such as whether having a parent who is incarcerated or not receiving certain early childhood education services affects academic achievement during adolescence.

The research team already has a solid example of how this sort of data linkage can enhance understanding of child development, thanks to a previous grant from the Hilton Foundation before the CDN was created.

The foundation awarded $125,000 to PutnamHornstein several years ago to investigate teen pregnancy and parenting, and foundation officials said Data | continued on page 12

The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation has supported the work of assistant professor Emily PutnamHornstein (left) and Jacquelyn McCroskey, the John Milner Professor of Child Welfare, as they develop a new data repository to link information on child welfare and wellbeing across public agencies and organizations.

Photo/iStock

Approximately 2.2 million adults are kept behind bars in the U.S. penal system, by far the largest imcarcerated population in the world.

Report criticizes U.S. prison policies

By Charli Engelhorn

Does incarceration work as a deterrent for criminal behavior?

That was just one of many questions Avelardo Valdez, a professor with the USC School of Social Work, and other members of the Committee on Causes and Consequences of High Rates of Incarceration explored during an 18-month assessment of policies and outcomes related to the high incarceration rate in the United States. The result of the committee’s data analyses was a 464-page report titled “The Growth of Incarceration in the United States,” which was published in April.

“The National Research Council is probably the most prestigious research institution in the federal government,” said Valdez.

“The council saw the question of incarceration as a problem that needed addressing.

The committee was composed of social scientists from public policy, corrections, economics, and sociological disciplines to provide their data and knowledge. The report represents some of the best minds to focus on this issue.”

In recent years, the federal government began to realize its imprisonment policies were not as functional as they could be, Valdez said. The committee focused on the intended purposes of the policies and how those policies developed over time. At the forefront of the conversation were three main issues related to rates of incarceration.

The first questioned whether imprisoning large numbers of individuals actually has an effect on crime prevention and rehabilitation. The second focused on disparities in the racial composition of the prison population, given that blacks and Latinos and comprise the majority of inmates. The

third encompassed the previous two questions in determining whether the policies surrounding incarceration were just.

“The report addresses these issues from a very academic perspective,” said Valdez.

“The data we used were compiled from previously published resources and from the work of the committee members, who all brought information and experiences from decades of work relating to one aspect of this issue, whether it was from an economic, mental health, or historical perspective.”

The National Research Council, a branch of the National Academy of Sciences, created the committee to bring together experts from across the academic spectrum to examine the issue of incarceration, Valdez said. The National Academy of Sciences is tasked with improving public policies and programs to promote informed and more advantageous decisions in the federal government.

Valdez said he believes he

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was chosen for the committee because of his extensive research experience on issues affecting the Hispanic community and related policies, especially substance abuse issues. The consequence of substance abuse is often incarceration for this population, he said, and this outcome affects more than just imprisoned individuals and their family members. The social and cultural impact of incarceration and reentry of inmates has larger ramifications for the Hispanic community in general, Valdez said.

“Hispanic immigrants make up almost 40 to 50 percent of inmates in the federal system,” he said. “There is a disproportionate number of blacks and Latinos incarcerated, but more research has focused on the black community. What I could bring forth was the understanding of a sort of Hispanic Jim Crow, especially in the Southwest.”

The committee proposed that much of the imbalance in racial representation in prisons has its origins in the pernicious laws of the late 1960s and early 1970s developed in response to the civil rights movement and the ensuing legislative support for racial equality. The laws created stricter sentencing regulations for minor crimes and barred convicted felons from many constitutional rights, including the right to vote, access to social services, and equal access to employment.

“Although blacks and Hispanics had won the right to vote as a result of laws such as the Voting Rights Act, a felony charge for a small offense would take away that right forever,” Valdez said. “The war on drugs also changed the landscape for convictions, with many states adopting mandatory laws for any drug-related offense, regardless of the judge’s discretion or other contingencies.”

Essentially, these new laws placed nonviolent offenders in prison for lengthy periods, he said. For example, an individual facing a minor first-offense drug possession charge could have received a warning or a few months in jail if the judge deemed the punishment suitable for the crime.

However, once the mandatory sentences were created, that same offense could result in a sentence of 10 to 15 years. Considering that most drug violations occur in disadvantaged areas, it is not surprising that minority men and underserved communities are feeling the brunt of these laws, Valdez said. The committee also explored the length and stated purpose of sentences for more serious offenses.

1:100

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In 2012, approximately 1 of every 100 adults in the United States was being held in prison or jail

2.1m

Between 1980 and 2000, the number of children with incarcerated fathers increased from 350,000 to 2.1 million, or approximately 3 percent of all U.S. children

Photo/Brian Goodman

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60%

As a member of a federal committee tasked with exploring high rates of incarceration in the United States, professor Avelardo Valdez found that the rate of imprisonment has more than quadrupled during the past four decades. In a recently released report, the committee argued that policy makers need to revise criminal justice guidelines, including sentencing laws and drug enforcement, to reduce the financial and social costs of being the most punitive culture in the world.

“There really is no evidence suggesting the massive incarcerations and extended sentences affect crime rates,” Valdez said.

“Prior to the 60s, prisons had rehabilitation services, but most of those were terminated with these tough-on-crime policies that swept the nation during the following decades. Now prisons are simply holding facilities for men and women.”

Long sentences do not make sense for various reasons, according to the report, including the negative impact on the mental health of inmates and the diminishing effect of incarceration over time.

Experiences in prison and the life skills required for survival are not the same as those needed in conventional society. Due to an increase in isolation policies, many people are unable to adjust to life beyond the penitentiary. Furthermore, studies show

recidivism declines with age, meaning that sentences that keep people imprisoned into older adulthood are generally not necessary.

“The report represents a paradigm shift and hopefully will inspire more just and fair policies,” Valdez said.

The committee offered recommendations to address many of these issues, and efforts to reduce the prison population have begun during the last few years, with states such as California changing their policies and releasing many nonviolent criminals, although mostly due to economic considerations and federal litigation.

“The experience of being on the committee has increased my interest in issues related to incarceration and reentry into communities,” Valdez said. “I will definitely be looking at these issues more as I move forward in my research with Hispanic communities.” t

In 2011, 60 percent of all individuals behind bars were either black or Hispanic

Social workers and sociologists find common ground

Stephen Gethin-Jones (above), a senior lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire, discusses well-being in old age and implications for social work practice during a conference breakout session.

After delivering a plenary speech on the historical interactions and conflicts between the professions of sociology and social work, Mary Jo Deegan (left), a professor of sociology at the University of Nebraska– Lincoln, speaks with a conference attendee.

Photo/Eric Lindberg

During a recent two-day conference hosted by the USC School of Social Work, leading scholars representing the two professions met to discuss those commonalities and opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration, in addition to acknowledging the historical tension between sociology’s theoretical focus and social work’s emphasis on policy and practice.

After three similar gatherings in Europe, hosting the event on U.S. soil for the first time brought that tension into sharper focus, said Haluk Soydan, associate dean of research and director of the Hamovitch Center for Science in the Human Services at the USC School of Social Work.

“Mainstream U.S. social work research is very much action related, as opposed to some of the theoretical, academic discussions going on in European settings,” he said. “We can learn from them and they can learn from us.”

The conference featured a series of group sessions focused on specific issues ranging from evidence-based practice and integrating social work into medical settings to HIV risk behaviors among homeless women and depression care for chronically ill individuals.

Participants also gathered for plenary sessions on the historical roots of sociology and social work, an ongoing effort to develop a scientific foundation for the profession of social work, a national initiative

Photo/Eric Lindberg

As two fields of study that grew out of the social sciences, social work and sociology naturally share many common interests, including a desire to advance scientific understanding of societal issues to benefit humankind.

“A lot of people pay lip service to Jane Addams, but they don’t really do what she did.”

Mary Jo Deegan

to identify grand challenges facing society, In describing Jane Addams, a pioneer and a case study of an interdisciplinary of social work and one of the founders of graduate program seeking to merge social Hull House, Deegan said she emphasized work and sociology. a commitment to nonviolent, democratic Mary Jo Deegan, a professor of sociology advocacy to the benefit of vulnerable at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and individuals in the community. That often an expert on the history of sociology and brought her into conflict with sociologists social work, described the development of at the time, who placed a greater emphasis the two professions during the late 1800s on impersonal and objective approaches to and early 1900s, particularly through the social problems. establishment of Hull House as a social “A lot of people pay lip sersettlement house in Chicago. vice to Jane Addams, but they

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don’t really do what she did,” Deegan said.

That conflict bled over into academia, she said, particularly at the University of Chicago, where social work and sociology had shared a close alliance until the 1920s, when the university created a separate school of social service administration to divide the two professions.

Deegan said women had become unhappy with how they were treated in the sociology department, and when the split came, they were placed on a separate track.

“They were condescended to, they were seen as being less professional,” she said, adding later, “The men’s track led to advancement and prestige within sociology and the women’s track led out of the profession.”

Although some individuals still advocate for value-free objective sociology, Deegan said there has been an effort in recent decades to return to the model advocated by Addams, in which sociologists interact with and are committed to communities, rather than focusing on abstract and less personal approaches to problems in society.

“Natural science is not a good model for people who work with human beings,” she said. “We shouldn’t give up our goal of rigorous standards for data collection, but we must be connected to people.”

Ensuring that social work and sociology have a lasting effect on communities is a major focus of a recent initiative led by the USC School of Social Work to identify grand challenges facing society. Marilyn Flynn, dean of the school, said the two professions are uniquely situated to address major issues in the arenas of health, energy, and transportation, among others.

Nonetheless, she argued that social work and sociology have lagged behind in terms of developing solutions for those problems.

Despite having expertise in the complexity of social factors and relationships, the professions are not influencing and leading the debate, defining issues, and setting the agenda.

“The kind of research we are doing is fragmented, the theory is fragmented,” she said. “We are not advancing, certainly not in a major way, the solutions to the largest social problems we are facing.”

In collaboration with several other universities and the American Academy of Social Work & Social Welfare, the school is in the process of identifying unifying themes that can help the professions of social work and sociology organize their academic and professional roles.

9 “It is profoundly inspiring to come together as a group and consider what might be the most significant things we could do in the next 10 to 15 years that have high relevance to society. It directs everyone’s attention to innovation, to forward movement, to reinvention, to rediscovery of the fundamental things we do best.”

Marilyn Flynn Photo/Mark Berndt

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These problems must be challenging but solvable in a relatively short period of time, Flynn said, and must have deep importance to individuals and communities.

“It is profoundly inspiring to come together as a group and consider what might be the most significant things we could do in the next 10 to 15 years that have high relevance to society and that would be demonstrable in terms of their effects,” she said. “It directs everyone’s attention to innovation, to forward movement, to reinvention, to rediscovery of the fundamental things we do best.”

Innovation and reinvention are also at the heart of a new program at Tulane University that is seeking to merge the approaches of sociology, social work, and urban studies. During a plenary session at the conference, representatives from the university’s nascent City, Culture, and Community program described some of the challenges of trying to integrate several academic disciplines.

Michele Adams, an associate professor and chair of the Department of Sociology at Tulane University, said she is optimistic that the interdisciplinary approach will prove successful, despite logistical issues related to bridging distinct academic units.

“I think we should try to change or address those disciplinary barriers and create programs that our students walk away from with new ways of looking at their work,” she said. “I think that is what

interdisciplinarity is all about.”

As the outgoing chair of the program, Fred Buttell said he believes creating an interdisciplinary education model is difficult to achieve when disciplines are naturally separated into various schools and departments, not to mention the challenge of seeking employment in job markets that are often specific to a single discipline.

Students in the program take courses in all three topic areas, he said, and ultimately select a focus that will be reflected on their degree. However, whether a student who focused on social work will be a viable candidate for sociology positions is unclear.

“That’s not a failure of our training, that’s a failure of the way these fields view interdisciplinary candidates,” Buttell said, adding later, “Hopefully their training will translate into the types of relationships and work they do once they are in their first academic gig.”

Finding new ways to inspire students and encourage individuals to invest in social work and sociology is critical to advance the professions, Flynn said.

She noted that although some have argued that the two disciplines have grown stagnant and are not needed, having an understanding of social and behavioral factors in tandem with physical and biological sciences is critical to solving societal problems.

“In fact, if we do it right,” she said, “I think we are more relevant than at any time in our respective histories.” t

new ways to improve communication and interaction among organizations that serve homeless individuals.

“You can’t just throw money at it, it’s a lot tougher problem than that,” he said. “There are so many of these organizations that can’t seem to see past what they are doing and the synergies that can come from putting their efforts together. Suzanne saw that and we are now seeing some of the benefits of bringing these people together.”

Watt and his wife, Obaida, also funded a forum at the school several years ago that involved participants from Los Angeles city and county agencies, private service agencies, and academia interested in integrated care and supportive housing. Wenzel said such a diverse gathering of people engaged in the issue of homelessness is rare.

“Frontline case workers who meet and work with people on the streets every day, agency heads such as the director of the L.A. County Department of Mental Health, and leading researchers on services for people with mental illness and homelessness were all in the same room together,” she said. “They were hearing one another’s perspectives and concerns and problem solving with one another.”

Wenzel and her research team have since built on some of the relationships they developed with organizations and public officials during the forum, including some agencies that are now involved in the recently funded project on transitioning to permanent supportive housing.

Watt said he is hopeful that Wenzel’s continued efforts will lead to increased collaboration among service providers and a greater emphasis by politicians on addressing the needs of chronically homeless individuals. “Her work is going a long way toward making them aware of what the real issues are,” he said.

In addition to benefiting from the generosity of individuals such as Watt, the school is also drawing support from within its walls. Two professors have made personal donations to advance research initiatives in recent years.

Bruce Jansson, the Margaret W. Driscoll/Louise M. Clevenger Professor of Social Policy and Administration, has dedicated his career to research on the well-being of vulnerable populations, particularly in terms of patient and policy advocacy in the health care sector.

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Private donations have helped researchers at the Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military Families collect data on the needs of military service members, veterans, and their family members in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

Photo/CIR

J. Scott Watt, chairman and CEO of Watt Companies, provided support to professor Suzanne Wenzel to pursue research on housing for individuals experiencing homelessness.

Results from a pilot study led to a successful application for a $2.7 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Photo/Charli Engelhorn

Funding | from page 3 cautious about accepting funding from the private sector that does not match the center’s research needs or priorities.

Odell said ensuring that grants are responsive to the needs of the community has been a main focus of the Unihealth Foundation.

In addition to supporting CIR’s efforts in the military realm, the foundation has awarded funding to John Brekke, the Frances G. Larson Professor of Social Work Research, to examine issues among individuals with serious mental illness.

In particular, the foundation provided initial funding of approximately $150,000 to test an inventive method of helping people with serious mental disorders such as schizophrenia receive care and support.

The model involves employing peer navigators, or people who have personal experience with severe mental illness, as guides to help clients navigate the often labyrinthine health care system. Initial findings indicated that the model was effective, and Brekke received a $1.2 million award from the federal Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to continue his work.

“That’s a great win in our mind because a very modest amount of philanthropic dollars seeded a project, enabled him to collect good data, and positioned him to drawn down a really nice pot of federal funding,” Odell said.

A similar stream of seed funding helped Suzanne Wenzel, a professor and chair of the school’s Research Council, secure a $2.7 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. She relied in part on $100,000 from an individual donor, J. Scott Watt, to explore transitions to permanent supportive housing among people experiencing chronic homelessness.

Initial results from a pilot study led to the proposal for federal funding—an application that received a perfect score from reviewers.

“I am so pleased that Scott’s initial investment in the school’s research efforts on homelessness—in the form of a monetary gift to advance my research—has resulted in such a high rate of return in the science we can do and in the difference we can make,” she said.

Watt, a homebuilder who graduated from USC and serves as chair of the school’s Board of Councilors, said he has been a longtime advocate for strategies to end homelessness and is interested in finding

Photo/Courtesy of Scott Watt

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He donated $38,000 to support a post- Ty Michael Carter’s presentation during a doctoral scholar to help him obtain data CIR event and wanted to help the center on the extent to which address problems that certain medical personnel, affect military-affiliated including nurses and “The smartest individuals, such as high social workers, advocate rates of unemployment, researchers are still on behalf of their patients. behavioral health probbeing somewhat The gift is funded with lems, and issues reintesuccessful in attracting grating into society after royalties from two of public support at the Jansson’s books and supdeployment. plemented with support same time they are She recently donated from the school’s research engaging private donors an additional $20,000 to cluster on Management, and private foundations CIR to help the center Organizations and Policy bring together military and businesses to Transformation. researchers from across support aspects of Inspired by a Medal the United States and of Honor recipient who their work. This kind of other countries for a twodescribed his personal portfolio is what is really day meeting to build acastruggles with post- is needed to advance our demic partnerships and traumatic stress disshare strategies. research.” order, Kathleen Ell also “It’s kind of the way I made a personal congrew up,” Ell said of her tribution of $10,000 to Marilyn Flynn decision to make a personal research efforts at the donation to the school. school. Ell, the Ernest P. “We were pretty poor but Larson Professor of Health, Ethnicity, and my father’s slogan was to do unto others as Poverty, said she was moved by Staff Sgt. you would have them do unto you.” t

prestige | from page 4 within the Gerontological Society of America on Chinese gerontology research, Chi said, which now features more than 250 members and is one of the organization’s largest interest groups.

Chi has met frequently with Frances Wu, the namesake of her endowed chair, and delivers yearly reports on her research to inform Wu of her achievements.

“I really admire her,” she said of Wu, who developed and oversaw an apartment complex for low-income older adults in Monterey Park. “She is a great social worker and has done so much for the community. I don’t think I’ll ever match her energy, but I’ll try my best to make sure her legacy continues.”

Another researcher at the school who is keenly aware of the legacy attached to his endowed professorship is Ron Astor, the Richard M. and Ann L. Thor Professor of Urban Social Development.

He met regularly with the couple until Richard’s death in 2011 and continues to share his progress with Ann on efforts to reduce school violence and support children from military families in school and community settings.

Astor said the title is particularly meaningful to him because of the lifelong commitment of Richard and Ann Thor to social work and philanthropy, not to mention the fact that Richard earned a master’s degree in social work from USC in the same graduating class as Astor’s father, in 1958.

“I couldn’t be prouder to be following in their footsteps,” he said. “Everything I do is done in their name. It’s on our publications, our grants, our presentations. People know that their efforts supported this kind of work.”

In terms of the benefits Astor has seen from having an endowed professorship, he emphasized the increased weight of his voice on issues such as preventing school shootings or helping military children deal with the overseas deployment of a parent. He has visited the White House on several occasions to share his research findings, in addition to meeting with top education officials in France and Israel.

“I can’t help but feel that the title gives you access and the ability to convey your ideas at high levels,” he said. “People Honor | continued on page 12

in the category of exemplary higher education partnerships. The award is considered the highest honor from the Military Child Education Coalition. Spearheaded by Ron Astor, the Richard M. and Ann L. Thor Professor of Urban Social Development, and his research team, the consortium has brought together 145 schools, 350 organizations, and five universities to develop better ways to support children from military families in the community.

Associate professor Karen Lincoln has been selected as a fellow of the Behavioral and Social Sciences Section of the Gerontological Society of America.

Fellowship is the society’s highest class of member and recognizes outstanding and ongoing work in the field of gerontology.

The Building Capacity to Create Highly Supportive Military- Lincoln also serves as associate director of Connected School Districts Consortium has been selected to the USC Edward R. Roybal Institute on receive the 2014 Pete Taylor Partnership of Excellence Award Aging at the USC School of Social Work.

such as the Hilton Foundation has proven Data | from page 5 the resulting report proved highly valuable successful for the data network. to practitioners and policy makers.

“Foundations play a really critical role, “It was much better than we could have not replacing federal or state funding, but imagined,” said Jeannine Balfour, senior by filling gaps and recognizing opportuniprogram officer for the Hilton Foundation. ties where there is a need for information “The data was sobering, but her thorough- and the foundation is positioned to move ness made it a great research study.” quickly and efficiently with its support,” In fact, that report may have helped the Putnam-Hornstein said. researchers secure support for the CDN, McCroskey, who has relied on philanPutnam-Hornstein said, because it gave thropic funding during much of her research leaders from both First 5 LA and the career, emphasized the relatively less conHilton Foundation strained nature of private confidence that such support compared to the research could be An $800,000 grant from the rigorous and intensive conducted efficiently Conrad N. Hilton Foundation process of securing feddespite the comeral grants. is helping researchers at plexity of working “It has several great the USC School of Social with massive populaadvantages—the flextion-level datasets.

Work link data across public ibility, the timeliness, “One of the big- agencies and organizations the ability to try things gest barriers a lot of out in partnership with to explore issues faced by researchers and grant people who have the makers and practitio- teens transitioning out of the same interests,” she ners have is trying to foster care system. said, adding later, “It’s access data,” Balfour much more focused on added. “This idea of application and action, having one entity doing this, taking the which is our focus. The CDN is framed bull by the horns and trying to get as much around action and determining who needs administrative data as possible so it is more to have information to improve outcomes accessible, is a win-win for everyone.” for youth and families.

Supplementing public funding—in this “When you have decision makers who case, cigarette tax revenues from the state want to make changes, getting the knowlthat are funneled through First 5 programs— edge to them as soon as possible can make with private support from organizations a significant difference.” t

Photo/Brian Goodman

Professor Suzanne Wenzel has been invited to join the Research Council of the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

The council is responsible for developing policy analyses and recommendations that influence both federal and local policy, educate policy makers, and advance community capacity for implementation of best practices. The organization is widely considering the leading voice in preventing and ending homelessness in the United States. Wenzel chairs the Research Council at the USC School of Social Work and is the director of the Homelessness, Housing, and Social Environment research cluster.

Photo/Brian Goodman

Hamovitch Center | 1149 South Hill Street, Suite 360 | Los Angeles, CA 90015 USC School of Social Work | Montgomery Ross Fisher Building | 669 West 34th Street | Los Angeles, CA 90089 213.821.3628 | hrc@usc.edu | usc.edu/socialwork/research

Honor | from page 11 listen a little more carefully, they take notes, and I do feel that it’s important in signifying that this person has a track record, they’ve done a lot, and the ideas they are presenting can help many others.”

Although Astor said he is honored to have received the endowed professorship, he said he views the title as recognizing and supporting his work, not his personal achievements.

“I’m very much in favor of anything that will elevate the importance of what we do and say,” he said. “Whatever I do, it’s not just for me. It’s about getting a message across that can guide policy, change laws, and change the day-to-day lives of individuals who are suffering and not receiving support.”

Other endowed professors at the school are John Brekke, the Frances G. Larson Professor of Social Work Research; Bruce Jansson, the Margaret W. Driscoll/ Louise M. Clevenger Professor of Social Policy and Administration; Jacquelyn McCroskey, the John Milner Professor of Child Welfare; Michalle Mor Barak, the Lenore Stein-Wood and William S. Wood Professor; Lawrence Palinkas, who holds the Frances L. and Albert G. Feldman Endowed Professorship in Social Policy and Health; and Penelope Trickett, the David Lawrence Stein/ Violet Goldberg Sachs Professor of Mental Health. t