UTCSW Faculty Expand Research Beyond the College Walls

UTCSW FACULTY

Expand Research Beyond the COLLEGE WALLS

Betsey Bush Endowed Professor in Behavioral Health and Associate Dean for Research Doug Coatsworth came to the college in

August 2020 to help strengthen the culture of research within the college. He was notably impressed by what he encountered. “When I came to the college, I was introduced to a faculty with many strengths and to a university working to expand opportunities for faculty to conduct their cutting-edge research,” he explained. “Our CSW faculty and students have diverse research interests focusing on some of society’s most challenging issues and on changing lives. The college supports a broad array of engaged research projects, advancing knowledge about the wellbeing of individuals of all ages, and from a variety of physical, social, and political contexts. The research also reflects core social work values of empowerment and building evidence to improve care and quality of life.” Coatsworth quickly noticed the collaborative, transdisciplinary, and engaged nature of the faculty’s research. “Our faculty have forged interdisciplinary partnerships with researchers from over a dozen departments/ colleges at UTK. They are doing some kind of work focused on all 95 Tennessee counties, while also collaborating with researchers and community organizations in over 30 states,” he stated. “Additionally, we have several growing international collaborations. I am continually impressed with the breadth and quality of research being done by our faculty.” The Center for Guaranteed Income

Research, co-led by UTCSW Associate

Professor Stacia West, exemplifies the interdisciplinary, engaged research being done on a national level. West and co-director

Dr. Amy Castro Baker, Assistant Professor at University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2), started their work as the co-Principal Investigators of the first mayor-led guaranteed income pilot in Stockton, California, and guided pilot cities through a learning agenda while overseeing the research design and implementation. The center, established by Mayors for a Guaranteed Income (MGI), together with the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice and UTCSW, paved the way for Los Angeles and Chicago to roll out guaranteed basic income programs to provide direct cash assistance to thousands of families in need.

West and Castro Baker are working closely with city leaders to develop programs that are tailored to local needs. As West told one journalist, “The federal child tax credit, as well as the stimulus, showed that there are some holes, and some people get left out of these sort of large government programs. Part of what we’re looking at is what disbursement mechanism works best for specific populations, and my feeling is that a one-size-fits-all approach is not going to work.”

Another potential challenge for larger cities is to gain and maintain trust. West notes that many people who are eligible for government programs are accustomed to not being trusted, so a more person-centered approach is needed not only in disbursing the money but also in tracking data. “Guaranteed income has to really separate itself from that paternalistic ‘you’re a number, you don’t matter, there’s something morally wrong with you’ and the internalized welfare stigma the individuals have,” she said. Through her continued research with the center, West will lead the UT College of Social Work in helping to change lives throughout the country.

UTCSW Assistant Professor Jennifer First is part of another cross-disciplinary collaboration with researchers from Villanova University investigating the role of protective decision-making in response to tornado and flash flood warnings. Because severe weather can often include overlapping tornado and flash flood warnings, the public may receive contradictory recommendations to stay safe — sheltering below ground during a tornado and moving to high ground during flash floods. Using a convergent framework, this interdisciplinary team combines atmospheric, geospatial, and social science methods to examine a location’s climatological risk and societal exposure to tornado and flash flood events and its relation to how residents perceived, responded to, and prioritized protective actions when dual warnings for tornadoes and flash floods occurred. When extreme events such as these threaten communities, it is paramount that researchers collect perishable data prior to, during, and immediately following the disaster to ensure that vital information is not lost. This type of research is fundamental to the advancement of the field, and can provide life-saving information to decision makers and ultimately promote the collective good. UTCSW Researchers also recognize the importance of partnering with local, regional, and national agencies to help communities throughout the state.

The College’s Social Work Office of Research and Public Service (SWORPS) maintains an ongoing collaboration with the Knoxville City Council and local homeless serving agencies to coordinate the KnoxHMIS collaborative database on homeless services, needs, and outcomes in Knox County, TN. Led by UTCSW Cooper-Herron Endowed Professor in Mental Health Research & Practice David Patterson, SWORPS Program Manager Nate First, and their team, KnoxHMIS also partners with the homeless service community in strategic planning and policy development. Interdisciplinary collaboration brings with it a basis for advanced education. The city council recently approved additional funding for the KnoxHMIS CARES project. The project seeks to foster greater understanding of the social consequences, human impact, and deleterious effects of homelessness. The college seeks this work as reflective of the university’s land grant mission and commitment to serving the people of the state.

Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration, and partnering with community agencies and other local leaders allows scholars to explore and discuss multiple perspectives. As diverse mindsets come together to consider the challenges and opportunities, discussions deepen and yield a more complex analysis. Interventions that emerge from these collaborative creative processes are more likely to make lasting impact. UTCSW will look to expand connections and undertake these collaborative and interdisciplinary research projects, with the hope of enhancing the college’s knowledge and making a meaningful, lasting difference in Doug Coatsworth, the world. Betsey Bush Endowed

Professor in Behavioral Health and Associate Dean for Research