news & trends FROM THE U-M SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK
WELCOME! This newsletter offers a window into the vibrant
community at the U-M School of Social Work. We are a community of scholars, students, and alumni who share a commitment to excellence and work toward positive change around the world. This is a small sampling of the many contributions our community makes every day. Lynn Videka Dean and Professor of Social Work
Alumnus Laurie Carpenter Awarded 2016 Public Citizen of the Year Laurie Carpenter, MSW ‘05, was awarded the NASW-Michigan’s 2016 Public Citizen of the Year award, along with her Co-Director Michael Hood, for their work in Flint, Michigan during the water crisis. They founded Crossing Water, a volunteer-run NGO. Crossing Waters deploys Rapid Response Service Teams (RRST) to the hardest hit and underserved neighborhoods and communities in Flint to ensure that the most vulnerable individuals and families get the critical assistance and relief they need. RRST are interdisciplinary units are made up of social workers, EMTs, RNs, plumbers, and other technicians. Crossing Waters has volunteer opportunities for social workers in Flint helping families who are struggling due to the water crisis.
Interest on How to Raise Kids is Universal Associate Professor Andrew Grogan-Kaylor from SSW and Elizabeth Gershoff, University of Texas, conducted a meta-analysis of more than 50 years of studies focused on the issue of corporal punishment, which included more than 160,000 children. Grogan-Kaylor’s meta-analysis of corporal punishment received extensive media coverage including 100 media hits in Spanish, 60 in Chinese, 43 in Portuguese and 23 in India.
New Cooperative Headquartered at SSW Will Improve Quality of Cancer Care Professor Brad Zebrack is leading a new Patient-Centered Research Cooperative Group for Psychosocial Oncology headquartered at SSW. The cooperative group will develop a sustainable community of cancer patients and survivors, oncology care providers and researchers devoted to the delivery of psychosocial care for cancer patients. “I am excited about the opportunity to engage oncology social workers and patient advocates in a process that will support their efforts to influence and improve the quality of cancer care in the United States in ways that are meaningful and relevant to patients and their families. Our community-building approach to psychosocial research and the use of research to influence health care delivery systems is innovative in the cancer world,” said Zebrack.