A partnership between our Nation's largest voluntary mental health social service organization and its oldest school of social work has resulted in a unique research center, the Center for the Study of Social Work Practice. The Center is the only endowed research organization focused solely on the development and dissemination of social work practice knowledge. Its endowment of approximately $3,000,000 is supplemented by gifts and grants from public and voluntary sources. These financial resources, combined with the formidable human resources available to the Center, create an unmatched capacity for social work practice research.

The Center's human resources flow from the unique partnerships and collaborations between the faculty and staff of the two sponsoring institutions. The Center is a joint program of the Columbia University School of Social Work (CUSSW) and the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services (JBFCS). With a full-time CUSSW faculty of over 40 and a professional JBFCS staff of over 1,000, a wide array of social work practice research interests are ever present. Through this "town and gown" partnership, practice research conducted through the Center is grounded firmly in the realities of practice while at the same time focused on significant contributions to practice theory.

The studies conducted by the Center have spanned a wide range of populations and problem areas: children and adolescents receiving outpatient mental health services, residential treatment services, school-based counseling services, and services for trauma; women who have suffered from domestic violence, with studies focusing on HIV-positive battered Latino women, Asian immigrant women and Jewish women; elderly Japanese men and women in need of social support and mental health services; and multicultural competence among social work practitioners and students.  Past studies have examined: suicidality among preadolescents; group interventions for grandparents raising grandchildren; and, the effectiveness of early prevention programs for parents who are likely to engage in child abuse. Other studies have examined service system issues such as the impact of managed care on services and utilization of outcomes measurement.

Hand in hand with its knowledge development mission, the Center also promotes knowledge dissemination and utilization. Its research findings are disseminated internationally through extensive publications by Center affiliates. In addition, the Center's journal, Practice & Research, reaches thousands of individuals and organizations around the globe through its Internet distribution as well as through its paper edition. Periodic conferences, forums, and symposia bring together experts in specialized areas of practice research in order to exchange ideas, discuss research programs, and disseminate findings.

The Center provides a secure and exciting environment for faculty, staff and students from the sponsoring organizations who wish to advance its mission. The Center welcomes collaborations with other individuals and organizations interested in the advancement of social work knowledge.

The Center's founding director was Dr. Shirley Jenkins. Its director from 1992 through mid-2002 was Dr. Edward Mullen.  The current director is Dr. Ronald A Feldman and Constantino Chito Trillana is the associate director.

Individuals or organizations wishing to be placed on the Center's mailing list, and those wishing to attend Center events should contact the Center at:

Center for the Study of Social Work Practice

1255 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027

Phone 212-851-2266; Fax 212-851-2268

E-mail: cbt1@columbia.edu