Name: William M. Bannon, Jr.

Current Position: Post-Doctoral Fellow, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY

CUSSW degree and specialization: Ph.D., Social Work. Concentration in Social Policy, Planning, and Policy Analysis, October 2005.

Dissertation title: The Effect of Racial Socialization on Urban African American Parent Use of Mental Health Services for Themselves and their Children. Sponsor: Edward Mullen

Experience in the doctoral program:  "I completed my doctoral work at CUSSW from 2002 to 2005. To my fortune, my experience within this program was both enriching and very fruitful. First, I acquired an invaluable 'real world' social work research experience through working with my mentor Dr. Mary McKay, who was then a CUSSW faculty member. I cannot overemphasize the importance of this mentoring relationship toward advancing my skills from that of a doctoral student to a flourishing professional. For example, through our work together I was able to publish several peer-reviewed articles, make multiple presentations at national conferences, attend a summer institute, and submit my first grant application to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) within my first two years of doctoral study. Additionally, my dissertation was based on a fusion of the two main areas of research I developed with Dr. McKay, racial socialization and factors that influence urban child mental health service use. Second, I enjoyed being a pre-doctoral fellow within the NIMH Pre-doctoral Training Program in Mental Health through CUSSW, which I felt added a lot to my learning. I benefited from useful courses within the social work program, as well as in other programs at the University, including the School of Public Health. Lastly, based on the line of research I developed while at CUSSW, I was able to secure funding from the NIH Loan Repayment Program prior to graduation. The support I received from the members of the office of the Doctoral Program also had a very positive impact on my experience. In my third year of study I accepted an NIMH-funded, three-year Post-Doctoral Fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, which will be completed in 2008. During my postdoctoral experience, I have also taught classes in social work research at Fordham University and started a private therapy practice, both of which I feel benefit from my experiences at CUSSW. "

Description of current research:  "A large part of my current research is an extension of the two central themes that I developed during doctoral study. First, barriers and facilitators to youth and family mental health service involvement must be addressed in order to provide the most effective evidence-based care to families. Second, culturally and contextually relevant factors, such as racial socialization, must be considered in order to understand mental health outcomes for urban youth and families of color. During my Post-Doctoral work, I ave conducted several studies and submitted federal grant applications in an attempt to move this line of research forward. Most recently, I have conducted a series of studies that identify a link between participation in community-based youth group organizations for urban youth and preferable mental health outcomes, including youth behavioral difficulties. Subsequently, I have submitted a proposal for a career scientist award (K08) toward securing the necessary time and training to initiate a program of research focused on understanding the potential impact of familial and community resources on child mental health service use and outcomes for inner-city African American youth exhibiting serious conduct difficulties. "