Faculty News & Notes
International Projects
Steven Schinke, D'Elbert and Selma Keenan Professor of Social Work, has joined the Global Health Research Center of Central Asia team as Co-Director. Professor Schinke will assist with strategic planning efforts related to the Center and be involved in building faculty collaborations Columbia-wide. He will also be engaged in pursuing research and other opportunities that are of great concern in the region. As chronic diseases present serious health problems in Central Asia and are a priority for the Kazakh and other governments, he will participate in collaborations aimed at building the capacity of researchers, educators, and other professionals in Kazakhstan, and implementing new intervention programs.
Awards and Appointments
Barbara Berkman, Helen Rehr/Ruth Fizdale Professor of Health and Mental Health, was named an Advisory Council member of the Sloan Center on Aging and Work at Boston College. The Center promotes quality of employment as an imperative for the 21st century multi-generational workforce.
Associate Professor Wen-jui Han was named an Outstanding Reviewer for 2009 by the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the American Educational Research Journal Section on Social and Institutional Analysis. AERA is the national interdisciplinary research association for approximately 25,000 scholars who undertake research in education.
Ronald Mincy, Maurice V. Russell Professor of Social Policy and Social Work Practice, was awarded the 2009 Raymond Vernon Memorial Prize by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. The award is given annually to the authors of the best research article published in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. The Raymond Vernon Memorial Prize was shared with co-authors Jennifer Hill of New York University and Marilyn Sinkewicz of the University of Michigan for their co-authored article entitled, "Marriage: Cause or Mere Indicator of Future Earnings Growth."The article examined whether married men earn significantly more than single men, specifically low-income, unmarried fathers.
Assistant Professor Rogério M. Pinto was awarded the 2010 Society for Social Work and Research's (SSWR) Deborah K. Padgett Early Career Achievement Award. The Deborah K. Padgett Early Career Achievement Award recognizes an individual who is conducting innovative, rigorous research and scholarship in his early career and is having a notable emerging impact on his field and profession.
Professor Barbara Simon was reappointed for another 3-year term (2010-2013) to the Commission for Diversity and Social & Economic Justice of the Council on Social Work Education. The Commission promotes in social work education inclusion, equity, social and economic justice, and the integration of knowledge of how the multiple aspects of human diversity intersect.
Dean Jeanette C. Takamura was honored by the Government of Japan with The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, for her outstanding contributions to the promotion of social welfare policies and programs in the U.S. and to the status of Japanese Americans. First awarded in 1875, the Order is the second highest honor that has been bestowed since 1981 upon persons who are not citizens of Japan. Women have been among those honored with the Order since 2003.
Associate Dean Allen Zweben was named a member of the faculty of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. The Earth Institute at Columbia University is the world's leading academic center dedicated to sustainable development.
Educational Training Program Highlights
Nabila El-Bassel, Professor and Co-Director of the Columbia University Global Health Research Center of Central Asia, welcomed 19 professionals from Astana Medical University in Kazakhstan. The professionals participated in an educational training program in New York City supported by the Kazakhstan National Medical Holding and Kazakhstan Ministry of Health. The training program was developed by the Global Health Research Center of Central Asia in collaboration with the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and Downstate Medical Center. The students participated in lectures related to hospital management and information about the U.S. health care system and health reform and participated in hospital site visits.
The NIMH-funded HIV Intervention Science Training Program for Racial/Ethnic Minority Investigators (HISTP) welcomed prominent scholars from several universities and a number of racial and ethnic minority training fellows to the 2009 HISTP Winter Institute. The scholars included Wendee Wechsberg of RTI International, Isaac Montoya of the University of Houston, and Theo Sandfort of the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, each of whom served as guest reviewers during a full day mock grant review session. Three HISTP training fellows' grant applications were reviewed and discussed, and the fellows gained valuable insight and guidance about the science, methodology, design, and structure of their grant applications. The program is co-directed by Professor Nabila El-Bassel and Assistant Professor Elwin Wu.
Selected Grants
Boudin, K. (PI), Criminal Justice Initiative: Supporting Children, Families and Communities, Atlantic Philanthropies, awarded $100,000, January 2010 - December 2011.
Boudin, K. (PI), Children, Families, and Communities Criminal Justice Initiative, Tides Foundation, awarded $10,000, August 2009 - July 2010.
Boudin, K. (PI), Children, Families, and Communities Criminal Justice Initiative, Friedman Foundation, awarded $35,000, August 2009 - July 2010.
Boudin, K. (PI), Teen College Dreams, Osborne Foundation, awarded $60,350, August 2009 - July 2010.
Guilamo-Ramos, V. (PI), Network Determinants of Risk among Formerly Incarcerated Latino Men, National Institute of Mental Health, awarded $1,000,000, October 2009 - September 2011.
El-Bassel, N. (PI), HIV/STI Risks Among Migrant Market Workers in Kazakhstan, National Institute of Mental Health, awarded $2,395,405, September 2009 - June 2013.
Mincy, R. (PI), Excellence Through Evaluation: Assessing, Addressing, and Achieving - An Enhanced Partnership to Strengthen Maryland's Families. Maryland State Department of Human Resources, awarded $187,746, November 2009 - February 2011.
Mincy, R. (PI), Educational and Employment Experience and Aspiration of Young Black Bermudian Males, Atlantic Philanthropies, awarded $140,000, January 2010 - March 2011.
Rizzo, V. (PI), A JASA Research Institute Evaluation of Ten Caregiver Programs, UJA Federation of New York, awarded $40,000, January 2010 - December 2012.
Schinke, S. (PI), Drug Abuse, Adolescent Girls, and Prevention: YMCA Community, National Institute of Drug Abuse, awarded $220,224, August 2009 - July 2010.
Shear, K. (PI), Treating Complicated Grief in Suicide Survivors: 4-Site Pilot Study, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, awarded $25,382, October 2009 - March 2011.
Ssewamala, F. (PI), A Family Based Economic Empowerment Model for Orphaned Children in Uganda, National Institute of Mental Health Diversity Supplement, awarded $118,881, January 2010 - June 2011.
Waldfogel, J. (PI), Work-Family Policies and Child and Family Well-Being, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, awarded $35,305, September 2009 - September 2010.
Zweben, A. (PI), Intervention Research, Parallax Center, awarded $25,000, January 2010.
From Child Welfare to Child Well-Being: An International Perspective on Knowledge in the Service of Policy Making
This unique volume provides an exceptional opportunity to experience the history of the past 50 years of child welfare as well as its current status and future. Written by renowned experts in the field, the chapters are organized into five clusters. The first one includes Al Kahn's last written contribution to the field and looks at how children and families have changed over time as has the research on their well-being. The next two clusters focus on the traditional child welfare system and on different theoretical perspectives. The fourth and fifth clusters focus on economic support for child and family well-being and a discussion of current child well-being issues.
From Child Welfare to Child Well-Being: An International Perspective on Knowledge in the Service of Policy Making is available from Springer Publishing (hardcover, 440 pages, ISBN: 978-90-481-3376-5, $229.00).
Selected Publications
Chen, F. (in press). Assisting adult clients with severe mental illness to move out of parental homes. Community Mental Health Journal.
Christ, G. (in press). Social work across the lifespan: Illness, death, and bereavement. Progress in Palliative Care.
Christ, G. (2010). Children and the death of a parent. In C. Corr & D. Balk (Eds.), Children, death, and bereavement. New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Garfinkel, I., Smeeding, T., & Rainwater, L. (2010). Wealth and welfare states: Is American a laggard or leader? New York: Oxford University Press.
Geller, A., Garfinkel, I., Cooper, C. E., & Mincy, R. B. (2009). Parental incarceration and child well-being: Implications for urban families. Social Science Quarterly: Special Issue on Health Policy and Healthy Populations, 90(5), 1186-1202.
Gates, L. B., & Akabas, S. H. (in press). Job accommodation as a social process. In I. Z. Schultz, & S. Rogers(Eds.), Handbook of job accommodations in mental health. New York: Springer Publishing.
Guilamo-Ramos, V., Jaccard, J., Dittus, P., Gonzalez, B., Bouris, A., &Banspach, S. (in press). The linking lives health education program: A randomized clinical trial of a parent-based tobacco use prevention program for Latino and African American youth. American Journal of Public Health.
Guilamo-Ramos, V. (in press). Dominican and Puerto Rican mother-adolescent communication: Maternal self-disclosure and youth risk intentions. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Science.
Guilamo-Ramos, V., Bouris, A., Jaccard, J., Lesesne, C., &Ballan, M. (in press). Familial and cultural influences on HIV-related sexual risk behaviors in Mexican, Puerto Rican and Dominican youth. AIDS Education and Prevention.
Guilamo-Ramos, V., Dittus, P., Holloway, I., Bouris, A., & Crossett, L. (inpress). An integrated framework for adolescent cigarette smoking in middle school Latino youth. Youth and Society.
Ivanoff, A., & Schmidt, H. III. (inpress). Functional assessment in forensic settings: A valuable tool for preventing and treating egregious behavior. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy.
Ivanoff, A. & Blythe, B. (in press). Ethical practice across the research process. In R. M. Grinnell & Y. A.Unrau (Eds.), Social work research and evaluation: Quantitative and qualitative approaches (9th edition). New York: Oxford University Press.
Kamerman, S. & Gatenio-Gabel, S.(in press). Cash vs. care: A child and family policy issue. In J. Sipila (Ed.), Cash-for-care policies in child care - contradictions and solutions. London, UK: Policy Press.
Kamerman, S. & Neuman, M. (inpress). Early childhood education and care: The family, market, and government. In E. Baker, B. McGaw & P. Peterson (Eds.),International encyclopedia of education. Maryland Heights: Elsevier.
Kamerman, S. & Moss, P. (2009).The politics of parental leave policies. London, UK: Policy Press.
Mandiberg, J. M. (in press). Another way: Enclave communities for people with mental Illness. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry.
Herman, D. &Mandiberg, J. M. (in press). Critical time intervention: Description and implications for timing in social work interventions. Research on Social Work Practice.
Mandiberg, J. M. & Warner, R. (inpress). The importance of client community in the design of psychiatric treatment and rehabilitation programs. NOOS.
Ssewamala, F. M., Han, C-K., Neilands, T., Ismayilova, L., & Sperber, E. (inpress). The effect of economic assets on sexual risk-taking intentions among orphaned adolescents in Uganda. American Journal of Public Health.
Ssewamala, F. M., Ismayilova, L., McKay, M., Sperber, E., et. al.(in press). Gender and the effects of an economic empowerment program on attitudes toward sexual risk-taking among AIDS-orphaned adolescent youth in Uganda. Journal of Adolescent Health.
Ssewamala, F. M., Sperber, E., Zimmerman, J., & Karimli, L. (in press). The potential for asset-based poverty alleviation strategies in sub-saharan Africa. International Journal of Social Welfare.
Witte, S. S., Stefano, K., & Hawkins,C. (in press). A second chance for the female condom in the United States: The role of Medicaid reimbursement. American Journal of Public Health.
Witte, S. S., El-Bassel, N., Gilbert, L., Wu, E. & Chang, M. (in press). Lack of awareness of partner HIV/STI risk among heterosexual couples. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health.
Witte, S. S., Batsukh, A., & Chang,M. (in press). Sexual risk behaviors, alcohol abuse and intimate partner violence among sex workers in Mongolia: Implications for HIV prevention intervention development. Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community.
Wu, E., El-Bassel, N., Gilbert, L., Chang, M., & Sanders, G. (in press). Effects of receiving additional off-site services on abstinence from illicit drug use among men on methadone: A longitudinal study. Evaluation and Program Planning.
Wu, E., El-Bassel, N., McVinney, L. D., Fontaine, Y.-M., & Hess, L. (in press). Adaptation of a couple-based HIV intervention for methamphetamine-involved African American men who have sex with men. Open AIDS Journal.
Wealth and Welfare States: Is America a Laggard or Leader?
It is widely believed that the welfare state undermines productivity and economic growth, that the United States has an unusually small welfare state, and that it is, and always has been, a welfare state laggard. This book shows that all rich nations, including the United States, have large welfare states because the socialized programs that comprise the welfare state-public education and health and social insurance-enhance the productivity of capitalism. In public education, the most productive part of the welfare state, for most of the 19th and 20th centuries, the United States was a leader.
The American welfare state faces large challenges. Restoring its historical lead in education is the most important but requires investing large sums in education, beginning with universal pre-school and in complementary programs that aid children's development. The American health insurance system is by far the most costly in the rich world, yet fails to insure one sixth of its population, produces below average results, crowds out useful investments in children, and is the least equitably financed. Achieving universal coverage will increase costs. Only complete government financing is likely to restrain long term costs.
Wealth and Welfare States: Is America a Laggard or Leader? is available from Oxford University Press (paperback, 226 pages, ISBN 978-0-19-957931-0, $35.00).
Selected International Presentations
Professor Sheila Kamerman presented at the annual research network meeting of international developments in parental leave policies at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. She also gave two lectures at Charles University, the first a lecture on international developments in early childhood education and care and the second on social protection policies and children.
Professor Steven Schinke presented at Astana Medical University and The Kazakhstan Ministry of Health's National Center for Problems of Healthy Lifestyle Development on prevention research.
Selected National Presentations
Professor Shelley Akabas presented "How to Do Change Before It Does You" at the New York City Conference on Aging.
Professor Barbara Berkman presented "Issues in Aging Research" at the preconference seminar of the Gerontological Society of America Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA.
Assistant Professor Fang-pei Chen presented "Inside the Black Box of an EBP: Critical Time Intervention from an Implementation Perspective" at the 14th Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) in San Francisco, CA.
Associate Professor Vincent Guilamo-Ramos presented "Family Mediators of Acculturation and Adolescent Sexual Behavior Among Latino Youth" at a symposium on "Acculturation and Health Behavior in Latino Adolescents: Advances in Statistical Modeling of Mediation Processes and Longitudinal Trajectories" at the Annual Conference of the SSWR in San Francisco, CA.
Professor André Ivanoff presented "Proposed Programming: Crisis Prevention Skills for Federal Pretrial Detainees" to the Criminal Justice Advisory Group of the U.S. Courts, Southern District of New York and "Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Comprehensive, Principle-Driven Treatment for Complex Disorders" at the Annual Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Convention in New York, NY. She also participated in several presentations at the 35th Annual Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research Conference in Nashville, TN.
Assistant Professor Jim Mandiberg presented "The Origin of Organization in Autonomously Organized Homeless Camps" at the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Associations (ARNOVA) Annual Conference in Cleveland, OH.
Assistant Professor Rogério M. Pinto presented "Retention in the NIDA Clinical Trials Network Women and Trauma Study: Implications for Post-Trial Implementation" at the Annual Conference of the SSWR in San Francisco, CA.
Assistant Professor Mark Preston presented "Work Motivation Under Heightened Job Demands: Comparing Instrumental Feedback and Supervisor Support" at the 2010 National Network of Social Work Managers Conference in New York, NY.
Assistant Professor Victoria Rizzo presented "Using RE-AIM Metrics to Evaluate the Arthritis Foundation's Disease Management Programs Among Individuals in New York State" at the Annual Program Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America in Atlanta, GA, and "The Use of Congressional Hearing Video Role Plays in Advanced Policy Courses" at the 55th Annual Program Meeting of the Council on Social Work Education in San Antonio, TX.
Associate Professor Barbara Simon presented "Faith, Reason & Science: Three Gospels for Mary Simkhovitch and Settlement Movement Workers" at the 2009 Annual Program Meeting of the Council on Social Work Education in San Antonio, TX. She also presented "Community as the Antipode of War for Mary Kingsbury Simkhovitch and Mary Parker Follet" at the Annual Conference of the SSWR in San Francisco, CA.
Associate Professor Fred Ssewamala was a featured speaker at the Opening Plenary Session of the SSWR Annual Conference in San Francisco, CA. The title of the session was, "International Research in Social Work: Strategies, Lessons, and Potential."
Assistant Professors Ronald Thompson and Dana Lizardi presented "Offspring Lifetime Alcohol Dependence: The Influence of Maternal and Paternal Histories of Alcohol Problems and Childhood Parental Divorce/Separation" at the 32nd Annual Research Society on Alcoholism Scientific Conference in San Diego, CA.
Assistant Professor Elwin Wu presented "A Couples-Based HIV Risk Reduction Intervention for African American, Methamphetamine-Involved Men in Longer-Term Same-Sex Relationships" at the National HIV Prevention Conference in Atlanta, GA.
Associate Dean Allen Zweben and Assistant Professor Robin Gearing presented "International and National Perspectives of Developing Capacity: Integrating EBP and Practice Wisdom in Agency Settings," at a roundtable at the Annual Conference of the SSWR in San Francisco, CA.