WSSW Proffs Help Students Deal with Complex Issues Around Madoff Fraud

Two Wurzweiler faculty were recently featured in a front page story in the New York Times. Times reporter Javier Hernandez interviewed Rabbi Linzer about his Jewish Social Philosophy class to see how this experienced professor helped his class deal with the complex emotions they were experiencing regarding Bernard Madoff.

Federal prosecutors have charged Mr. Madoff with orchestrating a 50 billion dollar fraud that numbered, among its victims, various Jewish institutions, synagogues and schools, including Yeshiva University.

...The students in Rabbi Linzer's class last week wrestled with the headlines and their emotions. Some said Mr. Madoff's religious affiliation was irrelevant; others worried that his Judaism might tarnish their own, that outside eyes would not be able to see past his faith.

Professor Lynn Levy was also interviewed by Hernandez. She described how she had her class...

...dissect the Madoff case through the lens of trust last week. Questions flew through the room: If we cannot trust business, why trust government? Will people be more skeptical of the Jewish community? How do we rebuild confidence in us?

Read the New York Times article.

Jewish Communal Service Students Host Reboot Leader

The Jewish Communal Certificate Program recently hosted Amelia Klein, Field Director at Reboot for a Lunch and Learn. Reboot, a six year old avant-garde Jewish organization, is committed to revitalizing Jewish traditions and culture and providing an outlet for unaffiliated yet identified young Jews.

Amelia spoke informally to a mixed group of certificate and non-certificate students about the inception of Reboot in 2002 with a summit, or “open space” for Jews of all backgrounds to come together and discuss what is out there for Generation Y Jews.

Reboot now boasts several divisions including a published magazine, Guilt & Pleasure, a record label, Reboot Stereophonic, which releases revitalized Jewish music, and holds “Do It Yourself” parlors throughout the country which are open arenas that invite all Jews to discuss, debate, and celebrate all things that are Jewish.

Reboot has also been a part of several data collection studies including, “Grande Soy Vanilla Latte with Cinnamon, No Foam…” Jewish Identity and Community in a Time of Unlimited Choices. This study, among others, proves Reboot’s mission to a tee. Young Jews throughout the nation are not looking to affiliate in the ways of our grandparents, or even our parents. Generation Yers seek a no strings attached attitude that will allow them to express their Jewishness in ways that are comfortable – through music, art, and social gatherings, which is precisely what Reboot provides. Reboot receives funding from the Charles and Andrea Bronfman Foundation along with several private foundations.

Amelia described Reboot as a “catalyst for catalysts” in that it allows prominent members of various artist communities to network among each other and return to their own hubs with new ideas to inspire and connect.

The session was intriguing and further reinforced the ideas that certificate students have been learning in both first and second year classes; that the nature of the Jewish community is changing and it is our job as new, Jewish communal professionals to keep up with these changes and develop new creative strategies to connect young Jews to Jewish life.

(Thanks to Chana Topek, our guest editor)

WSSW Students Blog About Their Experience in New Orleans

In the beginning of December, Professor Saul Andron took the students in the Jewish Communal Service program on a field trip to New Orleans, to speak with members of the Jewish Community about their ongoing efforts to recover from Hurricane Katrina. The trip made a deep impression on them all, as is apparent in the following account by Ira Gubenko, a JCS student.

Working for the Jewish community in Ukraine, I have participated in many trainings and seminars. However, I have never experienced such a touching, educational and well-organized one. During the seminar we met different people: the president of Jewish Federation and his wife, executive director of Jewish Family Service, various Jewish citizens of New-Orleans, and many others. Although all these people were different, they were strongly connected by the catastrophe that had happened in New Orleans and they all had a story to share. Conversing and listening to them was an amazing experience for me since I come from a country where sharing of emotions is considered to be almost shameful.

Read more student accounts on their blog.

Distinguished Alums Tell Students About Their Paths to Success

On the evening of November 19, over 150 students crowded into the Belfer Commons to hear alumnae from Wurzweiler School of Social Work talk about their transition from being students to becoming leaders in the national social work community. The evening, organized by student government (SGA), was also another opportunity for the entire Wurzweiler community to join together, for students in different programs and schedules to get know one another, faculty and administration.   

Erica Liebowitz, the current SGA president, welcomed attendees. She spoke about the many activities of the SGA, such as creating programming--including the popular Lunch 'n Learn series--lobbying, organizing and engaging in community service, and providing "a clearinghouse for concerns from students and answers from administrators."

Dean Sheldon Gelman introduced Sarah Kaplan, the Community Organiing and Policy intern at the New York chapter of the NASW, who encouraged everyone in the assembly to join the NASW!

Nancy Doniger, from Columbia University School of Social Work and Justine Freitas, from Hunter College School of Social Work, talked about the Undoing Racism Project. 

Next Mark Miller, our alumni director, introduced our distinguished guest speakers. Here are some excerpts from his introductions:

Irwin Lenefsky, a native of New York is an active duty Army Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) with over 21 years of active service. In 1985, he obtained a MSW from Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Yeshiva University and Rabbinical Ordination from the Theological Seminary at YU. He holds a Ph.D. from Catholic University in Washington.

Lawrence Caplan graduated from WSSW in 2006. He immediately started working at Esperanza, which (at that time) was a pilot program for the Vera Institute for Justice. Esperanza is an alternative to incarceration program for youth. He provides home-based individual and family counseling to court mandated youth and their families. In addition to his role at Esperanza, for the past year he has been a volunteer  with the National Association of Social Worker’s New Professionals Task Force Steering Committee.

Arlene Peller has had a private practice since graduating from WSSW.  She has also been a clinical supervisor and director of an alcohol and drug treatment facility for women, as well as, an adjunct teacher at Montclair State University and Bloomfield College. She is married, with three married children and seven grandchildren.  

Manoj Pardasani is a graduate of both the MSW and Ph.D. program at Wurzweiler. He began his career in social work as a teenager living Bombay, India, where he organized a group of friends to volunteer their time and resources and created a literacy program for homeless and/or orphaned children. The program expanded rapidly and in a few years they served nearly a hundred children utilizing the services of 250 volunteers. For the last 10 years, he has worked as a social work practitioner in diverse fields and settings such as senior centers, group homes for the developmentally delayed, community mental health centers and homelessness/HIV/AIDS-related social services. In 2006, he was chosen as Social Work of the Year by the Indiana State Chapter of NASW.  He is currently on the faculty at Fordham University.

 

Wurzweiler Prof Pontificates at Summer Symposium in Oxford

Wurzweiler Professor Jonathan Fast was one of 22 academics from around the world invited to the annual Oxford Symposium at Brasenose College in Oxford, England. Dr. Fast presented a paper called The School System From Hell, a reference to the school district of North-Western Alaska and how its' embedded racism toward the local indigenous cultures, the Yup’iks and the Athbaskans, and structured inequality of services was one of the factors contributing to a school rampage shooting by Evan Ramsey in 1997. The paper was adapted by Dr. Fast from his book Ceremonial Violence: the Psychologicl Explanation for School Shootings, which will be published in September by the Overlook Press.

The five day event, organized by University of San Franciso's Center for Family and Child Development, began on August 10^th. Twenty-two attendees from the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, China, and the Phillipines, presented papers on topics at the cutting edge of school based health and family therapy. During their free time, attendees explored Oxford’s narrow streets, marveled at the architecture, or practiced punting on the Thames.

Jewish Communal Certificate Students Explore the Kehillah Partnership at The Bergen County JCC

Dr. Harold Benus, Executive Director of the Bergen County YJCC, in New Jersey, had an idea. Why not create a network of synagogue congregants who pay one fee for membership at a synagogue of their choice, and automatically gain access to programming at the Bergen County Y. Strengthen the Jewish community and save money at the same time. The Kehillah Partnership, he decided to call it.

When Dr. Saul Andron, director of the Certificate in Jewish Communal Service program heard about it, he decided it would be a perfect field trip for certificate students who were attending the summer Block program.

After a tour of the newly renovated facility, Dr. Benus and his staff (including Steven Mark, WSSW ‘08/Certificate in Jewish Communal Service), and the immediate past president of the agency described how they had developed the Kehillah Partnership and the experience during the pilot phase. Students learned firsthand about the challenges and complexities of this new collaborative model.

Dr. Benus acknowledged that the JCC movement is “not well” and that many JCCs haven’t adapted successfully to the changing needs and interests of individual Jews and families. He explained that there is fierce competition in the marketplace to attract members for leisure-time activities and that the entire Jewish communal system is experiencing cutbacks due to declining philanthropic support. With synagogues being the primary portal for many Jewish families and the one fee for multiple services model as the driving strategy, Dr. Benus hopes that community members will find the Kehillah Partnership an affordable way to participate in Jewish communal life.

Thanks to Rachel Neuman, our guest editor.

Two WSSW Students Present at Research Conference

Two Wurzweiler students, Lara Bolsom and Wendy Schudrich, presented posters at the annual Behavioral Science Research Day conference, co-sponsored by the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology and the Institute of Public Health Sciences. The conference took place on the 15th of May, on the campus of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Laurie J Bauman, Ph.D., a sociologist and Professor of Pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, was the guest speaker.

Ms. Schudrich used survey techniques to measure job satisfaction among 434 urban child welfare workers. She found that while most of the workers did not regret their career choice, child abuse prevention had not been their first preference. More than half the respondents had thought about leaving their jobs in the previous year, but more than 75 percent intended to stay. The four factors associated with looking for employment were contingent rewards, satisfaction with the nature of the work, pay, and perceptions of child welfare, in that order.

Ms. Bolsom presented a single-system research design that she had developed in Social Work Research and Evaluation (SWK 6401), a required course for all MSW students. She measured the efficacy of Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT) on a 29 year old female complaining of excessive negative thoughts. Using standard scales and a client log, she demonstrated that her own practice was effective in reducing the occurrence of negative thoughts for the client.

Shana Chaikin Talks about Sexual Abuse Advocacy

On April 2nd, students and faculty members heard Shana Chaikin, a survivor of sexual assault at the age of 16, speak about her advocacy work for CONNSACS (Connecticut Sexual Assault Crime Services). Connecticut is currently one of several states that has recognized the importance of working with both the offenders and the victims and has developed a full range of comprehensive programs and services addressing both the immediate and long-term needs for survivors of sexual assault.

Shana began her discussion with a moving description of her own assault and the long and difficult journey of her own healing, including some of the complex issues that she has personally confronted over the past 15 years. Her commitment to advocacy work began over 9 years ago when Shana became involved with SAVVI (Sexual Assault Victims Volunteer Initiative), a not-for-profit advocacy agency affiliated with Mount Sinai Hospital. She became an advocate for women who had come to the emergency room for treatment right after their assaults. From there, Shana went on to become a spokesperson for SAVVI, training others to become advocates for sexually abused women. She now sits on the board of SAVVI and facilitates school-based workshops that raise awareness and consciousness for young adolescents. Her current work with CONNSACS involves working directly with the victims, but also acting as the ‘voice’ of the victims with the perpetrators in groups and court proceedings. Shana described some of the professional confidentiality conflicts that she confronts regularly as well as the transference and counter-transference issues that occur for her. She is a strong advocate for supervision and agency support for workers who are confronting ethically challenging issues in the workplace. Wurzweiler hopes to welcome back Shana Chaikin at a future date.

Can Mikvah Attendants Spot Abuse? Sweifach & LaPorte say "Yes!"

Dr. Jay Sweifach and Dr. Heidi Heft LaPorte are conducting research investigating the extent to which mikvah (ritual bath) attendents recognize and respond to cases of domestic violence. Sweifach and LaPorte believe that Mikvah attendants are in a unique position to respond to domestic violence, in that they are responsible for checking women before they immerse in the water and may see evidence of abuse. The researchers believe that attendents can be trained to spot abuse, and preliminary findings suggest that some attendents have already been trained to do so. The researchers believe that findings from the research can be used to refine and develop protocols that can assist mikvah attendants in enhancing their role as front line responders to domestic violence and other types of abuse.

Rabbi Tessler Speaks to Ethics Class & Student Lunch

Rabbi Joel Tessler, WSSW class of '83, recently returned to Yeshiva University, first to speak to at an ethics class taught by Rabbi Norman Linzer, PhD, who is himself a renowned authority on social work ethics, and then to address the student body in a Lunch & Learn talk titled The Social Worker, the Rabbi, the Struggle.

"A rabbi is trained to answer questions posed to him. He is the final authority for the members of his community. A social worker is trained to listen to his/her client. He/she is a facilitator to enable the client to discover the path on which to travel. When people come to an orthodox rabbi, they expect him to have a definite opinions and preconceived conclusions regarding many issues based upon the Jewish law halacha). People come to social workers expecting them to have a open mind and tune into where the client is at. Despite the tensions, conflicts and values inherent in the demands of the different professions, the MSW is an invaluable set of skills which does enhance the counseling challenges and demands confronting today's rabbi and the clergy in general."

--Rabbi Tessler

Jewish Certificate Program Offers Seminars in Financial Resource Development

If one program is attracting a lot of buzz this year, it's the Certificate in Jewish Communal Service program, under the capable direction of Saul Andron. Dr. Andron seems tireless in his efforts to make this program exceptional!

This month students working toward the certificate attended the first of a series of Financial Resource Development Seminars, four three-hour seminars on the nuts-and-bolts of running successful capital campaigns, writing proposals, building relationships with donors, and establishing planned-giving programs and endowments: the kind of subjects one normally associates with a business school rather than a school of social work.

Dr. Andron told the "What's New" blog...

Today’s Jewish non-profits face increasing competition for donor support and loyalty. Professionals will be expected to generate financial resources for their organizations. Jewish communal professionals are going to have to build FRD into their professional skills set.

Each seminar features an experienced senior professional from Yeshiva University’s Department of Institutional Advancement. For the first seminar, Daniel T. Forman, Yeshiva University's Vice President for Institutional Advancement, provided insights about fund-raising for a major university.

Panel Discusses Dilemma of Homosexuals in the Orthodox Jewish Community

On March 5, members of JQ Youth, a support group for young gay and lesbian religious Jews, addressed a packed conference to talk about what and who helped them come to terms with their plight as active members of a community which opposes their sexual preference.

Guest speakers, Chasya, Justin, and Mordechai, described their experiences consulting with rabbis, social workers, and therapists throughout the years as they tried to reconcile being both gay and Orthodox. Some of these encounters were extremely frustrating and hurtful, ending with rejection or condemnation. Those that were more fruitful took place when their advisors employed social work skills and sensitivities.

For example, a turning point in Justin’s life came when an Orthodox rabbi, while not sanctioning homosexuality, talked with Justin about possible life paths he might take as a gay, Jewishly observant man.

After the presentation, Dr. Norman Linzer, who teaches Values and Ethics, noted that those who were able to help Chasya, Justin, and Mordechai, “acted as good social workers, starting where the client was at, with the situation that was presented to them.”

The seminar was organized by Glenn Taylor, ’08.

Thanks to Robert Liebowitz for this post.

Student Forum on Internet Practice

Have you ever wondered about the opportunities for social workers to use their practice and organizational skills through the Internet? While the Internet has revolutionized professional and social discourse in recent years, little attention has been given to how new technologies can be integrated into practice.

On March 19th, the faculty Bioethics Committee and the Student Government Association sponsored “Social Work Ethics and Technology Practice,” to illustrate innovative strategies and the special ethical dilemmas such practices may create. This mini-conference was offered free to all Wurzweiler students along with a buffet lunch (kosher, naturally!)

Prof. Gary Stein, chair of the Bioethics Committee, moderated a panel that included:

• Richard Hara, MSSW, Ph.D., who directs Cancer Care’s on-line services, including a message board, supportive “chat” among group members, and information and referral.


• Elizabeth Zelvin, LCSW, a clinical social worker who has counseled clients from around the world since 2000 through her website, http://www.lzcybershrink.com/.


• David Wasserman, JD, MA, the Director of Research for the Center for Ethics at Yeshiva University, who asked prodding questions to highlight ethical and practice concerns.

Discussion reinforced the value of the Internet as yet another powerful intervention for helping clients, especially clients who may be challenged by traditional face-to-face strategies because of distance, illness, or disability. Service is also enhanced for clients who prefer using the “narrative” to communicate, or who may benefit from services that can be provided at any time or place. Clients may appreciate being able to review their social worker’s words whenever support would be helpful. However, ethical concerns, such as confidentiality and security, are ever-present. In addition, new territory is being charted here. Which jurisdiction’s licensing laws govern technology practice, where the social worker is based or where the client receives the message? The regulation of Internet practices is a new concern, and one that will debated in the upcoming years as a growing number of professionals enter this practice arena and as the technology further evolves.

Organizational Structure of the American Jewish Community Course Goes Real-time Big-time

What better way to learn about the history, development, and organizational dynamics of a growing Jewish community than by partnering with it!

Case in point: the Jewish community of Atlanta Georgia, a community which has grown in population by over 60% in the past decade and now ranks as the 11th largest Jewish community in North America.

This Fall, students working for their certificate in Jewish Communal Services contracted with the Greater Atlanta Jewish Federation to examine historical, demographic and Jewish engagement trends and developments, as well as the organizational structure of this community.

Students were provided access to federation planning and governance reports, financial resource development plans, and the data of the recent population study. Phone mentoring sessions were held between students and senior professionals of the federation, where the dynamics of change were closely investigated and strategies for serving the community brain-stormed.

But the highlight of the process was the private face-to-face meeting with the Greater Atlanta Jewish Federation delegation to the United Jewish Communities annual General Assembly, which took place this past November in Nashville, TN. Certificate students heard presentations from the chief volunteer and professional officers of the Federation about the community and its needs and challenges. The students engaged members of the delegation in lively small groups, after which they met separately with the professionals of the federation to discuss job and career opportunities in Atlanta.

Upon return from Nashville, the students completed the assigned written projects and collaborated on a final document about their impressions of the community and their experience working with the Federation. The final product was submitted to the professional leadership of the Federation and was received with great appreciation and enthusiasm. As noted by the Federation’s chief professional officer Steve Rackitt:

I have read all of the material. Please express my admiration and appreciation to the students who worked on the Atlanta project. The overview papers were excellent and I was particularly impressed with the Impressions and Recommendations document. The observations were astute and recommendations excellent. We are implementing many of them already, and I was truly impressed with the fact that the students are sitting 1,000 miles away, yet were able to capture some of the most important challenges and issues facing our community, structure and direction.

Thanks to Dr. Saul Andron for this post!

Wurzweiler Students Visit Ghana

Wurzweiler students Oluwole Akinkunmi, Maria Cruz, Jennifer Shapell and Faith Lawrence are Fellows with the Children of the World Community Program/ Immigration Project based at the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS). The goal of the project is to prepare MSW social work students for leadership roles in child welfare and for culturally competent, neighborhood-based, approaches to practice with immigrant families.

During winter recess, these students were involved in a unique learning experience as part of their field experiences. They participated in a study abroad intercession course at The University of Ghana in West Africa, where they had an enriching and rewarding cultural experience.

While in Ghana, the students toured the Elmina Slave Castle, visited the Ghana Department of Social Welfare and attended lectures at the University of Ghana. Each student conducted field work in separate field placements in the OSU Orphanage located in a suburb of Accra, the West African Aids Foundation (WAAF), and the OSU Children’s Home (a group home for abandoned and neglected youth).

In these field placements the students learned skills that will enable them to better serve the immigrant families they are working with. The importance of empathy, the need to overcome resource shortages, and the challenge to provide vital assistance are just some of the issues which the students confronted.

Wurzweiler Mourns Distinguished Alumna

Joan K. Parry, DSW, ACSW, LCSW, passed away the morning of January 9th in La Jolla, California, from lung and liver cancer. A Native New Yorker, she had been a resident of the San Diego area for the past twenty-five years. She was a prolific author and a beloved colleague, serving on the national board of the NASW. She received her bachelors from Columbia University, her MSW from Adelphi and her DSW from Wurzweiler School of Social Work.

• Read her obituary in NASW Foundation Blog
• Read her obituary in the Mercury News.

Professors Beckerman and Auerbach Involved in Large Scale HIV/AIDS Research Project

Harlem Directors Group has joined with Wurzweiler Professors Nancy Beckerman and Charles Auerbach in a research study to identify patterns of compliance and non-compliance with HIV/AIDS prevention strategies. The study will be conducted in Northern Manhattan communities where HIV/AIDS is common and its effects, devastating. More than 30 community agencies will be included, providing an unprecedented opportunity to identify sociocultural obstacles to compliance with the CDC recommended HIV prevention interventions.

The strategies being investigated are those described in the Compendium of HIV Prevention Interventions with Evidence of Effectiveness, a database created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to respond to requests from prevention service providers, planners, and others who have requested science-based interventions that work.

Wurz Wins Grant, Snags Student Stipends

Wurzweiler has been awarded a three-year grant that enables it to expand its emphasis on social work and gerontology. Funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation and managed by the New York Academy of Medicine, the program is The Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education. Its innovation is in building partnerships between universities and community agencies that offer students hands-on and varied experiences caring for older adults across a range of settings. The funding awards stipends to MSW students whose career interests are in working with older persons. Students selected for the stipends will participate in a rotational model of field practice, working with a variety of older populations.

Community agencies partnering with WSSW in the program are:

• The Bronx Jewish Community Council
• Fort Washington Housing and Services for Older Persons
• The Jewish Community Relations Council
• The Jewish Home and Hospital
• New York City Housing Court

Wurzweiler Partnership Program students will spend their second year field internship in two of these agencies, getting to know different service systems and experiencing the diversity found among older persons.

The grant will enable Wurzweiler to offer additional forums focused on aging in the form of seminars, video presentations, and lunch and learn programs, for the benefit of all students. As a Hartford Partnership Program grantee, the school joins over 60 other schools of social work nationwide which are united in their goal of graduating gerontological social workers to meet the social service needs of older persons and their families.

Profs Strolin-Goltzman, Auerbach & Bonuck Investigate SBHCs

School based-health centers (SBHCs) are one of the most dynamic innovations in health and education in recent years.

John Schlitt, executive director of the National Assembly on School-Based Health Care, recently told met with congressional staffers to bring them up to date on SBHC's.

School-based health centers were born of a movement to bridge health and education with the explicit objective of keeping school-aged children and youth healthy so that they experience the fewest possible barriers to learning. In a time of crisis, school-based health centers take their work a step further to respond to individual, school and community needs.

Whether it’s an extremely public crisis etched in our collective consciousness with grim detail, or the silent crisis of anxiety and depression among our youth, school-based health centers provide some of the basic tools to ensure student success by keeping young people strong, healthy and able to learn(Read all of the capitol hill briefing on SBHCs).

But exactly how affective are SBHCs? To find out, three members of Wurzweiler's research faculty, Professors Jessica Strolin-Goltzman, Charles Auerbach, and Karen Bonuck (also on the faculty of Albert Einstein College of Medicine) are undertaking a city-wide evaluation of SBHCs. Strolin-Goltzman described the process in a note to What's New at Wurzweiler:

The project will be divided into two phases. In phase one, the evaluation team will catalogue the availability and utilization of health related programs and services in school based health centers (SBHC) in NYC. The team will also complete a retrospective quasi experimental study of the impact of SBHCs on the learning environment.

Phase two of the study will collect primary data in SBHC schools and non SBHC schools to investigate the impact of SBHC on overall school climate and teacher satisfaction.

Mason & Clemans Propose Group Model for Rape Survivors

The current issue of Affilia includes an article by faculty members Susan Mason and Shanti Clemans titled, Participatory research for rape survivors groups: A model for practice.

The article describes how a participatory research model can help the healing process for rape survivors. The article explains how research oriented groups can be structured to document each member's survival experience in a format that can benefit future rape survivors, and move the group towards empowerment and growth.

Click here for the citation and abstract, or here to purchase a copy of the article from Sage.