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.