Jobs in Social work: Wurzweiler School of Social Work Hosts Informational Panel

Like everyone else in today's troubled economy, students at Wurzweiler School of Social Work are wondering about their job opportunities.

On Wednesday, February 25th, Wurzweiler hosted an informational panel with representatives from six social service agencies that serve clients in the metropolitan New York area:

• FEGS
  
• OHEL
• JASA
• United Jewish Communities
• YAI/National Institute for People with Disabilities,
• The Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services,

The panel was very well attended. Students learned how they can market themselves in a challenging environment. The panelists offered 'straight' talk that included some helpful hints about how to be flexible in this market and how to utilize their skills to re-envision their roles in the workplace. The agencies all reported that they would be hiring and accepted resumes from many grateful students.
(Thanks to guest editor, Lynn Levy)

Palliative Care Leadership Conference at Wurzweiler

On December 5, 2008, Wurzweiler convened a half-day conference on “Social Work in Hospice and Palliative Care: The Emerging Landscape.” One hundred fifty social work practitioners and students joined us for the first New York-region conference dedicated to the growing roles of social workers in palliative care.

Coordinated by Gary Stein, JD, MSW, Associate Professor at Wurzweiler, and Grace Christ, DSW, Professor at Columbia School of Social Work, the program examined this newly developing practice arena for social workers. Panels explored the state-of-the art in practice, highlighted by observations from Frances Heller, MSW and WSSW alumnus, a member of New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center’s palliative care team. Other speakers explored policy developments, such as the new palliative care credential, a joint project of NASW and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization; and the recent federal regulations for hospice social work. Researchers focused on innovative findings – challenges faced by family decision-makers and their needs for professional support, cross-cultural concerns, and experiences of caregivers in families with histories of physical or sexual abuse.

The program showcased the new Social Work in Hospice and Palliative Care Network (www.swhpn.org), a national professional association seeking to advance a social work agenda for palliative care that is led by the conference coordinators. SWHPN is sponsoring a one-day program on March 25, 2009 at the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine’s annual conference in Austin, Texas. Building on the themes from the Wurzweiler meeting, the Austin program will include panels promoting social work leadership, ethical practices, evidence-based approaches, and family conferencing skills. More information on this program can be found at http://www.aahpm.org/education/conf/geninfo.html.

4 WSSW Students Attend Graduate Seminar in Israel

Four Wurzweiler MSW/Jewish Communal Service students joined six other graduate students from Columbia University and NYU on an intensive ten-day seminar to Israel this January. The students were offered a unique study program to learn first-hand about Israel’s social services system and the challenges Israel faces in delivering an array of services to its most vulnerable and embattled populations. The seminar, coordinated by Lyn Light Geller of UJA-Federation and Professor Saul Andron, also delved into the changing roles of the voluntary and government sectors in Israel, evolving models of relationships between Israel and Diaspora communities and the implications of declining Diaspora philanthropy to meet human needs of the Israeli population.

The seminar fell right in the midst of the Gaza War taking place in the south of Israel. Though Jerusalem was quiet, and the group was relatively far from the front, the students met with representatives of key agencies responding to the emergency needs facing the civilian population in the battle zone. Special sessions were arranged with senior professionals of the Israel Trauma Coalition, a coordinating agency launched by the UJA-Federation of New York, which was actively engaged in mobilizing professional and volunteer assistance to the civilian population in the south. Other organizations, such as Yididim, an organization for immigrant at risk children, with service centers in the south, had implemented innovative and creative strategies to continue service to their various client groups. The group also had the privilege to go to the Avi Chai Foundation facility in Jerusalem where a special day of fun activities and a concert with some of Israel’s top music stars, was organized for residents from the south. These children, parents and teachers were bussed to Jerusalem for one precious day to get away from the constant shell fire, the sheer terror and fear of being in a war zone to relax and enjoy, to smile, and to know they were not forsaken.

Seminar participants agreed that this was a particularly poignant and emotional time for them which brought home the horrors of war and constant conflict. Maureen Melcer, Wurzweiler PEP student, remarked that "the unique experiences this trip offered gave me a new appreciation for Israel. Being in Israel during a time of great political unrest and seeing first hand the ways in which this young country mobilizes itself to take care of its people during a crisis is truly inspiring. I walked away from the trip with new friends, colleagues, and a renewed sense of pride for my work in the Jewish community."

During the seminar the students visited many social service and advocacy agencies, interacted with an array of clients, non-profit agency professionals and academic experts, and tackled a plethora of issues and topics facing the not-for-profit sector in Israel today. Site visits to the Jerusalem Battered Women’s Shelter, Jaffa Institute for underprivileged children, Amcha, a support center for Holocaust survivors, numerous programs for youth at risk, and absorption programs targeting young and adult Ethiopian immigrants, helped to enlighten the students about service strategies to meet needs of specific target groups. Seminar sessions, both formal presentations and site visits, exposed the students to the distinct and sometimes overlapping roles and services of the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC Israel) and the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), the two funding partner agencies in Israel of North American Jewish federations.

Sessions with knowledgeable and veteran non-profit sector and Jewish community experts were particularly illuminating. These included meetings with Dr. Jack Habib, director of the JDC Myers Brookdale Institute; Dr. Hillel Schmid, director of the Hebrew University Center for the Study of Philanthropy in Israel; Avraham Infeld, former Executive Director of the Chase Family Foundation in Israel and seasoned Jewish/Zionist educator; and Ralph Goldman, outstanding long-time member of the American and International Jewish community and honorary Executive Vice-President of JDC. Their dynamic presentations created a picture of the evolving not-for-profit sector in Israel, the changing dynamics of American and Israeli-based philanthropy, the growing privatization of human services delivery in Israel and the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead for Jewish communal professionals.

The seminar to Israel stimulated many questions among participants and challenged them to grapple with issues concerning the connection between Diaspora Jews and Israel, the new challenges of Jewish peoplehood and the changing roles of Jewish communal professionals in relation to Israel. The experience provided insight and guidance into the workings of the Jewish communal field, and especially to social work practice, and how to implement such a knowledge base into our own future work. Matt Dunn, Wurzweiler Concurrent student, remarked that “as a result of the mission, I have a more well rounded knowledge base regarding the social issues within Israeli society. Learning and interacting with other students in Israel is an experience that every student should have.”

Thanks to Jeana Beneson, WSSW student, for authoring this web post.

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.