Wendy Logan holds a scrapbook of her foster family. Photo by Ed Murray of the Star Ledger.

Former foster child and social work grad student Wendy Logan said a judge should have allowed her to speak about whether she should remain with her drug addicted birth mother, according to this article on NJ.com.

However, the judge told then 13-year-old Logan to sit outside in the hall in a courthouse in Camden, N.J. The judge then ordered Logan to go to counseling with her mother. That counseling was unsuccessful and Logan stayed in foster homes.

“Nobody ever heard me or asked me to come into court or asked my opinions. I felt really devastated,” said Logan, 25, who attends the University of Pennsylvania.

Child advocates are pushing for children to be allowed in family court proceedings, the article said. Do you agree?

To learn more about how social workers help children, visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Kids & Families Web pages by clicking here.

She taught at the University of Pennsylvania and at Fordham University in New York City. Her speciality was social work administration.

Mrs. Lee died Thursday in Philadelphia at age 73. To read her obituary in The News Leader click here.

Vice President Biden. Photo courtesy of Penn Current.

Vice President Joseph R. Biden will speak at the May 17 commencement of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice, according to this article in Penn Current.

Smaller schools within the University of Pennsylvania system rarely get such high-level speakers but the School of Social Policy and Practice had an edge this  year, the article said. Biden’s daughter, Ashley, is graduating with a master’s of social work.

“Vice President Biden has long supported policy and legislation aimed at social change,” Dean Richard J. Gelles said.  “We are pleased that he has accepted our invitation to be the Commencement speaker at the graduation exercises.”

UPDATE: Here is the link to a Philadelphia Inquirer article on Biden’s appearance at the commencement.

Richard Gelles. Photo courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania.

Richard Gelles, dean of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy & Practice, recently went to China to observe that country’s move to create 33 master’s of social work programs.

China is growing rapidly and is well on its way to perhaps becoming the planet’s top economy. However, its social problems are multiplying and China does not have the infrastructure to handle them, said Gelles, who is also a member of the National Association of Social Workers.

“It’s fascinating to watch a country that big and growing that fast, decide to grow out a social service component,” Gelles. “If they do it at the same pace they’re growing everything else out, it’s going to be remarkable to watch.”

To read the full University of Pennsylvania Penn Current interview with Gelles, click here.

Social workers are becoming increasingly involved in world affairs. To learn more, visit NASW’s Human Rights and International Affairs Web page by clicking here.

Ram Cnaan. Photo courtesy of University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work.

Adoption is becoming increasingly entangled in the gay rights struggle, according to this article in Christianity Today Magazine.

For instance, a foster father went to court challenging a Florida law that bans adoptions by gays and lesbians. Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) introduced a bill that would ban discrimination in adoptions. And the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington warned it could cancel some social services after the District of Columbia approved gay marriage.

Social worker Ram Cnaan, who was interviewed in the article, said Stark’s bill may go too far because it would minimize the role of non-profit and faith-based adoption agencies.

Cnaan is director of the Program for Religion and Social Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a former member of the National Association of Social Workers.

“Marginalizing the uniqueness of faith-based organizations and forcing them to act secularly is the cookie-cutter type mistake,” Cnaan said. “Not all adoption agencies should be molded to be alike, as many children and families have different needs that can be best met by allowing many different providers to co-exist.”

Social workers often play a key role in adoptions. To learn more, visit the National Association of Social Workers “Help Starts Here” Adoptions and Foster Care Web page. We would also like to ask you this question:

Q: Should Congress pass a law requiring adoption agencies provide services to all potential parents, including gays, lesbians and single parents? Or should agencies continue to set their own adoption policies?