A Conversation with Boston College GSSW Dean, Alberto Godenzi
The Boston College Chronicle
What do you see as GSSW’s mission, both as an institution in its own right and as a part of Boston College? Whatever schools of social work do always has to have meaning for the lives of real people and communities, especially those at the margins. The unique identity and value proposition of the GSSW flows from BC’s Jesuit, Catholic mission. The tenets of Catholic social teaching and the Jesuit Social Apostolate widely correspond with the ethics code of the social work profession. All three frameworks emphasize principles such as solidarity, justice education, and empowerment.

$12.5 Million Gift Creates Innovative Center for Social Work, Health
BUToday
The doctor—and social worker—will see you now. Social workers play a critical role in health care, and an anonymous $12.5 million gift will create a new [Boston University] center melding social work and public health science to improve care here and around the globe. The Center for Innovation in Social Work and Health (CISWH) will be sited on the Medical Campus as part of the School of Social Work and will partner with BU’s Center for Global Health and Development (CGHD). It will “engage a wide group of scholars across the health professions around workable and cost-effective models that serve the broad health needs of people in the United States and abroad,” says Gail Steketee, a professor and dean of SSW.

HPU Students Participate In Social Work Student Day At The Legislature
www.BrownwoodNews.com
Six Howard Payne University students recently traveled to the Texas State Capitol in Austin to take part in the Social Work Student Day at the Legislature, sponsored by the Texas Association of Social Work Deans and Directors. The travelers are students in Dan Humeniuk’s Social Welfare Policies, Programs and Issues course. “The purpose of the trip was for our students to get a sense of their opportunities for participation in advocacy and government processes,” said Humeniuk, assistant professor of social work and chair of the Department of Criminal Justice, Social Work and Sociology.

‘Medical homes’ appeal to many doctors, patients
Northwest Georgia News
Ronald Whitten, a licensed clinical social worker, is excited about the idea of being a patient in a “medical home.’’ A medical home, in this context, is not a residential institution. It’s a physician practice that aims to provide more comprehensive, patient-friendly treatment while also curbing health costs. Whitten, 70, a retired Emory faculty member who’s on Medicare, is convinced of the medical home’s benefits. He’s a patient of Dr. Jennifer Zreloff, an Emory Clinic internist.

How a high school social worker pays it forward
Southtown Star
It’s the social worker’s job to help kids hurdle the obstacles that stand in the way of their academic success, whether that’s coping with tragedy or a troubled home life. It takes a special kind of person to do the job. You need patience and empathy as well as confidence and perseverance to break through to those kids who’ve built a wall around themselves.

2014 Distinguished Service Award Recipient Maureen Buaman
Sacramento State
“Sometimes careers are planned and sometimes there are just opportunities where you go,” says Maureen Bauman. Bauman didn’t plan to become one of the Northern California’s foremost advocates for de-stigmatizing mental illness. That opportunity came through her role as director of the Placer County Adult System of Care, overseeing mental health services and drug and alcohol services for one of the fastest growing areas in the state.

Teen who stowed away in wheel well reportedly did it to see mother
NPR
Omar Lopez, who teaches at University of Southern California’s School of Social Work, said typically in runaway cases, social workers assess the child and the family to rule out violence or abuse at home. He said it can take longer to do those assessments in cases of immigrants with limited English skills, and that in this situation, there are several different state bureaucracies involved that could delay a reunion.