UW SSW: Centers and Projects

SSW Centers & Project Contact Information Adobe PDF

Center for Women's Welfare
The Civic Engagement Project
CSWE National Center for Gerontological Social Work Education
HIV/AIDS Project Development & Evaluation Unit (HAPDEU)
Indigenous Wellness Research Institute
The Innovative Programs Research Group
Institutes of Excellence
Intergroup Dialogue, Education, and Action (IDEA) Center
The Northwest Institute for Children and Families
Partnership for Youth
Predoctoral Training Program in Prevention Research Promoting Mental Health through Advances in Social Welfare
The Social Development Research Group
West Coast Poverty Center Website

Center for Women's Welfare

The Center for Women's Welfare is devoted to furthering the goal of economic justice for women and their families. Partnering with a range of governmental, non-profit, women's, children's, and community-based organizations, the Center researches questions involving poverty measures, public policies and programs that address income adequacy.

The Center's core activities revolve around researching and creating the Self-Sufficiency Standard, an alternative measure of income adequacy that measures how much income is needed for a family of a given composition in a given place to adequately meet its basic needs without public or private assistance. County by county reports, which calculate the self-sufficiency requirements for 70 different family types, have been created for 36 states as of August, 2005. Advocates, employers, policymakers, and service providers, have used the Standard as a tool for targeting higher wage jobs, employment and training programs, improving career counseling services, and creating public policies designed to help families reach self-sufficiency.

Examples of other Center projects include the development of on-line budget calculators that help workforce development counselors and clients make informed decisions about job training, potential wages and eligibility for work supports and subsidies, and "Above and Below" studies that count the number of individuals falling above and below the Standard, as well as their characteristics, such as race, age of children, occupation, marital status and gender.

For questions, please contact Dr. Diana Pearce, Principal Investigator, (206) 616-2850, pearce@u.washington.edu or Tamar Puckett, Program Director, (206) 616-3543, tamarp@u.washington.edu

The Civic Engagement Project

From its earliest days, the Social Work profession has been concerned with the social and political context in which individual problems play out. Section 6 of the NASW Code of Ethics speaks directly to Social Workers'; ethical responsibilities to the broader society, including the obligation to "...engage in social and political action" which moves society toward greater social justice. A joint project of the UW School of Social Work and OMB Watch (a Washington, DC-based nonprofit), the Civic Engagement Project helps students and social work professionals assume these responsibilities effectively. CEP develops materials, offers training within the school and throughout the nonprofit community, and provides opportunities for hands-on experiences in the policy-making process.

Some examples include:

A three-hour Legislative Simulation to increase familiarity with the legislative process;
A weekly email bulletin during the State Legislative Session, which explains how the process is unfolding week-by-week;
A Citizens'; Guide to Influencing the Rule-Making Process;
Workshops on the rules governing lobbying by nonprofits;
Trainings of various lengths, to increase nonprofit advocacy effectiveness;
Independent Study opportunities for students seeking policy-related experiences;
An audience-participation play called, How Ms Bill Became A Law; and
So You Want To Make A Difference: an advocacy guide.

CSWE National Center for Gerontological Social Work Education (Gero-Ed Center)

http://depts.washington.edu/geroctr/

The Council on Social Work Education National Center for Gerontological Social Work Education, funded for three years by the John a. Hartford Foundation, aims to prepare all social work students nationally with foundation competencies to work effectively with older adults and their families. The rationale is that workforce data consistently show that the majority of social workers interact with older adults, regardless of practice setting, but lack the preparation to do so. Four domains are oriented toward this goal: educational policy and accreditation, programmatic and curricular change, e-learnins and foundation textbook infusion projects, and resource development for sustainability. We encourage students to visit the Gero-Ed Center website, www.Gero-EdCenter.org for excellent resources on gerontological readings, exercises, videos/DVDs, assignments, lecture notes, e-learning, website links, and “best practices” from other social work programs across the country. Watch the gerontological bulletin board in the school located near the student lounge for other resources.

HIV/AIDS Project Development and Evaluation Unit H.A.P.D.E.U.

The mission of the HIV/AIDS Project Development and Evaluation Unit (HAPDEU) is to decrease the incidence of HIV transmission and to improve the quality of life of individuals affected by HIV. We accomplish this by creating effective programs and services that are based on proven research. With a commitment to integrity, mutual respect, innovation, and a belief in the possibility of change, we empower individuals to make their own reasoned choices about their lives.

Current projects include;

HIV STOPS WITH ME - This project is an HIV prevention social marketing intervention targeting HIV positive men who have sex with men (MSM) in Seattle, WA.. HAPDEU will manage the campaign, coordinating with PHSKC staff, campaign designer Better World Advertising (BWA), the Center for Health Training (evaluator), and other members of the local prevention community.

The Goals for this program are; (1) Change social norms to increase safer sex among HIV-positive MSM, (2) Reduce HIV transmission among HIV-positive MSM, (3) Reduce stigma associated with being HIV-positive which will result in an increase of safer sex behavior, and (4) Encourage and support the physical and mental health and well-being of the target population.

POWERON - The goal of this project is to reduce the high rate of transmission of HIV/STDs within the social network of MSM Internet sex seekers, by means of a comprehensive HIV/STD internet intervention using a web site, active online outreach in MSM chat rooms and local agency referrals though the web site and outreach tools. Originated in Seattle King County, three other suburban sites around the country have licensed localized versions of a PowerON template to conduct online outreach in their own jurisdictions.

Unit Director; Keith Barland Contact phone number: 206-685-4230

Indigenous Wellness Research Institute

http://www.iwri.org

Vision: To support the inherent rights of Indigenous peoples to achieve full and complete health and wellness.

Mission: To collaborate with Indigenous peoples in decolonizing research, training and knowledge sharing to achieve the vision.

The Indigenous Wellness Research Institute (IWRI) is a university wide research institute with a focus on indigenous health (mental/physical/spiritual), translational research and family/child welfare. A primary focus of research at IWRI is to develop and test new conceptual models, methodologies, community-based interventions, and community-based research capacities. IWRI also has a strong commitment to the retention and recruitment of Native students and faculty. IWRI is directed by Dr. Karina Walters (Choctaw), Associate Professor at the School of Social Work.

Current IWRI Projects

Urban Indian Identity and Wellness Study
American Indian Vietnam Veterans Life Events Study
The Honor Project (Native Two-Spirit Study) Website
Building on Strengths Training Grant (Indian Child Welfare Training Grant for BASW and MSW AI/AN students)
The Healthy Hearts Generations Project with the Tulalip Tribe

The Innovative Programs Research Group

http://depts.washington.edu/iprg/

An interdisciplinary applied research entity, the Innovative Programs Research Group conducts studies designed to achieve a greater knowledge of the characteristics and needs of underserved populations and assess the effectiveness of innovative means for reducing barriers to the delivery of effective social and mental health services.

Current research efforts include

The Marijuana Dependence Treatment PRN trial is evaluating an intervention that offers repeated opportunities for brief episodes of counseling over a three-year period.
The Sex Check is a telephone-delivered brief motivational enhancement intervention focusing on HIV/STD prevention with men who have sex with men.
The Men's Domestic Abuse Check-Up is a NIDA-funded preliminary investigation, evaluating a telephone-delivered motivational enhancement intervention with adult males who are abusing alcohol/
drugs while concurrently engaging in intimate partner violence.
The "Teen Marijuana Check-Up," a NIDA-funded study targeting adolescents who smoke marijuana, have some concerns about its use, but are not motivated to change.

Institutes of Excellence

http://www.ssw.washington.edu/ioe/

Five faculty-led Institutes of Excellence have been organized around themes that embody our School's social justice mission:

The Institutes generate new research, teaching, and service agendas that capitalize on the interests and passion of faculty, staff, students, and community partners. The Institutes foster new and cross-cutting collaborations within and beyond the university, and harness our collective potential for social change.

Our School community is excellently - and perhaps uniquely - positioned for success in this ambitious initiative. In addition to our diverse, top-flight faculty, staff, and student body; high national ranking; and distinguished track record of success in both scholarship and educational innovation, we possess distinctive institutional resources and capacities, particularly our commitments to the articulation of "science" and "social justice."

Some schools of social work are known for their research productivity and others for their commitment to social justice. We are characterized by a deep commitment to both - and to various forms of "disciplined inquiry" in service of justice for a diverse and highly stratified society. Virtuosity in theory and practice: Our faculty comprises some of the profession's most talented prevention scientists, interventionists, and theorists. This depth and range of talent is highly unusual, and is one of our greatest faculty strengths.

Collective and individual excellence: Like all top-ranked schools of social work, our faculty members are renowned for their individual accomplishments. But they are also characterized by an extraordinary degree of generativity and commitment to the collective good. A very large percentage of our faculty is invested in institutional stewardship. A parallel story applies to our staff. One of the most competent and effective staffs on campus, SSW staff members also demonstrate an extraordinary commitment to the mission and collective well-being of the school. It is upon this intellectual and human capital that the Institutes of Excellence heavily draw.

Intergroup Dialogue Education and Action Center

http://www.ssw.washington.edu/idea/

The Intergroup Dialogue, Education and Action (IDEA) Center at the University of Washington School of Social Work integrates the practice and pedagogy of intergroup dialogue into social work practitioner education. It also serves as a resource for other campus and community efforts geared toward addressing issues of oppression, empowerment, and alliance building for social justice.

The Center is guided by its deep commitment to building alliances across differences for personal and social change. It advances the following principles:

Intergroup dialogue... is a viable and transformative means of engaging across differences, especially when these differences are marked by both culture and power. Our ways of communicating and relating often replicate the same oppressive dynamics that are both the content of our deliberations and the targets of change.

Education... signifies our commitment to the learning and unlearning processes necessary in confronting oppression and injustices. Learning new information and skills, as well as unlearning socialized and prejudiced ways of being in the world, helps expand participants'; capacity for critical consciousness about the impact of multiple levels of oppression and privilege in their lives, and agency to impact upon those forces.

Action... refers to our belief that deep engagement in the intergroup dialogue and education processes can motivate and build participants capacity for becoming change agents. For social work practitioners, this means developing knowledge, attitudes, passion, commitment and skills to work with a diverse clientele and promote greater social justice.

IDEA';s Activities

Offer intergroup dialogues at the University of Washington School of Social Work and the larger campus.
Train a cadre of social work students in intergroup dialogue facilitation and intergroup dialogue-based social work practice.
Provide national leadership in intergroup dialogue work for multicultural and social justice education, civic engagement and citizen empowerment.
Conduct on-going curriculum development, research, and evaluation.

The Northwest Institute for Children and Families

http://depts.washington.edu/nwicf/

The Northwest Institute for Children and Families, dedicated to excellence and leadership in services to children, youth, and their families, is housed within the School and provides training, education, and program evaluation for a range of agencies and system reform initiatives in the Pacific Northwest.

Current areas of activity include the following:

Child welfare training to advance practice in a range of practice and supervisory skills, including working with drug-affected families, culturally responsive practice, permanency planning, and supervision for excellence.
Child welfare education which builds bridges between the six Pacific Northwest social work programs and child welfare agencies in three states. Through this effort, stipends are offered to child welfare students working towards social work degrees.
Participatory and empowerment based approaches to program evaluation with community agencies.
Grant-maker and legislator education by offering policy makers the opportunity to experience personally what it is like to live on public assistance and educating funders on the needs of the most vulnerable families in communities.
Child welfare action and system reform through the development of systems change projects to move public services forward to a position of real responsiveness.

The Institute enriches the School's educational environment by providing a wide range of student experiences, including independent studies, thesis opportunities, practicum placements, and work-study and research positions that connect the student to the field. Students often draw on the faculty and library resources associated with the Institute for paper and research material. Between 60 and 80 students per year participate in the child welfare stipend and field education program across all programs.

Partnership for Youth

Since 1993, University of Washington';s School of Social Work has helped members of the U-District community (including homeless youth, service providers, people of faith, residents, merchants, city government, and UW) join forces in a collaborative, grass roots advocacy network called Partnership for Youth (PFY). PFY brings these diverse members together to share resources, experiences, insights, and energies in order to compassionately address the challenges which face homeless teens and young adults in our neighborhood. Working as a community, we have helped countless out-of-home youth become stable and leave the streets.

Predoctoral Training Program in Prevention Research
Promoting Mental Health through Advances in Social Welfare

http://www.ssw.washingtonedu/programs/phdprev/

The University of Washington School of Social Work Predoctoral Training Program in Prevention Research supports social welfare doctoral students in the School. The National Institute of Mental Health is funding this program focused on predoctoral research training in the prevention of mental health problems and disorders.

The training program builds upon the strengths of our doctoral program, our exceptional multidisciplinary faculty, and our institutional resources at the University of Washington. Our primary goal is to produce a cadre of well-trained prevention researchers who advance the knowledge base for developing effective prevention programs. Graduates of this program are now active scholars in prevention research in major universities throughout the nation.

The training program encompasses a relatively wide range of opportunities such as generative studies developing theoretical models for prevention, formulating theoretically-based preventive interventions, conducting experimental prevention trials, and learning statistical and research methodologies. The program is designed to foster rigorous, in-depth research training and has requirements beyond those of the doctoral program.

The Social Development Research Group

http://depts.washington.edu/sdrg/

The interdisciplinary team of researchers seeks to understand and promote healthy behaviors and positive social development among children, adolescents, and young adults. SDRG

conducts research on factors that influence development
tests the effectiveness of interventions
studies service systems and works to improve them
presents science-based solutions to health and behavior problems
disseminates knowledge produced by research

Examples of the group';s current research include

The Seattle Social Development Project (SSDP), begun in 1981 to test strategies for promoting positive development and reducing drug abuse and delinquency. The study has shown positive effects up to nine years after the intervention ended including increased high school completion rates, reduced violence and heavy alcohol use, and reduced teen pregnancies among those in intervention classrooms in grades 1 through 6. As currently funded, the project will follow participants through age 33.
Raising Health Children (RHC), a collaborative project with the Edmonds School District, which has shown positive effects of teacher and parent involvement on children';s behavior. The project is now following participants through the transition from high school to the world beyond.
The Community Youth Development Study (CYDS), a randomized controlled trial of the Communities that Care (CTC) operating system for youth development. The study involves twenty-four communities across seven states and is examining the impact of the CTC system on community levels of risk and protection, drug use, crime, and academic outcomes.