University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Social Work 1350 University Ave. Madison, WI 53706 CONNECTIONS ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2018 Connections_Back_Cover_2018.indd 1 9/20/18 9:28 AM CONNECTIONS UW-MADISON SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK Alumni Magazine // 2018 From health outcomes of older adults with autism to policies designed to eradicate poverty, research and outreach conducted at the School of Social Work addresses social challenges facing Wisconsin and the nation. Historic gift establishes Harriet & Sandra Rosenbaum Scholarship and Opportunity Fund for students. PLUS Connections_Cover_2018.indd 1 9/20/18 9:27 AM Letter from the Director I am constantly impressed by the extent to which members Our ability to dynamically engage of our School engage in communities beyond classrooms. and immerse students with their I guess I shouldn’t be surprised – we’re social workers after all communities was aided this past – we’re trained to move across agencies, systems, and borders year with an historic gift by Joel Berman. In honor of both his in service with others. This year’s Connections is full of the late wife and mother-in-law, Joel made a $5 million endowed ways research, teaching, and service by our students, faculty, gift to the School to support graduate students (p. 13). We and staff are rooted in community. cannot thank Joel enough for his gift and the impact it is For example, three of our faculty edited a ground-breaking already having on students. series that will help set the anti-poverty agenda for the next Our efforts to improve diversity and inclusion have evolved decade. Marah Curtis and partners are assessing the and taken form through efforts such as our cultural dialogs, connection of health to housing in Milwaukee and taking their “Social Workers Confronting Racial Injustice Conference,” research statewide. Lara Gerassi received a Wisconsin Idea and celebration for students of color. This year, we have Seed Grant to create a regional response protocol for selected So You Want to Talk About Race as the first ever individuals at risk of sex trafficking in Wisconsin. Board School Community Read and purchased copies of the book for of Visitors member and Senior Fellow Roberta Gassman all students, faculty, and staff. Our School community will was honored for her years of contribution to local, state, discuss this book throughout the year. There is much more we and national governments. Laura Dresser and Lonnie Berger as individuals and a community do every day to improve the launched the DreamUp Wisconsin project that seeks diversity and inclusion of our School and our communities. innovative ideas for increasing family incomes in Dane County. And there is so much more to be done. Hardly a week goes by in which our faculty are not quoted Finally, this is an election year. As in every election cycle, or featured in local and national newspapers, NPR, or voting is core to political action and is a fundamental tenet to presenting to audiences ranging from agency supervisors community engagement. Remember to get out and vote and to national experts. to help all others exercise this important civic responsibility. It’s not just faculty. We maintain agreements with 400 local Voting is Social Work! See more: votingissocialwork.org. and state agencies where BSW and MSW students performed With an eye toward community and the future! 144,000 hours of service in their Field Education placements Warmly, this year alone. We award hundreds of hours of free continuing education credits to practicing social workers each year. Our connection to Wisconsin communities is unique and strong. Stephanie Robert CONNECTIONS Director of the School of Social Work: is the alumni magazine of the School of Social Work Stephanie A. Robert at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Writers/Editors: Mel Morgenbesser, Jason Lee 1350 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706 Designers: Kristi Breisach, Nora Feldman Email: [email protected] Website: socwork/.wisc.edu Contacts for gifts information: Mel Morgenbesser [email protected] | (608) 213-8082 Connect on Andrew Kitslaar, UW Foundation social media: [email protected] | (608) 308-5314 Front Cover: Jennifer Braunginn, Field Faculty Associate, speaking at the 2018 Social Workers Confronting Racial Injustice Conference. 1 2018 | Connections NEWS Leading Foundations Call on School Faculty to Help Set Anti-Poverty Agenda for the Next Decade “What if instead of proposing sweeping cuts to the safety net programs that help keep millions of Americans afloat, the nation’s leaders reimagined what it means to lift people out of poverty completely.” (Colorlines, February 20, 2018). When the Russell Sage Foundation and Robin Hood Foundation sought to “set the anti-poverty policy agenda for Lonnie Berger Maria Cancian Katherine Magnuson the next decade,” they called on three School of Social Work and Institute for • Increasing funding for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Research on Poverty faculty to lead that Program (SNAP) by $42 a week, which would reduce food insecurity effort. Professors Lonnie Berger, Maria by an estimated 62 percent. Cancian, and Katherine Magnuson edited Anti-Poverty Initiatives for the United • Increasing financial resources to children living with a single parent States, a special two-issue Russell Sage by broadening child support services and publicly guaranteeing Journal of the Social Sciences, published a minimum amount. earlier this year. Katherine Magnuson explained in an interview with Colorlines, “We felt The journal “showcases a collection it was important to bring together a set of fresh ideas that would engage of innovative and specific proposals with what we have learned about anti-poverty policies of the past in order intended to reduce poverty in the short- to generate positive and innovative solutions. The proposals range from and/or long term or improve economic rather incremental to much more innovative—but ultimately, when taken wellbeing,” by focusing on “real-world together we hoped they might shift and reframe the discussion in ways responses to current and emerging that would be forward thinking.” poverty-related problems.” The 16 articles in the two issues feature ideas from many As many of our alumni and friends know, the School has long been of the leading anti-poverty and social a leader in poverty research and social policy. Many of our faculty are policy experts in the U.S. These include: associated with the UW-Madison’s Institute for Research on Poverty, now the sole federally-funded poverty research center in the U.S. Lonnie • Converting the child tax credit Berger serves as IRP’s Director and Katherine Magnuson as Associate into a universal, monthly child Director for Research and Training. allowance, drawing on research that further investment could reduce deep poverty YOU CAN ACCESS BOTH ISSUES ONLINE AT: by 50 percent and effectively www.rsfjournal.org/doi/full/10.7758/RSF.2018 eliminate child poverty. 2018 | Connections 2 NEWS $1 Million Grant Supports Creating Conditions to Improve Housing for Wisconsin Families Professor Marah Curtis, School Faculty Lead Project Seeking with her partners Innovative Ideas for Increasing Family Community Advocates Public Policy Institute Income and School of Medicine Social Work faculty members Laura Dresser and Lonnie Berger and Public Health (also Director of the Institute for Research on Poverty) and colleague Professor Geoffrey Professor J. Michael Collins, were awarded $1.5 million from Schmidt Swain, received a Ventures. According to Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, the 5-year, $1 million grant grants seek to, “fuel an innovation engine to help distressed to inform housing policies related to health, communities and expand the middle class.” quality, stability, and affordability to address Joining three other universities nationally who also received support, Wisconsin’s housing crisis and its effects the UW-Madison project’s goal is to produce innovative ideas on public health. for increasing the net income of 10,000 Dane County families by The project began in Milwaukee and will 10 percent by 2020. The Alliance for the American Dream initiative expand to other counties in the state during will bring together Dane County’s strong community, business, the next five years. Project activities include government, and non-profit networks to partner with the UW– building community-driven advisory councils, Madison to reduce racial, ethnic, and geographic disparities and conducting health impact assessments, and expand economic security and shared prosperity in the county. recruiting and training tenant leadership For more information, go to www.irp.wisc.edu/dreamup. teams. Its overall goal is to create conditions for local, state, and federal policymakers to improve current housing policies to help increase affordability, quality, and stability— ultimately improving health and well-being for Responding to Suspected and Sex low-income Wisconsinites and their families. Trafficked Children Professor Curtis, an expert on how housing policy impacts the well-being of children Lara Gerassi, Assistant Professor, is partnering with the Youth and and families explains, “This project is exciting, Family Services Division in Outagamie County to develop services because it allows for these various actors for individuals at risk of sex trafficking through a Baldwin Wisconsin to reimagine the relationship of their Idea Seed Grant. Wisconsin Act 367 mandates that any suspected community roles, the quality and affordability