UBuffalo Social Work

Congratulations to Professor Hilary Weaver for being named the Chair-elect of the Council of Social Work Education (CSWE) Board of Directors (BOD). Weaver is currently serving as the vice-chair and secretary for the CWSE-BOD and will assume all duties as BOD Chair in July 2022. "UB is thrilled to learn about this honor. Professor Weaver is a distinguished member of the UBSSW faculty and this position will help to bring UB to the forefront of national discussions about the transformations needed in social work education-related to antiracism and decolonization," said Dean Nancy J. Smyth.

Our Institute on Trauma & Trauma-Informed Care (ITTIC) has been working with the Blythedale Children’s Hospital on the facilitation and implementation of Westchester County’s first-ever Trauma-Informed Systems’ Change Learning Collaborative. This six-month, customizable training program comes as a result of the urgent and ongoing needs that are a result of the COVID-19 crisis and is aimed at helping transition communities and organizations towards trauma-informed care. The last 14-months have been emotional, stressful and potentially traumatic. [The participants], coming from cornerstone community spaces, will work to enliven a trauma-informed approach and provide a framework to help set the stage for healing, resilience and growth in Westchester County and beyond, said Whitney L. Marris, LMSW, Project Manager at ITTIC.

"Leadership is really important in helping different groups to recognize collaboration can be beneficial." - Laura Johnson, MSW, PhD Happy Podcast Week! Have you listened yet? This week we join interviewer Dr. Shaanta Murshid and guest Dr. Laura Johnson for Episode 294 - Domestic Violence Response Teams: Examining Motivations for Implementation of a Police-Advocate Partnership. In this episode, Dr. Johnson, Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at Temple University, describes the domestic violence response team program, a collaborative partnership between domestic violence organizations and law enforcement.

Assistant Professor Maria Rodriguez appeared on her first-ever podcast, Tech Talks, to discuss some of the impacts of mis- and disinformation on communities of color, and across gender identity. Take a listen here!

Did you miss any of our Global to Local Racial Justice Episodes? If you have, you can now access all episodes through our YouTube playlist! The series aims to raise awareness of global issues among both students and the school as a whole. Enjoy and share with your friends and coworkers. https://bit.ly/2TQMowJ

APPROACHING FAST - June 23 & 24: LMSW and LCSW Licensing Examination Preparation Program The last day to register is June 10 to ensure book delivery by the course start date. Get ahead and register today! Join our expert instructors Denise Krause, LCSW-R, Kathryn Kendall, EdD, LCSW-R & Susan A. Green, LCSW in a course to gain confidence, skills and knowledge with our two-day intensive review preparation program for the LMSW and LCSW state licensing exams. Course conte...nt consists of comprehensive reviews of social work practice, policy, theory and test taking techniques to increase speed and accuracy. The primary goal in preparing for the licensing exam is to develop skills in analyzing and answering multiple-choice questions. The key to passing is to focus on strategies for reading and answering different types of queries, and increase skills in carefully reading and parsing what the questions are asking. Practice questions condition responses and reduce test anxiety, a major contributor to poor test performance. Study books are required for this course and include a Comprehensive study guide and 1400 sample questions and practice tests. #socialwork #licensing #exams https://bit.ly/2QV3Zlt See more

Last call for candidates interested in our Field Director position now that we've selected our incoming dean, Dr. Keith Alford, we are ready to move forward with the hiring. Learn more about the position here http://socialwork.buffalo.edu/about/employment.html

Happy National Make a Difference Day! To celebrate, we want to encourage people to enroll in UBSSW courses that are focused on teaching students how to advocate for social change and community organizing to promote an equitable future. One such program is our undergraduate minor in Community Organizing and Development. Social workers make a difference today and every day so let’s celebrate one another!

Listen to our latest inSocialWork Podcast episode, Constructing Pathways of Change: Using Implementation Science to Advance Social Work Practice and Address Research-to-Practice Gaps, where we are joined by Dr. Julia Moore, Senior Director for the Center for Implementation. Moore explains what implementation science is, and how implementation science models, theories, and frameworks can be applied to increase the uptake and use of programs, services, and supports. Examples of how social workers can approach practice challenges differently by applying implementation science are provided, including how implementation science can help reduce inequities in care. https://www.insocialwork.org/episode.asp?ep=286

Associate Professor Kelly Patterson talks with UBNow about the problem of eviction and its prevalence prior to COVID-19. She says, "Eviction has always been a problem. The pandemic has merely shifted our focus to an issue that for a number of reasons has never gained traction and never received the attention it demands." Read the full article below:

Helping Apps for Practitioners and Educators - HAPPE, did a review of the partner apps Socrative Teacher and Socrative Student. These apps allow an instructor to quiz students during or outside of classes and the real-time responses provide the instructor with a powerful tool to gauge students’ understanding of the concepts and content being covered. This will allow the instructor to review concepts that the students may not have fully grasped. The questions and answers can also be used to spark discussion. Read their full app review below! https://ubwp.buffalo.edu//socrative-teacher-and-socrative/

Please join us this Thursday, October 15 for a #MacroSW Twitter Chat on how schools of social work and practitioners are addressing the other half of the double pandemic in our nation: Racism in the U.S. We invite you to share examples of your own on how we as a profession are confronting this within our ranks. https://macrosw.com//social-work-takes-action-against-rac/... The chat will start with the example of the #SWeduActs group, which planned a National Teach-In on Police Brutality and Structural Racism to take place on Oct. 27. Dr. Elspeth Slater of Salem State University, one of the facilitators for the Teach-In, will be our guest expert for this chat. Dr. Lauri Goldkind, Fordham University, is the Teach-In’s second facilitator.

Please consider joining us online for the UBSSW Students and Alumni of Color Mixer! This mixer presents an opportunity to connect and build relationships with current students and graduates of the SSW who may bond over shared experiences related to racial and ethnic identity and professional interests. Date: Thursday, October 29 Time: 6:30pm - 7:30pm Eastern Time (US and Canada)... Registration (Required): https://buffalo.zoom.us//tJIqf--pqD8jG9I6pdFnFl4msh3nwUQuC After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. To learn more, please contact Jenell Spitale directly at [email protected]. Thank you!

Join the UB School of Social Work's Global Interest Group and the UB Office of Inclusive Excellence this coming Monday (10/05), for the first speaker in the Global to Local Racial Justice Series. Dr. John Torrey will be hosting a talk entitled "Identity Politics and the complexity surrounding Black, African and African American." The event will be held via Zoom at 12:30 pm! Details on this event and the rest of the series can be found in the flyer below.

The UB School of Social Work's Institute on Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care (ITTIC) is partnering with University Police to provide training that is focused on trauma-informed practices. Deputy Chief Joshua Stitch, excited about the possibility of the partnership and tool for the officers says, "What the public expects more than anything from a police agency is someone who arrives as a supportive problem-solver." Read more about this partnership at the link below! http://www.buffalo.edu//2/09/trauma-informed-policing.html