Volume 12, Issue 3 | April 2016
FEATURE

The Sustainable Earth Decathlon (SED), a showcase of clean technology innovations developed by youth, is the brainchild of Adjunct Assistant Professor R. Bong Vergara. Along the lines of the American Academy of Social Work & Social Welfare's Grand Challenge of creating social responses to a changing environment, Vergara created SED as a project-based learning opportunity for youth, especially those from climate-vulnerable communities, to engage in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) activities. "I want to build young people's sense of self belief so they can become innovators and produce solutions to wicked problems like climate change," he said. Read more

SOCIAL IMPACT
Professor Ron Avi Astor recently led a discussion with Second Lady Jill Biden at the White House on addressing military-connected children's needs. In response to First Lady Michelle Obama and Biden's Joining Forces initative, Astor helped launch Operation Educate the Educators, an effort to better prepare school personnel to meet the needs of children from military families. Read more
NEWS
Former Los Angeles Times columnist Sandy Banks, child welfare advocate Susan Edelstein, and for the first time in California Social Welfare Archives history, a program -- the school's online master's degree program MSW@USC -- were honored at the CSWA annual awards ceremony. Read more
RESEARCH
Predictive risk modeling could take advantage of the massive amount of data collected by county departments to determine which children are at highest risk of negative outcomes. But its application in child welfare is controversial due to the sensitive nature of the data. Our child welfare big data experts Emily Putnam-Hornstein and Jacquelyn McCroskey weigh in. Read more
COMMUNITY
For the first time, three immersion programs took place simultaneously in Washington, D.C., where students learned about social work in policymaking. The groups focused on military and veterans, child development and social policy, and social innovation and change. This was also the inaugural immersion for the Community, Organization, and Business Innovation Fellows Program. Read more

IN THE MEDIA


OPINION



GIVING



RISING STARS



SPOTLIGHT