Contact: Annette Abrams, University Outreach Partnerships, (517) 432-2500, or Sherri Solomon-Jozwiak, Catholic Social Services, (517) 272-1524, or Tom Oswald, University Relations, (517) 355-2281 or oswald@msu.edu

8/26/2002

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State University and Catholic Social Services (CSS) of Lansing/St. Vincent Home have launched a new teaching initiative that will benefit at-risk children and their families, the staff who care for them, and the MSU faculty and students who will participate in this innovative program.

Called the Child Welfare Learning Collaborative, the initiative will place MSU faculty and students in the St. Vincent Home, a Lansing child welfare agency that works with children and families experiencing a range of challenges, including child abuse and neglect.

Under this program, the students will gain the practical experience they need; MSU faculty also gain field experience and an opportunity to do collaborative, agency-based research; and St. Vincent Home staff and children living in foster care and residential care environments will gain from the university's expertise.

"This is a truly great partnership," said Gary R. Anderson, director of MSU's School of Social Work, who, along with social work faculty members JoAnn McFall and Ellen Whipple, will participate in the program. "We will benefit from the resources and knowledge of CSS and some of our knowledge will be shared and developed with them."

"The exchange of ideas, from the hands-on experiences our staff bring to the academic expertise brought by the MSU faculty, will be incredible," said Sherri Solomon-Jozwiak, president and CEO of Catholic Social Services of Lansing/St. Vincent Home. "But what's best is the ultimate winners will be the children and their families who use our services."

The centerpiece of the initiative is modeled after what's known as "grand rounds," a method used at teaching hospitals in which experts on various topics are brought together to update faculty and staff on the latest in health care.

Under this model, experts from MSU, CSS and elsewhere will offer two-hour presentations to staff, faculty and, depending upon the topic, foster parents and potential foster parents. Topics will range from how to deal with challenging behavior to brain development.

"The information gained at the grand rounds will be of great benefit to everyone involved," said L. Annette Abrams, director of MSU Outreach Partnerships, the unit that brought the two organizations together. "And, ultimately, the kids will benefit when it circles back round in the form of improved interventions."

"This is a method not commonly used in social work education or education in general outside of medicine," Anderson said. "It gives us the opportunity to address a clinical topic that can be approached from multiple perspectives."

Sixteen MSU students will be taking part in the project - nine graduate students and seven undergraduates. The students will spend 16 hours a week at the St. Vincent Home, with at least half of that time spent interacting with children.

"Right now there is a serious shortage of child welfare workers," said Whipple, an MSU associate professor of social work. "If students have more exposure to what a foster care worker really does, he or she can make a more informed career decision."

An event celebrating the collaborative will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 4, at the St. Vincent Home. Running from 9 a.m. to noon, the event will be the initial grand rounds, titled "Surviving and Thriving in Foster Care: An Invitation to Speak Out."

It will feature a panel of former foster children discussing their experiences and a keynote address by John Seita, a former foster child who is now an author and assistant professor of social work at MSU.

St. Vincent Home is located at 2800 W. Willow in Lansing.