IASWR has been busy this summer, working on new funding projects and working with policy makers to garner support for social work research. We are working on our 2001-2002 Annual Report and the third edition of IASWR Research...Reports...Resources, our new newsletter has just been published. Both will be available on IASWR's newly revised and updated website at www.iaswresearch.org early in the Fall. IASWR welcomes Audra LeBlanc as Project Coordinator. Audra earned a BSW from the University of Vermont and an MSW from the University of Maryland and did her field placement at IASWR last year. Audra merged a class assignment on grant writing with a fieldwork task, to write a conference grant that was submitted to the National Institute on Drug Abuse and which received very positive reviews. (Grant writing is such an important skill for social workers so attend the pre-conference session at BPD in Pittsburgh.) We now await the funding decision.

BPD Summer Policy Fellow

We had the opportunity to host Delene Porter, BSW, this summer's BPD Summer Policy Fellow. Delene had just earned her BSW degree from the University of Georgia and was a student representative to the Georgia NASW Board. Delene worked on a diverse range of projects with both IASWR and NASW national office staff and got to see policy making (inside the beltway) in action. IASWR looks forward to being part of this great opportunity for a BSW student again next year.

IASWR at BPD Conference

With the BPD meeting just around the corner, IASWR wants to remind you that we will once again be doing a workshop on funding opportunities and writing grants as a pre-conference session at the BPD conference, Wednesday, October 23, 2002 in Pittsburgh. On Saturday afternoon, we will host a session on bringing research funding into BSW programs to strengthen the research program, with speakers Anna McPhatter of Morgan State University, Betsy Vourlekis of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and Robert Mays of the Office of Special Populations at the National Institute on Mental Health. IASWR will also be hosting an exhibit booth this year. Stop by to get important resource information.

Defining Social Work Research

IASWR is often asked to define social work research. A recent look in the current Social Work Dictionary, 4th Edition, published by the National Association of Social Workers in 1999 does not include such a definition. (Note: The 5th edition will). In response to federal requests to define social work research, IASWR has developed the following comprehensive definition, which will be abbreviated in the next dictionary edition.

Social Work Research involves the study of preventive interventions, treatment of acute psychosocial problems, care and rehabilitation of individuals with severe, chronic difficulties, community development interventions, organizational administration, and the effects of social policy actions on the practice of social work. (From Building Social Work Knowledge for Effective Services and Policies: A Plan for Research Development, NIMH, November, 1991, p.1). Social work research may cover the entire lifespan, and may be focused at clinical and services and policy issues, focusing on individual, family, group, community or organizational levels of intervention and analysis. It is primarily conducted by persons educated in the field of social work, i.e. holding BSW, MSW and/or DSW/PhD degrees or who hold faculty positions in accredited social work education programs. Social work research is customarily conducted under university and/or community-based institutional auspices such as hospitals, prisons, social services and community development organizations or through professional, policy or research entities. (IASWR, March 2002)

GAO Study on Child Welfare Workforce

The General Accounting Office is undertaking a study at the request of Congressman Pete Stark (D-CA) and Jim Greenwood (R-PA) to examine the impact of recruitment and retention problems in child welfare on the outcomes of children in the child welfare system. IASWR has been a resource to GAO, providing information on research findings that support the value of professional education for child welfare staff. If you have information to share with GAO, please contact Joan Levy Zlotnik, (jlziaswr@naswdc.org).

Click here to send an email message to Joan Zlotnik

Connecting Research and Practice

There are increasing calls for evidence-based practice (EVP), a term that has become increasingly used in the published literature over the last decade. The focus on EVP is often connected to increased focus on outcomes and accountability, cost effectiveness, replicability, quality and efficiency. It is not just important to know what works in a controlled setting, but there also needs to be study of what works with individuals and families with complex needs and co-occurring disorders, with diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds and under differing conditions. Some useful resources on evidence based practices can be found at:

http://www.guideline.gov/index.asp

http://www.cwla.org/programs/r2p/

http://www.samhsa.gov/centers/csat/content/pic/ebp.html

http://campbell.gse.upenn.edu

http://www.ncjrs.org/ondcppubs/publications/prevent/evidence_based_eng.html

http://www.scie.org.uk/englishindex.htm

Information for Practice

In collaboration with the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) and the World Wide Web Resources for Social Work (WWWRSW), Information for Practice has been launched and is available on the web at: http://www.nyu.edu/socialwork/wwwrsw/ip/ . This free monthly service is designed to alert subscribers to Internet based resources that have potential utility for practice. The information is compiled by the staff of WWWRSW and it is a new and useful resource that already has over 2000 subscribers from 31 countries. To receive Information for Practice send a blank email message to:

join-information-for-practice@forums.nyu.edu. You will then receive a message with further instructions on how to use this service. Alternatively, you can see the FAQ for Lyris Forums (the software used by IP) at: http://forums.nyu.edu/faq/.

Click here to visit the Information for Practice website: http://www.nyu.edu/socialwork/wwwrsw/ip/

Click here, and follow the directions above, to join the Information for Practice Listserv: join-information-for-practice@forums.nyu.edu

Click here to go to Lyns Forum FAQ: http://forums.nyu.edu/faq/

Child Welfare Research

The Child Welfare League of America has launched a research to practice initiative (R2P) and are seeking to identify interested social work faculty to assist them in their efforts. For more information visit the R2P website at http://www.cwla.org/programs/r2p/. The National Institutes of Health have a working group on Child Abuse and Neglect http://www.nimh.nih.gov/canwg/canhistory.cfm and have several special opportunities for grant funding. At the January 2003 Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) conference IASWR will host a special cross-agency session on research funding opportunities in child abuse and neglect with representatives from the Children's Bureau, the Center for Injury Prevention and Control and CDC and the National Institutes of Health.

Click here to isit the CWLA R2P web site at: http://www.cwla.org/programs/r2p/

Click here to visit the web site of the National Institute of Health, Child Abuse and Neglect Work Group at: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/canwg/canhistory.cfm

SSWR Pre-Conference Sessions

Thursday, January 16, 2003 IASWR will be hosting a pre-conference institute to provide information to social work researchers about a diverse range of federal funding opportunities. In addition to the above mentioned session there will be special presentations on funding in aging, cancer, children's mental health, mental health services, alcohol abuse and alcoholism, substance abuse, and for minority researcher development. For more information visit the IASWR website or the SSWR website at www.sswr.org.

Click here to visit the SSWR web page at: http://www.sswr.org

Weekly Listserv

IASWR's Listserv Announcements is a weekly resource for faculty and students. The listserv provides information on funding opportunities, calls for papers, conferences and recent reports of interest to social workers. To subscribe, visit our website at www.iaswresearch.org and click on listserv or send an e-mail message (no text in subject line) to: LISTSERV@VM.SC.EDU , type a one-line message as follows: Subscribe iaswrlst <your first name> <your last name> . The listserv currently has over 1200 direct subscribers.

For more information about IASWR's work, visit our newly updated and revised IASWR website, www.iaswresearch.org, subscribe to our listserv, or call us at 202 336-8385.

Click here to visit the IASWR website at: http://www.iaswresearch.org

Click here to join the IASWR listserv, and follow the directions above to subscribe