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An estimated 1,750 children in the U.S. die from abuse or neglect each year, and that number is on the rise. 

Not only is there an immense physical and mental health toll, there is an economic burden as well. Research estimates the cost at more than $9 billion a year for health care, child welfare, special education and losses in survivor productivity, to name a few.

For more than three decades, Jon R. Conte, professor emeritus, School of Social Work, has been studying the mental health issues related to child abuse and trauma. Conte has written extensively on the topic, spoken at numerous conferences around the world, and served on a number of boards and advisory committees.

Recently, his involvement took a slightly different path. Several years ago, a donor contacted Edwina Uehara, the School’s dean, to say she wanted to provide financial support to students to help them become leaders in sexual abuse prevention. The woman herself had experienced sexual abuse as a child and wanted to be sure that no other child had to live through that same trauma.

The dean asked Conte to meet with the donor, and together, they began to outline plans for the Joshua Children’s Foundation Center on Child Sexual Abuse, which provides graduate fellowships to students in the MSW program. Since its 2013 establishment, nine students have received a Joshua Children’s Foundation Graduate Fellowship.

When the donor passed away in spring 2018, she left a significant part of her estate to support the center. Conte, who retired from the School in June 2017, is its director. He was pleased he could help enable the last wishes of the donor. “I felt a responsibility for making her dream come true. Her gift will continue to impact the careers of social workers and the lives of abused children each year,” he said. 

In addition to his work with the Joshua Children’s Foundation Center, Conte is currently undertaking a national survey of best practices to prevent sexual abuse of children in out-of-home situations, in collaboration with the National Coalition to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation. He also served as a consultant on an animated series on sexual abuse issues for children in different age groups for the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif. The video series has been viewed by millions around the world.

For more information or to make a donation to the Joshua Children’s Foundation Center, contact Jon Conte at contej@uw.edu. 

A jury of the people has spoken: Tuesday’s verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial marks one of the first times that the murder of a Black person by a police officer has resulted in a reckoning within the legal system. It comes in the wake of a profound and historic uprising, with mass protests and advocacy by millions of people across the country and around the world. In this moment, as we celebrate a small measure of accountability, we know that it is also a time to reflect, grieve, and regroup for the vital and difficult work ahead. Accountability in one courtroom is not justice for society—but it can be a first step, if followed by many more.

We know that Mr. Chauvin’s imprisonment will neither bring back George Floyd nor eradicate the power of the state to surveil, coerce and brutalize our society’s most vulnerable. We know that the days ahead will bring more senseless police violence, even as we mourn the recent killings of young Adam Toledo and Daunte Wright.

As social workers, we work every day to seek bold solutions that can transform our world into one of mutual aid, equity, safety, health and justice—one rooted in responsibility for one another other based in the values of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s beloved community.

The Chauvin verdict is another call to action—not only against carceral methods that are based in racist policies and practices, but also against complacency and despair. As we call the names of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Atatiana Jefferson, Aura Rosser, Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, and countless others, we call our own names to account to continue the work for justice, healing, and organizing.

For today, let us begin this process by joining together in solidarity and resolve to fight for racial justice, particularly on behalf of Black communities across our country.

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A verdict for justice and a time for continued action—UW President Ana Mari Cauce

Aging with Pride and four other interdisciplinary projects that involve School of Social Work researchers were awarded grants from the UW Population Health Initiative. The five pilot projects were among only eight funded from a pool of 33 applications. The School’s projects will examine health disparities in Washington state and other pressing social issues such as homeless youth, suicide prevention and culturally anchored antenatal care.

The eight Population Health Initiative awards are each $50,000. This $400,000 in funding was more than doubled by matches from additional school, college and departmental funds, bringing the total value to nearly $890,000. The five grants that include School of Social Work representation are:

Aging with Pride researchers address health disparities among diverse populations. The Institute of Medicine and Healthy People 2020 have identified racial/ethnic minorities and sexual/gender minorities as health disparate populations. This pilot project will be the first to comprehensively investigate population health in Washington state across two intersecting vulnerable populations. The researchers will examine disability, multiple chronic health conditions and mental health by race/ethnicity and sexual orientation/gender identity to identify high-risk disparate groups. Based on this foundation, a full-scale research program will be developed and interventions tested to help reduce health disparities at the state level, ensure sustainability, and provide student education to better serve underrepresented communities.

School of Social Work principal investigator and team member, respectively: Professor Karen I. Fredriksen Goldsen and Research Scientist Hyun-Jun Kim

Addressing health disparities faced by rural underserved agricultural communities. This collaborative community-academic project incorporates interdisciplinary approaches to assess, and ultimately address, health disparities related to occupational, environmental, socioeconomic and biological stressors faced by underserved rural communities. In addition to collecting data, the team will employ community-based participatory research, citizen science and civic engagement to achieve health equity.

School of Social Work team member:Associate Professor Gino Aisenberg

Health for homeless youth and companion animals in Seattle. This project focuses on the remarkable bond that exists between homeless youth and their companion animals. Researchers will look at the interdependent health and social needs facing homeless teens/young adults and their pets, focusing on such concerns as mental health, food security, substance dependence, risk of infection and injury, as well as the legal and ethical issues related to housing, education and access to medical care. An innovative “One Health” clinic, located in the University District, will be set up to provide interprofessional team care for this vulnerable human-animal population.

School of Social Work team member: Teaching Associate Charlotte Sanders

Lethal-means assessment in psychiatric emergency services for suicide prevention. Counseling on access to lethal means, such as medications and firearms, is an emerging approach to suicide prevention; however, little is known about its uptake and effectiveness in clinical settings. With this grant, the research team will investigate patients who sought psychiatric emergency services at Harborview Medical Center during the last decade. The information will be a first step toward promoting lethal-means counseling that may reduce the rate of suicide attempts and deaths in Washington state.

School of Social Work team member: Associate Professor Jennifer Stuber

Mama Ammaan (Safe Mother) Project. Southeast Seattle has the highest rate of preterm/low birthweight babies, caesarean births, women receiving inadequate perinatal care, and unmet mental health needs in Washington state. There are many reasons for this: service gaps for immigrants and refugees; social isolation; discrimination; language barriers; and a social-cultural distrust of authority. This pilot project brings together the Somali Health Board, Health Alliance International, Parent Trust, and the UW to test the feasibility of community-based doulas and nurses trained to lead culturally adapted group prenatal care and home visitation services.

School of Social Work team member: Professor Bonnie Duran

More about UW Population Health Initiative grants: Pilot research grants from the UW Population Health Initiative encourage new interdisciplinary collaborations among investigators for projects that address critical components of the grand challenges in population health. This year’s eight awardees involve 11 schools and colleges of the UW Seattle, Bothell and Tacoma campuses. Read more here.

A group of 10 health sciences students from the University of Washington and Heritage University in Toppenish, Wash., were selected as the first recipients of the Latino Center for Health’s Student Scholars Fellowship Program. 

Kenia Ramirez, a second-year MSW student at the School of Social Work, is one of the fellowship recipients. In November, Ramirez presented her paper in both Spanish and English at the 4^th Binational Mexico-U.S. Conference on Social Work and Migration at the University of Houston on ways to reach Latino immigrant men at risk for HIV. 

Stacey Fernandez, a senior in the social welfare program at UW-Tacoma, was also selected to receive a Latino Center for Health’s Student Scholars Fellowship. 

The center, based at the School of Social Work, operates in partnership with the UW schools of medicine and public health. Supporting emerging scholars is part of its mission to build capacity to address current and emerging health issues facing diverse Latinx communities in Washington state. Latinos, who are the largest and among the fastest growing racial-ethnic groups in Washington state, confront daily social and health-related challenges that constitute significant barriers to equitable health care.

 “This program supports the next generation of leaders and schools who promote the health and well-being of Latinx communities in our state,” said Gino Aisenberg, associate professor at the School and co-director of the Latino Center for Health. “The fellowship program provides crucial funding to students as well as programmatic activities that promote community and engagement with the faculty and staff of the Center.”

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Meet our student fellow from the UW School of Social Work!—Latino Center for Health

Alcohol abuse is pervasive in the military, where a culture of heavy drinking and the stress of deployment lead many soldiers down a troubled path. But many in the military avoid seeking help for alcohol abuse, fearing disciplinary action or other repercussions. “That’s a huge barrier,” said Denise Walker, director of the Innovative Programs Research Group at the University of Washington School of Social Work.

Hear Denise Walker discuss her research with reporter Patricia Murphy on KUOW. 

Not surprisingly, there is little research on what type of treatment is most effective for active-duty military members. To shed new insight on that question and remove obstacles to seeking treatment, Walker and a team of researchers tested a telephone-based intervention geared specifically to military members struggling with alcohol abuse — with promising results.

The study, published online Oct. 13 in October in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, found that participants in the telephone intervention significantly reduced their drinking over time, had lower rates of alcohol dependence and were more likely to seek treatment.

After her husband ended his life with a bullet in 2011, Jennifer Stuber went to the two Washington stores where he had bought guns to talk with the owners about suicide prevention.

That bold move by Stuber, an associate professor at the University of Washington School of Social Work, eventually led to the passage of a bill signed into state law March 31 by Gov. Jay Inslee. The bill brings together two unlikely partners — the firearms industry and suicide prevention advocates — with pharmacists in an effort to curb suicide deaths.

The legislation was drafted in consultation with the National Rifle Association and the Second Amendment Foundation, a Washington gun rights group. Alan Gottlieb, the foundation’s executive director, said gun owners and retailers, some of whom have lost loved ones to suicide, have long been concerned about the issue but unsure how to address it.

“None of us know what to look for in warning signs that someone might be in the process of a suicide attempt,” he said. “This legislation is going to be good for our people, because this is information that they need.”

Stuber said the legislation succeeded largely because it involved the firearms industry from the start.

A five-year study to evaluate the benefits of early preventive psychosocial interventions for children ages 4 to 6 who are at risk of severe abdominal pain recently received more than $3.8 million from the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development.

The project is led by co-principal investigators Rona L. Levy, professor, UW School of Social Work Professor, and Tonya Palermo, UW School of Medicine/Seattle Children’s Hospital, and involves collaboration with colleagues Margaret Kuklinski and Jennifer Bailey from the School of Social Work’s Social Development Research Group.

Chronic pain often clusters in families, affecting parents and children through generations. In fact, children whose parents suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can have double the risk of developing abdominal pain disorders later in life.

Levy’s earlier research demonstrated that pain-specific social learning is highly influential and modifiable in intergenerational transmission. But there has been no research to date to study whether modifying parental behaviors can preventatively influence a child’s illness behavior and reduce the risk of developing abdominal pain.

The NICHD study will focus on whether reducing risk factors, such as anxiety and parental stress, and increasing protective factors, such as social support, can result in fewer abdominal pain symptoms in children, less health-related disabilities and lower healthcare costs over a lifetime. If successful, the results may serve as a prevention model for a range of pediatric health problems where parental responses are influencing factors.

After 10 years as co-founder and director of the School’s Forefront Suicide Prevention innovation center, Associate Professor Jennifer Stuber has stepped down. Larry Wright, formerly deputy director at Forefront, has been named director.

Stuber has been a driving force behind reducing suicides in Washington state, calling on individuals and communities to take sustainable action and champion systemic change. In a state where suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people aged 10 to 25, she advocated for a multi-tiered approach that combines policy change, professional training, campus- and school-based interventions, media outreach, and support for families and individuals affected by suicide. Stuber will continue to influence the trajectory of suicide prevention efforts in Washington state through her advocacy, research and writing at the School of Social Work.

“Through a decade of leadership, Jenn has created an organization that embodies the social impact mission of the School and the University,” said Eddie Uehara, the School’s Ballmer Endowed Dean in Social Work. “Jenn’s commitment to policy advocacy, collaborative programming and public awareness around this growing public health crisis has been nothing short of amazing. She leaves behind a strong and viable organization that is well-positioned for the next decade. We are so grateful for her passion and tireless efforts.”

In large part due to Stuber’s advocacy, in 2012 Washington became the first state in the nation to require that mental health professionals receive training in suicide assessment, treatment and management. In 2016, she helped form a working group with state Rep. Tina Orwall that included gun rights advocates, public-health experts and individuals affected by suicide. The result was passage of a state law that pairs suicide prevention with gun safety education and provides for widespread distribution of gun storage devices and medication disposal kits.

“These last ten years have been a series of highs and lows related to the progress we made in the arena of suicide prevention,” said Stuber on Facebook. “I am so grateful to all the supporters who have shared their stories of personal struggle, trauma and loss—who have helped me to build Forefront from the ground up.”

Other Forefront initiatives include suicide prevention efforts in rural Washington counties, a partnership with gun dealers and pharmacies to improve home safety, and a collaborative effort with secondary and postsecondary schools to address the mental health needs of students at risk for suicide. 

“At Forefront, we are translating the research and expertise of leading UW experts into innovative approaches to save lives,” said Larry Wright, Forefront’s new director. “I’m looking forward to continuing the work Jenn has begun and creating new programs and partnerships that bring suicide prevention and mental health to the forefront of legislative agendas, school curriculums and public awareness.”

Stuber received a bachelor’s degree in biology and society at Cornell University, served as a research assistant at the Hastings Center, a bioethics think tank, and received her doctorate from the Yale University School of Public Health’s Department of Health Policy. She joined the School of Social Work in 2006.   

Before joining Forefront, Wright was CEO of MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership where he worked with a network of state partnerships to close America’s mentoring gap. He was also chief operating officer of the College Success Foundation where he helped first-generation college students in Washington state and in Washington, D.C., find success in and out of the classroom. Wright received his PhD in journalism and mass communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MA in mass communication and BA in English, both from Washington State University.

A five-year study to evaluate the long-term impacts of legalizing nonmedical marijuana on teens, young adults and parents received more than $3 million from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The project is led by principal investigator Jennifer Bailey, assistant director of the UW School of Social Work’s Social Development Research Group.

Nonmedical marijuana is now legal in 18 states. Most studies that focus on understanding the impact of legalization on marijuana use cover at most three years. The new SDRG study extends the research time frame to 12 years.

Scientists hope to better understand the evolving impact of legalization on marijuana use as well as on alcohol and nicotine use, with or without marijuana. In addition, the study will examine whether the consequences of using marijuana have changed since the drug was legalized.

The new project continues the work begun two decades ago by SDRG as part of a long-term research project called the Seattle Social Development Project – The Intergenerational Project. This multi-stage study examined the effects of legalizing marijuana use on both youth and parents, collecting seven years of pre-legalization data (2002-2011) and three years post-legalization (2015-2017). An additional three years of data (2022-2024) will compare marijuana and other drug use before and after legalization.