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Ripples
The e-Newsletter of the Geriatric Social Work Initiative (GSWI)

Volume 1, Issue 7
December 3, 2003

Welcome to Ripples, an e-newsletter designed to keep interested deans and directors, faculty members, students, practitioners and others informed about the work of the Geriatric Social Work Initiative (GSWI). We welcome your feedback and encourage you to contribute any story ideas, stories, resources, news and other content to subsequent issues of the newsletter. To make a contribution, please contact Ashley Groth at agroth@geron.org.

New Program and Funding Opportunities
Click here to check out our list of recent program and funding opportunities. Some of the highlights are the NIH: Interventions and Practice Research Infrastructure Program, the Minority Training Program in Cancer Control Research, and the Families USA - Wellstone Fellowship for Social Justice.

U.S. Census Bureau Publishes On-line Guide to Data on the Older Population
The U.S. Census Bureau has published its online "Guide to Data on the Older Population in Census 2000 Summary Files 1-4, Revised July 2003" (Census Bureau Age and Special Populations Branch, Population Division). Included in this guide are "descriptions of all data tables (not imputation tables) for Census 2000 Summary Files 1, 2, 3, and 4, which contain data on the older population. Many of the tables provide data for people 60 years and over by age groups, and many of these tables also have data for younger age groups. Other select tables provide median age and data for the nursing home population." To view the guide, click here.

Research Digest: Improving Grandmother Caregivers' Access to Social Services
In this new study, author Priscilla Gibson explores the barriers that grandmothers face when trying to obtain assistance from social service agencies. Dr. Gibson's study also looked at "personal factors preventing grandmothers from accessing services." Learn more.

Program Updates

Six New Hartford Doctoral Fellows in Geriatric Social Work Selected
The John A. Hartford Foundation of New York City and The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) selected six outstanding doctoral students for the Hartford Doctoral Fellows Program in geriatric social work. They were chosen from a strong pool of 17 applicants. The new Doctoral Fellows include Hae-Sook Jeon, Abigail Lawrence, Jean Munn, Edna Naito-Chan, Joseph Pickard and Kelsey Simons. Jeon and Lawrence are studying at the University of Michigan. Learn more.

Social Work Faculty Leaders Visit Washington, DC
10 Hartford Faculty Scholars in Geriatric Social Work came to Washington, DC in October to attend a Leadership Institute. Over two days, they learned how to become more effective and influencial in the public policy making process. The Scholars, participating in a program funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation and administered by The Gerontological Society of America, heard from some of the top aging policy experts, including Ted Totman, Deputy Staff Director for the Finance Committee; Bob Blancato, director of the 1995 White House Conference on Aging; Elizabeth Clark, director of the National Association of Social Workers; Patricia Neuman, Vice President of the Henry J. Kaiser Foundation; and Bentley Lipscomb, former staff director of the Senate Aging Committee and now the State Director for AARP in Florida. On the second day of the Institute, the Scholars went to Capitol, where they were treated to a particularly entertaining and informative talk by Judy Schneider, a longtime specialist on the Congress at the Congressional Research Service, on how Congress really works. They then spent the afternoon meeting with their Congressional representatives. As one Scholar remarked, "This Institute had a profound impact on how I understand social policy and politics, and further how academic research could benefit from having more policy-relevant questions in research activities."

Following the Leadership Institute, the Scholars were joined by the nine newly selected Scholars and their National Research Mentors for an Orientation Institute. Christopher Jennings, who served as Deputy Assistant to President Clinton for Health Policy Development and now has his own consulting firm in Washington, DC, was the featured speaker at a dinner Saturday night. He spoke about the current climate in Washington, DC, as well as his sense of the direction health care issues will take in the future.

In Memoriam
Dennis Dooley, a doctoral student in social work at SUNY Albany and a Hartford Doctoral Fellow in Geriatric Social work died in October from medical complications after a hospitalization. Dean Katherine Briar-Lawson announced that SUNY-Albany has established a Dennis Dooley Endowment Fund that will support social work doctoral students wishing to pursue an academic career in gerontology and geriatrics. For more information, contact Mary Beth Nelligan-Goodman at (518) 442-4161.

Three Honored at The Gerontological Society of America's Annual Meeting in San Diego
We are very pleased to share with you the news that Joan Davitt, a former Hartford Geriatric Social Work Doctoral Fellow and a current Assistant Professor at Columbia University School of Social Work, has been awarded the 2003 SRPP Student Research Award by The Gerontological Society of America. The award was presented to Joan on Sunday, November 23, 2003 in a ceremony at GSA's Annual Conference in San Diego.

Dr. Ada Mui, who is a member of our National Research Mentor Roster and an Associate Professor at the Columbia University School of Social Work, has received the 2003 Ewald W. Busse Research Award from The Gerontological Society of America. Ada was honored at the Busse Research Awards Lectures and Reception at the Annual Meeting of GSA in San Diego on Sunday, November 23.

Laura Robbins, former Senior Program Officer at the John A. Hartford Foundation, received recognition and a gift from the Hartford Social Work Initiative Programs at the AGE-SW meeting held at the GSA Annual Scientific Meeting for her leadership and vision in bringing greater attention to geriatric social work. Laura has taken a new position with Atlantic Philanthropies in New York City, heading up their domestic aging program. Congratulations to Joan, Ada, and Laura!

Program Reminders

The Hartford Doctoral Fellows Program, funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation and administered by The Gerontological Society of America, supports outstanding doctoral students at the dissertation stage. The deadline for the next round of selection is Februrary 2, 2004. For more information, click here.

The Hartford Faculty Scholars Program, funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation and administered by The Gerontological Society of America, is designed for outstanding faculty committed to teaching, research and leadership in geriatric social work. The deadline for the next round of selection is Februrary 2, 2004. For more information, click here.

Research Training in Aging and Social Work, an NIA-supported program provides advanced training in aging research to social work faculty. Participants attend an initial institute (July 11-21) at The College of St. Scholastica, develop a research proposal over the following year, and return to Minnesota for a midyear meeting in the winter and a follow-up institute in July to share their progress and to receive feedback. Completed applications, curriculum vitae, and support letters must be submitted by April 15, 2004. For more information, please contact Dr. Chandra Mehotra (cmehrotr@css.edu).

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