Director’s Letter—September 2015

The 2015-16 academic year is already proving to be an exciting one for the School of Social Work!

* We are in the second year of a large SBIRT training grant (Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment) from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and are making in-roads into many community agencies with our SBIRT training programs.

* We continue to provide vital support and training to CYFD workers and foster and adoptive parents across the state through our large Title IV training grants.

* We have made adjustments in our MSW curriculum to make content on behavioral health a required course. In addition, the faculty is working on an initiative to put our MSW curriculum online with a blended format for courses, requiring some face to face contact and interactions with and between students. This is a three year project primarily intended for the Albuquerque program. The end result is that we will be able to offer an online curriculum alternative that will be approved through the university’s Quality Matters certification process.

* We are continuing our dialogue on the integrative health care movement and its impact on our curriculum.

* I am happy to announce that we have added a new faculty member this fall, Dr. Meghan Morris. Dr. Morris received her PhD in Social Welfare from UC Berkeley. Dr. Morris is primarily teaching in the BSW program. Her research is in the area of violence against women in developing countries torn by war and civil unrest. We are fortunate to be able to add this international perspective to the research interest of our faculty.

* Dr. Gail Leedy retired at the end of spring semester 2015. Dr. Leedy served on our Albuquerque faculty and she will be missed! We are conducting a search to fill her position for the fall of 2016.

* Our school has a new Dean, Donna Wagner, who is very supportive of our school and our mission.

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School of Social Work Newsletter

socialwork.nmsu.edu Fall 2015

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* I especially wish to express my appreciation to our hardworking faculty who are so dedicated to our students and whose involvement is so critical to maintaining our high quality educational programs.

* I also wish to acknowledge members of the Advisory Council for their guidance and support of our programs.

Marco Cervantes Jolene Martinez

José Frietze Suzan Martinez de Gonzales

Doreen Gallegos Jerry Ortiz y Pino

Kasandra Gandara Patrick Tyrrell Gary Lowe

* Finally, I wish to reach out to our alumni and invite you to attend our alumni event at the annual meeting of the New Mexico chapter of NASW (February 24-26) at the Sandia Casino and Resort in Albuquerque. We hope to touch base with many of you there!

Given all of these developments, I am sure that the 2015-16 academic year will be a very successful one and we look forward to seeing our school continue to advance!

Warm regards,

Dr. Tina Hancock Director of the School of Social Work New Mexico State University

Director’s Letter (cont.)

Health Professions Career Fair Wednesday, October 7, 2015

2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM

Corbett Center Student Union, 3rd Floor This inaugural event is co-sponsored by Career Services and the College of Health and Social Services to provide students, alumni, and community members an opportunity to meet with representatives from hospitals and social service agencies seeking to hire in health related professions from College of ACES: Human Nutrition & Dietetic Science, Family and Consumer Science; College of Education: Counseling and Ed Psy, Kinesiology, Special Ed and Communication Disorders; and College of Health and Social Services: Nursing, Public Health Sciences, and Social Work

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Phi Alpha Kappa Omega — Phi Alpha Honor Society focuses on maintaining strong bonds among students of Social Work, recognizing the academic excellence of members, and committing itself to humanitarian goals through community service, both on and off campus. Their recent volunteer work was at Loaves and Fishes, a free food distribution program. Participants prepared over 300 commodity boxes to distribute to those in need. Their current event is a costume drive for children at La Casa in preparation for Halloween. This project is ongoing from September 15 to October 15, 2015. There is a box on the second floor of the HSS building for any Halloween costume donations. They also plan to participate in Aggie Family Weekend. This semester, Phi Alpha's aim is to encourage academic excellence for students in the BSW and MSW program. Creating this bond will also help students recognize the positive effects they have on their community by participating in local service projects.

Graduate Student Social Work Association — A tailgate party was held September 19 for the I-10 rivalry football game. A bake sale fundraiser was held on September 28 . GSSWA is also planning to participate in the city-wide Toss No Mas event on October 17 at Mesilla Valley Christian School from 8am-12 noon. Meetings are held the last Wednesday of the month at 5 PM in Room 218 (HSS building). Check the bulletin board for events!

Student Social Work Association Jennifer Kitcey at jkitcey@nmsu.edu

Graduate Student Social Work Association

Darlene Ortiz at dcortiz@nmsu.edu

Phi Alpha Kappa Omega Honor Society Jacklyn Quezada at jacklynv@nmsu.edu

Student Organizations

Want to get involved and give back to your

community? Contact your student association!

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Student Spotlight—Lori Derr MSW student Lori Derr, will receive a national award in Denver this October at the Conference for Social Work Education.

Her award is for Student Leadership through the Phi Alpha Honor Society. Ms. Derr established a Food Recovery Network at NMSU, a student -led group that recovers usable food from the campus cafeteria to donate to agencies that serve meals to insecure populations in the community. Ms. Derr, with the help of other social work students, led the establishment of the very first Food Recovery Network in the state of New Mexico!

She first gained a firm understanding of regulations and policies necessary to make the effort a success. This involved many details including checking food temperature upon delivery and weighing the amount of food recovered. She has worked closely with Taos Restaurant on campus (owned by Sodexo). Food is being distributed to El Caldito Soup Kitchen in Las Cruces almost every week.

The School of Social Work is very proud to see her recognized!

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Highlights from the Field

Students in the BSW and MSW programs are required to complete a social work internship to augment their course work and practice social work skills. Professors Maria Ortiz (BSW Field Coordinator), Olga Cabada (MSW Field Director-Las Cruces), and Susan Burns (MSW Field Coordinator-Albuquerque) work to create diverse internship opportunities in the community for students.

The School of Social Work has over 180 BSW and MSW students completing their service learning and internships this year! Students are serving in the Albuquerque area as well as 11 different locations in southern New Mexico and Alaska! Sites include Las Cruces, Ruidoso, Hatch, Alamogordo, Chaparral, Deming, T or C, Anthony, Sunland Park, Santa Teresa and El Paso, TX.

The communities served are varied: public schools, probate court, hospitals, child and adult welfare, early intervention programs, mental health clinics, community organizing agencies, halfway houses, homeless shelters, prisons, legal settings, criminal justice settings, and Veterans Affairs.

The field practicum experience offers an enormous learning opportunity for students, members of the community, and the university. Each year placement sites are different as the internship field staff seek to meet the learning needs of the students and the needs of partner agencies.

Students work with diverse populations including children, adolescents, adults, families, the elderly, veterans, immigrants, children and adults with developmental delays, and formerly incarcerated persons.

Social work students in the field come in contact with the many social justice issues prevalent in their own communities such as homelessness, mental health needs, domestic violence, incarceration, economic justice, LGBTQ issues, substance abuse, transportation issues, immigrant rights, and poverty.

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The School of Social Work Alumni Awards Reception is held every spring to recognize

outstanding NMSU alumni. Last spring’s reception was held on March 6, 2015 and the

following alumni were honored:

Kasandra Gandara…………...Distinguished Social Work Alumna of the Year

Leticia Duarte-Benavidez…………...Outstanding BSW Alumna

Maribel Tellez…………...Outstanding MSW Alumna

Lori Derr…………...Outstanding BSW Graduate

Cassandra Cowman…………...Outstanding MSW Graduate

Virginia Yribia…………...Outstanding Adjunct Faculty of the Year

Picture 2: Leticia Duarte-Benavidez

Picture 3: Maribel Tellez

Picture 4: Virginia Yribia

Picture 1: Kasandra Gandara

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Fall 2015 Student Scholarship Awardees

Betty Jean & Thomas Shinas Jr. Endowed Scholarship……….Anna Martin

Celebrate Health & Social Services……….Asilee Ferris

Fred & Nobuku Christensen Endowed Scholarship……….Jacklyn Quezada

FYI Inc. Graduate Social Work Endowed Scholarship……….Crystal Contreras

Kimberly Ming Endowed Scholarship……….Julie Cheatham

Lowery H. & Doris Davis Endowed Scholarship……….Amanda Villa

Lucille Allen Social Work Endowed Scholarship……….Tamara Espinoza

McCowen Behavioral Health Leadership Endowed Scholarship..Keenon Sherrell

McCowen Behavioral Health Leadership Endowed Scholarship……….Lori Derr

Robert & Evelyn McKee Health Science Scholarship……….Tina Parnes

Rose H. Praisner Memorial Endowed Scholarship……….Megan Finn

Rose H. Praisner Memorial Endowed Scholarship……….Jennifer Kitcey

Social Work Alumni chapter Endowed Scholarship……….Ada Salazar

Social Work Scholarship……….Michael Delgado

United Blood Services “Find the Hero in You”……….Angel Yanez

Recipient Anna Martin

Recipient Keenon Sherrell

and Family

Recipient Lori Derr

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Faculty Spotlight

Dr. Frances Nedjat-Haiem, Associate Professor, is conducting research that centers on the intersection between health and behavioral health, specifically for vulnerable individuals and their families experiencing serious, chronic illness and barriers to care that trigger psychological distress.

As a licensed clinical social worker specializing in the medical field, Frances has 14 years of experience working in hospitals and out-patient clinical settings, which has informed her research and helped to build a strong knowledge base for evidence-based practices for patients and health care providers. With a special interest in improving the quality of care for vulnerable populations, her research has focused on low income Latinos, and military veterans and their families experiencing a health care crisis. Although these groups are at increased risk for negative behavioral and health outcomes, there is a paucity of research that could influence needed changes in care, in administrative practices and policies as well as within large community systems that provide interventions for these populations.

Dr. Nedjat-Haiem’s research portfolio has focused on addressing this gap. With funding from the Mountain West Clinical Translational Research-Infrastructure Network (2015-2016) to pilot test the feasibility of an intervention, she will examine an educational program that intends to improve advance care planning for older Latinos with advanced serious illnesses such as cancer

Dr. James Lehman teaches Social Work Mental Health Practice this year. His PhD is in Psychology focused on issues of attachment and abuse. In private practice in Las Cruces, he is also a Permanent Deacon in the Roman Catholic Church and an Anglican priest. He was a founder of Holy Family American National Catholic Church in Las Cruces. He and his husband Charlie round out their traveling household with their white poodle service dog, Gus.

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Dr. Wanda Whittlesey-Jerome (Albuquerque campus) was recently appointed to the Board of Directors for the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA), an international organization of over 4,500 members worldwide. EAGALA was formed in 1999 by a licensed clinical social worker and provides certification for advanced mental health professionals and equine specialists to work in Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) and Equine-Assisted Learning (EAL). Dr. Whittlesey-Jerome is an EAGALA-certified Level II practitioner, and conducts research studies on the impact of EAP on marginalized populations - at-risk

youth, survivors of interpersonal violence, and military families. She currently assists several New Mexico and Utah human service organizations with evaluation of their EAP programs. The EAGALA EAP model is a mindful, on-the-ground experiential solution-oriented approach with horses that incorporates the use of clean language and symbolic modeling – approaches that focus on a client’s development of symbols and metaphors without the influence of the therapist’s agenda. The EAGALA EAP model was developed by Executive Director and founder, Lynn Thomas, (LCSW). EAGALA’s mission is to promote the therapeutic use of horses in behavioral health treatment and professional development on an international level. This fall, Dr. Whittlesey-Jerome also submitted a funded training grant from the American Quarter Horse Association Foundation to strengthen the fidelity of design and methods for future NIH and/or DoD-funded clinical trials of the EAP/ERP (embodied re-storying process) conjoint treatment approach with military families.

Wanda and Eli, her rescue racehorse

Faculty Spotlight

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2015-2016 Upcoming Events

October 15 Phi Alpha Costume Drive ends October 17 GSSWA participates in Toss No Mas November 23-27 Thanksgiving Break December 7-11 Exam Week December 11 Last Day of Classes December 12 Fall Semester Commencement January 19 Spring Convocation January 20 Spring Classes Begin February 19-21 NASW –NM Conference in ABQ March 6 Field Internship Exchange Day March 13 Alumni Awards Reception March 14-18 Spring Break May 9-13 Exam Week May 13 Last Day of Classes May 14 Spring Semester Commencement

Alumni reception—NASW-NM—2015 Alumni Awards—Spring 2015

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The Albuquerque Center enrolled 29 Social Work students in August, including 3 dual degree (MSW/MPH)students.

Michele Smith, MSW Academic Advisor, represented NMSU and the Albuquerque Center at the University of New Mexico Graduate and Professional School Fair on Thursday, October 1 to showcase our program.

The School of Social Work Family and Child Welfare Training Project continues its multi-year contract with New Mexico Children Youth and Families Department (CYFD). This important work has been delivering on several significant project fronts through this continued partnership.

The redesigned training program for the CYFD workforce, “Foundations of Practice” has become a clear success. In partnership with the Academy for Professional Development & Training, hundreds of CYFD employees have been trained in the new blended learning format. This format combines e-learning,

experiential practice and scenario based skill building in the classroom.

The students visit a simulated apartment for a series of home visits. Inside, actors play the roles of a family (parents, teenager and infant). The program teaches basic safety, assessment, and family engagement skills. For example: the students learn how to locate potential safety threats in the apartment (i.e. weapons, drug paraphernalia, hazards, and gang related items). The trainees interact with the actors to hone their engagement and interviewing skills. Coaches, experienced field CYFD managers, give immediate coaching and feedback on the skill acquisition.

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All About Albuquerque!

Update: Family and Child Welfare Training Project

Camille Hancock, Project Director

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The feedback and evaluations for the “Foundations of Practice” course continuously demonstrates the high value gained by the employees as they compete this renewed and revitalized training program.

In other updates:

The training project has now successfully completed its 2015 Conference series. In mid-September, the project produced – in partnership with CYFD - the annual Foster Parent Conference in Albuquerque, with over 350 participants from throughout the state. People learned the latest trauma informed care practices, and additional sessions focused on the new, incoming Prudent Parenting movement, as well as the application of Mindfulness in foster parenting.

In August the project ran the ILY – Independent Living for Youth Conference in Taos; and in March the project coordinated the Adoptive Families Conference in Albuquerque with CYFD.

The Project has also been engaged by CYFD through grants to adapt the “Foundations of Practice” training program for a number of Provider agencies which contract with CYFD. These agencies provide services such as In Home Services, Family Support and Time Limited Reunification. In October, the project will be conducting its second round of trainings in 2015 for these providers and their management staff.

Update: Family and Child Welfare Training Project (cont.)

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The School of Social Work would like to extend its gratitude to the Social Work

Advisory Board and the Social Work Alumni Association for their abiding

commitment to providing our students with meaningful education and post

graduation experiences.

Special thanks to the School of Social Work Advisory Board Members:

Marco Cervantes: LMSW, Ben Archer Health Center; José Frietze: CEO, FYI, Inc.;

Doreen Gallegos: Executive Director, Mesilla Valley CASA; Kasandra Gandara:

Regional Manager, Children, Youth and Families Department; Gary Lowe:

Coordinator, Aggies Go Global; Jolene Martinez: Social Worker, Lynn Middle

School; Suzan Martinez de Gonzales: Executive Director, La Clinica de Familia;

Jerry Ortiz y Pino: Senator, New Mexico State Senate; Patrick Tyrrell: Executive

Director, National Association of Social Workers-New Mexico Chapter

THANK YOU!

Designer/Editor:

Diane Haugesag

Graduate Student

School of Social Work

Contact Info:

Front Desk: 575-646-2143

socwork@nmsu.edu

www.socialwork.nmsu.edu