VCU School of Social Work

by F. Ellen Netting, Samuel S. Wurtzel Endowed Chair and Professor

In the last few years public discourse about Civic Engagement has been increasing. It may be the buzz around service learning on college campuses and secondary schools, or excited talk about the the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act (H.R. 1388) signed into law during National Volunteer Week on April 21, 2009 to reauthorize and reform the national service laws. But whatever the focus, a movement toward greater civic engagement is cutting across age and population groups, and a growing scholarly and professional literature, as well as numerous electronic resources, is available on the subject.

In Virginia, residents aged 65 and older will double between the year 2000 and 2030, from 790,000 to 1,752,000. In the City of Richmond and the surrounding metro area, the population in 2000 of those over 65 was 94,089, or 10% of the population, and it is anticipated that this number will increase to 12.6 %, or 124,457, of the population in 2010 (PD15 Health and Human Services Needs Assessment, Central Virginia Health Planning Agency, 2007). Locally in Richmond and Central Virginia a great deal of momentum has been building to focus on aging and the potential of retiring baby boomers to participate in multiple, creative ways in their communities. Various groups have formed to think about and plan for this Age Wave.

Last year The Community Foundation serving Greater Richmond and Central Virginia and Connect Richmond obtained funding to conduct research and to raise consciousness about the subject. Their efforts included reviewing successful efforts among 30 community foundations; a survey of Richmond-Times Dispatch readers and a Town Hall forum with residents; and input from area civic and community groups. This project aligned well with the work of the Older Dominion Partnership (ODP). The ODP, the Community Foundation, and Connect Richmond joined forces to leverage available resources, talents, and community connections. Thus, the ODP's Implementation Team and Work Group format served as this initiative's organizational resource - to frame, design and direct this research and planning activity.

Last fall the ODP Civic Engagement Workgroup formed. Saphira Baker of Communitas Consulting was appointed by the Community Foundation to orchestrate this initiative and to serve as the Work Group leader. The group's task was to advise the development of research and outreach methods, provide expertise, link staff and members to area resources, determine the next steps based on research results, and to help shape the future of community engagement by Boomers in the Greater Richmond area. Membership came from a mix of business, nonprofit, public, faith-based, and educational perspectives. From VCU faculty members from the Vice President of Community Engagement's Office, School of Social Work, and Department of Gerontology participated in the workgroup process. With funding from the VCU Center on Aging Geriatric Training and Education Initiative, a symposium was conducted on campus last spring, targeting anyone interested in learning about creative strategies to prepare for the age wave by capturing the time and talents of boomers.

Reports coming out of these initiatives may be of interest to social workers who work with and use volunteers, or who are interested in finding meaningful roles for older consumers of service. There is a great deal going on locally, state-wide, and nationally. In addition, there are a number of research studies and a wealth of conceptual literature. As the civic engagement movement gains momentum, social workers, gerontologists, and a host of other professionals and disciplines will be participating in developing policies, designing programs, and working with older persons to prepare for the future both in the Commonwealth and around the country. Recent references appear below and if you are interested in more information on the subject, contact Ellen Netting at enetting@vcu.edu or 804/828-0404.

Recent References on Civic Engagement & Aging

American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). (2004). Baby boomers envision retirement II: Survey of boomers' expectations for retirement. Washington, DC: AARP.

American Society on Aging (ASA). (2009). ASA's civic engagement program. http://www.asaging.orgv2/civiceng/reports.cfm Accessed on 7 July 2009.

Butler, S.S., & Eckart, E. (2007). Civic engagement among older adults in a rural community: A case study of the senior companion program. Journal of Community Practice, 15(3), 77-98.

Einolf, C. J. (2009). Will the boomers volunteer during retirement? Comparing the baby boom, silent, and long civic cohorts. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 38(2), 181-199.

Fixler, J. F. , Eichberg, S., & Lorenz, G. (2008). Boomer volunteer engagement: Collaborate today, thrive tomorrow. Colorado: JF Fixler.

Hong, S-I, Morrow-Howell, N., Tang, F., & Hinterlong, J. (2009). Engaging older adults in volunteering: Conceptualizing and measuring institutional capacity. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 38(2), 200-219.

Kaskie, Brian, Sara Imhof, Joseph Cavanaugh, and Kennith Culp. (2008). Civic engagement as a retirement role for aging Americans. The Gerontologist, 48(3), 368-377.

Martinson, M. & Minkler, M. (2006). Civic engagement and older adults: A critical perspective. The Gerontologist, 46(3), 318-324.

Pew Research Center (2005). Baby Boomers Approach Age 60: From the Age of Aquarius to the Age of Responsibility. http://pewsocialtrends.org/assets/pdf/socialtrends-boomers120805.pdf. Accessed on 6 July 2009.

Tan, E. J., Rebok, G. W., Yu, Q., Frangakis, Carlson, M. C., Wang, T., Ricks, M., Tanner, E. K., McGill, S., & Fried, L. P. (2009). The long-term relationship between high-intensity volunteering and physical activity in older African American women. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 64B(2), 304-311.

Tang, F., & Morrow-Howell, N. (2008). Involvement in voluntary organizations: How older adults access volunteer roles? Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 51(3-4), 210-227.

Wilson, L. B. and S. P. Simson. (eds.). (2006). Civic engagement and the baby boomer generation. Binghamton, NY: The Haworth Press.

Over the past few years VCU School of Social Work has established formal partnerships with more than two dozen agencies throughout Virginia. In the past year we have had 27 Community-based projects, involving 18 different faculty members and generating more than 1 million dollars in total funding. Community Partners and Projects.pdf

International Study Abroad, May 2009

Ten years ago Hurricane George swept across the Dominican Republic and caused devastating damage throughout the country. The community of Las Pamillas in the Hato Mayor region suffered severe losses as homes, schools, stores and roads were destroyed. Families who lost homes moved into the church for temporary shelter. A poor community to begin with, the destruction caused by the hurricane was catastrophic for Las Pamillas. After the hurricane, a group of women organized and went to the government to request help to rebuild their community. The government listened and sent officials to the community to assess the needs. The government responded to the situation by sending trucks of cement, wood, and labor to begin the process of building new homes. The women assisted in the construction work and continued organizing to find group and community solutions to the challenges of rebuilding their community.

Having lived together and cooked together in the weeks following the hurricane, the women formed a strong bond. They represented different ages and levels of education, some had children, most were single, and most were heads of their households. As the houses were rebuilt and they returned to their homes, they realized the value of their living together in promoting the common good for the community but they no longer had a place to meet. They dreamed of building a community center where they could meet as a group and hold classes to receive training and learn vocational skills for small entrepreneurship projects. They went door to door gathering support to ask the government for land for a center. The government granted the women's group a piece of land, although it was the site of the refuse dump. After working to clear the land, the women began the foundation for their Center. When a new government came into power the land was sold to a buyer who wanted to develop a cock fighting enterprise. The women objected and the government sent in trucks to destroy the foundation that had been started. The women staged a protest, burning tires in the streets, and cutting off transportation into the community. They marched to the governor's office and presented the legal papers that proved their ownership of the land. The government backed down.

Since then, the Womens Group has continued as a strong force in the community. They have organized additional groups in the surrounding areas, elected officers, and established goals. The Center is still under construction. The overall mission of the group is to create a Center that will enable the women to help themselves and their community. One of the women officers has gone outside of the community to participate in training in community organization and leadership in order to develop skills to apply to the group. Another woman, who is the Secretary of the Group, is married to a baseball player who pitches for the Pirates team in America. They have used their resources to open their home as a gathering place and they have started a baseball training camp for some of the young men in the community. The women have named their group the Asociacion de Juana Saltitoba, after a famous woman who fought along with men in the Dominican War for Independence.

Last week our Study Abroad group spent four days with the women, working together on the construction of the Center, conducting workshops on leadership, team building, and budgeting, and receiving cooking lessons in a variety of Dominican cuisine. During a session on Goal Setting, the women made collages that portrayed their dreams for the Center. Their visions reflected a bustling center of activity where women would meet and small businesses would be housed. The images illustrated dreams of sewing machines for a doll making venture, computers to advance computer literacy, and equipment for a hair and beauty salon.

At the end of our time together in Las Pamillas, we gained an understanding of the power of community organization and community building through a group of committed women. It was evident that these women were held in high respect for uniting their community in the challenges of rebuilding after the destruction of a hurricane. Beyond rebuilding, they held a view for the future to develop a vital and thriving community through economic and social development. The degree of closeness and the passion they share are the strengths behind realizing their goals. The women of Las Pamillas, las mujeres de Las Pamillas, are an inspiration and model for overcoming adversity through mutual support and strong leadership that empowers people to meet the needs and challenges of developing a strong community.

Students at the Don Bosco School for Girls in the Dominican Republic with School of Social Work students Caroline Kaschak, Kristin Lennox, Joy Brock, Kelly Fredrickson, Samantha Newton, Andrea Coye, and Assistant Director of Field Instruction, Randi Buerlein

School of Social Work students working at the construction site of the Womens Center in Las Pamillas, Dominican Republic. (From left) Kristin Lennox, Kelly Fredrickson, Andrea Coye, Randi Buerlein, Director of Field Instruction, Dr. Tim L. Davey, Lydia Davey, Deybi Prado (from the host organzation), Stephanie Wohnlich, Joy Brock, Caroline Kaschak and Samantha Newton.

Samantha Newton and Kristin Lennox taking a break from the construction work as Tim Davey looks on

Samantha Newton and Kristin Lennox make puppets with the children in a rural community school

SSW students work with the children in the community school

Tim Davey & Randi Buerlein on break !

132 folks attended the 5th Annual Community Partners' Appreciation Luncheon in Richmond on May 1, 2009. This annual event is one way in which the school shows its appreciation to our partners throughout the community. Dr. Cathy Howard, Vice Provost of the Division of Community Engagement, delivered an inspiring keynote address, "Building University-Community Partnerships". The Samuel S. Wurtzel Community Agency Partnership Award was given to William Byrd Community House and Ms. Marge Boynton was awarded the Amy Rosenblum Field Instructor of the Year Award. Additional Field Instructor Awards were given to Lynn Anderson and Donna Nunnally.

Click 2009 Field Office Brochure.pdf for a printable copy of the current brochure.

Keynote speaker, Dr. Cathy Howard

The Samuel S. Wurtzel Community Agency Partnership Award is given to William Byrd Community House. Receiving the award from Dr. Tim Davey are Margaret J. Friedenberg, President of the Board of Governors, and Executive Director L. Robert Bolling

Ms. Marge Boynton is awarded the Amy Rosenblum Field Instructor of the Year Award by Dr. Tim Davey



Lynn Anderson receives Field Instructor Award from Dr. Tim Davey and Shanza Isom, Coordinator of Field Instruction

Donna Nunnally is presented with Field Instructor Award by Mrs. Randi Buerlein, Assistant Director of Field Instruction, and Dr. Tim Davey

Dr. Jaci Miller, Field Department Administrative Assistant Lila Garlick and Dr. Amy Rosenblum at the Appreciation Luncheon

An interview with Karen S. Rotabi, Ph.D.

Karen Smith Rotabi, Assistant Professor, was recently appointed to the United States Hague Commission for Intercountry Adoption (ICA). This organization operates within the Council on Accreditation and oversees agency approval under the Hague Convention as per U.S. State Department requirements. Dr. Rotabi carries out this role as a part of her service activities and her research agenda includes intercountry adoption and global social work practice. She has carried out a number of agency evaluations throughout the U.S. and, as a Hague Commissioner, votes on agency accreditation. To learn more about her voluntary work and the Hague Convention, we asked her to respond to commonly asked questions:

What exactly is the Hague Convention for Intercountry Adoption?

It is an international agreement, signed by approximately 70 nations, which was designed to prevent the sales, theft, and trafficking of children under the guise of intercountry adoption. The U.S. signed the instrument in 1994 and has more recently ratified the Convention. Read the Hague Evaluation to learn more about the Convention.

Is it really necessary to have such an international agreement?

With millions of vulnerable children in the world, some of whom are clearly "orphans," on the surface it seems outrageous that child theft or sales would take place. However, the unfortunate truth is that, there have been some egregious abuses of child and family rights in impoverished countries. For example, there is the notorious case of Cambodia in which approximately 700 children were "adopted" by U.S. families and later, at the conclusion of a U.S. Federal investigation, the adoption "facilitator," who was not a trained social worker, was sentenced to a prison term for a variety of offenses mainly related to money laundering. In the course of the investigation, she admitted to bribing Cambodian officials for the necessary paperwork that changed children's identities. Investigators also found that families were routinely paid for their relinquishment signatures and/or were promised unrealistic long-term relationships with the children. There have been similar problems in Vietnam and Guatemala.

With so many "orphans" in the world, why would people resort to paying for children?

Fundamentally, U.S.-waiting families pay the fees that adoption agencies require and, as such, they do not see themselves as doing anything outside of the boundaries of ICA practices. However, some adoption agencies began charging extraordinary fees and this, combined with real concerns about Reactive Attachment Disorder and other problems of institutionalized children, the cost of adopting a young and healthy child, infants and toddlers, became expensive. That has been the unfortunate reality in the past decade as adoptions boomed and Americans were willing to pay $25,000+ for an adoption from very poor countries such as Guatemala and Vietnam. What started out innocently eventually got out of control with fees ranging upwards to $40,000+. Individuals without any child welfare or human services training saw an entrepreneurial opportunity--both in the U.S. as well as the sending nations--and with little controls in place, negotiations for children sometimes crossed the ethical boundaries that we have agreed upon as social work professionals. Now accredited adoption agencies must justify the fees as professional expenses which are within a reasonable range.

How does the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption prevent these problems?

Adoption agencies that engage with other Convention Nations, such as China, are required to meet a number of criteria, including financial transparency. Prior to the Convention, some agencies provided very little documentation about how the adoption fees were spent (i.e. how much was spent on medical care, food, professional expenses) and some families received an invoice with little to no explanation. Some families also found that they were expected to engage in bribery on the ground when securing final paperwork and this must have been a very distressing experience. Of course, this was not the case in all adoptions as many have been perfectly legitimate and appropriate, but adoption fraud has become a serious problem.

Of course, Guatemala has been mentioned and Vietnam is also an example where child abandonment processes have been questionable--there also appear to be some emerging problems in Ethiopia. New requirements for financial transparency and clearly stated expectations for how money is handled is a step forward when dealing with Convention nations. Unfortunately, Vietnam has only begun to enter the Hague Convention and they are now closed to the U.S. for adoptions due to irregularities. Ethiopia is not a Convention nation and, as such, the rules do not apply to those adoptions. Because Ethiopia is largely unregulated there has been a rush to organize adoption programs there and, it goes without saying, that the risks of problems there are real given the sheer number of vulnerable children and families in the very poor African nation.

Is it realistic that the Hague Convention can really stop bribery and adoption fraud?

It is unrealistic to think that the Convention can stop all adoption fraud, but it has set "rules for engagement" that hold people accountable for their professional activities. Adoption agencies cannot be accredited without appropriate human services professionals. Also, prospective families are now trained for engaging in foreign nations, including the risks at all levels of the adoption (child development, health, and legal processes), and the Convention has lifted the bar in terms of expectations. All of these new requirements should curb the most egregious cases of abuse and adoption fraud.

In your role as an Agency Hague Evaluator and a Hague Commissioner, what have been your most valuable lessons?

I have seen a range of practices from one of the largest agencies in the country all the way down to a small agency that was being run from a "spare room" in the adoption agency director's home. I've seen some excellent practices as well as very concerning problems, such as the variability of home study quality. I am struck by the largely unregulated nature of intercountry adoption work prior to the Convention and I'm relatively impressed by the progress made under the new regulations. The major problems that I see ahead are related to the nations that the Convention does not cover, such as Ethiopia, as well as some poorly defined criteria within agency accreditation. For example, "professional fees" are required for transparency but there is no prescribed range for what is considered ordinary or acceptable. As such, I've seen agencies that are still charging large fees continue to operate without the accountability that I would have expected. For example, a handful of U.S.-agencies and attorneys are sending U.S.-born children overseas to European nations and some of those organizations are charging exceptionally high fees. At some point, we have to ask, what is the threshold for child sales of our own children?

Finally, I have been astounded by the functioning of boards of directors for small agencies. This work is risky and the liabilities are great. However, many board members that I have interviewed are fueled by their passions while being largely naive about the risks. Training of agency boards and insuring that boards are functioning as a directive and healthy organizational body is an area for improvement.

To read a recent analysis about the reform process in Guatemala, Dr. Rotabi's work can be accessed in SocMag, the Social Work & Society Magazine

Kia J. Bentley, Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives, Ph.D. Program Director and Professor

Several faculty have deep connections to our sibling professionals and educators down the street on the medical campus of VCU, especially the Institute for Women's Health (IWH), the Center for Health Disparities (CHD), and The Research Incubator (RI). Partnerships with the social work department of the hospital itself and the Departments of Gerontology and Pharmacology, among others, are also central to the School. These connections and collaborations, some highlighted here, bring to life the aims of the School's 2007 Strategic Plan which specifically calls for "broadening our strategic partnerships" with other disciplines, especially VCU's academic medical center.

Dr. Liz Cramer is active with the IWH's Domestic and Sexual Violence Working Group that collaborates to secure funding for various projects and holds an annual "Health Cares about Domestic Violence" Day. Our own MSW graduate, Janett Forte, long associated with various VCU projects all over the campuses, is a key figure in these family violence activities as well. Dr. Cramer also has recently worked with Drs. Michelle Meade and Nicole Abdul in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the Partnership for People with Disabilities on several studies. Dr. Sarah Kye Price works closely with Drs. Cornelia Ramsey and Sheryl Garland in chairing the important "Community Connections" committee of the CHD. This committee is helping build VCU's community-based participatory research infrastructure and its current project focuses on the Mosby Court community. Dr. Price's work with the Comprehensive Health Investment Project (CHIP) around women, loss and depression was funded by one of the original IWH seed grants. That work was featured in the Spring 2008 Spectrum, published by VCU's Office of Research, as well as the annual report of the CHD. Her project with Dr. Kia J. Bentley on decision-making around psychopharmacology use during pregnancy and post-partum, now in its second phase, seeks methodological advice from an advisory panel of MCV ob-gyn doctors, psychiatrists, nurses, social workers and pharmacologists.