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News

Aida Giachello Receives AARP Magazine ‘Inspire’ Award

(UIC News Bureau, Contact: Jeffron Boynes) Health researcher Aida Giachello, associate professor in the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is one of 10 recipients of the 2010 Inspire Award from AARP, The Magazine. The annual award pays tribute to outstanding individuals who are using their energy, creativity and passion to make the world a better place.

Giachello is founder and director of UIC's Midwest Latino Health Research, Training and Policy Center, which she established in 1993 to conduct research on health disparities, train Latino/minority investigators, and engage in policy emerging from the research.

"We take great pride in this recognition of Dr. Giachello's unwavering commitment to improving the health and well-being of Latinos and other underserved populations," said Creasie Finney Hairston, dean of the Jane Addams College of Social Work. "The award is an honor for Aida and our college as well."

Giachello was named as one of 25 most influential Hispanic/Latino persons in America by TIME Magazine in 2005, one of 100 most influential Hispanics by People En Español magazine in 2007, and featured in Latino Leaders magazine in 2009.

She currently serves as co-principal investigator of the Chicago Field Center of the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos -- the largest health study ever of the Hispanic/Latino population in the U.S. The study is sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, one of the National Institutes of Health.

Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Giachello completed her undergraduate work in social sciences at the University of Puerto Rico and her graduate studies at the University of Chicago, where she earned a master's degree and a doctorate.

The 2010 AARP honorees include Lonnie Ali (Voice for Parkinson's), Clint Eastwood (Daring Director), Leeza Gibbons (Voice of the Caregiver), Scott Hamilton (Cancer Crusader), Tom Joyner (Education Advocate), Brenda Krause Eheart (Bridge for Generations), Lilly Ledbetter (Equal-Pay Advocate), Captain Richard Phillips (Reluctant Hero), and Raquel Welch (Advocate for Cancer Survivors).

"These 10 compassionate, forward-thinking and daring individuals stand up for causes they believe in, and they've found unique ways to inspire others to action," AARP The Magazine editor Nancy Graham said in a press statement. "Through their extraordinary contributions to society, this year's Inspire Award honorees motivate our readers to get involved, give back, and make a difference in their own communities."

Additional information on AARP The Magazine's 2010 Inspire Award honorees can be found in the January/February issue of the magazine and available online at www.aarpmagazine.org/inspire

Publications and Grants

Continuation Grant for CEED

Latinos and African Americans suffer from disproportionately high rates of diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The Midwest Latino Health Research Policy and Training Center, through its program CEED@Chicago, seeks to eliminate such disparities. It works with a variety of community organizations to promote health literary and the equitable distribution of healthy food in order to reduce the risk factors that lead to Type 2 diabetes and CVD. Its work will continue thanks to a continuation grant for CEED received by Associate Professor Aida Giachello in the amount of $887,874 (project dates 9/30/09-9/29/10).

Dissemination of Effective Mental Health Services in Foster Care Award

An urgent need to implement effective mental health services for foster children will be addressed as part of a study to be directed by Associate Professor Sonya Leathers over the next two years. The study, “Dissemination of Effective Mental Health Services in Foster Care,” will test an innovative approach to implementing mental health services in child welfare settings to reduce foster children's behavior problems and improve their school outcomes. It will investigate more effective mental health services for foster children as well as the need for empirically-based strategies to successfully implement effective services in urban service settings. The work is made possible by an award from the National Institutes of Health, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, in the amount of $929,298 for 2009-2010.

Money Follows the Person Grant

Dean Creasie Finney Hairston received an award from the Illinois Department on Aging entitled, “Money Follows the Person Demonstration Project” in the amount of $5,000 (project dates 5/1/09 – 6/30/10).

Kinship Care Article Published

Professor James P. Gleeson and JACSW PhD candidate Claire M. Seryak published "‘I made some mistakes, but I love them dearly’ the views of parents of children in informal kinship care” in Child and Family Social Work online. A print version is forthcoming.

Other recent Publications and Grants

Presentations & Workshops

Council on Social Work Education Presentations

JACSW was well represented at the 55th Annual Program Meeting of the Council on Social Work Education in San Antonio, TX, November 6-9, 2009. Among those participating on commissions, panels, and presenting papers were:

Larry Bennett convened a panel presentation titled “Addressing both Domestic Violence and Substance Abuse: Integrating Approaches in Contested Spaces.” One of three papers presented on the panel was “Substance abuse professionals think about domestic violence: A survey study in habitus and doxa” by Dr. Bennett and JACSW doctoral student Priti Prabhughate, who was also on hand to present the paper.

Alice Butterfield presented a paper titled “Knowledge Building in Social Development.”

Alan Dettlaff gave a panel presentation titled “Immigrant Children and Families in Child Welfare: Translating Knowledge to Practice Effectiveness.” Dr. Dettlaff was also a presenter at a Faculty Development Institute entitled “Preparing Social Workers for Culturally Competent Practice with Immigrants and Refugees” and presented a poster titled “Immigrant Families and Child Welfare: Results from the Texas Learning Laboratory.”

Brian Kelly, doctoral student, presented a paper entitled, “Prioritizing Homelessness Education in the Social Work Classroom.”

Faith Johnson Bonecutter serves on the Council on Field Education and attended meetings and presentations related to this role.

Patricia O’Brien chaired the Women’s Council Series Session titled “Feminist Scholarship: From the Margins to the Center of Social Work Knowledge.”

Tyreasa Washington, doctoral candidate, presented a paper entitled, “Strengths in African American Informal Kinship Care Families that Promote Children’s Competence.”

Julia Wesley, doctoral candidate, presented “Reinforcing Social Justice Values through Engaged Community Research with Churches.”