MANDEL SCHOOL
NEWS AND EVENTS

The Plain Dealer refers to and analyses data regarding "The Changing Face of Poverty," a Briefly Stated report by the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, at Case Western Reserve University.

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The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at Case Western Reserve University released a report entitled The Changing Face of Poverty in Northeast Ohio which details the increase in poverty across the region.

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On February 8, a researcher from Washington, D.C., will present her findings about the life of Elsa Leichter, an MSASS alum and Austrian refugee social worker whose American social work career started in Cleveland during WWII.

Researcher Barbara Reiterer, a Doctoral Fellow in Residence at the German Historical Institute in Washington, D.C., will discuss how Leichter found refuge as a social worker. The lecture, entitled, Elsa Leichter's Second Chance: Interruptions and Continuities in a Refugee Social Worker's Transatlantic Career, will be held on February 8 at 4:30 p.m. in Room 320 at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. Reiterer's talk is free and open to the public.

During World War II, American social work provided a professional refuge for Leichter, a Jewish exile from Vienna who came to the United States on the eve of World War II. Reiterer's research provides a history of Austrian and American social work in the mid-twentieth century and the experiences of Jewish women exiles in the United States.

Even though a cursory glance at Leichter’s biography may yield a neat and smooth narrative, interruptions complicated her life. After serving 12 years as a social worker for the Vienna city municipality, she had to start over when she came to the U.S. It was in Cleveland where she received her "big second chance," as she repeatedly said. Reiterer's discussion of Leichter will trace her complex, often difficult career path, for which her time at the Mandel School played a central role.

Leichter received her degree in social work from Case Western Reserve University in 1942. She went on to work for the Jewish Family Service in New York City where she earned distinction in the field of family therapy. Starting in the 1970s, she traveled to Europe to give lectures and workshops, thus contributing to the transatlantic circulation of knowledge in the applied social sciences. She died in 1997 at the age of 92.

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Bingo may be a popular activity in nursing homes, but MSASS Dean Grover Gilmore is seeing a lot more benefits that extend well beyond socializing.

According to Gilmore and other psychology researchers, the high-contrast, large bingo cards boost thinking and playing skills for people with cognitive difficulties and visual perception problems produced by Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). The findings were reported in the journal Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition. Learn more

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The North Dakota Department of Human Services has been calling upon Ohio's expertise in the implementation of evidence-based practices for people with co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorders since 2006. Today, outcomes from the department's data analyses show that the use of Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment has been significantly reducing crisis services, psychiatric hospitalizations, incarcerations, and more. ... This story features Ric Kruszynski, MSSA ('93), LISW, LICDC, director of substance abuse and mental illness consulting and training initiatives at the Mandel School's Center for Evidence-Based Practices. Kruszynski is a 1993 graduate of the Mandel School.

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Haley Litzingers’ collages portray urban landscapes often scattered with dilapidated buildings, machinery, bridges, mountains, and human figures. The dark earth tones and images are embedded into the layered clear epoxy resin portray a multi dimensional forbidding and almost fantasy atmosphere. The works are moody but intriguing; the artist does not hesitate to portray uneasiness.

“I use a method of layering resin, drawings, found images, and various paints to create encapsulated three dimensional landscapes and scenes. The depth produced by the multiple layers of resin gives a "Cast block" feel to the collage, initiating engagement and creating a sensorial experience. The process of experimentation with materials, color, technique and composition is central when beginning a piece. I begin to have a constant, multi-dimensional process of self-exploration, self-reflection and learning. By arranging various images and manipulating their size, color, texture, position and relationship, I discover subjective new perceptions stimulated by the development of conscious and unconscious insight…” Haley Litzinger.

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Dante Rodriguez mixed media paintings manipulate reality with mythical vignettes focusing on elusive human and non-human hybrid creatures. The compositions, bold colors, dripping paint, and the placement of the hybrids, create successful inquisitive paintings.

“My mixed media paintings are of a hybridization of humans, animals and abstract structures. They are my attempts to redefine our relationship with nature. At first glance, my characters have a mythological appearance that is both strange and grotesque as they struggle to find their identity in a world of homogenized thinking. I try to find the spiritual connection between man and animal in order discover a relationship that shows a calm coexistence that is lacking in our contemporary world.” Dante Rodriguez

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The story of a Girl Scout troop in Austin, Texas, has a connection close to home, thanks to MSASS alumna Darlene Grant.

For 11 years, the 1984 MSSA grad from the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences was in charge of the program evaluation for a therapeutic prison visitation involving girls with incarcerated mothers. The program was among several Girl Scouts Beyond Bars programs -- the only one that is designed around the social work ideal of providing wrap-around services to at-risk youth.

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Our evidence-based practice (EBP) conference is back by popular demand and will take place on Oct 22 and 23, 2012 at the Cleveland Airport Marriott in Cleveland, Ohio, so save these dates! The event will feature keynote addresses and numerous workshops exploring introductory, intermediate, and advanced topics about implementing and integrating EBPs, emerging best practices, and other healthcare and behavioral-healthcare innovations that improve outcomes for people with mental illness or co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorders. | Ohio providers: $200/$125| Non-Ohio providers: $300/ $225.

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International travel was the highlight of this week's Observer, the student newspaper at Case Western Reserve University. Trips to Ecuador and Bangladesh will be taking place over winter break, thanks to the MSASS Study Abroad program.

In addition to trips scheduled in January, a whole new round of travel begins for students who want to immerse themselves in cross-cultural studies, social policy and mental health. Spring break opportunities are still available to those who want to travel to Guatemala, the Netherlands or Poland.

Join alumnus Jeremy S. Evenden, MSSA ('03), LISW-S, consultant and trainer from the Center for Evidence-Based Practices, at his Motivational Interviewing (MI) training events in Boardman, Ohio, from January to May 2012. Register online today. Evenden is a member of the international Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT). Participants learn MI's client-centered approaches for responding to desire for change and resistance to change among individuals with severe mental illness and/or substance use disorders. Ideal for IDDT, ACT, other best practices. $60/event. CEUs & supervisory credit.

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Join consultant and trainer Scott Gerhard, MA, LSW, of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices at his Motivational Interviewing (MI) training events in Columbus, Ohio, from January to April 2012. Register online today. Participants engage in skill-building exercises to learn MI's client-centered approaches for responding to desire for change and resistance to change among individuals with severe mental illness and/or substance use disorders. Ideal for IDDT, ACT, other best practices. $60 each event. Get CEUs & supervisory credit.

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One of our most popular events returns on February 28 and 29, 2012 in Cleveland for innovators in Ohio and across the nation who are implementing an Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) team with aspirations of high fidelity to this evidence-based practice for people with co-occurring severe mental illness and substance use disorders. This event provides practical resources, tools, and methods for successful implementation. Teaching methods emphasize interaction among participants. | $125 Ohio providers; $275 non-Ohio providers | CEUs.

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"The depth of this recession has pushed people over the edge," said Dr Claudia Coulton, Co-Director of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development in "The new poor: Situational poverty on the rise locally" in The News-Messenger of Fremont, Ohio.

The story cites that according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 saw the highest number of people living in poverty since the first reports were published over half a century ago and that 12.2 percent of residents of Sandusky County (where Fremont is the county seat) live at or below the poverty level. Suburbs and more rural areas are showing the fastest rise in poverty, according to the Brookings Institution, and many of these people have little experience in dealing with the situation.

Read the December 3, 2011 article and continue below.

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Case Western Reserve University students enrolled in the MSASS study travel course to Ecuador got an inside view of international relations from a special guest on December 3. Former U.S. Ambassador Heather M. Hodges gave a presentation at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences on the current political situation in Ecuador and offered insights into her expulsion from the country earlier this year.

Hodges, a native of Cleveland, arrived shortly before 1:30 p.m. to meet with students and MSASS faculty members Mark Chupp, Sonia Minnes and Debby Jacobson. Professor Chupp set up the visit through the Cleveland Council of World Affairs, where Hodges recently began as president.

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A study by the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development based on 2008 data concluded that children who had been enrolled in pre-kindergarten programs sponsored by Cuyahoga County scored better in kindergarten readiness than children who attended other programs or did not attend preschool. This study is mentioned in a November 27, 2011 article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Read "Cuyahoga County invests in preschool, while Cleveland schools cut programs" and continue below.

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The debate about childhood obesity continues to rage on, and here in Cuyahoga County, it's making social workers stand up and take notice.

Associate Professor David Crampton recently appeared on WCPN-90.3 to talk with local officials after Cuyahoga County social workers placed an 8-year-old boy in foster care. The 200-pound third grader was removed from his home because many believed the boy’s mother was neglecting his health needs. Crampton was interviewed by Sound of Ideas host Mike McIntyre, who provided details of the case, along with special guest Sumana Narasinham, MD, director of Healthy Kids/Healthy Weight program, University Hospitals; Shakyra Diaz, policy director, Ohio ACLU; and Patricia Rideout, chief administrator, Cuyahoga County Department of Children & Family Services.

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Program managers, team leaders, and other professionals from healthcare and behavioral healthcare organizations in central Ohio are invited to attend the next regional meeting for integrated treatment (December 7, 2011). Those who attend this peer-networking event discuss challenges and solutions for implementing evidence-based practices and other service strategies for people with mental illness and substance use disorders (e.g., IDDT, ACT, DDCAT, DDCMHT, TRAC, MI).

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Michael Schramm, MA, a research associate and analyst/programmer at the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development will be presenting at the Strategic Data-Use to Stabilize Neighborhoods conference in Baltimore, Maryland on December 6, 2011. The conference is presented by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

Schramm, who is also the Director of Information Technology and Research at the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation (often known as the Land Bank) will be presenting Using Data to Drive Neighborhood Investment along with: Ira Goldstein, Managing Director for Policy, The Reinvestment Fund, Philadelphia; Karla Henderson, Group Executive of Planning and Facilities, Detroit Mayor's Office; Danielle Lewinski, Director of Planning and Technical Programs, Community Legal Resources, Detroit; and Frank Ford, Senior Vice President, Research and Development, Neighborhood Progress, Inc., Cleveland. They will discuss and give their perspectives on how Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia address new and promising ways of disinvestment by using data, mapping, and community engagement.

If you or others you know are interested in earning a master's degree in social work and pursuing a career in clinical leadership for evidence-based practices that improve outcomes for vulnerable populations, contact the Leadership Fellows Program at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. Qualified candidates with a bachelor's degree in any discipline will be considered. Full scholarships available.

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Graphing data from NEO CANDO, WCPN Ideastream reports that "after a brief respite, the number of foreclosures in Ohio are rising again" according to the Mortgage Bankers' Association.

NEO CANDO, the Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing, is a social indicators data warehouse and research platform run by the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development. The graph generated using NEO CANDO data shows the third quarter of 2011 saw nearly 400 more foreclosure filings in Cuyahoga County than the second quarter.

Read the November 21, 2011 report by Cleveland area NPR affiliate 90.3 WCPN and download the .mp3 of the broadcast.

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CBC News journalist Paul Hunter recently visited Cleveland to investigate how the city is combating the ongoing foreclosure crisis. Hunter met with Gus Frangos, president of the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation (often known as the Land Bank), who illustrated the severity of the situation with a map showing the more than 15,000 properties in Cleveland suffering foreclosure, generated with data from the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development's NEO CANDO (Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing).

Watch the video "On the Road Ahead: Cleveland" from November 14, 2011 at CBC News The National or below.

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Since 2004, Mandel School alumnus Patrick Boyle of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices has been transferring knowledge about evidence-based practices from the center's work in Ohio and other states to the Netherlands. He's also been teaching an annual study-abroad course that takes health and human-service professionals and university students to the Netherlands to study with policymakers and service providers there.

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Take an educational holiday overseas to the Netherlands in March 2012 by signing up for Patrick Boyle's course, "Integrated Mental Health & Substance Use Services." Boyle has been an adjunct instructor at the School for more than 20 years and is director of implementation services at the School's Center for Evidence-Based Practices. He is also a graduate of the AODA and mental-health specializations. Boyle's travel-abroad course is one of serveral for Case Western Reserve University students, which are also open to working professionals in health and human services. Other classes travel to Guatemala and Poland.

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Take a look at and listen to this interview from the 2008 archives of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices for a little inspiration to sign up for the travel-abroad courses to the Netherlands during spring break. ... Albert Dijkhuizen, MD, and Johan Weterings, PhD, of the city of Eindhoven are veterans of an old system of care that provided separate, non-integrated services for mental illness and addiction. Listen to their stories of transformation, which have occurred as a result of Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment. Tracks #4 & 5 feature consumer success stories. Track #7 features Weterings speaking in Dutch, offering a message of hope to his colleagues back home.

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Mandel Allies is coordinating a Thanksgiving food drive that will benefit LGBT seniors in the Cleveland metropolitan area. Donations will help LGBT seniors enjoy a holiday meal during times of economic hardship.

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The impact of youth violence on communities is far reaching and many experts believe in solutions that involve more than just police and the courts. Dan Flannery, PhD, director of the Begun Center, shared his perspectives on how community leaders in Cleveland are providing long-term, proactive solutions. Flannery spoke during a recent discussion on WCPN's Sound of Ideas and was joined by a panel of local experts, including:

• Marilyn Rice, Former Senior Advisor in Health Promotion and Urban Health, World Health Organization


• Dr. Edward Barksdale, Surgeon, Rainbow Babies


• Zack Reed, Cleveland City Councilman


• Isaac Knowles, Victim of youth violence


• Ron Soeder, President, Boys and Girls Club of Cleveland

NEO CANDO is one of the tools being utilized by residents of the City of South Euclid to fight the blight of vacant and foreclosed houses as mentioned in "South Euclid left with responsibility of dealing with vacant homes: Your Turn" in the Sun Messenger. NEO CANDO, the Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing system, is developed by Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development.

South Euclid is using NEO CANDO to track and map trends in foreclosure as one of its many tools to combat the crisis. Other methods the city is employing include fostering strategic partnerships, working with Empowering and Strengthening Ohio's People (ESOP), and utilizing the Cuyahoga Land Bank.

Read the November 4, 2011 editorial in the Sun Messenger.

The Brookings Institution reports that Northeast Ohio has shown some of the fastest growth in the nation for the number of people living in extremely poor neighborhoods, a situation that Dr Claudia Coulton, co-director of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, confirmed in a November 3, 2011 article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Brookings' "The Re-Emergence of Concentrated Poverty: Metropolitan Trends in the 2000s" looked at the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the country where at least 40 percent of residents were at or below the poverty level including 24,000 residents in "high-density" suburbs such as Cleveland Heights, Elyria, Euclid, Kent, Lorain, and Painesville.

"Yes, this is exactly what we've seen," said Dr. Coulton about the report. "It [poverty] has hit the suburbs hard."

Read more in "Brookings report finds poverty-stricken neighborhoods jump dramatically in Cleveland area" in the Plain Dealer and below.

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Richey Piiparinen, MA, MUPDD, research assistant at the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development was invited to be one of the guest bloggers at the Living Cities Integration Initiatives 20th Anniversary event on September 27, 2011 at the Newseum in Washington, DC. Piiparinen contributed two entries during the event: "Urban Decline: Can it be as simple as a lack of communication?" and "The Future of Blue Collar Philanthropy". The eight guest writers from around the country were asked to blog their experiences and perspectives as public, private, and philanthropic sector leaders spoke about collaboration, innovation, and urban social change over the past two decades.

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On Friday, November 4, the Ohio State Bar Foundation recognized the efforts of the Fugitive Safe Surrender program by naming it the "Outstanding Program for 2010." The program's success is due to the work of MSASS researchers like Daniel J. Flannery, PhD, director of the Begun Center.

The program has operated 23 times in 21 cities, and Flannery’s research group has been on the ground at each event, collecting and analyzing data from the participants.

Last fall, the program logged a national record when 7,431 people surrendered in the city of Cleveland. Learn more about the award from The Ohio State Bar Foundation website.

Dr Rob Fischer, Co-Director of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, was contacted for the Huffington Post article "The New Face Of American Poverty Is Often A Child's". Fisher explained in the story that "as families cycle in and out of poverty, faith-based service programs tend to catch people who fall through the cracks of other safety nets."

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The recently released Spotlight on the Housing Market in Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of the Treasury highlights the Cuyahoga County Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) and its use of the "sophisticated mapping system" that is NEO CANDO (Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing) by the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development.

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Dr Cyleste Collins, a research assistant professor at the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, is presenting at Foreclosures and the Family: The Impact and What Works by Community Housing Solutions. This Family Stability Initiative Conference is being held on Thursday, October 27 from 8:30am to 12:30pm at the Dolan Center for Science and Technology of John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio.

Dr. Collins's topic is "The Impact of Foreclosure on the Family". She is joined by co-presenters David Rothstein of Policy Matters Ohio and John Ropar, director of the John Carroll University Counseling Center.

The soft, dark and mysterious photographs of Stephanie Kluk depict a young child in a not-so-typical homescape. The beautiful images linger in an inquiring way.

"My current body of photographs depict a romantic and somewhat ghostly view of my homescape. Using a digital camera and ambient light I create images that explore the beautifully haunting affects my son has had on my life… Eliminating physical objects normally associated with children (trucks, crayons, etc.) I focus on the spirit of energy and mystery that fills my home.”

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Contrasting colors, value, shape, and movement are a few of the artistic elements that Marti Higgins uses to create her landscapes. The landscapes range from tranquil/calming to energetic/stormy! Her paintings capture nature's extremes. "The dualities of nature."

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The Washington Post featured the Cleveland foreclosure and vacant properties crisis with "Banks turn to demolition of foreclosed properties to ease housing-market pressures" including the slideshow "Cleveland could hold the future of the foreclosure crisis: Demolition". Slide 9 features a map of foreclosed properties in Cleveland that was created using data from the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development's NEO CANDO (Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing) by the the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corp (often known as the Land Bank).

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What does the future hold for the next generation of nonprofit leaders? We posed this question to Robert Fischer, PhD, co-director of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development. Fischer gave us his views on the realities of a tough job market and the potential opportunities for young social work graduates.

A recent article in The Plain Dealer, entitled "Young nonprofit graduates struggling to find jobs here," raises an important topic, but also casts light on the realities of nonprofit organizations and the limited data we have about them. The survey report in the article, credited to The Young Nonprofit Professional Network, was based on a class project by three master's students in a nonprofit management course I taught at Case Western Reserve University in the fall of 2010.

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Richey Piiparinen, MA, MUPDD, research assistant at the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development was recently featured in the Friday Five Questions segment of The Daily, the digital newspaper of Case Western Reserve University, on September 23, 2011. In addition to his work at the Center, Piiparinen writes for Rust Wire, a regional blog dedicated to growth in the Rust Belt, and helped start the urban art therapy and architectural reworking W. 83rd Street Project.

Learn about Rihey's preferred music and books, his favorite things about CWRU and Cleveland, and more.

The Center for Evidence-Based Practices has launched a new website, and we need your help with the transition by creating (or re-creating) your own membership account, which is free. The new "my account" feature helps you manage your event registration, resource downloads, and more. We have also moved the websites of our Ohio Coordinating Center of Excellence (CCOE) initiatives and Tobacco Recovery model to this new website, so remember to update any references to those links.

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How can youth violence be measured?

Cleveland city leaders gathered with researchers from The Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education to discuss the topic of youth violence during a recent consortium at the Hilton Garden Inn. The event was sponsored by the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences (MSASS) and the Partnership for a Safer Cleveland.

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Researchers from the Dr. Semi J. and Ruth W. Begun Center at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences will continue their work with the Partnership for a Safer Cleveland over the next two years, thanks to a $200,000 grant made possible by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In addition, matching contributions from The Cleveland Foundation, Saint Luke’s Foundation and Sisters of Charity Foundation will provide for a combined total of $400,000.

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Local leaders from around Cleveland - and international experts from around the world - gathered at Case Western Reserve University on October 1 to talk about a topic that most 60-something boomers don't care to discuss: what it means to grow old.

Nearly 250 people attended the Active Aging Symposium to talk about the aging workforce, the impact of global aging, redefining retirement and civic engagement among senior volunteers.

Participants arrived for a full day to attend breakout sessions and hear academics talk about their theories on why active aging is part of a growing global movement.

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The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development is updating its map series for the density of individual food stamp recipients in the City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County from July 2000 through July 2009. Maps for 2010 and 2011 will be produced in the near future. Among its many functions, NEO CANDO (Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing) allows users to extract data across geography and time to examine trends such as food stamp enrollment.

Neighborhoods in Cleveland continue to have the greatest percentages of individuals receiving Food Stamps. The greatest increases in the number of food stamp recipients, however, are found in Cuyahoga's suburbs.

Download maps for years 2000-2009 as a single PDF (full screen view). You can also watch a video slideshow of years 2001-2008.

Michael Schramm, MA, a research associate and analyst/programmer at the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, presented at the Data Driven '11 conference of Community Research Partners on September 23, 2011 in Columbus, Ohio. Mr. Schramm presented "NEO CANDO: a Data-Driven Response to Foreclosure in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County" (PowerPoint).

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According to a Saturday, September 24 article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, 2011 marks the first year in which all 41 counties in Ohio that are reappraising or updating property values saw decline. Dr. Claudia Coulton, Co-Director of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development comments that "it hasn't turned around. The economy is still bad and people are still worried about their jobs and people are having difficulty getting loans to buy homes. We still have a stalled housing market."

All though Cuyahoga County will not conclude it's reappriasal until 2012, several other counties in NEO CANDO's area re included: Geauga, Ashtabula, and Summit.

Read "Property values fall across Ohio as every county undergoing reappraisal sees drop" and more below.

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Richey Piiparinen, MA, MUPDD, research assistant at the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, contributed "The Real World Cleveland (or Detroit, Buffalo, etc)" to Rust Wire, a regional blog dedicated to growth in the Rust Belt, on September 16, 2011. The story features data from the Center and from NEO CANDO (Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing) including four video slideshows of maps on high poverty, food stamp recipients, sheriff's deeds, and concentrated affluence.

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On Friday, September 30, The Dr. Semi J. and Ruth W. Begun Center at MSASS and the Partnership for a Safer Cleveland will host a seminar featuring Dr. John A. Rich and former U.S. Rep. Louis B. Stokes. The seminar will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 noon at the Hilton Garden Inn, 1100 Carnegie Ave., Cleveland, Ohio.

Researchers from the Begun Center will be naming The Greater Cleveland Consortium on Youth Violence Prevention in honor of Stokes. This is a special event since Stokes is a Distinguished Visiting Professor at MSASS.

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On Tuesday, September 27, The Schubert Center for Child Studies is sponsoring a seminar entitled "Merging Research, Practice, and Policy in Addressing Children's Exposure to Violence." The event is for faculty, students and community members interested in child well-being and child policy.

The seminar will feature Daniel Flannery, director of The Dr. Semi J. and Ruth W. Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education at MSASS. Flannery will present his work on the Defending Childhood initiative, a federal program that received funding from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. Researchers at the Begun Center are part of the collaborative effort in Cuyahoga County, providing ongoing planning, data and evaluation support. Guests will talk about their experiences in the community and policy implications associated with the effort.

Date: Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Time: 4 to 5:30 p.m.
Location: Room 115, Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations, 11402 Bellflower Road

The program will feature Janet Kronenberg, MPA, JD, manager of the Cuyahoga County Witness/Victim Service Center. For more information, please visit the Schubert Center website.

Dr Claudia Coulton, Co-Director of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, will be one of the featured speakers at the Building Solutions to Poverty: Methods and Metrics for Identifying Success conference held over October 19-21, 2011. Dr Coulton's presentation is titled "Innovative Solutions to Poverty: Issues and Challenges in Poverty Measurement, Intervention, Design, and Evaluation". The conference is organized by the International Poverty Solutions Collaborative (IPSC) at the Ohio State University. The keynote speaker is Sheldon Danziger, Ph.D., director of the National Poverty Center at the University of Michigan.

Read more about the conference and the speakers and watch the video below.

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Poverty affects all residents of the City of Cleveland and surrounding areas. Some highlight and comment on the issues with art, including new media. Below is a video slideshow on YouTube depicting photographs, graphs, and illustrations of Cleveland (and some that are elsewhere), collected as a collage. The video includes several graphs and maps from the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at:

2:10 - a food stamps data tracking page the Center supplied for the Cleveland Foundation
2:38 - a food stamp map using NEO CANDO data
3:41 - a subprime lending map
4:10 - a residential vacancy map

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Dr Rob Fischer, Co-Director of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development and Research Associate Professor of the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences is presenting a free webinar on "Assessing Outcomes and Evaluation Programs in Nonprofits" on Wednesday, September 14, 2011 from 4:00 to 5:00pm for the Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations.

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A special lecture on social work in Israel will be held from 12:45 to 2 p.m. on Friday, September 23. The event is sponsored by MSASS.

The lecture entitled, "Policy Practice in Social Work in Israel and in an International Perspective" features John Gal, PhD, a professor and dean of the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He will be joined by Idit Weiss-Gal, PhD, a senior lecturer at the Bob Shapell School of Social Work at Tel-Aviv University.

This lecture is free and open to the public, but registration is required. The program has been approved for 1.25 CEUs for social workers and counselors. A light lunch will be available.

The event will be held in Room 115 across the street from MSASS in the Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations, 11402 Bellflower Road, Cleveland, OH 44106.

Cuyahoga County's Invest in Children (IIC) has released their Making A Big Impact: The 2010 Annual Report of Invest in Children in electronic format. Collaborative work by the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, which has partnered with IIC on various studies for over a decade, is included in the report.

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The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development is one of the featured research and training centers in the recently released 2010-2011 Research & Training Annual Report of the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. The report discusses the issues surrounding Cleveland as well as the various projects of the Center and the uses for NEO CANDO (Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing).

Read the entire report as either a:
2.06 MB, 72dpi .PDF for slower connections and email, or
20.1 MB, 300dpi .PDF for faster connections and printing.

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Colors, shapes, and texture are the elements that artist, Kristen Magerkurth uses to create her organic abstract paintings. She has an “eye” for composition. The canvases invite the viewer to contemplate and connect to her works. “I am interested in painting with nontraditional materials to get a variety of shapes and textures in my paintings. I use a combination of household common materials and traditional painting materials to allow the viewers to connect to my paintings. I also paint nonrepresentational to complement the materials. The act of performance while I make the work and how my pieces evolve on their own is an important aspect of my work.”

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Earlier this year, the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development in partnership with the Saint Luke's Foundation released a series of 12 data briefs on key social demographic and population dimensions of three neighborhoods on the east side of the City of Cleveland: Buckeye-Shaker, Mount Pleasant, and Woodland Hills. The data briefs address issues related to Saint Luke's target communities, with specific attention to changes in indicators over time. Using data from a range of Census and local sources, the briefs highlight important dimensions of life in these three neighborhoods that can inform approaches to address community needs.

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The just-released 2010-2011 Research & Training Annual Report of the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences demonstrates the considerable contributions of the school's faculty to scholarship, research and training. Highlights include the following:

- External research and training grant funding totaled almost $6 million to our 30-member faculty, the second highest in the school's history.

- Research grants have more than doubled (136 percent increase) in the last six years.

- More than two-fifths of our faculty’s research is federally funded.

- MSASS faculty accomplishments in research and training were recognized through a $7 million bequest from James Williamson. This is the largest single gift in the school's history.

- Academic Analytics, LLC, ranks the faculty of our school as seventh among social work doctoral programs.

Additional Highlights

Much of our work is conducted through the Mandel School's five research and training centers, which are featured in this year's annual report. The report also highlights additional independent faculty projects. Faculty infuse new knowledge from research and training initiatives into master's and doctoral coursework, and many students gain practical experiences as active members of research teams.

Dr Anna Maria Santiago, faculty associate of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development and Leona Bevis/Marguerite Haynam Professor of Community Development at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences is the lead author on several recent and upcoming publications on low-income homeownership.

Foreclosing on the American dream? The financial consequences of low-income homeownership, Housing Policy Debate Volume 20, Issue 4, 2010

"Be It Ever So Humble, There's No Place Like Home: the experiences of low-income, minority homebuyers" in the soon to be published Fair and Affordable Housing in the U.S.: Trends, Outcomes, Future Directions (forthcoming September 2011)

Low-Income Homeownership: does it necessarily mean sacrificing neighborhood quality to buy a home?, Journal of Urban Affairs Volume 32, Issue 2, pages 171–198, May 2010

Read a brief section from each abstract or introduction.

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Dr Rob Fischer, Co-Director of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development and Research Associate Professor of the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, received the Roberta O'Keefe Recognition Award for outstanding service to Ohio Program Evaluators' Group (OPEG) in May 2011. A long time board member, Dr. Fischer served as President to the OPEG board from 2005 to 2011.

Read the award announcements from OPEG.

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The development of a Neighborhood Stabilization Team (NST) by the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corp (often known as the Land Bank) is showcasing some of the good work happening in local communities. NST includes Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development staff members Michael Schramm and April Hirsh and NST primarily uses data from NEO CANDO (Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing). A Sunday, August 27, 2011 editorial published by the Cleveland Plain Dealer tells part of the Land Bank and NST's story.

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According to data available from NEO CANDO (Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing), the number of new mortgage foreclosures in Cuyahoga County during the month of August 2011 will top 1000, as discussed by Bill Callahan in his Callaghan Cleveland Diary weblog post on August 27, 2011.

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The fourth annual "Respect, Success, Value, Purpose (RSVP) Mental Health Recovery Conference" will take place at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio, on September 28, 2011. The goal of this year's event is to promote greater understanding of recovery from mental illness and how our communities can be supportive. It will feature two keynote speakers and 11 breakout sessions. Sponsored by the Mental Health & Recovery Boards of Ashalnd County, Richland County, and Wayne & Holmes Counties. CEUs available.

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Patrick Boyle, MSSA, LISW-S, LICDC, of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices is presenting at this year's Roads to Recovery Conference, titled "Behavioral Health: A System Under Construction," which takes place on September 12, 2011 in Cleveland, Ohio, and is sponsored by the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) Board of Cuyahoga County. He will moderate a panel presentation about evidence-based practices. Christina M. Delos Reyes, MD, of the Cetner will also present. Sign-up for their workshops. CEUs available.

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Dramatic, bold, and multicolored describe the paintings by artist Daryl Musick. Daryl is an abstract painter. He has been painting for over 20 years. He has worked with many different mediums, the current exhibit provides an personal glimpse into his creative process with his journey through mental illness. “The inspiration for the pieces has evolved over the years as I have struggled with mental health illness. The process is the key element in my work. Issues of isolation, friendships, and personal recovery are the main themes that appear throughout the works.”

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More than 100 community members, faculty members and staff from Case Western Reserve University attended a welcome reception on August 18 for The Dr. Semi J. and Ruth W. Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education. The event ushered in a new chapter for The Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences (MSASS), which heralded the arrival of Daniel Flannery, PhD, and his research team from Kent State University this past July.

"It's a big team here — a very talented team," said Dean Grover "Cleve" Gilmore. "This is a group that will continue to make a great impact that fits into the mission of our school."

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In the fall of 2010, Dr. Robert Fischer, Co-Director of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development and Research Associate Professor at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences and students from his course MAND 410: Quantitative Analysis for Nonprofit Leaders at the Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations conducted a survey project for the Cleveland chapter of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network. Their work is cited in the recently released report:

Building a Career in Nonprofit Cleveland: Focus on the Nonprofit Identity (full report and executive summary)

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Dr. Robert Fischer, Research Associate Professor and Co-Director of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development is featured in a video presentation on program evaluation titled "Showing That Your Work Matters" on Grant Space, a service of the Foundation Center, Cleveland.

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Christina M. Delos Reyes, MD, medical consultant at the Center for Evidence-Based Practices, will present "The Opiate Epidemic in Ohio: What Psychiatrists and Other Healthcare Professionals Can Do" on Friday, August 19, 2011 from 7:45 to 9 am on the campus of Case Western Reserve University as part of Grand Rounds, sponsored by the Department of Psychiatry at the Case School of Medicine. The event is open to the public. Pre-registration is not required. CMEs are available. Other CEUs may be available.

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The staff at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences received a special treat when they showed up for work last Wednesday. The second floor of the school was adorned with the artistry of several staff and faculty members.

Colorful photographs, watercolors, acrylics, charcoal drawings and abstract art were all part of the collection on the second-floor walls, usually reserved for local artists from all across northeast Ohio. "I'm so amazed at all the talent we have here at MSASS," said Dean Grover Gilmore. "What a special treat, seeing all this beautiful work. Our faculty and staff are truly multi-talented."

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A memorial service for Edmond Jenkins will be held at 5 p.m. on Thursday, August 18, at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. The church is located at 2172 E. 49th St. in Cleveland, just south of Cedar Avenue.

Professor Jenkins died on August 4, 2011. He taught at the Mandel School from 1969 until his retirement in 1992. He directed "Project Go" during the time he was at MSASS. Dorothy Maroff, assistant to the director at the Lillian F. & Milford J. Harris Library, remembers how Jenkins donated the first audio-visual materials there.

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Urban art therapy is giving the residents of Detroit Shoreway cause for reflection after a gas explosion destroyed nearly five dozen homes and buildings in 2010. Richey Piiparinen, a researcher with the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at MSASS, explains his collaboration with the W. 83rd St. Project on Rustwire.com.

There are top trends and then there are 10 that have influenced social work culture over the last decade. M.C. "Terry" Hokenstad Jr., the Ralph S. and Dorothy P. Schmitt Professor at MSASS, explains why globalization made the list and why social work educators need to promote more international field placements. His comments appeared in the July/August edition of Social Work Today, the nation's leading news magazine for social workers.

When women are incarcerated and later released from prison, the stories of abuse and addiction can be overwhelming. Many of these stories often go untold without a clear understanding of what these women have endured.

But during the wake of the Anthony Sowell trial in Cleveland last week, WCPN-90.3 featured a story about a group of women that are getting help, thanks to creative writing and encouragement from MSASS Associate Professor Kathleen J. Farkas. Farkas was a featured guest of radio host David C. Barnett, who spoke about the Women's Re-entry Network and a creative writing program for women at the Cuyahoga County Corrections Center.

Photography, paintings, drawings are on view on the 2nd floor, the works are created by MSASS faculty and staff.

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Join the Center for Evidence-Based Practices at the Addiction Studies Institute in Columbus, Ohio, on August 17, 18 and 19, 2011, hosted by Talbot Hall of The Ohio State University Medical Center. Deborah Myers, MEd, PCC-S, and Scott Gerhard, MA, LSW, of the Center are presenting. Sign-up for their workshops: "Motivational Interviewing in Addictions" and "Tobacco Dependence: The Forgotten Substance-Related Disorder." Look for our display table.

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Bank of America Corp., the biggest mortgage servicer in the country, will soon donate 100 foreclosed houses to the City of Cleveland so these vacant properties can be demolished as discussed in an online Bloomberg article on July 27, 2011. BoF and other servicers have similar plans for other cities.

It's estimated upwards of 13,000 residences in Cleveland are foreclosed or abandoned, using information provided by Case Western Reserve University's Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development and Neighborhood Progress Inc.

Read the full Bloomberg article or the repost in the Financial Post.

Neighborhood Progress Incorporated (NPI), a partner of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, has appointed Center Co-Director, Dr. Claudia Coulton, to its Board of Trustees.

Read the full announcement here.

For more on collaborations between NPI and the Poverty, watch the Federal Reserve Board neighborhood stabilization video report on Cleveland data-driven decision-making.

Patrick Boyle, MSSA ('89), and Debra Hrouda, MSSA ('94), of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices -- and its Ohio SAMI CCOE initiative -- are presenting three posters at the "First Biennial Global Implementation Conference" (GIC) in Washington, DC, on August 15, 16, and 17, 2011. The event brings together scientists, policymakers, practitioners, and community leaders for an unprecedented focus on evidence-based practices and how they can be implemented effectively to improve outcomes for people and organizations. Boyle and Hrouda will also be participating in ongoing learning clusters with colleagues from the conference over the coming year.

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Freshwater Cleveland recently covered a project headed by Richey Piiparinen, a research assistant who recently joined the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development.

The project focuses on the psychological effects of abandoned properties in Cleveland's neighborhoods. In partnership with the City of Cleveland and Detroit Shoreway CDO, Richey is a part of a team that is implementing an urban art therapy project on W. 83rd St., which is the site of devastating vacant house explosion that rocked the community. The project entails turning one of the vacant houses condemned due to the explosion into an interactive art exhibit that will open with a reception July 28th. The house/exhibit will be deconstructed, with salvageable materials relocated to a reading garden that will be built down the street.

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Debra Hrouda, MSSA ('94), LISW-S, of the Mandel School's Center for EBPs--and its Ohio SAMI CCOE initiative--has been invited to present results of a CEBP study of Ohio behavioral-healthcare claims data during a free webinar hosted by the the National Research Institute (NRI), Inc. on August 2, 2011. The study showed that Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) helped save Ohio $1.4 million in service costs for a group of 160 people diagnosed with a severe mental illness and a co-occurring substance use disorder. Register online today.

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Daniel Flannery, PhD, was a featured guest on WCPN 90.3 on Tuesday, July 12. He spoke about youth violence and "flash mobs" that are creating fear in public spaces and local communities.

He joined a host of local officials on The Sound of Ideas, which aired at 9 a.m. Flannery is the new director of The Dr. Semi J. and Ruth W. Begun Center for Violence Prevention, Research & Education.

He joined MSASS on July 1 and brought along a team of 23 researchers, evaluators, consultants and trainers. As a leading scholar in the study of violence and exposure to violence, he currently has more than $6 million in funded research, evaluation and training projects. More

Deborah Myers, MEd, PCC-S, of the Mandel School's Center for EBPs--and its Ohio SAMI CCOE initiative--will be presenting four Motivational Interviewing (MI) training events in southwest Ohio in August, September, and October. Earn CEUs; enhance your practice and supervision skills; register online today. Myers is a member of the international Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT). She is a consultant and trainer at the Center.

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The City of Toronto, Canada has launched a neighborhood data website similar to NEO CANDO (Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing). Dr. Claudia Coulton, co-director of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, discuses in the article the uses for NEO CANDO here in Cleveland including researching vulnerable populations, predatory lending, and improving preschool and how this public data can benefit any community.

Read the entire June 30 article in the Toronto Star.

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Reservations required
Contact Pamela Carson at (216) 368-2281 or pamela.carson@case.edu
CEU’s are $25 per lecture payable at the door. Exact amount or checks are appreciated.
CEU Certificates will be sent by mail after the lecture. Allow 10 business days for delivery.

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"People need to know that when they enter this social work field, it doesn't mean just working with frail, older people," says Dr. M.C. "Terry" Hokenstad, Jr., a distinguished university professor.

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Refreshing and colorful exhibit by the students of The Urban Bright Arts-in-Education residency program, ArtHouse, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, is currently on display at MSASS. The artwork represents a segment of creative work produced by the students in the 2010-2011 academic year.

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Dr. Rob Fischer, Co-Director of the Center on Urban Poverty & Community Development at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences has been invited to be an adviser on The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University's prestigious Advancing Knowledge Advisory Council Scholar Community, that awards grants, and mentors non-profit leadership.

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The Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences has achieved another milestone in its long history of excellence in social-work education. Its master's-degree program was recently accredited by a new licensing entity, the Ohio Chemical Dependency Professionals Board (OCDPB), which oversees the certification and licensing of chemical-dependency counselors.

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In the fall of 2009, a group of 18 philanthropic funders in Cleveland, Ohio, launched a yearlong pilot designed to engage health and human service nonprofits in a process focused on significant inter‐organizational restructuring. The funders saw the context of economic crisis as a threat to the "collective ability to provide more and better human services despite rapidly diminishing resources," as well as an "unprecedented opportunity for the nonprofit community and its leaders to demonstrate extraordinary vision and ingenuity." These funders pooled their financial and human resources to develop a pilot project focused singularly on a group of nonprofit human services organizations in Cuyahoga County, Ohio.

The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development submitted a report on the pilot program to the Funders Collaborative.

Read the "Restructuring the Nonprofit Human Services Sector: Findings from an Innovative Pilot" report here.

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Beginning June 1, the office of the Mandel School's Center for Evidence-Based Practices (CEBP) and its Coordinating Center of Excellence (CCOE) initiatives will be located on the campus of Case Western Reserve University. There are two methods for delivering mail to us at our new location.

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Join us as we celebrate the international education program at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. This international festival of food, music, dance, and culture will raise funds to benefit scholarships for international study, service learning and field placements. Tickets are $30/person or $50/couple in advance of the event. More information can be found at our website: http://msass.case.edu/alumni/IESF.html. Contact Misty Funk for more information at misty.funk@case.edu or (216) 368-1832.

Misty D. Funk, M.S.S.A. '10, L.S.W.
Director of Annual Giving and Special Gifts
Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences
Case Western Reserve University
216.368.1832

Clinical supervisors of behavioral healthcare services are encouraged to join Deborah Myers, MEd, PCC-S, consultant and trainer from the CEBP's Ohio SAMI Coordinating Center of Excellence initiative, on Thursday, May 19 at the "Ohio Workforce Development Academy," sponsored by the Ohio Department of Alcohol & Drug Addiction Services (ODADAS). Myers will present a daylong workshop, from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, titled "Clinical Supervision: Strategies to Supervise the Practice of Motivational Interviewing." The event takes place at the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio.

| learn more |

The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development has released social and economic updates for NEO CANDO (Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing).

In the second part of this update from April 2011 are:

• 2009-2010 Cleveland Municipal School District (CMSD) Enrollment, Attendance and Proficiency Test Data


• 2006-2008 Birth Data

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The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development has released social and economic updates for NEO CANDO (Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing).

In the first part of this update from April 2011 are:

• 2010 Census Redistricting Data


• 2009 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Data

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The Federal Reserve, through its Community Development staff located at its 12 regional reserve banks and the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., works to bring together key community stakeholders to identify local problems and explore solutions, some of which are highlighted in a series of three concise video documentaries.

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Subdue, abstract, and trapped fossils like images encased in layers and layers of beeswax, articulate the nonverbal journey that artist, Nancy Richard-Davis shares in her paintings. The organic nature of the encaustic process allows Nancy to "capture the moment," serendipitously! Her wonderful compositions invite the viewer to reflect and ponder. Travels and self-reflection are the backbone of her paintings.

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Colorful, expressive, and humbling moments capture the beauty of
Nicaragua’s culture through photographer, Jessica Kayse, camera lens.
The elements of the compositions are powerful and immerse the viewer.

“I will never forget Nicaragua…I attempted to capture the everyday
life and scenes of life in Nicaragua.” Jessica Kayse.

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The PNC Foundation and the George Gund Foundation have donated a combined total of $1.3 million for Cuyahoga County's Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) program. The program was created by Invest in Children (IIC). The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development conducted an evaluation of the pilot program, showing the positive impact on children.

Read the full WKYC Channel 3 article here on the announcement.

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Reservations required

Contact Pamela Carson at (216)368-2281 or pamela.carson@case.edu
CEU’s are $25 per lecture payable at the door. Exact amount or checks are appreciated.
CEU Certificates will be sent by mail after the lecture. Allow 10 business days for delivery.

read more »

"Finding Place in Community Change Initiatives: Using GIS to Uncover Resident Perceptions of their Neighborhoods," by Claudia Coulton, and Tsui Chan of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, and Kristen Mikelbank of the Cleveland Food Bank, has been published by the Journal of Community Practice, released March 4, 2011.

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Bright colors and bold images inspired by nature and the people around artist, Aaron Opoku Gyimah, from Ghana, West Africa.

Paintings are on exhibit at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences through March 31, 2011. The paintings are for sale. Further questions, please contact: june.hund@case.edu

The journal article, "Do employment and type of exit influence child maltreatment among families leaving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families?" by David Beimers, and Claudia J. Coulton is in-press at "Children and Youth Services Review," and available online as of February 9, 2011.

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On March 10, the US Census Bureau released, "Ohio's 2010 Census Population Totals, Including First Look at Race and Hispanic Origin Data for Legislative Redistricting."

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An article from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland titled, ""Slowing Speculation: A Proposal to Lessen Undesirable Housing Transactions" includes suggested readings from two reports published by the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development: "Pathways to Foreclosure: A Longitudinal Study of Mortgage Loans, Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, 2005-2008" and "Beyond REO: Property Transfers at Extremely Distressed Prices in Cuyahoga County, 2005-2008".

The Center has worked closely with the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and with the Cuyahoga Land Bank, also discussed in the article, and provides information to nonprofits and government programs for neighborhood stabilization, and bank foreclosure prevention and remediation programs via the property data portion of its Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing (NEO CANDO)website, and through other research programs.

NEO CANDO is a free online database of social, property, and economic indicators combined with geographic data markers down to the neighborhood level, and mapping utilities, created and maintained by the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development. The Center is one of several research centers at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, a graduate school of social work at Case Western Reserve University .

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Dear SASS/MSASS Alumni,

Winter greetings from the faculty and students at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. As we embark on a new semester, our classrooms are busier than ever.

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Enterprise Community Partners hosted a live online webinar titled: "Using Local Market Data to Support Neighborhood Stabilization." It was held on Thursday, February 10, 2011 from 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM

The Powerpoint presentation for this webinar is now available here online.

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A recent journal article "Getting the Most Out of Service Learning: Maximizing Student, University, and Community Impact" in the Journal of Community Practice, is by professors Mark Chupp and Mark Joseph, is outlined in this |think magazine blog article.

Additional articles about their work, and the efforts of Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences students can bee see in the August and July 2010 articles here.

Both Mark Chupp and Mark Joseph are faculty associates of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development.

The following case study by the Enterprise Foundation, focuses on NEO CANDO and the partnerships that utilize the data it provides to improve the quality of life in neighborhoods.

"Local market data systems are of great value to nonprofits, local governments and other community stakeholders who are working to stabilize neighborhoods struggling as a result of foreclosures, blight, vacancies or economic decline.

In Cleveland, data transformed the focus and implementation of neighborhood stabilization, allowing stabilization efforts to achieve a level of impact that was not otherwise possible....

This case study examines the value of parcel-level real estate data for neighborhood stabilization programs in general, and looks specifically at how the Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing system (NEO CANDO) is used in Cleveland. Examples of some of the ways community stakeholders have used the data generated by the NEO CANDO system are provided. General information describing the operations of the NEO CANDO system, the data used, and the sources of that data are also provided to aid communities considering creating their own local market data system."

This case study is located on practitionerresources.org, where other Enterprise Community Partners resources are also listed.

Travel back to Medieval Times with artist Grace Vibbert’s illuminated manuscripts. Each manuscript is well choreographed is then painted on vellum with warm pigments that include vermillion and gold. Elaborate calligraphy and design make each piece unique. Vibbert’s inspiration comes from the great “un-named” masters of the Middle Ages and Renaissance period. “…by using their tools, materials and techniques it is my hope that I will be able to reach across the gulf of time and touch the past.”

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Bright colors, bold shapes, and humor are Cleveland artist, George Kocar’s trademark. Take a closer look at his paintings, his complexity as an artist is reveled. He confronts the human struggle and daily conflicts through his work.

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MSASS is the only social work school in the country that guarantees a stipend for field placement work. Students at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences provide some 225,000 hours of community service for approximately 350 community agencies. This service enabled the social work school to become eligible for increased work-study funding from the federal government through special funding.

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Dr. Anna Santiago, Dr. George Galster, and Renee Nicolosi, are in a podcast titled, "Where People Live Matters: Using Housing Policy as an Anti-Poverty and Asset-Building Intervention," on the University at Buffalo School of Social Work's Living Proof Podcast series Episode 64.

"In this episode, our guests discuss their research that attempts to respond to and understand how housing policy influences not only its clients, but the neighborhoods in which they reside. They describe, amongst other programs, the Home Ownership Program in Denver, Colorado; their longitudinal research; their findings; and the continuing challenges to sustaining home ownership and its effect on poverty."

If you wish to hear play the mp3 directly click here.

Dr. Santiogo is a Faculty Associate of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, a graduate school of social work at Case Western Reserve University .

A new report from Case Western Reserve’s Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development documents the problem of so-called bank walkaways in Cuyahoga County, Ohio.

The report, titled Stalling the Foreclosure Process: The Complexity Behind Bank Walkaways, takes an in-depth look at stalled foreclosure cases in Cuyahoga County in order to describe the factors involved in delayed foreclosure cases. Foreclosure cases that remain unresolved for long periods of time can result in serious spillover damages, incurring costs like unpaid taxes, unpaid utility bills, nuisance abatement assessments, maintenance, and in the most severe cases, could include fire damage or demolition.

The researchers examined the court records of 999 stalled foreclosure cases (cases where a decree of foreclosure has been granted but the property did not go to sheriff’s sale for over 180 days), finding that 56 percent of these stalled foreclosure cases could possibly be considered bank walkaways. The researchers also found that the possible bank walkaways are more likely to be vacant, tax delinquent, and demolished.

When considering the status of a foreclosure case in court, the researchers determined that cases where a plaintiff (the mortgage lender or subsequent note holder) took no action for 180 days or more after receiving a foreclosure judgment, and cases where a plaintiff dismissed a foreclosure judgment for reasons that did not involve resolving the mortgage lien, among other scenarios, could possibly be considered bank walkaways.

“It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what’s going on with a foreclosure case,” reports Michael Schramm, co-author and Research Associate at the Center on Urban Poverty. "Paper and electronic court records might be missing details, and plaintiffs often only give boiler-plate reasons for their actions. But defining the problem and outlining how to recognize it is the first step in finding the solution.”

Click here to download the file.

For questions or comments about this report, please contact Michael Schramm at 216-368-0206.

This work has been possible using the Center's freely available, social, economic, neighborhood and property information database, NEO CANDO, can be found on the web here.

An article in the Windy City Times, announces a new, feature-length documentary, Cabrini Green: Mixing it Up, which has political and historical analysis provided by Dr. Mark Joseph, of the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, among others. Dr. Joseph studies mixed income housing development in Chicago and other areas.

Since 1995, 23 high-rise buildings have been demolished, that may have contained between 15,000 and 20,000 residents at their peak. New mixed-income developments have been built in some areas to replace these public housing high-rises that now contain an estimated 1,000 residents, of these only about 15% of which are original public housing residents.

"Critics assert that the plan does not eliminate the problem (poverty and the systemic causes of poverty) but merely displaces people and disperses the poverty around the city. Janet Smith, co-author of the report "Where are Poor People to Live," told Bower that only about 15 percent of the displaced Cabrini families are living in the new mixed-income developments that replaced Cabrini. Smith wondered on camera, "who will actually benefit from the Plan for Transformation when it is complete?"

....Cabrini Green: Mixing it Up features students at Jenner Elementary school, one of whom confronts Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley; the Stamps family of educators and activists; and a woman who is one of the few Cabrini residents that qualified to return to live in the new mixed income development. Academics Janet Smith (University of Illinois at Chicago) , Mary Pattillo (Northwestern University) and Mark Joseph (Case Western Reserve University) provide political and historical analysis."

Dr. Joseph is a faculty associate of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, a graduate school of social work at Case Western Reserve University .

Researchers from the Center for Evidence-Based Practices (CEBP) recently conducted an analysis of claims data for behavioral-health services in the State of Ohio and found that Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT), the evidence-based practice, helped save the state approximately $1.4 million in service costs for a group of 160 people diagnosed with a severe mental illness and a co-occurring substance use disorder. The people in this group were among the highest users of mental-health and addiction services. The savings took place only one year after they started to receive IDDT services. This analysis is compelling, because it shows that IDDT can make an impact upon costs in a short amount of time.

| learn more |

The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development is the evaluation partner for Cuyahoga County's Invest in Children Program. Videos summarizing the 2010 annual progress are here.

Videos about the programs' progress, the evaluation and recent benchmarks from the last years are available from the 2010 Annual meeting here. The program is a comprehensive, voluntary, and high quality early care and education program. The video regarding the Universal Pre-Kindergarten Program's evaluation, titled "Universal Pre-Kindergarten: Making a 'BIG' difference," has comments from Dr. Robert Fischer, Co-Director of the Center.

In the videos, Dr. Fischer comments, "... what's very interesting here is that the kids that were lowest performing and lowest developmental scores at baseline show the most dramatic gains, the most meaningful gains in these measures."

For more information regarding the Invest in Children programming please see their web site here, or look on this page for both the Invest in Children and the Early Childhood Initiative Evaluation reports.

The ten year retrospective of the Center's Evaluation of the Invest In Children project, titled "Inform, Influence, Impact, " can be read online or downloaded here.

The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development in partnership with the United Way of Greater Cleveland, has released a series of 12 data briefs on key social demographic and population dimensions of Cuyahoga County. The data briefs address issues related to United Way’s core community priorities, with specific attention to changes in indicators over time. Using data from a range of Census and local sources, the briefs highlight important dimensions of life in Cuyahoga County that can inform approaches to address community needs.

The briefs examine shifts in population (changing demographics, child population, mobility), indicators of risk (poverty, child maltreatment, teen/unmarried births, educational attainment, adult literacy), and indicators of opportunity (employment, public schools, safety net supports, housing affordability).

The United Way of Greater Cleveland used these demographic analyses as a discussion launching point for their request for proposal committee process for the 2011 year. The United Way of Greater Cleveland used these demographic analyses as inputs for their request for proposal committee process for the 2011 year. This social research is
available on our website as individual briefs or one combined .PDF. They are also shared on the United Way server here.

Take an educational holiday overseas in March or May 2011. Engage in cross-cultural studies of social policies and practices for health and human services. Several three-credit travel-abroad courses for Case Western Reserve University students are open to students at other colleges and universities and to working professionals in health and human services. Each trip is led and taught by instructors from the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve. Join Patrick Boyle of the School's Center for EBPs for his course, "Integrated Mental Health & Substance Use Services," and a trip to Amsterdam, The Netherlands (March 4 to 13). Other trips/courses include the following ...

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The December 21st article "Poverty up Sharply in Rust Belt" in the politics section of the U.S. News & World Report shows severe increases in poverty levels in Ohio and southern Michigan, deeper than the national average, as reported in the recently released 2009 poverty estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The article quotes Professor Claudia Coulton, Director of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development in the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. Dr. Coulton says that increasing poverty is a sign of a country coming down from the "good times" of the late 1990s and early 2000s, when poverty rates were lower in many areas of the country. "I think what you have is people were just getting above the poverty line when times were good, and now they're falling back below it," says Coulton.

Read the full article.

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Alumni and professionals are invited to travel along with MSASS students to Guatemala, Kenya, the Netherlands, Turkey or Ecuador during Spring 2011. Meet with regional and neighborhood leaders, policy makers, practitioners, scholars and consumers.

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In this edition of employment news - the Veteren's Administration, an LISW opening, and Preparing for a Job Hunt.

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How to Use Storytelling & Its Benefits in a Social Service Client Setting
Friday, February 18, 2011 - 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Mandel School, Room 320
Barbara Eady, MSSA '74 (2 CEUs)

Storytelling is often used for entertainment, education and edification and can be a powerful therapeutic tool. It gently opens the heart and mind to new insights and, teaching others to share stories, can allow your clients to find their own voice. You will be invited to listen as well as plan ways to add stories in treatment.

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This season marks the tenth anniversary of the State of Ohio's investment in evidence-based practices in local communities for the treatment and recovery of people with severe mental illness. The anniversary was celebrated by the Mandel School's Center for Evidence-Based Practices (CEBP) at its conference titled Sustaining Evidence-Based Practices: The Next Ten Years, this fall in Columbus. Over 330 people from Ohio and 17 other states attended the event.

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The Cuyahoga County Commissioners appointed David Biegel, PhD, to the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board of Cuyahoga County.

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Victor Groza, PhD, Grace F. Brody Professor of Parent-Child Studies at MSASS, has been awarded honorary membership in the Association of Schools of Social Work in Romania.

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This season marks the tenth anniversary of the State of Ohio's investment in evidence-based practices for the treatment and recovery of residents with severe mental illness (SMI) or co-occurring severe mental illness and substance use disorders. It also marks the tenth anniversary of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices at Case Western Reserve University. Both anniversaries were celebrated at the Center's EBP conference, which took place on October 12, 13, and 14 in Columbus. This year's conference was the ninth sponsored by the CEBP and its Coordinating Center of Excellence (CCOE) initiatives. Over 330 people from Ohio and 17 other states attended.

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"Donors to former County Auditor Frank Russo received more than $1.8 million on their property taxes. Russo has pleaded guilty to taking more than $1 million in bribes over 10 years and will serve more than 21 years in prison," says this Plain Dealer Article.

NEO CANDO, as well as over 2,000 paper documents, and the County Treasurer database are cited as some of the sources of the ongoing Plain Dealer Investigation, of the Cuyahoga County Board of Revision, which incoming County Executive Ed FitzGerald has vowed to completely replace.

The article begins, "Many of the people who contributed to former Cuyahoga County Auditor Frank Russo's election campaigns also went to his office in search of tax breaks -- and got them.

They received hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars off their tax bills thanks to reduced property valuations, a Plain Dealer analysis of campaign-finance reports and county records has found."

The section citing the methods and sources of the report states, "The newspaper used the state's public records laws to acquire county payroll records, campaign finance reports and databases showing reductions of property values. Case Western Reserve University's NEO CANDO, a data system containing demographic, economic and property data, provided the newspaper with county property values from 2003 through 2009.

Reporters also searched Ohio Secretary of State filings and corporate websites to unearth connections between Russo's most generous donors -- those giving $1,000 or more -- and corporate interests that received property reductions."

NEO CANDO is a free online database of social, property, and economic indicators combined with geographic data markers down to the neighborhood level, created and maintained by the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development. The Center is one of several research centers at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, a graduate school of social work at Case Western Reserve University .

The first three words that come to mind when looking at Widen’s works are energetic, dramatic, and subliminal. The works may make the viewer uncomfortable at first blush; this is because the landscapes are purposely painted with “slight alterations.” This technique is exactly what the artist wants to do. Widen’s paintings are contemporary landscapes with a twist.

The smaller landscapes are more recognizable, but Widen throws the viewer for a loop with the added geometric abstractions that are dramatically placed in the landscape. Widen states that her work “places the viewer as a voyeur looking into vignettes of human-altered landscapes conflated with other landscape features or geometric forms that obstruct the foreground of the paintings.”

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Case Western Reserve University will host "Social Justice, Race, and Profiling: An Intergenerational Think Tank" on November 19 and 20, 2010. This event also launches the public program of the newly established, university-wide Social Justice Institute.

View more information at the event's page and download the program.

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Walley Two Hawks’ intaglio monotypes are currently being exhibited at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. There are soft vs. hard lines, dark colors vs. muted colors, along with recognizable images vs. unfamiliar images; this is a personal style used by the artist throughout his works.

Color is an important element in his works. Often there are surprises of unexpected blotches of color along with images that catch the viewer’s eye. A lone red hawk may be visual or subliminally flying across the prints. That makes the work stable but explosive!

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An article in Forefront, a publication of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, titled Battling the Next Phase of the Housing Crisis, refers to the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development's research article, "REO and Beyond: The Aftermath of the Foreclosure Crisis in Cuyahoga County, Ohio," on the "rising tide" of Real-Estate Owned Properties in Cuyahoga County.

"The foreclosure crisis is breeding a new one: a crushing load of REO, or real-estate-owned, properties. These are the foreclosed homes that banks and other lenders have on their books after failing to sell them at sheriff’s auctions. In weak housing markets, including many in the Fourth District, these unsold houses too often stand vacant and neglected.

A new volume published by the Federal Reserve Banks of Cleveland and Boston and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors highlights the latest research and on-the ground efforts to attack the REO problem on several fronts. The collection of articles, REO & Vacant Properties: Strategies for Neighborhood Stabilization, was released in September to coincide with a summit hosted by the Federal Reserve in Washington. The summit aimed to help communities and practitioners find the most promising practices for addressing neighborhood stabilization and the disposition of REO properties across the country.

Among the Cleveland-area contributors to the volume were researchers at Case Western Reserve University. The researchers reported a worsening scope to the problem in northeast Ohio, offering new evidence of how REO properties further drag down communities.

In “REO and Beyond: The Aftermath of the Foreclosure Crisis in Cuyahoga County, Ohio,” Claudia Coulton, Mike Schramm, and April Hirsh found:

• Since 2007, almost all properties in Cuyahoga County (home to Cleveland) that come out of foreclosure sales have ended up as REOs.
• The number of REOs in the county peaked in 2008 at just over 10,000 properties and had declined to about 7,300 by late 2009.
• REOs are disproportionately concentrated in lower-income communities.
• From 2004 to 2008, the percentage of properties on Cleveland’s east side that sold out of REO at extremely distressed prices—$10,000 or less—shot up from 4 percent to almost 80 percent.
"

Read the full "Forefront" article here.

A Plain Dealer article discusses the presentation of the results of the Cuyahoga County child-welfare department review panel. Both Drs. Vicotor Groza, and David Crampton from the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences are on this review panel.

A review panel Wednesday called on the Cuyahoga County child-welfare department to improve the way it manages high-risk families, but it also put responsibility on the community and the next county government to keep children safer.

The panel appointed by Director Deborah Forkas issued 12 pages of recommendations, which deal in large part with beefing up services to combat threats to children from domestic violence, substance abuse and mental illness.

The presentation to an audience of nonprofit social services providers contained criticisms that the agency has not done enough to address risks to children, such as engaging mental health and addiction experts in cases. But the event was also part pep rally to solicit help from outside the county bureaucracy.

"It's not about the department, it's not about Deborah Forkas," said David Crampton, the panel chairman and an associate professor of social work at Case Western Reserve University. "It's about all of us working together to protect our children."

"...For a complete list of recommendations, go to cfs.cuyahogacounty.us and click on "community task force."

Read the full Plain Dealer article here.

Dr. Crampton is a faculty associate of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, a graduate school of social work at Case Western Reserve University .

A Plain Dealer article, discusses the national reclaiming vacant properties conference that is going on this week, and references the work that the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development is doing in partnering with other local government and non-profit groups.

"Cleveland got clobbered early by the foreclosure crisis -- and has been trying to fight back with innovative strategies that will be showcased during a national conference here next week.

The conference -- Reclaiming Vacant Properties: The Intersection of Sustainability, Revitalization and Policy Reform -- runs Wednesday through Friday and is expected to draw about 900 people.

It is organized by the Center for Community Progress, a nonprofit with offices in both Washington, D.C. and Flint, Mich. that works with communities to return vacant or abandoned property to productive use.

"We've seen a lot of progress in Cleveland -- particularly with the foreclosure crisis -- and people are paying attention to the strategies being implemented there," said Jennifer Leonard, the center's vice president.

Cleveland was hit early by the foreclosure crisis and been working on responses longer than many other communities. "We might be a year or two ahead in trying things that others are just starting to look at," said Frank Ford, NPI [Neighborhood Progress Incorporated]'s senior vice president for research and development....

The region has also benefited from collaborations among people in both the city and Cuyahoga County. "A lot of cities and counties haven't figured out ways to do that," Leonard said. Ford said the conference will highlight local initiatives such as the data system known as NEO CANDO, which was developed by Case Western Reserve University researchers and provides certain demographic, economic and property data online and for free.

Among other things, the system's information has been mined to trace a web of mortgage fraud and track the footprint of companies trading in distressed and foreclosed houses.

"It really is a model," Leonard said. "Many cities don't have the information they need to make smart decisions."

The full Plain Dealer article can be read here.

A Cleveland Plain Dealer Article, "Census shows Cleveland is the second-poorest city in the United States," quotes Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences professor Claudia Coulton.

The article begins, "Hard times came to every corner of Northeast Ohio during a historic recession, as unemployment and its consequences rippled across the city and suburbs.

The hammer of despair landed hardest in Cleveland, where one out of every three people lived in poverty at the end of 2009, making Cleveland the second-poorest big city in America -- thank you, Detroit -- according to estimates released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau."

The article continues, "...While much of the region's poverty is rooted in low education levels and high rates of single parenthood, the latest poverty spike is purely economic. This is unemployment poverty, said Claudia Coulton, co-director of the Center on Urban Poverty & Community Development at Case Western Reserve University. And it's not over yet.

'We have not created jobs, not enough to get us out of this unemployment crisis,' she said."

The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, contributed to a Summit and to the joint publication of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston named, "REO & Vacant Properties: Strategies for Neighborhood Stabilization." Resources for stabilizing communities are available off the summit's website.

"The foreclosure crisis that the nation continues to grapple with has led to scores of real-estate-owned, or REO, properties. These and other vacant properties erode the values of nearby houses, fracture neighborhood stability, and threaten to undo decades of economic progress made in communities across the country over the past 25 years. How big is the REO problem? How are communities, banks, and policymakers dealing with the challenge? Most important, what approaches are showing the most promise for success."

The Center's Chapter is titled" REO and Beyond: The Aftermath of the Foreclosure Crisis in Cuyahoga County, Ohio." The full summit report PDF may be obtained here.

The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development is located within the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, a graduate school of social work, at Case Western Reserve University.

A Plain Dealer article, "Cuyahoga County child-welfare agency lacks sense of urgency, panel says" by Harlan Spector says,

"The panel appointed by Department of Children and Family Services Director Deborah Forkas is expected to issue a long list of recommendations this month. But the chairman [Prof. David Crampton,] said there is a lack of urgency at the agency to address ongoing risks to children from parents' mental illness, addictions, domestic violence and other problems. "

"We clearly need some system after the department closes the case to make sure they (parents) stay on their medications and are getting mental health treatment," said Crampton, an associate professor at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University.

Additional articles about the Cuyahoga County Department of Child and Family Services may be viewed here.

Prof. Crampton is a faculty associate of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, a graduate school of social work at Case Western Reserve University .

Cuyahoga County’s comprehensive early childhood system, Invest in Children, shines in a recently released report by The Urban Institute. In Using Data to Promote Collaboration in Local School Readiness Systems, researchers at the Urban Institute highlight Cuyahoga County as a key example of how to build a community-wide early childhood system to promote school readiness.

The report highlights that in order for children to be truly ready for school they must be supported by a system that includes ready families, ready pre-schools, ready schools and ready communities. “Invest in Children’s multi-faceted approach is forging just such a system”, says Dr. Rebekah Dorman, Invest in Children’s Director, and we are very proud to be recognized in this national publication.”

Funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the report concluded, “The collaboration in Cuyahoga County, Ohio (Cleveland) has perhaps the most impressive record – the Invest in Children Initiative (IIC).” The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, co-directed by Case Western Reserve University faculty members Claudia Coulton and Rob Fischer, participated as a research partner in the study, which included Atlanta, Chattanooga, Denver, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, and Providence. The Center is the long-standing independent evaluator of Invest in Children. In late 2009, the Center released a report entitled Inform, Influence, Impact - The Role of Research in Supporting a Community’s Commitment to Its Children, documenting a decade of research by the Center in evaluating the efforts of Cuyahoga County’s work in the area of early childhood.

"Poverty At Record Highs, Unemployment Slowing" is a radio new piece on WCPN quoted Prof Claudia Coulton, Co-director of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences on Thursday, September 16, 2010 .

"The U-S Census Bureau released disturbing numbers about the national poverty picture today, while another economic indicator report also shows tough times still ahead for Northeast Ohio. Ideastream®'s Rick Jackson reports.

One of every seven Americans; more than 43 million people, now lives in poverty. Claudia Coulton of the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at CASE says the 14.3% figure is actually not surprising, due to the depth of this recession....

“This one is worse. It’s pushed us higher in poverty than we’ve been in a long time - as a nation - so it’s different than other recessions where a little bit of government spending and a little bit of loosening up of various government policies turn it around.”

Hear or read more of "Poverty At Record Highs, Unemployment Slowing"

"Workshop #F4 | Bridges Out of Poverty: Strategies for Professionals and Communities" has recently been added to the lineup of over 60 workshops at the Center for EBPs' Conference 2010, "Sustaining Evidence-Based Practices: The Next 10 Years," which will take place on October 12, 13 and 14 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio. The new workshop takes place on Thursday, October 14 from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. The presenter is Phil DeVol, author, consultant, and trainer at "aha! Process, Inc." of Highlands, Texas, which has developed a method for helping people from all economic classes discover and share their ideas and models for solving the problem of poverty. Devol was a keynote speaker at our March 2009 Supported Employment Conference (click here). Learn more about this year's workshop and Confernece. Register online.

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Briefly Stated 10-02: Women Religious in a Changing Urban Landscape: The Work of Catholic Sisters in Metropolitan Cleveland by Rob Fischer & Jenni Bartholomew has been released, and mailed to the community.

Download the report here.

Summary: Women religious play a vital role in many communities in addressing the needs of the poor, neglected, and vulnerable members of society. In the history of Northeast Ohio, Catholic nuns have been instrumental in the arenas of education, healthcare, outreach and advocacy.

In high poverty cities such as Cleveland, women religious continue to provide essential services, supports, and spiritual guidance in many venues. The experience in Cleveland is relevant to cities with an urban core where the population has shifted to suburban areas, leaving inner-city churches with declining membership and support.

In addition, this case example will show how proactive and collaborative efforts on the part of women religious can enhance the likelihood of effectively addressing community needs presently and in the future.

A summary presentation of the results for Women Religious in a Changing Urban Landscape: The Work of Catholic Sisters in Metropolitan Cleveland can be viewed here.

On Tuesday, November 09, 2010, from 11:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., David Crampton, Ph.D. will give a talk titled, "Lessons in Child Welfare Reform from Cuyahoga County and Beyond: The Annie E. Casey Foundation's Family to Family Initiative"

Place: The Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations, room 115
A light lunch will be served. All are welcome.

Click here to view Dr. Crampton's profile in our experts database Prof. Crampton is a Faculty Associate of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, a graduate school of social work.

Schubert Conversations on Children in Research, Policy, and Practice are monthly seminars featuring cutting-edge research by CWRU faculty, with corresponding commentary by local professionals. These events stimulate an ongoing dialogue about child-related research, policy, and practice among faculty, students, policy experts, advocates, and professionals from Northeast Ohio.

The Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations is located at 11402 Bellflower Road on the CWRU campus.

Parking is available on nearby streets and at the Severance Hall or Botanic Garden parking garages. Visitors may not park on Hessler Court or at the lot reserved for L'Albatros or the Spartan Diner.

Handicapped parking is available - please call the Center at 216-368-2275 for details.

Artist, David Menke, draws portraits. He uses a graphite pencil as his medium. He controls the subtle variations from light to dark to create texture and form in each portrait. The composition fits perfectly on a 18 x 24 inch piece of paper. Intentionally, the artist leaves part of the persons fore head off; this technique establishes the tension in his work. The subjects eyes are the focal point of each portrait. The eyes capture the individual’s personality and their intensity.

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Lauren Sammon is an artist-photographer whose photographs demonstrate a typical day in Ugandan society. Sammon has documented people in Uganda engaging in their every day routines. As the viewer, you are drawn into the photos by the composition, the beautiful colors, and the daily activities of the people being photographed. View the striking photos and enjoy the cultural diversity of the Ugandan people.

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Doctoral Candidate Diwakar Vadapalli presented a paper in India, at two separate occasions on collecting, analyzing, and using Social and Economic Indicators, based on the Center on Urban Poverty’s NEO CANDO database model.

The paper: "Indicators, actionable data, and ‘model villages’: NEO CANDO as an example for similar systems in India" by Diwakar K. Vadapalli, and Claudia J. Coulton was presented at: The National Seminar on ‘Building of Model Villages through Panchayat Raj Institutions’ on 10th August, 2010 at The National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD), Hyderabad, India

The second presentation on this same research was titled, "Indicators, actionable data, and local decision-making: NEO CANDO as an example for similar systems in India" also presented by Diwakar K. Vadapalli on Aug 18, 2010 at the invitation of the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore, India.

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Register online today! ... The annual conference of the Mandel School's Center for Evidence-Based Practices will take place on October 12, 13, and 14 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio. The event, titled "Sustaining Evidence-Based Practices: The Next 10 Years," features over 60 workshops and presentations by Carlo DiClemente, co-creator of "stages of change," Richard H. Dougherty of DMA Health Strategies, the Directors of Ohio's departments of health, mental health, addiction services, and rehabilitation services. ... Learn about integrating primary healthcare with behavioral healthcare and providing evidence-based practices (EBPs) and other emerging and best practices to people with mental illness or co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorders. CEUs are available.

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Get the new "Readiness Ruler" from the Mandel School's Center for Evidence-Based Practices to support your use of Motivational Interviewing (MI), the evidence-based treatment. MI is a conversational approach designed to help people discover their own interest in considering and/or making a change in their lives (e.g., diet, exercise, employment, managing symptoms of physical or mental illness, reducing and eliminating the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs). Use the Readiness Ruler—and related MI principles and practices—with the people you serve to help guide conversations about personal change.

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An Editorial in the Cleveland Plain Dealer titled, "Cuyahoga Children Services is due a thorough inquiry, but that would require a panel that's truly independent," by The Plain Dealer Editorial Board, discusses the task force review of the Cuyahoga County agency by a committee chaired by Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences Prof. David Crampton.

Crampton emphasized that reviewing individual cases is not essential to the panel's main goal of reviewing systemic problems. Quoting from the article: "Task force chairman David Crampton, a respected child-welfare scholar and associate professor at Case Western Reserve University's Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, understandably bristles at the notion that he or other panelists are being manipulated into a bias in favor of Forkas or her department.

'My job is not to protect the job of a Deb Forkas; it is to have the best child-welfare system in the country,' Crampton says. 'I'm not doing this for any other reason than that.'

He adds that any best-practices review of child welfare won't dwell on a handful of tragedies but instead will take the widest-angled view possible of systemwide practices. "

The full editorial can be read here.

Additional articles about the Cuyahoga County Department of Child and Family Services may be viewed here.

Prof. Crampton is a faculty associate of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, a graduate school of social work at Case Western Reserve University .

An Article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer titled, "Child-welfare agency won't release case files to review panel," by Harlan Spector, discusses the task force review of the Cuyahoga County agency by a committee chaired by Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences Prof. David Crampton.

Crampton emphasized that reviewing individual cases is not essential to the panel's main goal of reviewing systemic problems. Quoting from the article: "The task force is looking specifically at whether the county follows the safest practices when it returns children to their parents after taking temporary custody due to maltreatment." Crampton said: "We need information on a larger number of cases. We don't need to see case files, but we need to see system issues."

The full article can be read here.

Additional articles about the Cuyahoga County Department of Child and Family Services may be viewed here.

Prof. Crampton is a faculty associate of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, a graduate school of social work at Case Western Reserve University .

MSASS Professor Learns More About Schools' Role in Revitalizing Neighborhoods

"Before parents with young children buy a new home, they want to know the quality of the neighborhood public schools.

Mark Joseph, assistant professor at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University, does too. He's examining how public schools have a role in revitalizing urban neighborhoods—especially neighborhoods where new mixed-income developments are being built.

He's particularly interested in housing under development in Chicago and other major cities with HOPE VI funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Joseph and Jessica Feldman from the University of Chicago report challenges facing these schools in the article, "Creating and Sustaining Successful Mixed-Income Communities: Conceptualizing the Role of Schools," which appeared in the journal Education and Urban Society.

In a prior study, Joseph found that the income groups do not always mix in these housing situations and many middle-class families do not have children. But schools can shake things up. According to Joseph, they are a critical component in linking middle-class families and lower-income families to the broader social and economic mainstream."

More of the THINK article, "MSASS Professor Learns More About Schools' Role in Revitalizing Neighborhoods"

Click for more of Mark L. Joseph's research.

The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development is located within the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, a graduate school of social work, at Case Western Reserve University.

Bouncing Back: Report documents foreclosure crisis and community response in Greater Cleveland.

"The subprime mortgage crisis left tens of thousands of foreclosed homes in its wake, more than 10,000 in the Greater Cleveland area alone, according to a new report.

But new research from Case Western Reserve University's Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, Cleveland State University and the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland does more than illuminate grim statistics-it also documents how community groups mobilized to respond to the crisis.

The study's co-authors, Claudia Coulton from Case Western Reserve and Kathy Hexter from Cleveland State University, say they hope sharing Cleveland's story can help other cities in their own struggles.

'Facing the Foreclosure Crisis in Cleveland: What Happened and How Communities Are Responding' weaves together research from previous studies conducted by the poverty center, providing dozens of examples of community responses, ranging from government reform and legislation to counseling and prevention initiatives."


More of the THINK article, "Bouncing Back"

Get this report and others about the effects and size of Cleveland's Foreclosures crisis.

The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development is located within the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, a graduate school of social work, at Case Western Reserve University.

Professor Rob Fischer Co-Director of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development was quoted in the Sandusky Register article, "Will Commissioner Cole help defeat another stereotype?" by Jason Singer, regarding Commissioner Diedre Cole living in public housing within the City of Sandusky on whose council she will serve, when Commissioner Brett Fuqua resigns to take a position in Columbus.

Directly quoting the article, "Local residents say Diedre Cole is many things: A lightning rod, articulate, charismatic, opinionated.

She's also historic....Once she's sworn in, Cole may be the first person in state history to serve in an elected position while also living in public housing."

The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development is located within the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, a graduate school of social work, at Case Western Reserve University.

A Cleveland Plain Dealer article, "Cuyahoga County Council District 8 voters have high hopes for new government" by Sandy Livingston uses data from the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development to help put the race for District 8's Council seat in perspective. This article reviews the general concerns of this ward and summarizes the experience and backgrounds of the candidates for the ward's counsel seat.

"Cuyahoga County Council District 8 is a microcosm of the region's assets and troubles.

Covering Cleveland Wards 2, 5 and 6 as well as Garfield Heights and Maple Heights, the district includes the Cleveland Clinic's main campus, eclectic shops and eateries along Larchmere Boulevard, Cuyahoga Community College, the Midtown business district, swaths of urban and inner-ring residential neighborhoods, and highway proximity that has drawn warehouse and distribution centers.

It is the county district with the second-lowest average household income, the second- highest poverty rate, the largest concentration of public housing, and -- according to data from Case Western Reserve University [from NEO CANDO]-- the highest numbers of new foreclosure filings in recent years."

NEO CANDO, Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing, is a free and publicly accessible social and economic data system of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, which is housed at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, a graduate school of social work, at Case Western Reserve University. NEO CANDO allows users to access data for the entire 17 county Northeast Ohio region, or for specific neighborhoods within Cleveland.

As reported by WKYC Channel 3, foreclosures in Cuyahoga County have risen by more than 12% than the first half of 2009. The report uses data from the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development's NEO CANDO (Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing) that shows 7,440 foreclosure actions were filed through May while only 6,604 were filed in the first six months of the previous year.

Foreclosure counselors, including Tom Tusuksri of the Cleveland Housing Network, cite that unemployment and underemployment are a cause in the recent upswing in homeowners being unable to cover their mortgages in Cuyahoga County.

Read the full article "Cuyahoga County: New foreclosures blamed on unemployment" on WKYC.com and watch the televisized segment which aired on June 20, 2010.

Please note, the information obtained by WKYC was not, as is stated in the article, from a survey conducted by the Poverty Center but from data publicly shared in NEO CANDO.

A Plain Dealer Article "Foreclosure filings increase in Cuyahoga County during first half of the year" by reporter Sandra Livingston draws on data from the Center on Urban Poverty's NEO CANDO, social, economic, and property data system.

"New foreclosure filings in Cuyahoga County rose more than 12 percent during the first six months of this year, with the suburbs continuing to feel the brunt of the increases.

Residential and commercial foreclosure filings hit 7,440 in the first half of the year compared to 6,604 in the same period last year, according to data compiled by Case Western Reserve University's Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development."

The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development is housed at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, a graduate school of social work, at Case Western Reserve University.

The Cuyahoga County Planning Commission displays Cuyahoga County Council District Social and Economic profiles using NEO CANDO data.

"Cuyahoga County Council Districts Social and Economic Profiles

The new Cuyahoga County charter created a county executive-county council form of government. Residents in each of the 11 geographic districts will elect a representative to serve on the county council. As part of the transition to the new structure, we are providing the maps and statistics below to better inform constituents and candidates.

Please visit the Transition Advisory Group for more information about the changes in county government."

These profiles contain:
"A selection of demographic indicators for Cuyahoga County's new council districts

* Population
* Age
* Persons and Poverty
* Families and Poverty
* Household Income
* Household Income by Source
* Education
* Public Assistance
* Foreclosures"

NEO CANDO, Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing, is a free and publicly accessible social and economic data system of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, which is housed at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, a graduate school of social work, at Case Western Reserve University. NEO CANDO allows users to access data for the entire 17 county Northeast Ohio region, or for specific neighborhoods within Cleveland.

The creative imaginative collage of animal portraits by local artist, Linda Ayala, are on exhibit at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. My first impression of the work was that it was playful, original, and fun.

Linda attended Cleveland State University and received a Bachelor’s of Art degree. Nature, history, music, and culture are just a few of the many things she enjoys. Linda states, “when I am ready to create an image or a concept, I decide how it should be realized, whether in drawing, collage, clay, recycled materials, or in fabric. Exploring a new medium is just as much fun as exploring different subject matters.”

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The 2010 Regionally Speaking SJA/I series leaders

The 2010 Regionally Speaking series focuses on the Social Justice Alliance Institute (SJA/I) at Case Western Reserve. SJA/I is working toward equal access to opportunity for all people through understanding and addressing the root causes of social injustice while developing innovative solutions. A few blocks from Case Western Reserve is the municipality of East Cleveland. An integral part of the SJA/I is the Collaborative Research Project and its impact on the community. Campus members are invited to join in on the conversation with the SJA/I leaders, Rhonda Williams, the program's director and associate professor of history; Marilyn Sanders Mobley, vice president for inclusion, diversity and equal opportunity; and Mark Chupp, project director and assistant professor at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, to learn about goals and implementation plans. Regionally Speaking, a virtual symposium, is hosted by Gladys Haddad, director of the Western Reserve Studies Symposium. Listen online.

The Jewish Family Service Association, Ascentia Art Therapy Exhibit “Rock Around Cleveland”, is extremely colorful and striking. This incredible exhibit of works is done by clients that struggle with mental health issues on a daily basis. Through the creative process, they begin to explore their own lives and sense of self.

Rock-and-roll has had a cultural impact on our society. Through the music, the clients have brought their personal self-expressions into their work. Their styles range from abstract to realistic as do their techniques and materials used. Their unique talents make this an awesome group exhibit.

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Briefly Stated no. 10-01, "Service Learning in Community Development: Partnering with East Cleveland" by David G. Harris & Mark G. Chupp has been released. Electronic copies are available here, and hard copies will be shared with partners in the community.

Summary:
Residents of East Cleveland are fighting to improve the quality of pubic education and access to vocational opportunities. “White flight,” economic disinvestment, and ineffective political leadership have led to the disadvantages faced by East Cleveland (Kathi & Cooper, 2005). Nearly 1,200 vacant structures blight their 3.1 square mile landscape. Case Western Reserve University recognizes the potential roles that they can serve in aiding neighboring East Cleveland into becoming a desirable place to call home.

Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences students joined residents and firefighters to survey every vacant property in the City. Students utilized their experiences with conducting the survey, and through additional fieldwork, recommended strategies for the impact of vacant housing on topics like workforce development, education, safe streets and neighborhoods, and the senior population.

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This research, aided in part by the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University serves as the basis for a partnership for the revitalization of East Cleveland with contributions from students, faculty, and the university who are collaborating with residents, community organizations, and the City of East Cleveland.

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Richard M. Todd, Vice President of Community Affairs of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis has completed a short paper, "Report No. 2010-2 Foreclosures on Non-Owner-Occupied Properties in Ohio’s Cuyahoga County: Evidence from Mortgages Originated in 2005–2006," using data on non-owner-occupied properties in Cuyahoga County which was obtained from the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences.

"Abstract: One aspect of the past decade's housing boom was an increase in mortgage borrowing by non-occupant owners of residential property. Using data on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, Breck Robinson and Richard M. Todd summarize some of the basic facts regarding home purchases and mortgage borrowing and default by non-occupants who borrowed from 2004 to 2007[in the longer national focused paper linked below].

However, partly due to data limitations, few studies have examined home buying, borrowing, and mortgage default by non-occupant owners using detailed neighborhood and demographic data, including census tract data on the race and ethnicity of the non-occupant owners who borrowed and subsequently experienced foreclosure.

I do so here, using results from loan and foreclosure data on Cuyahoga County, Ohio, that were compiled by researchers at Case Western Reserve University for loans originated in 2005–2006. I find that the incidence of non-occupant foreclosures in Cuyahoga County was very high by national standards and was even higher for loans to minority borrowers made by non-local lenders in low-cost, low-income, minority neighborhoods...."

The more complete national analysis of non-occupant mortgages and foreclosures is titled, "No. 10-11 The Role of Non-Owner-Occupied Homes in the Current Housing and Foreclosure Cycle," by Breck L. Robinson and Richard M. Todd. There, Center data was used to validate another dataset.

A new report from Case Western Reserve University's Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, Cleveland State University and the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, documents the foreclosure crisis and community responses in Greater Cleveland.

The new report "Facing the Foreclosure Crisis in Greater Cleveland: What happened and How Communities Are Responding," weaves together updated research from Pathways to Foreclosure, Foreclosure and Beyond, and Beyond REO with over a dozen examples of community responses to the foreclosure crisis that range from government reform and legislation to counseling and prevention initiatives.

The report finds that in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, subprime mortgages, in some sections of the city and suburbs, rapidly supplanted conventional loans as the primary product for home purchases and refinances. By 2005, more than 10,000 foreclosures were filed on residential properties in a single year. A growing number of properties entered prolonged periods of vacancy, stuck either in the foreclosure process or in REO—real-estate portfolios of mortgage companies and servicers.

Untended properties deteriorated and were vandalized. The value of housing stock plummeted, leading speculators to buy REO properties in some neighborhoods in bulk and for pennies on the dollar. Neighborhoods with large African-American populations were particularly hard hit by foreclosures and the negative spillover effects.

But Greater Cleveland did not sit idly by; this report also documents our response. Local governments, non-profit organizations, and community groups mobilized to educate potential home buyers, prevent foreclosures, and rehabilitate vacant properties. They have coordinated their efforts and responded strategically, using data to drive their actions. In addition, groups have worked to mediate issues on-the-ground and at the policy level, working to prevent this crisis from ever happening again.

Download the "Facing the Foreclosure Crisis in Greater Cleveland: What happened and How Communities Are Responding" report

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University of Pittsburgh's, University Center for Social and Urban Research (UCSUR), spoke with three national experts about the value & use of Neighborhood Information Systems on UCSUR Radio.

* Interview 1: Kathy Pettit, Co-Director of the The National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership (NNIP) (www.urban.org/nnip)

* Interview 2: Robert N. Renner from HUD (www.huduser.org)

* Interview 3: Michael Schramm, Associate Director for Community Information, Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University (neocando.case.edu) (povertycenter.case.edu)

Professor Cyleste Collins's, Poverty Center's research was mentioned in an article about population estimates for Cleveland for the 2010 census results, in The Plain Dealer's "Counting Cleveland's citizens," by Mark Salling and Ellen Cyran

The article suggests that the population of Cleveland will not be under the 350,000 mark as some people are predicting, and gives some supporting rationale for this.

"...But where are families that lost their homes? [Cuyahoga] County records show that foreclosure filings in Cleveland are around 7,300 per year. Speculation includes that they are moving: (1) away from the city; (2) in with relatives or friends; and (3) into rental units.

Data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey show that rental vacancy rates are down, and researchers at the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at Case Western Reserve University found evidence of doubling-up with other families. We can hope that the 2010 census will also find that population."

This research refers to the White paper and the Briefly Stated No. 09-03, April 2009 titled "Family Homelessness in Cuyahoga County" authored by Profs. Cyleste Collins, and Claudia Coulton, and by PHD candidate Seok-Joo Kim

The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development is located within the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, a graduate school of social work, at Case Western Reserve University.

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University Circle's new website contains a section called, "I found my education in University Circle."

This website features a video of Diwakar, in the Center on Urban Poverty, at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, at Case Western University, and around University Circle speaking about his love of the area and his enjoyment of the richness of the region.

"Diwakar Vadapalli is a Case Western Reserve University PhD student and teaching assistant at The Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. His research and work at the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development has been enriched by studying in Cleveland's cultural mecca. Originally from Srikakulam, India and having spent time in places as far apart as Kansas and Alaska, he now lives in downtown Cleveland with his wife, Manjula, and commutes to the Circle on the HealthLine everyday."

Regionally Speaking:
Every Monday at 1:30PM on WRUW-FM 91.1
June 21, 2010
Listen to this radio program online here: Coming Together through Stories

The Living Through Legacies Project brings together older citizens from McGregor Home in East Cleveland with students from Case Western Reserve University.

Generations come together and the histories of the seniors are recorded. This week Regionally Speaking's Gladys Haddad brings together the director of the program David Harris, along with a interviewer and interviewee who participated in the Living Through Legacies Project.

Director David Harris, MSSA, was a recent Community Development intern at the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development during the time he started the program, and is also a recent Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences graduate.

Case Western Reserve University's, Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development (CUPCD) is partnered with the University of Pittsburgh's Interactive Database of Neighborhood Conditions and Stats called Pittsburgh Neighborhood and Community Information System (PNCIS) through the National Neighborhood Indicator Partnership (NNIP).

Pitt's Interactive Database of Neighborhood Conditions and Stats is gaining traction in revitalizing Pittsburgh citizens, community organizers, and city planners who use Pitt's online Pittsburgh Neighborhood and Community Information System. Researchers from NNIP including Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences' Mike Schramm, will discuss its value in reducing blight, expanding services, and renewing communities at inaugural users conference June 11, 2009.

"Mike Schramm from Case Western Reserve University's Center for Urban Poverty and Community Development will recount how Case Western's data system [NEO CANDO] was used to reduce foreclosures and help to stabilize communities affected by the 2009 foreclosure crisis in the Cleveland area." at this conference.

Also speaking are:

Kathy Pettit, codirector of the Washington D.C.-based Urban Institute's National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership, will discuss innovative uses of community information systems across the nation and their role in neighborhood development

and,

Robert Renner from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Policy Development and Research will talk about the growing role of research at HUD, new neighborhood revitalization programs, and the implications for local communities and neighborhood information systems.

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Dr. Claudia Coulton, is quoted in the Lake County, News Herald article ""Predicting what the Census will show us," regarding her predictions of demographic changes that the 2010 Census results may show. The article discusses planning with Lake County Planning Commission Director Jason Boyd, and has emphasis on anticipated changes in demographics of Lake County.

In part the article states, "Claudia Coulton is co-director of Case Western Reserve University's Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development.

The organization's research and study encompasses 17 counties, including Lake and Geauga.

Coulton believes the Census data will show the region's poverty rate increased from 2000.

'But I think the geographical location of people will have shifted,' she said.

Coulton explained that many poor and middle-income families have moved from inner Cleveland to the suburbs or even out of Cuyahoga County.

Some families also may have chosen to double up with other families, she added. Read the complete article here."

For information on recent research of doubled up families in Cuyahoga County please check here: doubled up homelessness.

Claudia J. Coulton is Co-director of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, the Lillian F. Harris Professor of Urban Research & Social Change, at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, at Case Western Reserve University More about Dr. Coulton's work can be obtained here.

An article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, discussing The Harlem Children's Zone project and Cleveland's bid for Federal Promise Neighborhood funding to replicate it, quotes David Miller Phd.

The article begins, "What can be done to help families heal and move beyond generations of broken homes, neglect and embedded poverty?

It's a tough problem to tackle -- and an expensive one.

The acclaimed Harlem Children's Zone project in New York City spends $40 million a year to wrap low-income families in a blanket of services, including day care and schools, health care, counseling and job training. During his campaign, President Barack Obama hailed the concept as the future for erasing urban poverty...." Read More.

"We need to intervene and intercept" youths before they follow the wrong role model, said David Miller, a Case Western Reserve University professor who developed an "Urban Hassles Index" to draw attention to constant stress faced by urban youths."

David B. Miller is an Associate Professor, at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, and a Faculty Associate of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, at Case Western Reserve University More about Dr. Miller's work can be obtained here.

A Plain Dealer editorial urges a deeper look at the challenges faced by the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services as "an insider panel of well-regarded experts" begins meeting to advise the county on improving child welfare practices.

A Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences Faculty member, David Crampton is chairing the committee on which this editorial comments.

The editorial states: "The chair of the current reform panel, David Crampton, an associate professor at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University, came aboard at the invitation of Deborah Forkas, the beleaguered director of children's services. He is concerned about what he sees as a tight July deadline to identify the department's weaknesses and recommend improvements."

Dr. Crampton commented on recent child welfare-related tragic events on WCPN's Sound of Ideas, "Decreasing Child Abuse," Friday, February 26, 2010 here, and in the Plain Dealer Community cooperation, not Plain Dealer criticism, will ensure the welfare of our children — a Letter to the editor of The Plain Dealer, on March 8, 2010.

David Crampton is also a Faculty Associate of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University. More about Dr. Crampton's work can be obtained here.

An article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, which interviews four sons of the alleged victims of Anthony Sowel, quotes David Miller Phd.

The article states, "All four say the cycle of neglect will stop with them," speaking about the neglect that each of them experienced from his parents, and of his dedication to changing that pattern.

"Out of this horrible mess and madness, these men are saying, 'We want to take what we've learned and put it to use so that our children will not have to experience anything like this,' " said David Miller, associate professor at Case Western Reserve University's Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences.

They will need a lot of help to shelter their children from poverty, drugs and crime, added Miller, who believes Cleveland's leaders, especially policymakers and pastors, should work harder to regenerate families. "

David B. Miller is an Associate Professor, at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, and a Faculty Associate of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, at Case Western Reserve University More about Dr. Miller's work can be obtained here.

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Families often think about recording the great stories their elders tell, but they often don’t manage to get written. Then family memories are lost due to illness or death.

For 12 older citizens from the McGregor Home in East Cleveland and the Fairfax Neighborhood on Cleveland’s east side, their histories have been preserved by the Living through Legacies project in hardcover books for families to cherish from one generation to the next.

These individuals became the focus of Case Western Reserve University social work student David Harris, who graduated on Sunday. He published the individual biographies with support from the McGregor Foundation grant.

Nineteen CWRU students aided Harris in producing the memoirs by interviewing, recording the oral histories, writing text and collecting photographs and other materials. Twelve undergraduates used the experience as a service learning project or coursework, while seven graduate students used it as part of their fieldwork for the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences.

Please read original post in The Daily or continue below.

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Dr. Claudia Coulton, professor and co-director of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, is quoted in the Cleveland Plain Dealer article "New study reveals that 'family flight' is reshaping Cleveland and Northeast Ohio" on the problems of urban flight of households with children.

"'White flight' described the rush of white families to the suburbs in the 1960s and 1970s. By the 1980s, observers talked of "middle-class flight" to reflect black residents who had joined the tide. A new pattern may demand a new label. Research shows that an exodus of moms and dads of all races and income levels -- family flight -- is reshaping Cleveland and its region."

"This is definitely not trivial," said Dr. Coulton. "I think we're losing households with children and we're losing children, period... Both middle-class and low-income families are leaving the city. And parents tend to leave because they're trying to get a better future for their children."

Read the entire article at Cleveland.com.

A highlight from our IDDT resources & tools. This eight-page booklet is designed for medical professionals who want to improve their clinical relationships with and, thus, outcomes for people with co-occurring severe mental illness and substance use disorders. It is written for psychiatrists, physicians of internal medicine and family practice, nurses, and other physicians who provide treatment to this population (e.g., obstetrics and gynecology, neurology). The booklet is a quick introduction to the principles and practices of IDDT. It includes recommendations for prescribing medications for both disorders. Printed copies and a free PDF are available.

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Having grown up in poverty and lived in substandard housing has brought sensitivity to Anna Maria Santiago's social work research about how people live and how place affects their lives.

The Case Western Reserve University campus recently met Santiago, the inaugural holder of the Leona Bevis & Marguerite Haynam Professorship in Community Development at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, during a special reception.

Currently on the faculty at Wayne State University, Santiago will officially start at CWRU on July 1. Her arrival will build on the social work school's strength in neighborhood research by faculty members Mark Chupp, Claudia Coulton, Rob Fischer, Mark Joseph, Sharon Milligan and others from the Center on Poverty and Community Development.

"Place matters," Santiago says. "Where one lives has a tremendous influence on the resources available to the individual."

It's a finding emerging from her research with hundreds of families in public housing and who are raising thousands of children in Denver.

Schools, grocery stores, police protection, medical facilities and libraries are the kinds of resources not equally distributed among neighborhoods, Santiago said.

It was those kinds of resources—and in particular access to training in music and the arts in Milwaukee with progressive social services and neighborhood programs—and her mother's value of education, Santiago attributes to her success.

"I would not be where I am today," she said, noting that the opportunity to master the oboe earned her a college scholarship to the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. She later changed her major to geography in the social sciences, with a specialization in the Caribbean and Latin America.

After working as a social worker in her old neighborhood in Milwaukee, she went on to earn a PhD in urban social institutions from UW Milwaukee.

Santiago is the lead investigator on two major projects that involve families and children from the Denver Housing Authority: "Not Just Buying a Home: The Effects of Participation in Homeownership Programs On Building Human, Financial and Social Capital Assets of Subsidized Housing Residents and their Children," funded by The Ford Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; and "Magnitudes and Mechanisms of Neighborhood Impacts on Children: Analyzing a Natural Experiment in Denver," supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

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We've added a new "Recovery Stories" section on the web site of the Mandel School's Center for Evidence-Based Practices. This evolving collection of stories highlights the positive outcomes of evidence-based practices (EBPs) and other services for people diagnosed with mental illness or co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorders. The stories are told by consumers, family members, and other supporters of recovery, such as employers and direct-service providers. They discuss openly the challenges and triumphs of recovery, as well as insights gained along the way. We encourage you to share these story widely.

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Lecture and Reception - May 6
5-7 p.m., Third Floor Atrium,
Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences

Exhibit Dates: May 6 - June 20, 2010

Lydia Bailey’s Portraits of Homelessness exhibit features 40 photographs and stories of the residents served by the 2100 Lakeside Men’s Emergency Homeless Shelter. Run by the Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry, the shelter is the largest in Ohio and serves more than 3,000 men each year.

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Are you looking to expand your knowledge and skills and earn some continuing-education credits? The Office of Professional Development and Continuing Education at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences (school of social work) at Case Western Reserve University sponsors a vareity of workshops. We've included a sample of a few that they thought might be of interest to you. The Center for Evidence-Based Practices (CEBP) is an initiative of the Mandel School and the Department of Psychiatry at the Case School of Medicine.

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The next University Center for Innovation in Teaching and Education (UCITE) session will focus on "Faculty Mediation." Wallace J. Gingerich, a professor in the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, will describe the new conflict and mediation program for faculty members.

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A free video-conference training event for psychiatrists, primary-care physicians, other physicians, and nurses will take place on Tuesday, May 11, 2010 at multiple sites throughout Ohio. Learn how to advance tobacco cessation and recovery in primary-healthcare and behavioral-healthcare settings for people diagnosed with mental illness and/or substance use disorders. People with severe mental illness are among the heaviest users of tobacco. Learn different treatment approaches to help consumers improve their health and well-being. A special emphasis will be placed upon pharmacological interventions. Social workers, counselors, and addictions counselors are encourage to attend.

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In this Update:

Case Western Reserve Project Aims to Provide Thousands with Broadband Access

Download Map of Internet Coverage focus area

The Federal Communications Commission’s new National Broadband Plan calls for connecting more Americans to broadband Internet access as a way of improving U.S. society and transforming industry.

Case Western Reserve University is already doing its part to help a major segment of the Cleveland population through its new Case Connection Zone pilot research project, designed to provide broadband access to local residents and Case Western Reserve students who call the neighborhoods surrounding campus home.

The project, announced late last fall, is moving full speed ahead with dozens of neighborhood residents now signed up for the pilot phase.

Research from the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences suggests that a large number of households in communities surrounding the university do not have Internet access. The Case Connection Zone pilot project aims to close the gap.

The project is more than just an opportunity for residents to log onto the Internet for leisure. According to Case Western Reserve officials leading the initiative, the program has software in place to meet specific metrics and goals such as contributing to neighborhood and public safety; increasing completion rates of high school Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) subjects; monitoring and identifying chronic health conditions for increases in wellness education; and increasing knowledge of and participation in household and neighborhood energy education and management.

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Bridget Ginley's art work interplay with the elements of her daily existence. She is a painter, printmaker, and mixed-media visual artist. Shapes, color, form, and balance emerge from the work; they are playful and purposeful. She works with oils, watercolors, graphite, and found materials. Ripping and sanding her works until the image appears as she wants.

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Bruno Casiano contemporary abstracts are currently on display at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, on the first floor. Vivid colors, shapes, and surface texture explode on his canvases. He was recently (December 2009 – February 2010) in a juried art exhibit in The National Exhibition in San Juan Puerto Rico. He has also exhibited his paintings in other North East Ohio galleries.

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The Center for EBPs is participating in "Investing in Tobacco-Free Youth Advocacy Day 2010" on Wednesday, March 17 at the Riffe Center in Columbus. The event is designed to convince policymakers in Ohio to preserve funding for all tobacco-prevention and cessation initiatives in the state, including TRAC, a tobacco-recovery model designed by the Center for people with severe mental illness and/or substance use disorders. Funding for Ohio's tobacco-control programs is scheduled to end on June 30. Tobacco-prevention advocates are pushing for a tax correction on non-cigarette forms of tobacco as a source of funding for cessation programs.

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Housingpolicy.org has re-released the Podcast "Neighborhood Stabilization" featuring Prof Claudia Coulton, Originally Released in December 2008.

In this month's podcast," Housingpolicy.org hears from Claudia Coulton, Professor and Co-Director of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development operates a comprehensive database, North East Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing (NEO CANDO), providing public access to neighborhood indicators and property information for the entire region. In this podcast, Coulton discusses how the data collected through NEO CANDO are helping to shape foreclosure prevention and intervention policies in Cleveland.

This podcast is available through iTunes here.

The Center changed its name from the Center on Urban Poverty and Social Change in September of 2006, but the podcast's official naming and summary on iTunes, and HousingPolicy.org use the previous name. The above summary closely paraphrases this description.

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2010 Census count can mean millions in funding for Lakewood
By Kate Spirgen, Sun News

"LAKEWOOD - Census forms are beginning to appear in mailboxes all over the country, waiting for residents to answer 10 questions that can mean millions of dollars for the city. The 2010 survey will determine funding for some of Lakewood’s most vital services such as street repairs, human services, student programming and emergency assistance to those in need.

With a population of more than 50,000, Lakewood qualifies for Community Block Development Grants, Title 1 school funds and entitlement status from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. However, that income could disappear in the next few years as the city’s population falls.

Case Western Reserve University’s Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development estimates that the city’s total population was 50,704 in 2008, down about 6,000 since the 2000 census."

The complete article can be read here.

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Community cooperation, not Plain Dealer criticism, will ensure the welfare of our children — a Letter to the editor of
The Plain Dealer, on March 8, 2010.

David Crampton, associate professor of social work at Case Western Reserve University's Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, and Faculty Associate of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, writes a letter to the editor of the Plain Dealer about newspaper coverage focusing on recent child neglect cases.

Prof. Mark Joseph, Faculty Associate of the Center for Urban Poverty and Community Development, and Assistant Professor at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University was interviewed by Steven Webb for the show Information Saint John on Radio One, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

The broadcast titled, "Learning From Mixed Income Housing Projects In The States" aired on March 4th, and the podcast can be found here. The program draws on Prof. Joseph's five-year research on residents of mixed income housing developments in Chicago, Illinois, and applies it to possible mixed-income projects in Saint John's Crescent Valley.

The inaugural Research To Practice Seminar Series titled, “The Data Difference – Using Evaluation Research to Inform Policy and Practice in Early Childhood” - was held on March 4th, 2010 at the Mandel Center for Non-Profit Organizations Co-Sponsored by the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences Office of Research & Training, the MSASS Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, & the Schubert Center for Child Studies.

The Panelists were:
Claudia Coulton, Ph.D., Lillian Harris Professor and Co-Director, Center on Urban Poverty & Community Development, Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences

Rob Fischer, Ph.D., Research Associate Professor and Co-Director, Center on Urban Poverty & Community Development, Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences

Rebekah Dorman, Ph.D., Director, Office of Early Childhood/Invest in Children, Cuyahoga County

Robert Staib, MSSA, Associate Director, Office of Early hildhood/Invest in Children, Cuyahoga County

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Sometimes it takes a personal tragedy to inspire the kind of advocacy that is necessary for significant, widespread change. This is one reason why Shelly Kiser is so passionate about efforts in Ohio to bring tobacco-recovery and cessation services to people with severe mental illness. Her sister-in-law, Allena, who lived with schizophrenia, died of cancer at age 43. She had smoked cigarettes most of her life. Kiser is a member of the advisory committee for the Center for EBPs' "Tobacco: Recovery Across the Continuum" (TRAC) initiative, a service model for people with severe mental illness and/or substance use disorders.

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"State TANF Policies and Employment Outcomes among Welfare Leavers," by Younghee Lim, Claudia J. Coulton, and Nina Lalich

Social Service Review December 2009, Vol. 83, No. 4: 525-555. DOI: 10.1086/650532 is available here.

This study examines the influence of state welfare policies on employment outcomes of women leaving welfare during the initial period of welfare reform implementation. The study finds that the stringency of work requirements is likely to increase employment among later welfare leavers, but neither the leniency nor stringency of work requirements is related to employment among early welfare leavers. The study finds that lenient work requirements are found to increase the probability that welfare leavers’ first jobs off welfare carry employer-provided health insurance.

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Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development Faculty Associate, and Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences Associate Professor David Crampton participated in a panel discussion of ways to prevent child abuse.

The Sound of Ideas® "Decreasing Child Abuse" for Friday, February 26, 2010

The brief description of the subject mater was described on the website as, "The arrest of two local mothers for allegedly murdering their young children raises the question: Is enough being done to prevent child abuse?"

Professor Crampton emphasized the importance of prevention efforts such as Cuyahoga County's Invest in Children Initiative Once families do become involved in child welfare services, Professor Crampton suggested there is a need for community support as well as government support.

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A WCPN radio article Doubled-Up in Northeast Ohio, on Friday, February 26, 2010, cites part of a longer interview with Prof. Cyleste Collins of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development regarding the number of doubled-up homeless families in Cuyahoga County.

This article, in part refers to her white paper on the topic and its policy brief summary, "Briefly Stated No. 09-03, Family Homelessness in Cuyahoga County" which was released in July of 2009. A brief description of this work can be found here.

A brief radio article, also on WCPN, referencing this white paper was previously released and can be read or heard here.

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A front-page, Sunday Plain Dealer article, "New Mayor Gary Norton hopes to bring big changes to struggling East Cleveland" on February 14, 2010, discusses planned changes in East Cleveland using the federal stimulus community development block grant funding for vacant and foreclosed properties and the efforts of the new Mayor, Gary Norton, to revive the city.

The article discusses a kick-off introduction event, hosted by the Social Justice Alliance, and organized by Professor Mark Chupp of the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, during which Mayor Gary Norton took interested leaders on a tour of the city and discussed economic revitalization plans for specific neighborhoods and his economic development vision for the community.

The East Cleveland planning partnership and coalitions are being built include the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences(MSASS), Case Western Reserve University, the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at MSASS as a data partner, and other organizations. Maps of the planned area for economic development and also of foreclosed, vacant or abandoned houses in the city were provided for the tour by the Center.

The full article may be read here.

The full Case Daily article may be read here.

For a Case video on the partnership click here.

Cleveland sees big drop in foreclosure filings By Ken Prendergast February 05, 2010, 6:22PM

"CLEVELAND While the number of property foreclosure filings increased in Cuyahoga County last year, they fell dramatically in one city.

Cleveland saw its foreclosure filings drop nearly 20 percent in 2009, according to data compiled by Case Western Reserve University’s Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development.

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An article in the Cleveland Scene:

OPPORTUNITY OR OPPORTUNISM: East-side residents wary of "Opportunity Corridor" proposal by DAMIAN GUEVARA

This article uses census figures from NEO CANDO for context about about a neighborhood through which the proposed "Opportunity Corridor" road would, "connect the end of interstates 77 and 490 (at East 55th Street) to East 105th Street and the University Circle district."

The article start, "Opportunity fled Emma Barnes' Kinsman neighborhood decades ago, along with the white people who flew to the suburbs and the industry that closed up shop (but conveniently forgot to take its toxic waste). Kinsman earned the bleak tag of "Forgotten Triangle." Barnes, 79, has lived among the neglect all her life, but local government and big business want to assure her that prosperity is on the way."

Read the full article here.

The Associate Director for Community Information at the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, Michael Schramm, was quoted on WCPN's article, "Lorain Co. Sees Foreclosures Spike."

In Summary the article says, "Lorain County officials this week reported a record high number of mortgage foreclosure filings in 2009, following a pattern being seen regionally. ideastream®'s Rick Jackson looks at the meaning behind the increases.

Lorain County saw mortgage foreclosure filings jump 30 percent in 2009 over 2008 - more percentage-wise than in Cuyahoga County, where filings were up 20 percent."

The article can be heard or viewed here.

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A short video about the East Cleveland Partnership initiated by the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences is featured in this Case Youtube video with MSASS Professor Mark Chupp, an advocate for university-community partnerships for neighborhood revitalization. Michelle Felder, an East Cleveland resident, is also featured.

"East Cleveland is not a dying city. There are people here who are committed in the long term to making this a great place. Our students and we, as faculty, designed a survey project to survey every vacant property in the city of East Cleveland. The goal was to determine which houses are suitable for rehab and which houses need to be demolished, because federal funds are designated for demolition and rehab. One of the things that I believe is possible through this East Cleveland Community Partnership is really the revitalization of East Cleveland so that it becomes a destination for people wanting to work in East Cleveland but it also becomes a safer, revitalized place for people who live here." said Professor Chupp.

The students' data has been collated, matched and mapped down to a parcel level through the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development using GIS mapping techniques. This survey data and the maps generated have been presented to the City to help inform the discussion between the administration and the citizens for planning the use of the federal stimulus funding.

"I love the neighborhood. I love the community...Its a community of people who work, who love their neighborhood....If you look down most of the streets its a beautiful place," said Michelle Felder.

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A front page Plain Dealer article cites the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development's NEO CANDO economic, social, and properties indicators database's numbers regarding the foreclosures in Cuyahoga County in the last four years:2006-2009.

"Foreclosure filings clobbered Cuyahoga County again in 2009, and the economic misery is spreading deeper into the suburbs.... The county saw nearly 14,800 new foreclosure filings last year -- a number virtually unchanged from 2008."

"'If this is the new norm, it's all bad news,' said Cuyahoga County Treasurer Jim Rokakis....And he takes no solace from the fact that total filings last year were almost unchanged from the year before. 'Flat at such a really high number . . .I still think speaks to an almost cataclysmic state of affairs,' Rokakis said."

The article brings attention to the movement of the foreclosure problem from the city of Cleveland proper out to the suburbs even though the relative numbers for the whole of Cuyahoga County have remained steady.

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"The residents of West 83rd street were shaken from their daily routines last Monday when an abandoned house on their street exploded, leaving 6 families homeless and 57 other buildings badly damaged. As it turns out, the owner of the house --- a real estate company --- is based hundreds of miles away in California, barely aware of what’s happening to the Cleveland property. ideastream®’s Ida Lieszkovszky has this update."

An interview with the Cuyahoga County Treasurer, Jim Rokakis regarding the absentee owner of the house that exploded on West 83rd street, cites The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development's studies and NEO CANDO neighborhood and property database, as well as Neighborhood Progress Incorporated's data:

"Rokakis: There are dozens of companies like EZ Access. We estimate, and these are studies done by the folks and NEO CANDO and NPI that at least 80 % of properties that have been foreclosed, we’re talking thousands, have already been dumped by the major players to companies that buy these props in bulk."

The full article can be read or heard here.

"Cleaning Up After the Foreclosure Tsunami: Tackling Bank Walk-Aways and Vulture Investors," is an article in the Fall/Winter 2009 issue of Shelterforce, a magazine published by the National Housing Institute.

In the article cites The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development's publicly accessible 'NEO CANDO' property data system and its working partnerships with the Cleveland Housing Court, The Cleveland Housing Network, and The County Land Re-utilization Corporation as among Cleveland's innovative, "tools and programs for responsible management and redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed property."

The full article can be read here.

A scan of the article with photographs can be viewed using the link on this web page.

This article was written by Frank Ford, Senior Vice President for Research & Development of Neighborhood Progress Inc., a funder and partner of the Center.

"South Euclid offers warning about home foreclosure issues" By Jeff Piorkowski

A South Euclid Sun Messenger Article speaks with South Euclid Housing Manager Sally Martin, and cites the City's use of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development's NEO CANDO social, economic and neighborhood data to alert home-owners with a high potential of foreclosure as an early warning system so that they may act to avoid foreclosure.

The article states, "Last fall, the city sent letters to 750 homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages and who could be in danger of foreclosure this year.

The letters, which urged that homeowners take the proper steps to save their homes, were sent after the city received information on housing projections from NEO CANDO —the Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing, a research institute housed at Case Western Reserve University. That information told of homeowners in possible danger of foreclosure."

In the article, Martin suggests that homeowners contact ESOP(Empowering and Strengthening Ohio’s People) for counseling and help.

The Center recommends contacting United Way of Greater Cleveland's First Call for Help at phone number 211, for HUD licensed counselors- who will work with a homeowner to assess the specific situation and who may also refer a caller to ESOP while helping to create a plan of action.

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The newly formed American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (AASWSW) will have its virtual home at Case Western Reserve University's Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences over the next three years.

Claudia Coulton, the Lillian F. Harris Professor of social work and co-director of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at the social work school, has been named one of the founding fellows. She also is the inaugural treasurer of the organization to advance the social work profession.

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Finding Place in Making Connections Communities: Applying GIS to Residents’ Perceptions of Their Neighborhoods
By Claudia J. Coulton, Tsui Chan, And Kristen Mikelbank, January 2010

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ABSTRACT
The growing recognition that place matters has led to numerous foundation- and government-sponsored initiatives that address the needs of disadvantaged neighborhoods and families in tandem. Fundamental to these people-based and place-based strategies is the assumption that residents are both the beneficiaries and the cocreators of improvements in their neighborhoods and the systems that serve them. However, despite the centrality of place in these community initiatives, defining neighborhoods as they are experienced by residents has proven challenging. This paper demonstrates how a household survey can be used to ascertain residents’ views of the place they refer to as their neighborhood. The study uses data from the Making Connections (MC) target areas in 10 cities. A representative sample of households were asked the name of their neighborhoods and instructed on how to draw maps of their neighborhoods as they viewed them. GIS tools were used to uncover spaces within the MC target areas that residents included in their definitions of neighborhood as well as spaces that seemed to fall outside their collective definitions. The study revealed several overlapping areas that constituted resident-defined neighborhoods within most Making Connections target areas. The paper discusses the implications of this diversity of resident neighborhood perceptions for community change initiatives.

This research is part of the work that the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development participates in for the Annie Casey Foundation's Making Connections Initiative.

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Living Proof is the podcast series of the University at Buffalo School of Social Work. The purpose of this series is to engage practitioners and researchers in lifelong learning and to promote research to practice, practice to research.

Prof. Claudia Coulton, Co-Director of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, was interviewed for episode number 37 of the podcast series, during which she discussed: the importance of context for child and family well-being, how social work practitioners, researchers, and students can use technology such as geographic information systems (GIS) and other analytic tools to understand social problems, improve service delivery, promote community and social development, to better understand and address place-based disparities.

To see GIS mapping of social well-being indicators being used for these purposes, see the Center's Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing data base website. NEO CANDO, is a free and publicly accessible social and economic data system

Date: Monday, March 29 Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. Presenter: Kimberly Strom-Gottfried, Ph.D., LISW Fee: $60 Location: RaeAnn Suburban, 29505 Detroit Rd., WESTLAKE
The widespread emergence of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook create unique challenges in the application of familiar ethical concepts. Client privacy, professional boundaries, worker self-disclosure, conflicts of interest and informed consent all take on new form and complexity in light of technological advances. This workshop introduces the features of social networking and explores the risks and rewards of conscious use of networking sites in social work practice.

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Date: Friday, March 26 Time: 1:15 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Presenter: Kimberly Strom-Gottfried, Ph.D., LISW Fee: $60 Location: MSASS
The concept of purposeful use of self suggests that clinicians are the vehicles by which relationships with clients are created and change occurs. Yet helping professionals are not blank slates. We carry with us our life experiences, personal characteristics, preferences and biases, families and community ties. How can we become aware of and channel these qualities so that they enhance practice rather than derail it? How can we tell when certain experiences or traits are ill-suited for a particular setting or clientele? How can professionals live fully and visibly in their communities and their families while managing intrusions from their professional lives? This workshop will draw from a variety of areas to offer answers to these questions and foster discussion about the complexities in successfully reconciling our personal and professional selves.

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Date: Monday, March 15 Time: 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Presenter: Mr. Ric Kruszynski, M.S.S.A., LISW, CCDC III-E, Director of Consultation and Training Fee: $116 Location: MSASS
This session will review key treatment principles, approaches and models of care that have been demonstrated to be effective for individuals with severe mental illness and a substance abuse disorder. Material will draw from current literature and the Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment implementation experiences of 40+ organizations in Ohio, as well as numerous other partnering States served by the Center for Evidence Based Practice at Case Western Reserve University and the Ohio Substance Abuse and Mental Illness Coordinating Center of Excellence over the past nine years.

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A Janurary 20, 2010 Cleveland Scene article, "DISHONORABLE DISCHARGE: FirstEnergy asks to be excused for exceeding limits on mercury pollution in lake by DAMIAN GUEVARA," uses NEO CANDO Poverty Data in its discussion of the potential effect of First Energy's Lake Shore Power Plant's, Mercury pollution on nearby residents who supplement their food intake by fishing nearby in Lake Erie.

Steve Knerem’s work incorporates elements of bio-mechanical art, which is characterized by fantasy settings where humans and other creatures are rendered with a high degree of realism.

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The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development's Associate Director for Community Information, Mike Schramm, was quoted in the Toronto Star's article, "13 neighbourhoods in need: It has been four years since the launch of an ambitious campaign to lift up Toronto's 13 most troubled neighbourhoods. Millions of dollars later, it's not clear what that effort has achieved. How does a city measure hope?" About a free, online, neighborhood-indicator database. This system will not only be used to track changes and to award millions of dollars in grants, but can be used by activists and non-profits, similar to the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences's own NEO CANDO system, here at Case Western Reserve University.

"Information in the hands of people can be very powerful," said Mike Schramm, of Neocando, an online database of neighbourhood [sic] indicators developed by the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

"But you have to have data that deals with neighbourhoods and you have to be in the business of democratizing information ... really getting it into the hands of those people who can actually act to make a change, from the mayor to the head of a non-profit that does community development, to a councillor for a ward."

Professor Robert L. Fischer is quoted in The Plain Dealer article, "Change How Kids Learn, Change the Future" by Brett Larkin.

The article is about Cuyahoga County's Universal Pre-Kindergarten Pilot administered by Invest in Children , a public-private partnership focused on young children and their families. Cuyahoga County is assisted by Starting Point, a nonprofit specializing in child care. Case Western Reserve University's Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development is the project evaluator. The numbers regarding the improvements of children assisted by the program come from the program evaluations, run by the Center.

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Date: Friday, April 9 Time: 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Presenter: Ms. Jackie Lowe Stevenson, MSSA, LISW Fee: $116 Location: RaeAnn Suburban, 29505 Detroit Rd., Westlake
This interactive workshop will present the cutting edge organizational and therapeutic capacity for positive change. The intention of the workshop is to support leaders, managers and teams and therapists to transform unsolvable problems into manageable dilemmas, exciting possibilities and effective solutions.

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Date: Wed., March 3 Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Presenter: Ms. Danielle Smith, BSSW, LSW Fee: $60 Location: MSASS

The history and tradition of social work is advocacy for social justice. In this workshop you will learn how to connect to this tradition by becoming a more effective advocate for your clients and for yourself as a social work professional.

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Date: Monday, March 1 Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. Presenter: Ilga Svechs, Ph.D. Associate Professor Emerita Fee: $60 Location: MSASS
This clinically-oriented workshop will address the following three-primary levels of personality organization: functional level (anxiety disorders and mood disorders), borderline level (personality disorders) and psychotic level (pre-psychotic and psychotic states). The presenter will offer theoretical material with a direct application to clinical practice. Discussions will focus primarily, but not exclusively, on the nature of the treatment relationship as informed by the client’s level of personality organization. Participants will be expected to share their clinical experiences.

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Date: Friday, Feb. 26 Time: 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Presenter: Ms. Kimberly Langley, M.Ed., President, LifeBalance Enterprises, Inc. Fee: $116 Location: Rae-Ann Suburban, 29505 Detriot Rd., WESTLAKE
Attaching a name to a disorder is just the beginning. Home and school success often depends on the skill of parents who know how to meet their child's special needs. Foster and adoptive parents will enjoy new ideas for how to end the homework hassle, advocate successfully for the child at school, deal with the frustration of siblings, improve social skills and preserve the self-esteem of the child who struggles with ADD/HD. The unique gifts of these children will also be considered.

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Date: March-May 2010 Time: Webinar available online 24/7 Presenter: Mr. David Fiala, M.S.S.A., LISW Fee: $199.99 Location: | The Power Of Your Awareness |
The Power of Your Awareness seminar is a holistic approach to life that integrates the mind, body, emotions, and sprit in a conceptual and experiential manner to significantly increase one’s awareness of life. It takes the practitioner through a unique process by teaching you how to be more conscious of what’s transpiring inside of you physically, mentally, and emotionally. Subsequently, you learn and experience the critical importance of implementing, in addition to practicing, various internal skills as a way of life. These practical life skills become the foundation by which to empower and instruct your own clients or patients in overcoming even the most challenging situations.

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Date: Feb. 6 - Apr. 17 (10 weeks) Time: Saturdays at 9:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. Presenter: Ms. Marianne T. Canario, President Instructional Methodologies of Ohio, INC. Fee: $475 (must have minimum of 10 participants) Location: MSASS
The growing presence of the Latino population in the U.S. demonstrates a need for bilingual professionals who can help those in the Spanish-speaking community. Spanish for human service professionals is intended for individuals who have previous knowledge of Spanish but need more conversational practice and familiarity with the vocabulary used in the field of social work.

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Date: Saturday, March 27 Time: 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Presenter: Mrs. Elain V. Stevens, M.S.W., LISW, BCD, and Kimberly Strom-Gottfried, Ph.D., LISW Fee: $150 Location: MSASS
This Reveiw Course helps participants understand and prepare for the LSW or LISW examination. It assesses previously learned classroom material and refreshes participants' memories if they have been out of school for an extended period of time. The course seeks to help participants feel confident about their knowledge and abilities for taking the exam. Participants will also have an opportunity to discuss sample questions.

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In The Center for Community Solutions's January 2010 news publication, Planning & Action, the article "Community Profile: University Heights: Diverse Residents, Beautiful Homes" includes NEO CANDO Median Home value data by city for a comparison of homes values across Cuyahoga County by city.

The Mandel School's Center for Evidence-Based Practices is currently accepting abstracts for workshops from potential presenters for its Conference 2010, "Sustaining Evidence-Based Practices: The Next 10 Years," which will take place at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio on October 12, 13 & 14. Workshops will focus on topics that enhance the delivery of evidence-based practices (EBPs) and emerging best practices for adults diagnosed with mental illness or co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorders.

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Many of the child indicators continue to show positive trends but some are mixed or their interpretation continues to be unclear. With respect to early care and education, after initial increases, families continue to avail themselves of the increased supply of regulated child care and use child care subsidies at a constant rate. Children’s access to medical care has improved and the receipt of prenatal care by pregnant women had also improved for a number of years. Rates of child maltreatment, which rose during the first four years of IIC, showed a significant drop in the 2003 to 2006 period. However, newly developed related indicators (children the subject of an abuse/neglect report; cases referred to ongoing services), suggest that the level of risk for these children remains steady. The persistence of high rates of low birth weight births, supports IIC strategies in the arena of prenatal services.

Read the complete report.

Mandel Student Provides a Gift of Memories

Keepsake books will appear as holiday gifts for 10 senior citizens in Wadsworth, Ohio. The gift is one filled with their memories, which for some is a way to preserve their past before it is lost to the ills of aging.

David Harris, a graduate student at Case Western Reserve University's Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, and a Master Student field placed with the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, and his longtime friend Joey Hanna from Wadsworth created The Living through Legacies Project with the Wadsworth Center for Older Adults, which allows for the creation of personal, timeless memoirs.

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On Monday Dec 7, Claudia Coulton, co-director of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, gave testimony as she appeared before the Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the Congressional Oversight and Government Reform Committee, chaired by U.S. Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich, during which she suggested steps to ease to nation's foreclosure crisis. During the hearing Prof. Coulton referred to data the Center has gathered in Cleveland to track the housing crisis over the past decade.

Data from the Center's research was also quoted in this news segment on WOIO on News at Noon about this hearing, noting that, "In the last four years, there have been upwards of 47,000 foreclosure filings in Cuyahoga County alone." Prof. Coulton also appeared in a video segment related to foreclosures and the hearing on WOIO's 4 PM news - also available at the same link above.

At the request of the Center, WOIO - Fox 19 News also included a link suggesting with what the Center considers the most important information for individuals:

"Click HERE for free help. The phone number is 211 (from your cell phone) or 216-436-2000," which are connections to the HUD certified counselors and United Way's First Call for Help.

For more detailed information on the breadth and depth of the crisis see the Center's recent foreclosure-related reports:

Behind The Numbers Brief Number 8, Trends in ‘home purchase loan’ originations in Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland through the period 1995-2008

Beyond REO: Property Transfers at Extremely Distressed Prices in Cuyahoga County, 2005-2008.

Pathways to Foreclosure: A Longitudinal Study of Mortgage Loans, Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, 2005-2008.

Behind the Numbers Brief Number 6, Houses in transition: a report on properties owned by financial institutions and real estate organizations in Cuyahoga County, 2007.

Foreclosure and Beyond: A report on ownership and housing values following sheriff’s sales, Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, 2000-2007.

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From 12/6 to 12/8/2009, South Korean governmental officers of the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs, Mr. Hwan Wi, Deputy Director and his two colleagues, a director (Dr. Keesung Noh) and a researcher of Korea Social Service Institute, Dr. Kwangho Jung (Professor, Seoul National University Seoul, Korea) visited to the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University in order to observe the welfare delivery system of the U.S. Their visit was hosted by Dr. Joseph White, Director of the Center for Policy Studies.

At CWRU, they discussed the social service system of the U.S. and South Korea at a seminar with CWRU faculty members including Dr. White, Dr. David Crampton, and Dr. David Hammack. Afterward, they visited to Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development.

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Behind the Numbers report shows much lower home purchase lending levels in 2008

The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development's November 2009 Behind the Numbers takes a closer look at trends in ‘home purchase loan’ originations in Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland through the period 1995-2008.

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In this Update:

All too often research is conducted in a way that is disconnected from the reality of life in communities, with findings often having little relevance to real-world program and policy decisions. With this publication, the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development highlights an example of how research and evaluation data have been effectively used over time in a major community initiative in the Cleveland region.

Drawing on a decade of transformative research done in partnership with Cuyahoga County's Office of Early Childhood/Invest in Children and its public/private set of collaborators, the report describes the experiences of this community initiative and concrete examples of how data have been used to inform practice and policy.

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2009 Nonprofit Management and Leadership Editors' Prize for Best Scholarly Paper Interview

David Renz, Ph.D., Professor and Director of the Midwest Center for Nonprofit Leadership at the University of Missouri-Kansas City is interviewed by Robert Fischer, Ph.D., an Associate Research Professor at the Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations and the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences regarding the practical implications of his research on nonprofit organizational effectiveness.

Prof. Renz is co-author and co-winner with Robert D. Herman, of The Nonprofit Management and Leadership journal 2009 NML Editors' Prize for Best Scholarly Paper, for their article “Advancing Nonprofit Organizational Effectiveness Research and Theory: Nine Theses.”

The Interview of David Renz by Robert Fischer may be viewed here.

Breezy Snyder is a second year painting student at the Cleveland Institute of Arts. Her exhibit “Destiny of Dandelions” is her first solo debut in the Cleveland art community. Each ink drawing captivates the viewer’s mind; it is like poetry on paper.

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"Transforming Civil Discourse and Neighborhood Identity through Action Research," a paper written by Mark Chupp, was recently selected by the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) as the "Best Paper for 2008." Chupp, Assistant Professor at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, and Faculty Associate of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, presented the paper at ARNOVA's 2008 conference.

The announcement of this award was released during the 2009 conference and the notice of the award is listed in the ARNOVA Newsletter. WINTER 2010 VOLUME 38, NO. 3 on page number 3.

The economic epoch that has shaken the foundation of the American Dream and swallowed housing markets into a nationwide financial sinkhole has had several epicenters. One is the City of Cleveland.

Foreclosures and vacant properties in many neighborhoods have stock piled, values have plummeted, and numerous properties are being bought at below-market values of $10 thousand or less by real-estate speculators, most of whom are corporations that have no vested interest in planned and coordinated community development.

Now, Coulton and her colleagues are teaming up with the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and The College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University in a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional partnership to provide a report to the nation, titled “Facing the Foreclosure Crisis in Greater Cleveland: What Happened and How Communities are Responding.” The new report is being funded in part by the Federal Reserve and Neighborhood Progress Incorporated. Coulton’s four previous reports were funded mainly by the The Cleveland Foundation and The George Gund Foundation, with additional support from Enterprise Foundation and Neighborhood Progress, Inc.

To see the full article from the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences's Insight and Action please to here.

To see Foreclosure related research papers from the Poverty Center please go here.

Beyond REO: Property Transfers at Extremely Distressed Prices in Cuyahoga County, 2005-2008.

Pathways to Foreclosure: A Longitudinal Study of Mortgage Loans, Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, 2005-2008.

Behind the Numbers Brief Number 6, Houses in transition: a report on properties owned by financial institutions and real estate organizations in Cuyahoga County, 2007.

Foreclosure and Beyond: A report on ownership and housing values following sheriff’s sales, Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, 2000-2007.

Representatives from nine community-based organizations and a state psychiatric hospital in Ohio attended a one-day training for “Tobacco: Recovery Across the Continuum (TRAC)”, a stage-based motivational service model that helps people diagnosed with mental illness and/or substance use disorders reduce and eventually eliminate the use of tobacco products. The event provided practical information and useful strategies for implementing TRAC services and featured Carlo DiClemente and other presenters from the Mandel School's Center for Evidence-Based Practices.

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"New Evidence and Implications for Community Initiatives" by Claudia J. Coulton, Brett Theodos, Margery Austin Turner

Publication Date: November 02, 2009

The text below is an excerpt from the complete document at the Urban Institute. Read the full report in PDF format.

Abstract

Americans change residences frequently. Residential mobility can reflect positive changes in a family's circumstances or be a symptom of instability and insecurity. Mobility may also change neighborhoods as a whole. To shed light on these challenges, this report uses a unique survey conducted for the Making Connections initiative. The first component measures how mobility contributed to changes in neighborhoods' composition and characteristics. The second component identifies groups of households that reflect different reasons for moving or staying in place. The final component introduces five stylized models of neighborhood performance: each has implications for low-income families' well-being and for community-change efforts.

This research is part of the work that the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development participates in for the Annie Casey Foundation's Making Connections Initiative.

More papers that Claudia Coulton has authored for the Urban Institute can be viewed here.

The topic of e-cigarettes came up at a recent TRAC Program Leader Training, held in Cleveland on October 1st, so the "Tobacco: Recovery Across the Continuum (TRAC)" intitiative at the Center for Evidence-Based Practices (CEBP) at Case Western Reserve University presents a summary regarding what is known to date about electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), what are commonly called "e-cigarettes."

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Download Movie FileThe Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University will receive the Bronze Key Award, one of the highest honors awarded by the National Council for Alcohol and Drug Dependence to recognize leadership in the field of substance dependence and recovery.  This award will be presented by local affiliate Recovery Resources, a stalwart provider of substance abuse and mental health services in Northeast Ohio.

Download the Movie File

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Save these dates! The Center for Evidence-Based Practices (CEBP) at Case Western Reserve University will host its next conference October 12, 13, and 14, 2010. The event, titled "Sustaining Evidence-Based Practices: The Next Ten Years", will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the State of Ohio's success with implementing EBPs for people diagnosed with mental illness. The event will highlight national EBP research and lessons-learned from EBP initiatives in Ohio and other states. The Center for EBPs is a partnership of the Mandel School and the Dept. of Psychiatry.

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New Thinking About Poverty in a Shrinking City: a presentation by Claudia Coulton, Co-Director, Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, September 2009.

Cleveland has lost more population and housing in the past 5 years than previous trends would have suggested. Yet it continues to be one of the poorest cities in America. This presentation documents the shifts in demographics and an economic downturn that suggest the need for new thinking about how to address poverty in a shrinking city.

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A Plain Dealer article by Brent Larkin, "Focus public investment on early-childhood intervention," on October 11, 2009, quotes Center Co-director Rob Fischer regarding Investment in Early Childhood in Cuyahoga County.

The articles main point can be summed up by this quote from the article from Arthur Rolnick and Rob Grunewald, officials at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis:

"We're quite certain that investing in early childhood education is more likely to create a vibrant economy that [sic] using public funds to lure a sports team by building a new stadium or attracting an automaker by providing tax breaks," Rolnick and Grunewald wrote in 2007. "The return on early childhood development programs that focus on at-risk families far exceeds the return on other projects that are funded as economic development."

The full article can be seen here.

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The Annual Ohio Supported Employment (SE) Conference 2009, entitled "Recovery Is Working," attracted some 200 people from around the country to Columbus in March. Participants learned about the most recent outcomes from national studies of the evidence-based SE model and forged professional relationships, sharing consumer-success stories and lessons-learned stories from implementation of SE. Listen to and read about presentations and conversations in this retrospective of the event.

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Gary Bond, PhD, digs into the researech evidence and explains why Supported Employment (SE) is one of the most sought-after service models for people diagnosed with schizophrenia and other severe mental illnesses. He also foreshadows the coming of two emerging best practices—cognitive rehabilitation and supported education—which will likely augment SE and enhance consumer outcomes.

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Philip Devol wants everyone to know that if you are going to help people get out of poverty, you must include representatives from all economic classes—the wealthy, the middle class, and the poor—in the process of planning and implementing services. Each has mental models (perspectives and experiences) that contain knowledge to shape useful solutions.

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Michele Robinson is an employment specialist embedded in an Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) team, which serves people diagnosed with co-occurring severe mental and substance use disorders. She shares a story about a woman in her twenties who started her teen years and adult life with the odds stacked against her.

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First year students Susan Ross and Jeong Woo Lee help survey vacant homes and lots in the City of East Cleveland, for their Macro and Policy Skills course. The students, accompanied by East Cleveland residents, surveyed the vacant properties and the results are helping city officials prioritize which buildings should be demolished. The students’ project helped the City of East Cleveland secure $2.2 million in federal funds from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

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In this Update:

In this Update:

Janice Reash a SASS graduate (1969), worked as a social worker until she retired in 1991. In 1991, Reash started to explore the different avenues of printmaking. Today she varies her techniques to that of the linocut, intaglio, wood cut and monotype. You can see her enjoyment and passion of the process as the images emerge on the paper.

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Laurel Herbold is a freelance artist. After she graduated from Bowling Green University, in 1993, she started to exhibit her art work throughout the greater Cleveland area. Laurel is an artist who uses a variety of different mediums to express her creative outlets.

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In this Update:

Supported Employment (SE), the evidence-based practice, helps people diagnosed with severe mental illness or co-occurring severe mental illness and substance use disorders find competitive jobs of their choice in local communities with rapid job-search and placement services. There are seven core principles that make the evidence-based SE model different from traditional vocational programs.

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The Cleveland Foundation and the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development recently began working together to show how the economic crisis is affecting Cuyahoga County. The result is an online display of data called “The Pulse.”

"The Pulse" succinctly uses four indicators to give its viewers a picture of the needs of Cuyahoga County residents:

• the number of people with food stamps benefits,
• the number of children with Medicaid benefits,
• mortgage foreclosures, (all from the Center's NEO CANDO system),
• and unemployment data from the Ohio Labor Market Information System.

These figures are updated on a monthly basis.

“The Pulse” was created in conjunction with the Cleveland Foundation's new Basic Needs Fund, which will help sustain local nonprofits that provide essentials like food, clothing, and shelter.

You can find “The Pulse” online at http://clevelandfoundation.org/grantmaking/Pulse.html.

The full NEO CANDO, Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing resources can be found here.

You can find The Cleveland Foundation Pulse press release here.

Prof. Mark Chupp and Doctoral candidate Diwakar Vadapalli, will present "Limitations and Lessons in Place-Based Community Development: The CDC Movement in the US" in Monterrey, Mexico at the 16th, International Consortium for Social Development Symposium.

Abstract:
Community Development Corporations (CDCs) in the US are a vital organizational mechanism for revitalization of disadvantaged communities. throughout their evolution in history, CDCs followed the dominant framrwork of "place-based community development'.

This study examines the diverse roles of CDC's in community revitalization in the Cleveland metropolitan area, their limitations in addressing challenges that result in part from larger state and federal policies in spite of their adoption of sophisticated and modern organizational mechanisms and techniques.

Recommendations include: 1) adopting a broader social development framework for building community capitals and 2) adopting a flexible unit of analysis that can be applied beyond the confines of a "place-based community'. Community-based organization in other countries, as they design their strategies for revitalization or development, can draw lessons from the experience of CDC's from a major American city.

Michigan Radio, July 20, 2009

The City of Cleveland has a goal of rehabbing 150 vacant homes, demolishing 300, and preventing another 300 homes from going into foreclosure. It's all part of a program called Opportunity Homes. The program relies on data from Mike Schramm and the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at Case Western Reserve University.

Read or listen to the WUOM 91.7, Ann Arbor, Michingan NPR affiliate interview here.

Cleveland Plain Dealer July 19, 2009

You can see a troubling new trend in the foreclosure crisis in a Cleveland Plain Dealer article by Sandra Livingston titled, "Bank 'walkaways' from foreclosed homes are a growing, troubling trend" here.

"Bank walkaways" are another troubling development in the foreclosure crisis, particularly in cities like Cleveland with weaker housing markets, say housing advocates and government officials. Where banks and Mortgage comanies choose to leave the house in legal limbo, rather than complete the foreclosure. Researchers at the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at Case Western Reserve University are studying the issue.

Researcher Michael Schramm comments.

The Berea Children's Home and Family Services's Summer 2009 newsletter, Seeds of Hope, highlights The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development in the question-and-answer article, "Understanding Poverty: What Can Be Done To Help Children and Families?"

The Berea Children's Home and Family Services's site can be found here.

The Summer 2009 issue of the Seeds of Hope newsletter can be found here.

The Article with the Poverty Center starts on page 6 of the PDF version.

John Taylor, an urban planner from Indonesia, and José "Zay" Marcelo Zacchi, Executive Director of Overmundo Institute and a founder and a member of the Brazilian Public Security Forum Board of Directors, visited the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development.

Mr. Taylor is currently involved in facilitating data-driven decision-making in urban areas of Indonesia. Building bridges between policy establishment, political decision makers, and the population impacted by those decisions is at the core of Mr. Taylor efforts. The ‘Urban Observatory’, as he called it, will be a place to collect data from various sources and disseminate it in multiple formats such as tables and maps.

Mr. Taylor and Mr. Zacchi were at the Center for a three day exchange of ideas on democratizing data and assisting in local policy making. A video of their impressions of the Center and its work will be part of a documentary film that Mr. Taylor will be using to advocate for data-driven decision-making in Indonesia.

An overview of Mr. Taylor's presentation can be viewed, here. His bio can be found, on page ten, here.

Diwakar K. Vadapalli, Doctoral Research Fellow at the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, presented a paper in Carmona, Spain, April 22-24, at a research meeting titled, "Social Welfare and Cash Transfer Meeting," which was organized by both UNICEF and University College London, to discuss the role of social welfare services in improving cash transfer programs.

A communiqué released from the meeting is available here.

Mr. Vadapalli's paper is titled, "Barriers and challenges in accessing social transfers and role of social welfare services in improving targeting efficiency: a study of conditional cash transfers," and it was featured in the July edition of NASW News in the article, "Services Enhance Cash Programs: Information flow among the parties is vital to the success of cash transfer policies," by Paul R. Pace, that reports about this research meeting.

Mr. Vadapalli's paper will also be presented at the 2009 Symposium of the International Consortium for Social Development in Monerrey, Mexico on July 28th, 2009. It will appear in a special issue of the international journal Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies titled, "UNICEF Special Issue: Barriers and challenges in accessing social transfers and role of social welfare services in improving targeting efficiency: a study of conditional cash transfers by: D. Vadapalli."

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Family Homelessness in Cuyahoga County

A new Briefly Stated number 09-03, titled "Family Homelessness in Cuyahoga County" has been released. It summarizes research in a white paper by the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development regarding an analysis of the number of homeless families and "doubled up" families in Cuyahoga County.

The Briefly stated can be read or downloaded here.

The White paper, also titled "Family Homelessness in Cuyahoga County," can be read or downloaded here.

A brief radio article, on NPR affiliate WCPN, referencing this paper can be read or heard here.

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A multi-institutional team of researchers, led by the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University, will begin a five-year, $2.9 million National Institutes of Health-funded study. They will examine the lives of patients with both cataracts and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) to document how restored vision improves everyday life for people with dementia.

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Thank you Dean for your very kind and generous introduction.

Good Afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen

I am very pleased to have the honor of speaking at this Commencement Exercise.

I congratulate you, the class of 2009, for persevering in the pursuit of knowledge, wisdom, and confidence to confront the social issues of today.

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In this Update:

Exhibit Dates: May 4 - July 11, 2009

The current exhibit on the second and third floors of the Mandel School is a collection of linoleum block prints by artist Pamela Dodds. She uses a technique called linocut, which is similar to that of woodcut. The smooth, grainless texture of the linoleum allows for the cutting of a fluid, detailed line. After the image is cut in the linoleum plate, the surface is carefully inked and transferred to paper.

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Exhibit Dates: May 1, - July 6, 2009

Paul Lender, an environmental photographer, has his work currently on display throughout the first floor of the Mandel School. According to his artist statement, he strives to capture the world around him as close as possible to the way he sees it. He aspires not only to highlight the beauty found in expansive landscapes, but also the magnificence found in small details.

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We recently mailed the first issue of our new printed newsletter, "Evidence Matters." A free PDF is available from our web site. Please distribute it to anyone who is interested in enhancing services for people diagnosed with severe mental illness. We've retired our "SAMI Matters" newsletter. The Fall 2008 issue was the last. Find out why. Get back issues from this web page. Use them to educate staff and stakeholders. . . . The Center for EBPs is a partnership between the Mandel School and the Department of Psychiatry at the Case School of Medicine.

| learn more |

The primary purpose of this study was to improve our understanding of who gets referred to evidence-based Supported Employment (SE) services and what characteristics predict entry into competitive employment for adult consumers diagnosed with co-occurring mental and substance use disorders. This report includes some tips for policy and practice. . . . The Center for EBPs at Case is a partnership between the Mandel School and the Department of Psychiatry at the Case School of Medicine.

| learn more |

John Moneypenny is Assistant Director of the Choices Community Social Center in Akron, Ohio, a gathering place that provides a social, recreational, and educational outlet for adults recovering from mental illness in the surrounding Summit County area. He recounts his recovery story, so it might be shared as a source of inspiration for others. . . . Listen to and download free ".mp3" audio files. . . . Choices is a community partner of the Center for EBPs at Case, which is a partnership between the Mandel School and the Department of Psychiatry at the Case School of Medicine.

| listen and learn more |

The ranks of the unemployed have swelled in the current economic downturn, and people from all walks of life have found themselves coping with the reality of job loss. For some workers, though, being without a job is nothing new.

“Our goal was to identify the barriers that keep individuals from being referred for employment services and subsequent employment,” says David Biegel, Ph.D., of Case Western Reserve’s Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences.

Read the Article from Case's Think magazine.

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You are invited to watch a video on the university's YouTube channel featuring Marc A. Stefanski and Sharon Milligan on "The Impact of Housing on Financial Markets and Urban Families."

Stefanski is the chairman and CEO of Third Federal Savings and Loan; Milligan is associate dean for academic affairs at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, and Associate Director for Outreach and Education at the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development.

The discussion—which took place during spring semester—was sponsored by the Office of the President, Case Western Reserve University.

To view this video please click here.

Cleveland, Ohio City Council held a meeting with presidential campaign representative six days before the Ohio 2008 presidential Primary regarding the Foreclosure Crisis and to inform the candidates might be able to about it.

This meeting was called, "Cleveland: The Fighting Foreclosure and Abandonment Forum, A dialogue about solutions between the Presidential campaigns and one of America's hardest-hit communities... six days before the decisive Ohio primary" with the sponsorship and participation of numerous Cleveland leaders, agencies and community organizations and invited representatives of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain.

The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development was represented at this meeting by our Associate Director for Community Information, Michael Schramm.

On Wednesday, February 27, 2008 there was a live Webcast called to view the recording of this video please go here.

Information on the Cleveland City council's Foreclosure Forum can be viewed here.

read more »

NEO CANDO property data update

The Ohio SE CCOE is now using a revised fidelity scale to assist mental health service organizations in Ohio that are implementing the evidence-based Supported Employment (SE) model. Evaluators from the CCOE have already conducted fidelity reviews using the new scale at several organizations across the state and plan to conduct at least one review with the new scale at all evidence-based SE programs in Ohio by the end of the year. (The Ohio SE CCOE is a program of the Center for EBPs at Case--a partnership of the Mandel School and Dept. of Psychiatry.)

| learn more |

Lord knows...But what do we know about the effectiveness of faith-based programming?

Beginning with the Clinton Administration and greatly extended under George W. Bush, the federal government has expanded the role of faith-based providers in the delivery of a range of human services.

Since 2001, the Faith-Based and Community Initiative (FBCI) has aimed to give these organizations equal opportunity with secular and larger organizations to secure federal funding for the delivery of social services.

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Quality Matters - Assessing the quality of early care settings in Cuyahoga County

This document summarizes recent research which investigates the effects of County programs which promote increased capactiy and quality in the region's childcare.

Using data from 177 pre-school classrooms, this study was undertaken to assess the level of quality in regulated early care and education settings in and around Cleveland, Ohio.

The quality of care in settings serving young children is a crucial concern in policy and practice circles as we seek ways to promote child development. This study examined the structural and contextual factors associated with high quality care and was designed to inform a community-wide initiative focused on child well-being and school readiness.

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Keynote speaker Gary Bond, PhD, an internationally known SE researcher from Indiana University-Purdue University of Indianapolis. . . . Keynote speaker Phil DeVol, co-author of "Bridges Out of Poverty". . . . Over 30 practical workshops. . . . This event is designed for those who want to acquire more information about and practical skills that pertain to providing evidence-based Supported Employment (SE) services for people diagnosed with severe mental illness. . . . . Sponsored by the Ohio Supported Employment CCOE, a program of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs)--a partnership of the Mandel School and Department of Psychiatry.

| learn more & register |

It's always a pleasant surprise when a national discussion focuses on the work we do in the world of social services. It's all the more surprising when the conversation highlights one of our own at the Center for Evidence-Based Practices--a partnership of the Mandel School and Department of Psychiatry at the Case School of Medicine. The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric recently aired a report on Supported Employment (SE), the evidence-based practice, featuring our own SE Consultant and Trainer Nicole Clevenger.

| learn more |

Web chat allows participants to communicate in real time using easily accessible web interfaces. It is a way to instantly connect with the admission and financial aid office as well as other groups. Our first web chat will take place on Thursday, January 15, 2009 from 5 - 6:30 pm. Prospective students will have a chance to chat and get involved in discussions about the admission and financial aid process. Feel free to submit your questions during this time and our admission counselors and financial aid staff will provide helpful answers and information. Please log in on January 15 from 5- 6:30 pm at this link: http://msass.universitywebchat.com/chat7417/ We look forward to speaking with you!!

The Center for Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs) at Case's Mandel School and Dept. of Psychiatry is collecting audio recordings of service providers, consumers, and others telling stories of their experiences with evidence-based practices and other services. Share your story.

| listen & learn more |

A significant cutback in funding for tobacco-cessation programs in the State of Ohio has negatively affected efforts to reduce illnesses and healthcare costs associated with the use of harmful tobacco products. Yet, the Ohio Tobacco & Recovery (TR) Project, developed for people with severe mental illness, continues to make progress toward a service model that will stand the test of time and create positive results for Ohio residents. The Ohio TR Project is a program of the Center for EBPs at Case--a partnership of the Mandel School and Department of Psychiatry, Case School of Medicine . . . (Featuring Mandel School graduate Deb Hrouda, MSSA ('94), LISW.)

| learn more |

The Ohio Tobacco and Recovery stages-of-change model is among the nation’s cutting-edge efforts to improve health outcomes among people diagnosed with severe mental illness, because it is designed specifically to address the unique needs of this population. A recent story in Time magazine identified the high incidence of tobacco use and dependence among people with severe mental illness as one of the growing health concerns in the United States. The Ohio Tobacco & Recovery Project is a program of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices--a partnership of the Mandel School and Department of Psychiatry at the Case School of Medicine.

| learn more |

The November/December 2008 cover story of the nationally distributed Social Work Today magazine features the Ohio Substance Abuse and Mental Illness Coordinating Center of Excellence (Ohio SAMI CCOE)--a program of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs) at Case Western Reserve University. The Center is a partnership of the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences and the Department of Psychiatry at the Case School of Medicine. Both are curriculum innovators: both have fellowship programs for the study of co-occurring severe mental illness and substance use disorders. . . . (Featuring Mandel School graduate Ric Kruszynski, MSSA ('93), LISW, LICDC.)

| learn more |

The Ph.D. Program at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences celebrates the second anniversary of its part-time study option for doctoral-level education in social welfare and is inviting applications from professionals with experience in social work and allied disciplines--such as psychology, public health, nonprofit organizations, law, anthropology, and sociology, among others. The doctoral program has both part-time and full-time study options available, along with financial assistance for both.

| learn more |

As the Center for EBPs at Case/Mandel School looks toward its Supported Employment conference on March 24 and 25, 2009, we reflect upon the 8th Annual SAMI/IDDT conference that took place this past September in Columbus, Ohio and are reminded how conversations at these annual events continue to inform the implementation of evidence-based practices throughout Ohio and across the nation. Featuring audio interviews with Robert Drake, MD; Carlo DiClemente, PhD; Sandra Stephenson, MSW, director of ODMH; and more.

| listen & learn more |

Psychiatrist and researcher Robert E. Drake, MD, PhD, knows a few things about the evidence-based Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) model—why it’s necessary, how it works, and which treatment components produce the most positive outcomes. He is one of the original creators of IDDT. His research continues to inform the dissemination of IDDT and the evidence-based Supported Employment (SE) model. . . . Dr. Drake has been a long-time supporter, collaborator, and colleague of the Center for EBPs at Case/Mandel School. Join us for our conversation with him.

| listen & learn more |

Ask Psychologist Carlo DiClemente, PhD, co-creator of the Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM), how you might achieve and maintain a meaningful personal change in your life—diet, exercise, sobriety, mental health recovery—and he’ll tell you what he’s found from almost 30 years of research on the subject. Dr. DiClemente sat down with us to provide a tutorial on the origins and ongoing evolution of TTM. . . . Dr. DiClemente is a supporter, collaborator, and colleague of the Center for EBPs at Case/Mandel School.

| listen & learn more |

Living two seemingly separate lives never seemed quite right to Darnella Allen, BA, LICDC, of Cleveland. There was her life as an ordained minister, where she felt free to use her compassionate, forgiving, and supportive self to help people. And there was her life as an addictions counselor, where she felt skeptical of the motives of people who abused alcohol and other drugs. She spent some 20 years living with this conflict. Then she was hired as a case manager at Mental Health Services, Inc. (MHS) in Cleveland, which uses IDDT to help homeless persons with severe mental illness. . . . The Center for EBPs at Case provides technical assistance to MHS.

| listen & learn more |

There is hope for people who are most at-risk of psychiatric hospitalization, homelessness, and institutional recidivism. It is called Assertive Community Treatment (ACT). If you listen close enough to Jonas Thom, MA, PCC, you will get the impression that ACT is more than an evidence-based practice that produces improved outcomes; it is a way of being present gently and consistently in the lives of others. Thom is Director of the Ohio Coordinating Center for ACT. He is a collaborator and colleague of the Center for EBPs at Case's Mandel School and Dept. of Psychiatry. Join us for our conversation with him.

| listen & learn more |

Before getting a formal introduction to the Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) model, Dianne Asher, LSCSW, CADC-I, often felt frustrated and powerless in her work as a case manager and team leader. In the 1990s, she became one of the first practitioners in the State of Kansas to be introduced to IDDT and was recruited by The University of Kansas to lead IDDT implementation throughout the sunflower state. . . . Asher is a collaborator and colleague of the Center for EBPs at Case's Mandel School and Dept. of Psychiatry. Join us for our conversation with her.

| listen & learn more |

New Poverty Center report examines what happens to properties after sheriff's sale and REO ownership

Many properties that go into foreclosure eventually end up at a sheriff's auction, where they are usually purchased by the banks, mortgage companies, mortgage services, and government-sponsored enterprises involved in financing the foreclosed mortgage loan. These properties are referred to as "REO" (real-estate owned) properties. Between 2005 and 2008, there has been a drastic increase in REO properties being sold at extremely low prices—$10,000 and often less.

The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development has produced a report,
Beyond REO: Property Transfers at Extremely Distressed Prices in Cuyahoga County, 2005-2008, that takes a look at the trend of REO properties sold at $10,000 or less; the most frequent sellers and buyers of these properties in 2007 and 2008; time between property transactions; the price of properties in subsequent transactions; and limited information about the practices of some buyers and sellers of REO properties.

read more »

Vocational specialists from the State of Ohio's inpatient Behavioral Healthcare Organizations (BHOs) are putting to rest fears about symptoms of mental illness interfering with a person’s ability to work. The specialists are exploring how they might help some people obtain or return to competitive jobs in the community as part of their transition out of the hospital, before discharge. . . . The Center for EBPs at Case/Mandel School provides technical assistance to the State of Ohio's BHOs.

| learn more |

The Lake Metroparks Farmpark in Kirtland, Ohio is no ordinary park. It is a living educational museum, with interactive exhibits for children and adults alike. John is a participant of evidence-based Supported Employment (SE) services who works at the Farmpark. He has not missed a shift in over four years. His success is partly the result of his own fortitude, the guidance he receives from SE services at NEIGHBORING of Lake County, and the open communication he has with his boss, Beth Florian. . . . The Center for EBPs at Case provides technical assistance to NEIGHBORING.

| learn more |

On exhibit - first floor of the Mandel School until January 10, 2009

Eric Meyer welds and shapes handmade kitchen utensils out of pewter, silver, bronze, aluminum, and brass. His handmade objects, including a tea set, goblets, a tea infuser, and cutlery, have an opulence fit for royalty.

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Among its many functions, the Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing (NEO CANDO) database allows users to extract data across geography and time to examine trends.

The second map in the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development’s Map Series illustrates changes in Food Stamp enrollment between July 2000 and July 2008.

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Exhibit Dates: October 24, 2008 -- January 10, 2009

Judith Brandon graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1987 with degrees in drawing and enameling. It is the enameling techniques of scribing metal and the layering of transparent and opaque colors that are the foundation for her paintings. Her subject matter originates from the weather channel, travels and experiences. Oceans, rain, mist and ice, water in all of its forms and locations are an endless source of inspiration to her. Water is a dominant theme in her paintings.

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Exhibit Dates: October 20, 2008 – January 10, 2009

John Carlson began his career as an artist by attending Cleveland’s Cooper School of Art. Inspired by the works of Egon Schiele, Franz Kline, Edward Hopper, and Lucien Freud, he strives to find a balance between expressive drawings and boldly executed paintings.

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This past July, over 200 participants gathered at Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy (NEOUCOM) in Rootstown to attend a conference entitled “Moving in the BeST Direction: An Incubator to Improve Schizophrenia Treatment in Northeastern Ohio.” Representatives from the Center for Evidence-based Practices at Case Western Reserve University attended.

| learn more |

Sharon Milligan Presents on Poverty to the Young Presidents Organization as part of a panel that addressed Poverty in Cleveland.

The event was held at the Christian Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Cleveland on October 22, 2008.

Others joining Dr. Milligan on the panel that presented to the Young Presidents Organization were Joe Gaunter, Cuyahoga County Employment & Family Services; Reverend Bruce Goode, Christian Hope Missionary Baptist Church; and Judy Simpson, United Way of Greater Cleveland. The panel's moderator was Regina Brett from The Plain Dealer.

The handout providing an update about poverty statistics in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County was distributed to those who attended and is available here.

The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development's NEO CANDO community data resource is an invaluable tool for community development professionals and research.

Read about how two researchers, Fahui Wang and Richard Smith utilize NEO CANDO for policy evaluation in Evaluating Economic Development in Cleveland's Urban Neighborhoods.

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"Unfinished Business"
When: 10.07.08 | tuesday | 7:30 p.m.
Where: Max Wohl Civil Liberties Center, 4506 Chester Ave., Cleveland

Join the ACLU of Ohio for a discussion of some of the most pressing immigration, national security, and racial justice issues facing the country in 2008. Panelists will suggest possible solutions to these problems, as well as steps public officials and activists can take to create positive change.
Panelists include:
David Leopold, immigration attorney, David Wolfe Leopold & Associates Co.
Edward Little, criminal justice consultant
Julia Shearson, executive director, CAIR-Ohio, Cleveland Chapter
Shakyra Diaz, education director, ACLU of Ohio, will moderate this program.

Free and open to the public. Free parking available.
Please RSVP by clicking the button above, or calling (216) 472-2220.
Stand up! Get active! Make some noise! Our website has all the tools you need to restore lost liberty.
Check it out at www.acluohio.org.

This award recognizes a service team that embodies passion, dedication, and creativity when providing services to people with co-occurring severe mental illness and substance use disorders. It recognizes those who consistently go above and beyond the expectations of the Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) model and, in doing so, raise the standard for exceptional care.

| learn more & listen to audio |

Renee Molzon went into social work to help emotionally-disturbed children, never anticipating that her professional journey would land her beside homeless adults dealing with severe mental illness. . . .(Molzon is a community partner of the Mandel School.)

| learn more & listen to audio |

The career of Deana Leber-George has been an odyssey of reinvention. . . . She is now the Dual Diagnosis Program Supervisor at NEIGHBORING and has been a guiding member of the service team since 2002. She has learned a few lessons along the way about the implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs). . . . (Leber-George is a community partner of the Mandel School.)

| learn more & listen to audio |

Times are especially good for NEIGHBORING's Chief Operating Officer Ken Gill, MSSA ('82), LISW-S, LICDC, and his Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) team. They are being recognized for raising the standard of exceptional care with the third annual Lynn Goff Spirit of Integrated Treatment Award. . . . Things, however, weren’t always running this smoothly.

| learn more & listen to audio |

A few years back, the City of Painesville had a problem: what to do about the homeless population hanging out in its picturesque town square. For NEIGHBORING, a mental-health and substance-abuse service agency headquartered in the City of Mentor, this was another chance to step up and help out. . . . . (Featuring Mandel School graduate Ken Gill, MSSA (’82), LISW-S, LICDC, and other community partners.)

| learn more & listen to audio |

The Voting Process

When: Saturday, September 27, 200, 11:00 - 12:30
Where: Strosacker Auditorium and Adelbert Gym at Case Western Reserve University

What you Always Wanted to Know about Voting but were Afraid to Ask!

Time: 11:00 - 12:30, Strosacker events:

~ Film ~ Music ~ Hip Hop
~ Dramatic Performance by Students from the Cleveland School of the Arts
~ Amazing Facts about YOU!
~ How YOU can MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Program followed by Lunch, Prize Drawings 12:30-2:00, Adelbert Gym:

~ Pizza lunch
~ Prize drawings
~ Give-aways
~ Voter registration

Free and Open to the Public. First 200 persons who register will be eligible for a drawing for a flat-screen TV.

*To be eligible for the drawing, you MUST register in advance by emailing us.

Current Co-Sponsors (List still growing):
LINKS, Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, The League of Women Voters, Ohio Votes, The Greater Cleveland Voter Coalition, Cleveland State University, plus many other schools and organizations

read more »

Join Citizens for a Safe and Fair Cleveland in a Town Hall Meeting to discuss the impact of and develop solutions for selective enforcement practices on drug crimes within Cuyahoga County.

When: 09.25.08 | thursday | 7:00 p.m.
Where: Trinity Cathedral Commons, 2230 Euclid Ave., Cleveland
(Entrance to the program and free parking are accessible through Prospect Ave.)

Free and open to the public. To RSVP, call (216) 472-2212 or visit www.safefaircleveland.org.

Citizens for a Safe and Fair Cleveland (“CSFC”) is a coalition committed to making the streets of the City of Cleveland safer for all persons, while monitoring law enforcement policies to insure consistency, proportionality, and fairness. The Town Hall Meeting will provide an insight into the harsher drug sentences being applied within the city of Cleveland and its impact on the African American and Hispanic communities.

Citizens for a Safe and Fair Cleveland includes:
100 Black Men of Greater Cleveland
ACLU of Ohio
Cleveland Chapter, NAACP
Cleveland Job Corp Academy
As well as a number of community leaders and stakeholders

1st colloquium of fall 2008 semester about El Salvador from civil war to sustainable economies….

If you want to learn about this intriguing country or
If you are thinking of joining MSASS/IPM trip to El Salvador in December. Come and meet Magda Lanuza, IPM’s director for Latin America & the Caribbean

When: Tuesday, Sep 23, 2008, 12:45pm – 2:00pm
Where: Room 320A, MSASS

Feel free to bring your lunch. Soft drinks and cookies will be provided.

The ACLU of Ohio needs your help! We are looking for several volunteers to staff a literature table for the Tremont Arts & Cultural Festival.

When: Saturday, September 20, 2008 and Sunday, September 21,2008
Where: Lincoln Park

Between W. 14th, W. 11th, Kenilworth and Starkweather, Cleveland
We need energetic, friendly people to work the table during the festival. Responsibilities will include engaging visitors, handing out literature, asking people to sign-up for ACLU email updates and selling a few small items like t-shirts and ACLU memberships.
What’s in it for you? A day of fun meeting new people, listening to music and helping the ACLU gain friends and support!
If you are interested in participating, please reply to this email and a staff member will contact you.
* This involves disassembling a tent, so be prepared for a little heavy lifting.

Stand up! Get active! Make some noise! Our new website has all the tools you need to restore lost liberty.

Check it out at www.acluohio.org.

Needed: Case Western Reserve University Spartans of all ages for the sixth annual Case for Community Day on Friday, September 19. Requirements include time to volunteer for an afternoon of serving the needs of campus neighbors and community organizations.

Coordinated by the Center for Community Partnerships, a volunteer force of nearly 600 hundred people are being sought from campus to serve the needs of the local community during this rewarding day of service.

The event begins with a free Italian lunch menu and short program led by President Barbara Snyder at 11 a.m. in the Thwing Student Center and continues throughout the afternoon at volunteer sites across the city. The day concludes about 4 p.m. with an outdoor barbecue complete with live music performed by Cleveland Councilman Kevin Conwell & the Footprints Jazz Trio along with Carlos Jones & the Plus Band on the Kelvin Smith Library Oval. Demonstrating their commitment to social responsibility and Case Western Reserve, Bon Appétit will donate the foods and services for lunch for all volunteers.

Community Projects
Each year Case for Community Day features a variety of campus and community projects for volunteers to select.

One includes a highly visible project with local artist Hector Vega, who will redesign a public mural at the University Circle Rapid Transit Station located at the bottom of Cedar Hill. Sponsored by Sherwin Williams and the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA), a battalion of 100 volunteers will help Vega paint the new mural comprised of 34 six-foot panels.

In addition, the nearby park will receive a facelift with fresh paint, new landscaping, benches and picnic tables. A community garden will be established in the park for local residents and students living on the south side of campus. All materials for the mural and park are being donated by Sherwin Williams, RTA and landscaping partners of Case Western Reserve.

"Case for Community day is a wonderful event that brings our campus and its neighbors together. I applaud all of the volunteers who have been involved in previous years, and encourage everyone to take part in the activities this September 19," said Snyder.

Volunteers are needed for more than 50 service projects to assist in tasks identified by community agencies.

For individuals unable to leave campus or their work areas, they can contribute through campus drives for school supplies for local school children, canned goods for the Cleveland Foodbank and blood for the American Red Cross.

The campus can view a complete list of service opportunities beginning today and register as a volunteer. Registration closes on Friday, September 12, 2008.

Charity Choice Campaign
Created by the Staff Advisory Council in 2002, Case for Community Day also launches the university's annual Charity Choice Campaign to raise money for a federation of nonprofit organizations comprised of United Way, Earth Shares and Community Shares agencies. Since 2001, the university has donated nearly $1 million to the community. The campaign will continue through November.

Service Grants
As a new addition to the day's activities, Snyder will announce the winners of community service grants sponsored by the Center for Community Partnerships. Campus members are encouraged to apply for funding for upcoming community service initiatives in 2008-09. Download the application. The deadline is September 2, 2008.

Case Western Reserve University offers over 500 community outreach programs to nearly 600 community partners in the areas of academic, health, social service, community and economic development. As a campus, Case Western Reserve University faculty, staff and students invest approximately 400,000 hours of volunteer service each year; impact nine local school districts and 29 international countries. To learn more about how the university is engaged in the community, contact the Center for Community Partnerships at (216) 368-3909 or visit the Web site.

For more information contact Susan Griffith, 216.368.1004.

Thursday 18th, September 2008
12:45pm – 1:45pm
Room 323, MSASS

At this forum, sponsored by the GSS, Aetna will give a presentation about the new student medical plan. In addition to this presentation, there will be a discussion session during which students may voice their opinions and concerns about the new plan. Please advertise this event to your fellow graduate students. Attached is a flier that you can print out and post. The forum will take place at 11:45 in DeGrace 312 on Thursday, September 18. Lunch will be provided.

5th Annual Conference on Prostitution, Sex Work, & Human Trafficking
Accepting Registration
September 18th & 19th, 2008

Please join us at the 5th Annual Conference on Prostitution, Sex Work, & Human Trafficking on September 18th & 19th, 2008.

Purpose:
To bring together researchers and practitioners in an effort to lay the groundwork for future collaborative research, advocacy, and program development. To educate social service, health care, and criminal justice professionals on human trafficking and the needs and risks of those victimized by the commercial sex industry.

Conference Location:
The University of Toledo
Student Union Rooms 2582, 2584, 2591
2801 W. Bancroft St.
Toledo, OH 43606

Who Should Attend:
This conference is open to survivors, researchers, practitioners, and
workers in the social service, criminal justice, and health care fields.

Registration available online.
Cost: Early Registration Before September 1st - $100 for both days / $50 for 1 day / $20 for Students Late Registration After September 1st - $120 for both days / $60 for 1 day / $30 for Students

Continuing Education Credits: The conference has been awarded 12
continuing education credits for social work, mental health, counseling, CHES, ASSECT, RCH, and CLE's. With pending approval, up to 6 credits will be awarded for Nursing.

When: Tuesday, Sept 16, beginning 8pm
Where: Barking Spider

Details: First round of drinks on SLC!

If you are an MSASS student, first, 2nd year, Adv. Standing, IW or just concerned,
Please join us Tuesday, September 16th at 12:45 in the Student Lounge to discuss and share about the new grading policy. Many students have voiced their concern in opposition to this new policy, and as social workers it is our job to advocate. Hope to see you there!

*If you are unable to attend this meeting for any reason and would still like to express your opinion about this matter, please email your thoughts to us, The Mandel Council, or let us know in person!*

Were you aware that only 5 percent of eligible donors across the nation donate blood, but the number of transfusions nationwide increases by 9 percent every year? –Mayo Clinic

Blood Drive #1
Date/Time: Tuesday, 9/16/2008 from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Case Western Reserve University
Thwing Center - Ballroom

Blood Drive #2
Date/Time: Wednesday, 9/17/2008 from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Case Western Reserve University
Thwing Center - Ballroom

Blood Drive #3
Date/Time: Friday, 9/17/2008 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Case Western Reserve University
Thwing Center - 1914 Room

What you can do in advance: Making an appointment is easy. Click Here
Click on the link above or below. Once you get to the website enter your email address and date of birth. If you have used the online appointment system before, your information will display for your approval. If you have not used our online system before, you can fill out the form with some basic information that the blood bank will need. Then click the "Continue and View Blood Drives" button. You will see the blood drive(s). If you went to the site without using the link and don't see our drive, enter Casewestern where it asks for the sponsor code. Click the circle to the left of the day you would like your appointment. On the next page, pick a time. Then you will receive an email confirming your appointment.
Click Here now to make your appointment! Be advised that the actual blood donation usually takes less than 10 minutes. The entire process, from when you sign in to the time you leave, can take up to 45 minutes.

Questions and Comments:
Brett A. Hoover
American Red Cross - CWRU Site Director
bhoover14@gmail.com

~First Mandel Council Community Service Event. 12:30-3:30 p.m. at Hyacinth Park. The event is a park celebration and ribbon cutting ceremony. There will also be a petting zoo there for the children of the community. It will mainly consist of helping children during the petting zoo, staffing the food tables, passing out programs, etc. Please RSVP to The Mandel Council by 5p.m. on Wednesday, 9/10, so that we can get a count of those attending.

~First Mandel Council Social Event. 7:30pm at Johnny Malloy's for an MSASS social. *Other graduate professional organizations are more than welcome to attend either the Community Service Event and/or the Social.*

Journalist Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, author of the critically acclaimed
book Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the
Bronx, will discuss her writings as the featured speaker for the fourth annual Anisfield-Wolf Lecture. The free, public event will take place at 12:30 p.m., Friday, September 12, in Severance Hall.

In this Update:

Identity fraud affects millions of new victims each year. Join fellow
alumni and Liberty Mutual experts for lunch and a free seminar on
reducing the risks of becoming an identity fraud victim from noon to 1
p.m., Wednesday, September 10, at the Alumni House. Lunch will be
provided by the Office of Alumni Relations. To register, contact Emily
Cole at 368-3085.

When: Wednesday, September 10, 12:30 p.m.
Where: MSASS, Second Floor Atrium

You are invited to a brown bag lunch with Margaret Denk-Leigh, Assistant Professor and Printmaking Department Head at The Cleveland Institute of Art, who will be discussing the techniques and influences used in her show 45 Works on Paper: Print Exhibition.

Ms. Denk-Leigh's lithographs can be viewed on the first and second floors of the Mandel School. The exhibit runs until October 6, 2008.

For more information on Ms. Denk-Leigh's exhibit, please visit:
http://blog.case.edu/msass/2008/08/15/margaret_denkleigh.html#more

Also, don't miss Pamelinda O'Keefe's exhibit of 30 oil pastel works on the third floor. Ms. O'Keefe's work will be on display on the third floor until October 6, 2008.

For more information and to suggest future exhibitions, please contact
June Hund and Kristen Kirchgesler at (216) 368-2302 or at
artonthewalls@case.edu.

Initial meeting for interested members. The third floor commons area from 1p.m. to 2p.m.

The IDDT Affiliation Code Initiative gives agency providers, county boards, and State of Ohio stakeholders the capacity to collect data and to examine indicators and outcomes systematically. . . . (Featuring Mandel School graduate Deb Hrouda, MSSA ('94), LISW, and community partner David C. Ross, MA, LPCC, of the Mental Health and Recovery Board of Ashland County.)

| learn more & listen to audio |

Mandel Council 1st Full-Body Meeting & Organization Interest Meeting

When: 12:45-1:45p.m.
Where: MSASS Room 320BC

Everyone is invited and welcome!

Mandel Council 1st Full-Body Meeting & Organization Interest Meeting

When: 12:45-1:45p.m.
Where: MSASS Room 320BC

Everyone is invited and welcome!

When: Sunday, September 7 at 7:30pm
Where: Cleveland Psychoanalytic Center, Height's Medical Building at 2460 Fairmount Boulevard, Suite 312, Cleveland Heights (Cedar-Fairmount)
Details: Center's Library, "Elegy", director Isabel Coixet (adapted from the Philip Roth novel "The DYing Animal" will be discussed.

Description: Cultural critic David Kepesh finds his life-which he indicates is a state of "emancipated manhood"-thrown into tragic disarray by Consuela Castillo, a well-mannered student who awakens a sense of sexual possessiveness in her teacher.

*The group gathers on the first Sunday evening per month in the Center's library to discuss a film from a psychoanalytic perspective.*

(For the building's outside back door code, please call Debbie Morse at 216-229-5959, ext 103, or email dmorsecpc@sbcglobal.net)

When: 09.04.08 | thursday | 11:00 a.m.
Where: Rotunda, Cleveland City Hall, 601 Lakeside Ave., Cleveland

Join Community Shares to celebrate the kickoff of its 23rd annual campaign. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and City Councilmen Anthony Brancatelli, Joe Cimperman, Jay Westbrook and Matt Zone will speak about the importance of Shares to Cleveland.

The ACLU of Ohio Foundation is a proud member of Community Shares, along with 36 other progressive non-profit organizations working for real change. Shares provides an easy, effective way for people, through gifts at work, to support the social justice missions of organizations like the ACLU.

Representatives from Community Shares members, including the ACLU, will have booths with literature available for those interested in learning more about the organizations.

Make the leap on September 4 to show your support of the ACLU and Community Shares! Mingle with like-minded colleagues who support social justice for all!

For information about other ACLU events, click here.
Stand up! Get active! Make some noise! Our website has all the tools you need to restore lost liberty.
Check it out at www.acluohio.org.

Special Time, Special Topic

When: September 4, 4-5:00pm
Where: 309 Thwing

Featuring "The State of Health Care in the U.S." presentation and facilitated discussion by Dr. Nancy Johnson

Come Check it Out!

Tuesday, Sept. 2 at 8:00 pm in the 1914 Lounge in Thwing

Join us for pizza and snacks to learn more about WISER, the mentoring program and help plan our activities and events for the year!

WISER---Women in Science and Engineering Roundtable. The goal of WISER is to promote the academic excellence of people, particularly women, pursuing science at CWRU by building a learning community and by giving them the tools they need to succeed. WISER provides a peer and professional mentoring program, educational/professional opportunities, and networking/social events.

To sustain NEO CANDO as a free resource to the community, we are now requiring self-registration and login in to access the Social and Economic Data and Quick Profiles in NEO CANDO. We have been using this login successfully for the past 2 years on the Property Data section. If you have already registered to use the Property Data you do not need to self register again.

read more »

The Cleveland Indians versus the Kansas City Royals

When: Friday, September 12th
Details: Game Starts at 7:05pm
Tickets $10
Post-GameFireworks
Contact gssvp@case.edu or visit gss.case.edu for more information

Ticket Sales Locations

T 8/26 Tech Fee Forum – Rockefeller 301 12-1pm
W 8/27 BRB Lobby 12-1pm
R 8/28 GSS Meeting – Rockefeller 301 11:30-1pm
F 8/29 Thwing Atrium 12-1pm

Early Bird Special: All-You-Can-Eat Picnic
Join the Graduate Student Senate on the Indian's Patio from 6-8pm
Adults: $25 Children (under 14): $15 (ticket included in price)

Must purchase your tickets by September 2nd to get the special!
M 9/1 Labor Day Holiday
T 9/2 Nord Hall 12-1pm LAST DAY FOR SPECIAL
W 9/3 BRB 12-1pm
R 9/4 GSS Meeting – Rockefeller 301 11:30-1pm
F 9/5 Thwing Atrium 12-1pm

M 9/8 Nord Hall 12-1pm
T 9/9 Thwing Atrium 12-1pm
W 9/10 BRB Lobby 12-1pm
R 9/11 Welcome Back BBQ – Case Quad 11:30-1pm
F 9/12 Email gssvp@case.edu

Limited quantity available. Ticket sales to continue until sold out.Brought to you by the Activities Committee of:

http://gss.case.edu

The advisory committee meeting of the Ohio Tobacco and Recovery Project was held at Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare in Columbus this past spring. Mental health organizations around Ohio are getting ready to implement components of the new Tobacco and Recovery model.

(Featuring Mandel School graduate Patrick E. Boyle.)

| learn more & listen to audio |

The Shawnee Mental Health Center not only serves three of the poorest, most rural regions in Ohio--Lawrence, Scioto, and Adams counties--with mental health and tobacco recovery services, but it also lies in the heart of tobacco country, making the notion of kicking the habit seem less doable than flicking a cigarette butt across the Ohio River.

(Featuring community partner Flash Phipps of Portsmouth, Ohio.)

| learn more & listen to audio |

45 Works on Paper: Print Exhibition
Exhibit Dates: August 13 - October 6, 2008

Meet the Artist Brown Bag Lunch - September 10
12:30 p.m., Second Floor Atrium

Maggie Denk-Leigh is an Assistant Professor and Printmaking Department Head at The Cleveland Institute of Art, where she has been an instructor for the last nine years. She also is the Board Treasurer of the Morgan Conservatory. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Printmaking, Design and Business from Xavier University and her Masters of Fine Arts from Clemson University in South Carolina.

read more »

Oil Pastels on Sandpaper
Exhibit Dates: August 13 - October 6, 2008

Pamelinda O’Keefe’s show displays 30 prints depicting common objects enlivened with bold lines and bright colors. Inspired during a particularly gray day in February, O’Keefe felt compelled to create colorful images to counteract the dreariness of that time of year.

read more »

These profiles summarize key data pertinent to the early childhood population in Cuyahoga County’s communities. This is provided as a reference tool that may be helpful in understanding community needs and existing services for children. A version of this profile was originally developed by the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development for Invest in Children. Invest in Children, administered by the Board of Cuyahoga County Commissioners, is a community-wide public/private partnership working together to help increase the development, funding, visibility, and impact of early childhood services in Cuyahoga County. The common goal of these partners is to make sure that all children have quality services available to them, which assist in their earliest developmental years and ensure they enter kindergarten healthy, happy, and ready to learn. Click here to view sources for indicators in the profiles.