BUSSW Alum Mia Ocean (PhD’15) Influences California Financial Aid Policy that Promotes More Equitable Access to Education
Education opens doors to better career prospects, higher income, and personal development, allowing people to break cycles of poverty and inequality. However, many students from low-income backgrounds rely on financial aid to achieve their education goals and they are more vulnerable to losing that aid for a wider variety of reasons than students from different […]
Professor Hahm & Colleagues Call on NIH to Amplify Asian American and Pacific Islander Voices in Scientific Research
During the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-Asian racism surged across the United States, sparking widespread harm and fear in Asian American, Native Hawiian and Pacific Islander (AA/NH/PI) communities. In response, Professor Hyeouk Chris Hahm from BU School of Social Work and her colleagues co-founded the Coalition of AA/PI Investigators and Allies to address disparities in AAPI research, […]
Professor Ha Awarded $2 Million Grant to Evaluate Child Care Contracts & Their Impact on Early Care & Education
High quality child care is key to children’s development. The State of Massachusetts has recently bolstered quality improvement initiatives within child care contracts, aiming to enhance equitable access to high quality care for children. To evaluate the impact of these efforts, Professor Yoonsook Ha of Boston University School of Social Work has been awarded a […]
BUSSW Researchers Investigate the Impact of the Fostering Connections Act
Youth aging out of foster care face a heightened risk of homelessness, a pattern with far-reaching consequences for their future stability and success. The 2008 Fostering Connections Act extended foster care eligibility to age 21, but understanding its effectiveness is crucial to providing a safety net for this population. A new study by Profs. Thomas […]
BU CISS Highlights Research by Professor Alvarez-Hernandez & Jacobson López that Advances LGBTQIA+ Health
Members of the LGBTQIA+ community—particularly those with intersecting marginalized identities—are more likely to experience mental health issues, substance use disorders, and barriers to accessing care, a fact that is often misunderstood by healthcare providers. To educate the healthcare industry and increase more inclusive, sensitive, and effective care for queer communities, Profs. Luis Alvarez-Hernandez and Daniel […]
BUSSW Researchers Assess Anxiety & Depression in People Receiving Rapid Rehousing Services
While recent research has highlighted the critical role housing plays in overall health, Rapid Rehousing (RRH) programs have emerged to help individuals and families move from homelessness to stable living situations. However, despite RRH’s growth as a solution to homelessness, its impact on mental health has remained largely unexplored until now. A new study by […]
Professor Alvarez-Hernandez & Sprague Martinez Receive FDA Grant to Increase Spanish-Speaking Participants in Clinical Research
Language diversity in the U.S. is rarely represented in clinical trials, which rely mostly on English-speaking participants. In a significant step towards enhancing health equity, Profs. Luis Alvarez-Hernandez from Boston University School of Social Work (BUSSW) and Linda Sprague Martinez from the University of Connecticut received the FDA Health Equity Innovation Award to fund a […]
IRP Awards Professor Mendez & Treitler $50k for Research on Families in Child Welfare System with Substance Use Disorder
BU School of Social Work (BUSSW) faculty researchers Alicia Mendez and Peter Treitler received a $50,000 grant from the Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) to support families grappling with substance use disorder and the child welfare system. Their research responds to a need for effective integrative services that address the substance use and […]
Professor Lombe & Colleagues Lead BU CTSI Knowledge-Sharing Event on How to Diversify the Research Workforce
There are clear advantages to having a diverse research workforce: it can rectify systemic inequalities by better addressing the needs and concerns of different populations, improve problem solving by integrating diverse experiences throughout the research process, and help institutions remain competitive in increasingly globalized fields. This important topic was explored at an event hosted and […]
Professor Augsberger & Collins Contribute Chapter on Youth Policy Advocacy for the Cambridge Handbook of Community Empowerment
The Cambridge Handbook of Community Empowerment is focused on helping communities influence and change the policy structures that affect their lives. Profs. Astraea Augsberger and Mary Elizabeth Collins, both experts on youth engagement, authored a chapter of the handbook, entitled “Youth Policy Advocacy in Municipal Governance.” In the chapter, the authors analyze scholarly literature about […]