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Author: Maya Gutman

BU School of Social Work: CISWH Receives $2 Million Gift to Build Economic Case for Social Work

The Center for Innovation in Social Work and Health (CISWH) at BU School of Social Work (BUSSW) received a $2 million gift to support Building the Economic Case for Social Work, a multi-year research project that will evaluate social workers’ health and economic leadership and contributions in interdisciplinary healthcare and public health teams.  

Excerpt from “BU School of Social Work Receives $2 Million Gift to Support Its Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health” originally posted on the BUSSW website:  

“As we navigate the ever-evolving landscape of health and social work, it is essential to document the economic contributions of social work within health and public health systems,” [says] Tami Gouveia, CISWH director and Paul Farmer professor of practice. “This funding will help us understand how to create new programs and payment models to ensure access to health and behavioral health for all.” 

Read the full article here.  

CISWH Faculty and Student Fellows Share Social Work Innovations at SSWR 2025

Faculty and student fellows from the Center for Innovation in Social Work and Health (CISWH) at BU School of Social Work (BUSSW) presented on innovations in interdisciplinary education and moving social work research to action at the Society for Social Work Research Annual Meeting, held recently in Seattle, WA.   

The CISWH team shared how social workers can influence policy change through their research, and presented lessons learned from a virtual reality simulated learning pilot for an interdisciplinary graduate-level course on the Social Determinants of Health in healthcare settings.  

Navigating Political Advocacy: Strategies and Stories from Civically Engaged Social Work Researchers 

Dr. Tami Gouveia, CISWH director and Paul Farmer Professor of Practice, shared her experience serving for four years in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. During this roundtable, Dr. Gouveia presented with Dr. Sarah Elizabeth Neville;, Dr. Charles E. Lewis, CISWH advisory board member, and Dr. Vincent Fusaro on why social work researchers should be civically engaged, who social workers are as advocates, and how social workers can share their research and expertise to influence policymaking to benefit population health, well-being, and quality of life. 

Social Work Expertise in Multidisciplinary Health Care Settings to Address Social Determinants of Health: Lessons Learned from a Virtual Reality Education Initiative   

CISWH graduate fellow Abdul “Haseeb” Hamza (MSW’25) presented the outcomes of a pilot for an interdisciplinary course that helps medical, social work, and nutrition students practice integrating the Social Determinants of Health into collaborative care through a virtual reality simulation. BUSSW Prof. M. Emilia Bianco, CISWH affiliate, and Dr. Tami Gouveia co-presented this poster. 

 

CISWH Announces the Beyond 2025 Action Hub

The Center for Innovation in Social Work and Health (CISWH) at Boston University School of Social Work (BUSSW) recently launched the Beyond 2025 Action Hub, a multi-pronged initiative to equip social workers, health professionals, and more with tools to address harmful policies outlined in “Project 2025″ and the “America First Agenda”.  

The Beyond 2025 Action Hub features:  
 
Beyond 2025 Database: This searchable database will be updated regularly and features 700+ “Project 2025” and the “America First Agenda” policy proposals, Congressional Acts, and executive orders, with options to search by agency, population, or topic. Entries include summaries of health and mental well-being impacts, source links, and editorial comments.  

Beyond 2025 Playbook and Toolkit: A practical guide featuring exercises, action planning resources, tutorials, and scripts to help everyday people, social workers, public health practitioners, community members, and leaders take collective action. New and crowdsourced tools will be added regularly to support change-making in challenging times. 

Beyond 2025 Critical Conversations Series: Virtual convenings equip participants with skills to take action and navigate policy, funding, and practice changes under the next Administration and Congress. Join us on Tuesday, January 28, for the first session of the Beyond 2025 Critical Conversations series: Beyond Project 2025: An Action Hub to Advance Our Future.   

Together, these efforts guide community leaders, social work and public health practitioners, and others to prepare for significant disruptions to our economic, political, health, and social service systems. Looking beyond 2025, we will work together to build the conditions that support equitable health, mental well-being, and quality of life.  

Visit the Beyond 2025 Action Hub

1/28: Beyond Project 2025: An Action Hub to Advance Our Future

A Virtual Event  
Tuesday, January 28, 2025 
3:00 – 4:15 PM ET 
Zoom 

 

Join the Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health (CISWH) at BU School of Social Work (BUSSW) for the first session of the Beyond 2025 Critical Conversations series: Beyond Project 2025: An Action Hub to Advance Our Future. 

The policies proposed in “Project 2025″ and the “America First Agenda” pose grave threats, particularly to the most marginalized among us. In response to these challenges, CISWH has launched the Beyond 2025 Action Hub—a bold initiative that includes a database, toolkit, and virtual series designed to empower individuals and communities to take meaningful, collective action. 

In this kick-off event, Dr. Tami Gouveia, CISWH director and Paul Farmer professor of practice and Meg Comeau, CISWH senior project director, will: 

  • Demo the Beyond 2025 Database: A powerful repository of 700+ “Project 2025″ and the “America First Agenda” policy proposals, Congressional Acts, and executive orders, with options to search by agency, population, or topic. Entries include summaries of health and mental well-being impacts, source links, and editorial comments. 
  • Provide an overview of the Beyond 2025 Action Toolkit: A practical guide featuring exercises, action planning resources, tutorials, and scripts to help everyday people, social workers, public health practitioners, community members, and leaders take collective action. New and crowdsourced tools provide users with valuable resources to engage in changemaking. 

 

Register Here 

5/29: CISWH Presents Webinar: Humanism In Clinical Care To Meet Whole Child/Family Needs

A Virtual Event

Wednesday, May 29, 2024

4:00 – 5:00 PM ET

Zoom

Register Here

 

Join the Center for Innovation in Social Work and Health (CISWH) at Boston University School of Social Work (BUSSW) for a conversation on what matters most to families of children with medical complexity (CMC), alongside strategies to improve their care delivery and mitigate systems-level bias.

Led by Dr. Dennis Kuo, MD, MHS; Bethlyn Houlihan, MSW, MPH; and Cara Coleman, JD, MPH, this second session in the CoIIN Virtual Cafe Series examines how we can reinvigorate human-driven approaches to meet whole child and family needs in systems of care for CMC. 

Bethlyn Houlihan, CISWH project director, and Meg Comeau, CISWH senior project director, will weave in key learnings from the 2022 Future of Care for Children with Medical Complexity National Convening and the recently published Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network to Advance Care for CMC (CMC CoIIN) supplement in Pediatrics.

The CoIIN project is funded by the HRSA Maternal and Child Health Bureau to test and spread promising care delivery strategies and payment models for CMC to improve their quality of life, the well-being of their families, and the cost-effectiveness of their care. 

 

Discussion Materials:


Discussants:

Dennis Kuo, MD

Associate Professor, University at Buffalo and Chief, Division of General Pediatrics, UBMD

Dennis Z. Kuo, MD, MHS, FAAP is the Purcell Family Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics and Chief of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical Center/Golisano Children’s Hospital. Dr. Kuo has a longstanding interest in the care of children with disabilities and medical complexity, including systems of care, early childhood, and health equity. His work has focused on defining family-identified needs of children with medical complexity and neurodevelopmental disabilities, and designing the systems of care needed to address the life course needs of children and families. 

 

Meg Comeau, MHA

Senior Project Director, Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health, Boston University

Meg Comeau, MHA is a senior project director at the Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health (CISWH). She is a nationally recognized expert on the impact of Medicaid and federal health care reform for children with special health care needs, medically complex conditions, and disabilities. She brings more than 15 years of health care delivery and financing experience to her role as principal investigator for the Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network (CoIIN) to Advance Care for Children with Medical Complexity (CMC) and as principal investigator of the Catalyst Center, a project focused on improving insurance coverage and financing of care for children and youth with special health care needs

 

Bethlyn Houlihan MSW, MPH

ProjectDirector and Co-PI, Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health, Boston University

Bethlyn Vergo Houlihan, MSW, MPH, brings a unique blend of skills in her dedication to social justice and health equity, partnering with youth/adults with complex health and social needs, their families, and communities to address systemic inequalities to improve health and well-being. Bethlyn’s projects span across intervention design, implementation, and evaluation, as well as workforce development, interprofessional education, and strategic partnerships to drive sustainable innovation in health and social services delivery.  Currently, Bethlyn serves as a Project Director at the Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health at the Boston University School of Social Work, notably as Co-Principal Investigator of The Future of Care for CMC Virtual Café Series.  Bethlyn co-edited the recent supplement in Pediatrics (Jan 2024), sharing insights and best practices from the Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network to Advance Care for Children with Medical Complexity (CMC CoIIN).


CISWH and BUSSW Faculty Share Expertise on Trauma-Informed Care for Migrant Mothers and Children at International Social Work Conference in Panamá

CISWH and Boston University School of Social Work (BUSSW) faculty Prof. Luz Marilis López and Maria Emilia Bianco presented at the recent International Social Work and Social Development conference in Panamá. Sharing their expertise on cultural considerations when working with Latino/Latinx migrant mothers and their families, the profs. highlighted the challenges and strengths of these communities, drawing from their own research on the experiences of Latino/Latinx migrant mothers and their families. 

Their workshop, conducted in Spanish, presented narrative and visual testimonies from 20 Central American immigrant women in Reynosa, Mexico; Texas; and Boston to over 100 attendees sparking interest from local government and news outlets. The testimonies included stories of trauma and strength, which the professors then used to facilitate interactive and critical analysis activities with the audience. 

The team’s participation in the conference underscores CISWH’s commitment to advancing social work practices that respect diversity and promote joint social action. Prof. Lopez and Dr. Bianco’s insights and experiences contribute to the ongoing dialogue on how to best protect the rights of immigrant mothers facing dire human experiences with a focus on mental health.

The conference, with the theme “Buen Vivir, Respecting Diversity through Joint Social Action,” was a collaborative effort between the International Association of Schools of Social Work, the International Council of Social Welfare, and the International Federation of Social Workers. The event brought together social work educators, researchers, practitioners and policymakers from around the world.

Pediatrics: Measuring What Matters to Children With Medical Complexity and Their Families

Although children and families lie at the nucleus of a well-functioning system, the priorities and leadership of families of CMC have not consistently been central to driving system-based improvement initiatives. The Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network to Advance Care for Children with Medical Complexity (CMC CoIIN) partnered with families of children with medical complexity (CMC) to design and meaningfully improve systems of care for CMC and their families. In a paper in Pediatrics, the CoIIN team shares how including families in developing quality improvement measures allowed the network to measure what truly matters to families of CMC, and how this partnership has the potential to improve systems of care and lead to better outcomes for CMC.

A Measurement Work Group formed in the first months of the project to identify and define a shared set of quantitative quality improvement measures around the CMC CoIIN’s goals and objectives to improve care and support for CMC and their families, including quality of life, well-being, and flourishing; unmet health needs; and support systems such as medical home, patient and family engagement, and shared plans of care. The Measurement Workgroup first conducted a literature review to identify existing validated measures specifically relevant to CMC which could comprise a family experience survey.

Through this process, the key challenge that family leaders in the Measurement Workgroup identified related to measuring child quality of life and family well-being. Existing measures tended to focus mainly on physical functioning, health care utilization, and the associated care burdens for families. Family leaders emphasized that these measures are deficit-based and, furthermore, do not recognize that CMC can and do live meaningful lives regardless of functional disabilities.

To better capture the lived experiences of families, the CMC CoIIN Measurement Workgroup adapted its approach to drive meaningful improvements, by adding qualitative family focus groups to capture a more holistic and nuanced view of child quality of life and family well-being, and co-developing new child quality of life measures. Qualitative findings from focus groups subsequently highlighted a high level of unmet need not being captured by the quantitative unmet health care needs measure, prompting a key redesign and pilot test of those items in the family experience survey.

The CMC CoIIN found that when families were full participants and leaders in designing a quality improvement measurement strategy, the team developed a measurement approach with a more meaningful, complex view of what health and wellbeing looks like to CMC and their families. Codesigning measurement strategies alongside family leaders, the CMC CoIIN was able to focus more broadly on health, wellness, and the social determinants of health, rather than a more deficit view of care for CMC that zeroes in on just one aspect of a person’s wellbeing.

“We believe the CMC CoIIN demonstrates the pressing need for funders to support more opportunities to develop family-driven measures that can drive systems improvement, including validating and assessing their reliability,” the authors note.

The CMC CoIIN recommends that future CMC initiatives adopt this family-partnered approach to measurement from the start. In doing so, these initiatives are more likely to lead to improved health and wellness for CMC.

Read the full article here.

5/1: Driving Democracy: How Social Workers Harness the Power of Ranked Choice Voting

5/1: Driving Democracy: How Social Workers Harness the Power of Ranked Choice Voting

A Virtual Event 

Wednesday, May 1 2024

7:00 – 8:15 PM ET

Zoom

View the Recording 

Join the Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health (CISWH) at BU School of Social Work (BUSSW) and BUSSW Votes for the final session in the From Ballots to Better Health virtual series, Driving Democracy: How Social Workers Harness the Power of Ranked Choice Voting. Dr. Tami Gouveia, CISWH director and Paul Farmer professor of practice; Rebekah Gewirtz, MPH, executive director of the Massachusetts and Rhode Island chapters of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW); and Ayesha M. Wilson, MSW, Cambridge city councilor will cover topics including how social workers are uniquely positioned to run and serve in elected office, how ranked choice voting can lead to more fair elections, and how social workers can advocate for this option.

Program:
7:00 pm: Opening remarks and introduction by Diane Crowley, BUSSW Fall River campus director, 
7:05 pm: Dr. Tami Gouveia moderates discussion with Councilor Wilson and Rebekah Gewirtz
7:50 pm: Q&A with Dr. Gouveia, Councilor Wilson, Rebekah Gewirtz, and audience
8:10 pm: Closing remarks by Diane Crowley

Content Level: Intermediate 

Learning Objectives:

  1. Participants will be able to describe the steps involved in running for office, from making the decision to run through election night. 
  2. Participants will be able to describe how social workers are uniquely positioned to serve in elected office.
  3. Participants will be able to describe how ranked choice voting provides every voter in every election with real choices, fair outcomes, and the power to elect preferred candidates.
  4. Participants will be able to describe three ways to take action for ranked choice voting elections.

Continuing Education Credit Info:
This continuing education program is appropriate for LICSW, LCSW, LSW, LSWA,  and other healthcare professionals and offers 1.0 national continuing education credit to social workers licensed in the U.S. who attend the program and complete a brief post-event quiz and evaluation.

About Dr. Tami Gouveia
Appointed director of the Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health and Paul Farmer professor of practice in 2023, Dr. Tami Gouveia has extensive experience as a leader in social work and public health, policymaking, and change management. Throughout her 25-year career, she has used her expertise to drive meaningful change, improve community health outcomes, and promote economic and racial equity. Before joining CISWH, she served in key leadership positions in nonprofit, philanthropic, and governmental organizations, including as director at the Massachusetts State Auditor’s Office, The Rippel Foundation, Tobacco Free Mass, and the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center. Believing in the power of people working together for our shared humanity, Dr. Gouveia founded and led several efforts, including the Lowell Roundtable on Substance Abuse Prevention and the Massachusetts Chapter of the Women’s March.

Dr. Gouveia was elected to two terms in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, where she passed legislation to combat the opioid crisis, defend reproductive justice and LGBTQ+ rights, advance housing and climate justice, reform education funding and the criminal legal system, and invest in programs to prevent and treat childhood trauma.

Dr. Gouveia holds a Doctor of Public Health in management, leadership, and policy and a Master of Public Health from the BU School of Public Health, and a Master of Social Work from the BU School of Social Work.

About Ayesha M. Wilson
Ayesha M. Wilson (she/her) serves on the Cambridge City Council. A mom and a product of Cambridge public schools and public housing, she is committed to serving Cambridge youth. Her experiences led her to become a social worker and to serve two terms on the Cambridge School Committee.

Wilson advocates for the needs of the Black and Brown community, including affordable housing and childcare for individuals and families, mental health resources, youth mentorship, and childhood literacy.

She is a member of the Greater Boston Association of Black Social Workers, the Board of Directors for the YWCA Cambridge, and the secretary of the Cambridge branch of the NAACP.

About Rebekah Gewirtz 
Rebekah Gewirtz (she/her) directs the Massachusetts and Rhode Island chapters of the NASW. Previously, she served for more than eight years as the director of government relations and political action at NASW and served as the executive director of the Massachusetts Public Health Association.

Her work with NASW-MA includes successful efforts to advance social work practice through policy, including legislation protecting social workers from frivolous lawsuits and restrictive covenants; passing legislation granting social workers section 12 authority and improved safety in the workplace; and led the Chapter’s political action arm NASW- MA PACE, working with members to endorse and support candidates throughout Massachusetts who share social work values and priorities.

Gewirtz has long championed critical social justice issues and was a leader in the campaign to raise the minimum wage. She was co-chair of the Campaign for Our Communities, working with the support of nearly 100 organizations for a state revenue package that would be adequate and fair. She was a founding member of the Welfare Coalition where she fought to secure and preserve state safety net programs for the most vulnerable.  

Accessibility Statement:
Boston University strives to be accessible, inclusive, and diverse in its facilities, programming, and academic offerings. Your experience in this event is important to us. If you have a disability (including but not limited to learning or attention, mental health, concussion, vision, mobility, hearing, physical, or other health-related issues), requiring communication access services for the deaf or hard of hearing, or believe that you require a reasonable accommodation for another reason, please contact the event organizer at [email protected] to discuss your needs.




CISWH Director Tami Gouveia Speaks at Boston Addiction Conference

Massachusetts’ Section 35 law allows for the involuntary commitment of men with substance use disorders into jail settings for addiction treatment. This important topic was the focus of a recent panel discussion at the inaugural Boston Addiction Conference, featuring Dr. Tami Gouveia, CISWH director. Massachusetts is the only state that still court-orders men to prisons and jails for treatment, even if they have not committed a crime. Dr. Gouveia joined other experts who discussed needed reforms to the law and called for an end to sending men to prison for addiction treatment. 

Research suggests that involuntary treatment of substance use disorders is a risk factor for overdose. Public health experts and policymakers are advocating for reforms to the law that would prohibit addiction treatment in correctional institutions. 

“The field of substance use treatment has evolved over the last 25 years, but lawmakers haven’t kept up with those changes,” Dr. Gouveia said. “One of the biggest challenges with getting legislation passed is that lawmakers are not experts in our field. Unless they have personal experience with substance use disorder or mental health, then they are not living the day-to-day like so many of us are.”

Dr. Gouveia described how efforts to reform Section 35 have been stalled in the legislature – currently, the reforms have been filed in the last three legislative sessions. She noted that men with substance use disorders should not be forced into the prison system if they have not committed a crime. If we are to reduce stigma and harm in substance use treatment, it cannot be tied to the carceral system. 

“As a field, we do not fully agree whether or not forced treatment is effective, but we can all agree that sending men to a jail setting for treatment is inhumane, inappropriate, and ineffective,” Dr. Gouveia said.

Deloitte Health Forward: CISWH Director Tami Gouveia on the Vital Role of Social Workers in Health Equity

In a recent interview with Deloitte Health Forward, Dr. Tami Gouveia, CISWH director, emphasized the diverse roles of social workers in addressing health disparities and advocating for health equity. Social workers are not solely clinical providers, but also serve across diverse settings including schools, emergency departments and in law enforcement agencies. 

Contrary to the misconception that social workers only intervene in crisis situations, Dr. Gouveia explains the extent to which social workers provide services in government, military, religious and corporate environments. She advocates for social workers to be integrated at the policymaking tables, getting them into state legislatures as well as the halls of congress to make systems-level changes and changes in how services are financed. 

Excerpt from “Celebrating Social Work Month: Social workers can play a key role in making health more equitable” originally published in Deloitte Health Forward. 

“Social workers can play a role in building collective power and community power. I served in the Massachusetts legislature for four years and I continue to reach out to my former colleagues, particularly in the Black and Latino caucuses, to make sure that we support social work efforts that address health equity. When I ran for office, I didn’t think anyone would want to vote for a social worker. But I found that people got really excited when they found out I am a social worker. They believe social workers understand what a lot of people are going through and the challenges that people are facing.

Social workers tend to have their fingers on the pulse of the communities they serve. Integrating social work and social care into health care can be a pivotal step toward fostering health equity and improving accessibility.”

Read the full article here.