UConn School of Social Work

10/06/2026

Chanee Fabius, the Judith M. Zachs Family Professor in Aging, associate professor in the UConn School of Social Work, presented her study titled “Family and Paid Care Coordination in Home Care for Older Adults With and Without Dementia” during a breakout session on Workforce Needs: Coordination, Training and Education at the 4th Biennial Conference on Caregiving Research hosted by the Family Caregiving Collaborative at the University of Utah School of Nursing on Sept. 24.

Her study is co-authored by faculty at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and University of Michigan.

Dr. Fabius is an expert on how policies, health systems, and community-based services can better support older adults living with disabilities, family caregivers, and the workforce responsible for providing long-term services and supports.

Learn more about Dr. Fabius! https://socialwork.uconn.edu/person/chanee-fabius-ph-d/

10/05/2026

Next month, Jie Zhao, a second-year Ph.D. student in the UConn School of Social Work, will give her first oral conference presentations at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas.

As lead author, she'll present a study using a dataset from Malaysia examining s*x work, substance use, and depressive symptoms among 374 cisgender and transgender women who reported recent s*x work.

Zhao’s UConn dissertation asks how telehealth-related health policy affects substance use care in rural areas, with a focus on federally qualified health centers. These serve low-income and rural populations and are directly shaped by federal policy.

Learn more about Jie and her research in this UConn Today article!
https://today.uconn.edu/2026/10/bridging-policy-and-technology-social-works-zhao-explores-telehealth-and-rural-substance-use-care/

10/02/2026

Join us in congratulating UConn School of Social Work Assistant Professor Sukhmani Singh for receiving a 2026 Provost’s Award for Excellence in Community-Engaged Scholarship in the Emerging Scholar Research category. 👏 📚 👨‍🎓

Singh received the Provost’s Award for addressing critical societal challenges through impactful, community-engaged research. Her scholarship examines entrenched and intersecting inequities within the criminal and juvenile legal system(s), with a focus on marginalized youth, and formerly incarcerated people. Her work has informed policy discussions and systems reform across Connecticut—contributing to deliberations of the Juvenile Justice Policy and Oversight Committee, the Connecticut Sentencing Commission, and other state bodies.

School of Social Work Professor and Dean Laura Curran and Professor and Associate Dean for Research Jennifer Manuel attended the awards ceremony on Sept. 29 in Storrs.

10/01/2026

📣 Applications are now open for the UConn School of Social Work’s special practicum scholarships and workforce programs for the 2027–28 academic year!

Explore opportunities to build specialized skills and gain experience in bilingual behavioral health care, child welfare, school social work, aging, neurodevelopmental disabilities, and more:

🎓 Connecticut ¡Adelante! Scholars — up to $4,000 scholarship
🧠 Behavioral Health Scholars Program — $25,000 stipend
🤝 DCF Child Welfare Workforce Training Program — $4,000 scholarship
🏫 School Social Work Scholars Program — $15,000 scholarship
🌟 LEND — graduate assistantship, tuition waiver, and stipend
👥 Scholars in Aging Program — $1,500 scholarship

📅 Application deadlines: December 15 for returning students and February 15 for incoming students.

🔗 Explore the programs and apply: https://socialwork.uconn.edu/workforceprogramsform/

Applications are also open for the Black Male Mental Health Professional Mentoring Program, which offers a $4,500 stipend. Applications are accepted until all slots are filled. Learn more and apply: https://socialwork.uconn.edu/bmmh-mp/

Program offerings and funding are subject to change. Financial support depends on available funding and is confirmed only when awards are officially made. Questions? Contact [email protected].

09/30/2026

They come to the UConn School of Social Work from universities across Connecticut and the Northeast, and as far away as California and England.

Their professional backgrounds are just as varied: corporate social responsibility, child welfare, and stage management.

Some are pursuing joint degrees in social work and public policy. One is a 35-year veteran of the corporate world. Another, a veteran of the U.S. Army.

What do they have in common?

They are among the UConn Master of Social Work students who have found their way to the Institute of Municipal and Regional Policy (IMRP) in the UConn School of Public Policy, where their required practicum experiences give them an opportunity to contribute to policy research and legislative issues affecting Connecticut communities.

Learn more about the experiences of MSW students Stav Keshet, Diane Cantello, Lorien Velasquez, and Susan Camoroda, and recent alumna 👩‍🎓Kate Mazzotta '25 (SSW) in this UConn Today article: https://today.uconn.edu/2026/09/different-paths-shared-purpose-msw-students-find-a-place-for-policy-practice-at-imrp/

09/29/2026

🤖 How will artificial intelligence shape the future of social work?
Join the UConn School of Social Work for Social Work in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: A Symposium Exploring Research, Practice, and Policy — a half-day symposium examining AI’s opportunities, challenges, and implications for social work and social service delivery.

🎤 Keynote speaker:
Dr. Meredith Broussard — Associate Professor, Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, New York University; Research Director, NYU Alliance for Public Interest Technology; and award-winning author of More Than a Glitchand Artificial Unintelligence.

The symposium will feature panels exploring AI in Social Work Research, Community Practice, and Legislation, with:
🔹 Dr. Eric Rice | UNC Chapel Hill — AI and social work
🔹 Dr. Shaddy Saba | NYU Silver — Data science and health technology
🔹 Dr. Manu Sharma, MD | Yale / Institute of Living — Digital psychiatry and AI
🔹 Dr. Sabrina Trocchi, MPA | Wheeler Health — President and Executive Director
🔹 Ben Shaiken | The Alliance-CT — Director of Public Policy and Advocacy
🔹 Dr. Sarah MacDonald, LCSW | Community Health Services
🔹 Dawn Brown, MSW | NASW-Connecticut — Executive Director
🔹 Hector Glynn, MSW | The Village — President and CEO
🔹 Charlotte Warren | Former Maine State Representative

📅 Nov. 9, 2026
⏰ 9 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
📍 UConn School of Law | Hartford, Connecticut

👉 Learn more and register: s.uconn.edu/aisocialwork

09/25/2026

UConn School of Social Work student Sean Excellent wants to help young Black men find a stronger sense of identity, purpose, and well-being — something he knows can be difficult to navigate alone.

Now a second-year master’s student concentrating in Individuals, Groups, and Families, Excellent is preparing to offer that support to others as a future social worker. Along the way, he is finding guidance of his own through UConn’s new Black Male Mental Health Professional Mentoring Program. 🧠 👨🏿

A joint initiative of the UConn School of Social Work and the UConn Neag School of Education, the program pairs graduate students with mental health professionals committed to supporting Black men and boys. Through mentorship, training, and professional development, it aims to help students establish lasting careers while strengthening a network of practitioners serving the Greater Hartford community.

Learn more: https://today.uconn.edu/2026/09/uconn-students-prepare-to-support-black-mens-mental-health-through-new-mentorship-program/


UConn Hartford

09/24/2026

The UConn School of Social Work is seeking your help! As part of a new research study on understanding parent-children perspectives of food insecurity, Assistant Professor Alex Forté is searching for parents and their adolescent (between the ages of 13 and 17) to participate in an interview. Those who participate will receive an incentive ($25 for parents and $25 for adolescents).

Study eligibility:
• Be experiencing food insecurity
• Live in the United States
• Be a parent (older than the age of 18)
• Be a parent of a child (between the ages of 13 and 17)
• Be willing to let child participate in the study

Do you know any potential participants? Please e-mail Dr. Alex Forté at [email protected] or visit https://socialwork.uconn.edu/foodinsecuritystudy/ for more information about the study.

09/23/2026

On Sept. 21, the Ph.D Program and Office of Research and Scholarship hosted a meet and greet for all School of Social Work faculty, staff, and Ph.D. students. The gathering allowed the new Ph.D. students to meet their colleagues for the 2026-2027 academic year. 👨‍🎓 📚

“Starting a Ph.D. journey is an exciting and transformative experience, and it is one that we know you have approached with dedication and enthusiasm,” Ph.D. Program director Cristina Wilson, said during the event. “Each of you brings a unique perspective and a wealth of experience to our program, and we are eager to learn from you just as we hope you will learn from us. You have chosen this path because you are passionate about creating positive change, and we are here to support you every step of the way.”

The new Ph.D. students include Fernando Ricardo Valenzuela (Nando). Research interests: international social work, community-based participatory research, and the intersection of political organizing with social work practice.

Taylor Tucker🏳️‍⚧️🌈 Tucker ’20 (SSW) ’21. Research interests: masculine identity among transmasculine people and how trans men navigate parenthood and family formation.

Laud Nii Adjetey. Research interests: trauma informed practice, forced migration, and refugee and asylum policy. Laud comes to us from Ghana and has interned at the Asylum and Human Rights Clinic at UConn's School of Law and has worked with UConn SSW on refugee resettlement research.

And Peisen Yang. Research interests: health disparities among older adults across the life course, with a particular interest in how early life adversity, migration, and food insecurity shape later life health outcomes.

Join us in welcoming our new cohort of Ph.D. students! 👨‍🎓 📚 Learn more about our Ph.D. program at https://socialwork.uconn.edu/phd-social-work/.

09/21/2026

Nine Urban Service Track/Area Health Education Center (UST/AHEC) Scholars from the UConn School of Social Work are learning alongside medical, dental, nursing, and pharmacy students to help address the health needs of underserved populations.

“Social work students bring an important perspective to health care because they are trained to look beyond a person’s immediate needs and consider the social, economic, family, and community factors that shape their health,” says Rachel Schwartz, MSW program director and associate professor-in-residence at the UConn School of Social Work. “The Urban Service Track allows our students to put that perspective into practice while learning from other health professions.”

Nine Urban Service Track/Area Health Education Center (UST/AHEC) Scholars from the UConn School of Social Work are learning alongside medical, dental, nursi ...