Child Welfare Podcast Features MSW Alums

September 25, 2018
MSW program alums are featured in a recent podcast episode entitled "The Power of Data for Learning and Changing" from the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute (NCWWI)'s Real Stories project. The episode features the experiences of Miguel Becerra (MSW '16), Doug Thompson (MSW '16) and Alyssa Gerber (MSW '16) during their year-long NCWWI traineeship.
Under the faculty supervision of Jill Duerr-Berrick, Becerra, Thompson and Gerber participated in the Institute's year-long traineeship, wherein the students were given a research question related to a pilot program delivering mental health screenings to youth in the San Francisco area. The larger purpose of this research was to consider whether or not the program under review would lead to better mental health outcomes for children. Specifically, the students set out to discover how long it took to get a mental health assessment for children in the program, and if the program accelerated the timeframe compared to children not in the program.
At the conclusion of the traineeship, the students uncovered areas for improving local practice and presented these findings to a group of managers from the Child Welfare Agency, the Department of Health, and several nonprofit agencies who were compelled to act on what the students had found. Through their traineeships, these students inspired data-driven decision-making to change the way child welfare agencies in San Francisco provide access to mental healthcare.