The New Goldring Reentry Initiative (GRI), by Stan Kuklick, MSW Advanced Year Clinical Candidate 2012

“You have the opportunity to see and be part of a real change.” It was with those enticing final words that I decided I would participate in the new Goldring Reentry Initiative (GRI) at the University of Pennsylvania. In April 2011, SP2 Faculty Advisor Dr. Ram Cnaan and Program Director Kirk James, introduced an innovative and groundbreaking project to the MSW Class of 2012. This project would be first of its kind in Social Work graduate programs and would be a special and unique opportunity for a select group of students to organize and develop a comprehensive program focused on decreasing the recidivism rate in the City of Philadelphia. We have partnered with various local reentry* organizations including the Mayors Office of Reintegration Services (RISE), The Institute of Community Justice (ICJ) at Philadelphia FIGHT, and Access to Recovery (ATR).

Our role as social workers is to work with a particular cohort of inmates who have been selected by the Defenders Association for early release. We are working with them 90 days prior to their release and 90 days following this release date. Every week we will meet with our clients at the Philadelphia Prison System (PPS) and create an effective discharge plan that the defenders association can present to the sentencing judge to advocate on their behalf. These discharge plans will focus on our client’s needs, such as unemployment, housing, substance abuse treatment, family counseling and education.

With an assortment of both macro and clinically based students, we as a group are able to develop and hone many skills practiced and learned during our first year in the program. We work clinically with our clients yet focus on the larger issues of city support, community reintegration and family reunification. We juxtapose the efficacy of city and federal resources available with the strengths and specific needs of our clients. 

Following our clients release, we will continue to serve as a support service for an additional 90 days. We believe that the ongoing support and concern is effective in preventing and decreasing the re- arrest rate of formerly incarcerated individuals**. For clients without a stable or positive relationship in the community, a simple phone call or extension of resources from a case manager can preclude them from falling back into their criminal habits. 

This is an exciting time to be at Penn. Although pilot programs are often challenging, it is intriguing to participate in the improvement and implementation of this new project. We are thrilled to be the founding members of this innovative program and are excited to witness its growth and expansion.

*Reentry Defined  

Reentry is defined as the process of leaving jail and returning to society. Virtually all inmates experience reentry, irrespective of their method of release or the presence of community supervision. “Transition” has also been used to describe the reentry process, and in this report we use the terms interchangeably.

Our assumption is that successful reentry strategies would translate into public safety gains, in the form of reduced recidivism, and the long-term reintegration of the formerly incarcerated individual. Successful reintegration outcomes would include increased participation in social institutions such as the labor force, families, communities, schools, and religious institutions. There are financial and social benefits associated with both public safety and reintegration improvements.

Reentry is not a program, not a form of supervision, not an option.

**Note on Language

People in jail are incarcerated under a number of different legal statuses. They are often referred to as “detainees” if they are on pretrial status or “inmates” if they are convicted and sentenced to jail. In this report, we refer to all people held in local jails as inmates to distinguish them from people incarcerated in state and federal prison (prisoners). We refer to former inmates and prisoners as “individuals” or “people” whenever possible.

 

Source: Solomon, A. L., Osborne, J. W., LoBuglio, S. F., Mellow, J., & Mukamal, D. A. (2008). Life After Lockup: Improving Reentry from Jail to the Community. Washington, DC: Urban Institute.

By:  Stan Kuklick, MSW Advanced Year Clinical Candidate 2012

Information Sessions & Recruitment

As we begin the fourth week of the new semester here at SP2, classes, field placements, reading assignments, papers, and - for the admissions department – recruitment, is well underway.  We held our first on-site Information Session for the Master Level programs this past Saturday with great success. 

Although the day began as a rainy Saturday morning, it turned out to be a beautiful day and everyone who was registered to attend was present.  The Associate Dean of Enrollment Management, Mary Mazzola, the Associate Director of the Non-Profit/NGO Leadership Program, Eric Ashton, the Recruitment Coordinator, Lindsay Guge, our Admission Specialist, Christina Chong, and I were all there to welcome prospective students and speak about Penn and SP2.  Attendees reported that the session was informative, helpful, and answered all of their questions. 

If you have any interest in attending an upcoming Information Session here at Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice for any of our Masters programs, they are scheduled from 10am – 12pm on the following Saturdays:

Oct. 22, 2011
Nov. 19, 2011
Dec. 10, 2011
Jan. 14, 2012.

We also have Information Sessions scheduled for our Clinical Doctorate in Social Work (DSW) Program from 10am – 12pm on the following Saturdays:

Oct. 15, 2011
Nov. 19, 2011
Dec 10, 2011.

In order to register for any of the above sessions, visit:  http://www.sp2.upenn.edu/programs/open_house/index.html.

Additionally, as I mentioned, we have been on the road recruiting.  Several of the admissions and recruitment staff have been on the road to New York City, Washington DC, Boston, upstate NY, Maryland, and various other locations already to inform prospective students about the program offerings at Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice at college graduate fairs and Idealist.org Graduate Fairs.  To catch us on the road near you, check out our recruitment calendar:  http://www.sp2.upenn.edu/programs/open_house/recruitmentcalendar.html.

We will be attending several more Idealist.org Graduate Fairs throughout the country, and various other regional graduate school fairs.  Remember, though, if we are not coming to your area, you can always contact us at apply@sp2.upenn.edu or 215-898-5539.  Please feel free to reach out to us at any time.

You can also drop by our new Admission and Enrollment Suite, C-200, constructed this summer.  Housed on the 2nd floor of the Caster Building, containing all admission and enrollment staff:  Associate Dean of Enrollment, Associate Director of Admissions and Recruitment, Recruitment Coordinator, Admissions Specialist, Director of Financial Aid, and the Registrar.   

Best of luck in your graduate school search,

Melissa Bottiglio, MSW, LCSW

Associate Director of Admissions and Recruitment

Investing in Graduate Education: Is it Worth the Cost?

With New Student Orientation just a week behind us, the SP2 admissions staff and myself are already looking ahead to meeting a talented and diverse new class of potential students.  A question that most students ask themselves, and should ask, is whether investing in a graduate education is worth the cost.  The short answer is a definite ‘yes’ but rarely does one hear why exactly that is the case.  Many studies have been done over the years showing the benefits of earning a college degree; the oft touted statistic that earning a Bachelor’s degree leads to over a million dollar increase in lifetime earnings.  The story is very similar for graduate students; the correlation is very strong between education attainment and lifetime earnings, the higher the level of education, the higher the earnings. 

Financing an education at Penn SP2 is a significant investment.  However, investing in education is nearly universally one of the best investments one can possibly make.  Both anecdotally and empirically, investing in a graduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice leads to more career opportunities, higher earnings and increased career mobility. 

If you are concerned about your ability to finance your education, please feel free to contact me at light@sp2.upenn.edu.  I can speak with you about your options, including loans, School grants and scholarships, and outside scholarships. 

Best of luck in your graduate search,

Michael Light

Director of Financial Aid

Penn's SP2 Program Offerings

As the new school year is just around the corner, many people are beginning their search for the right graduate program to meet their academic and future career aspirations.  Here at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2), the Admissions Team and I have had a busy summer preparing for the upcoming year.  It is my hope that this blog helps disseminate more information about the admissions process and keep you apprised of the ongoing changes here at SP2.

The admissions office often gets many questions about the admissions process, so I thought I would take a few moments to highlight where to find information on our five programs, including the admissions criteria: 

Master of Social Work (MSW):  http://www.sp2.upenn.edu/programs/msw/index.html

Master of Science in Nonprofit/NGO Leadership (NPL):  http://www.sp2.upenn.edu/programs/npl/index.html

Master of Science in Social Policy (MSSP):  http://www.sp2.upenn.edu/programs/mssp/index.html

Clinical Doctorate in Social Work (DSW):  http://www.sp2.upenn.edu/programs/dsw/index.html

and Ph.D. in Social Welfare (Ph.D.):  http://www.sp2.upenn.edu/programs/phd/index.html.

One big change this year involves our admissions deadlines for applications. Students are admitted to the School’s MSW, NPL, MSSP, DSW, and Ph.D. programs for fall enrollment, while Advanced Standing students begin their studies in July. Students are admitted to the Masters programs on a rolling basis.  The DSW and Ph.D. programs do not admit on a rolling basis. The table below indicates new application deadlines and priority deadlines for all five degree programs. 

Program	Priority Deadline	Rolling Admissions?
MSW (Full and Part Time)	February 1st	Yes
MSW Advanced Standing	January 15th	Yes
NPL	April 1st	Yes
MSSP	April 15th	Yes
DSW	February 15th	No
Ph.D.	December 15th	No

Check back often for more updates and tips about the admission process, feedback from current students, and other useful information as you begin your graduate school search.   

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the admissions department directly at apply@sp2.upenn.edu.  Most importantly, though, enjoy the rest of your summer!

All the best,

Melissa Bottiglio, MSW, LCSW
Associate Director of Admissions and Recruitment