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USC University of Southern California

News Archive

  • A call comes in to the child welfare hotline. The caller reports that a child is being maltreated.

    The operator has to make a decision. Are the allegations serious enough to open an investigation? Is the child in immediate danger? What services does this family need?

  • As teenage girls, they were enmeshed in the dangerous world of gangs in some of San Antonio’s rougher neighborhoods.

    Now approximately 15 years later, what effect has that experience had on the lives of young Hispanic women?

    Researchers at the USC School of Social Work will explore that question in a new $3 million study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

  • Lenore “Lee” Stein-Wood, a long-standing member of the USC School of Social Work Board of Councilors, died Jan. 12 at her home in the Hollywood Hills. She was 78.

  • The USC School of Social Work once again tackled a tough issue head-on at its annual All School Day event: gun violence as a public health matter.

    Building on last year’s popular topic of race relations, this year’s theme, “Gun Violence: New Challenges in Public Health,” brought government officials, public health practitioners and USC researchers together to discuss this difficult and often contentious issue while looking for ways for social workers to make a difference.

  • After a decades-long fight to highlight the dangers of cigarettes, researchers are growing increasingly concerned about a new slate of alternative products that is becoming popular among teens.

    The use of electronic cigarettes, hookah and other less-regulated forms of tobacco by adolescents has spiked in recent years, a trend bolstered by a new study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

  • A new book examines how companies in diverse international settings can assist their employees with personal problems that adversely affect performance and productivity.

    Global Perspectives of Employee Assistance Programs is the first book to explore the employee assistance program (EAP) concept in the international context, said R. Paul Maiden, executive vice dean and professor at the USC School of Social Work.

  • Growing up in poverty in New York City prepared Richard Carmona for an unexpected role later in his life.

    “I never planned to be surgeon general of the United States, but the best training I had was to grow up as a poor kid,” said Carmona, the 17th surgeon general of the United States, who delivered this year’s Edward R. Roybal Memorial Lecture. “I know what it’s like to go to sleep with a toothache and a hungry stomach and not know what the next day will bring.”

  • Before Lisa Higuera became a student at the USC School of Social Work, she worked at pro-bono law firm Public Counsel helping underserved families access an education for their children. A daughter of immigrants, Higuera wanted to help families like hers reach their children’s educational goals by eliminating social barriers.

    However, it didn’t take long for her to realize there was a bigger problem that needed to be addressed.

  • How can schools provide an optimal setting for both learning and growth that helps children overcome adversity?

    It’s a question Ron Avi Astor plans to bring to the forefront of his work as a newly elected member of the National Academy of Education, an elite organization focused on advancing high-quality education research and policy.

  • You’re happy to be alive, yet feel guilty that others weren’t as lucky.
    You’re physically exhausted but unable to sleep.
    You want to enjoy life, but have forgotten how to relax.
    You want to be understood, but don’t want to talk.

    These are a handful of the paradoxes recently identified by USC School of Social Work researchers that combat veterans may experience and that could hamper a successful reintegration to civilian life if not properly addressed.