Faculty Member Named Jeanene M. Janes Professor in Child Welfare
The College of Social Work recently named Dr. Lisa Schelbe its Jeanene M. Janes Professor in Child Welfare. The professorship is awarded to a faculty member whose scholarly and educational demonstrate dedication and focus on child welfare issues.
Dr. Schelbe has been a faculty member of the College of Social Work since 2013 and is a dedicated researcher and advocate in the child welfare field. She is a professor and was also recently named the college's associate dean for Academic Affairs after serving as interim dean since 2023. She also is a faculty affiliate at the Florida Institute for Child Welfare
As a qualitative methodologist, her research includes extensive experience working on interdisciplinary teams emphasizing child welfare, well-being and child maltreatment prevention.
"This appointment is a recognition of her contributions to the field of child welfare," said Dr. David Springer, dean of the College of Social Work. "Lisa's expertise and commitment to advancing research and practice with young people in and aging out of foster care is remarkable, and this honor is a testament to her achievements." Dr. Schelbe reflected on the meaningfulness of being appointed to the Jeanene M. Janes Chair in Child Welfare, "I'm tremendously honored for my work to be recognized in this way. The position will assist in my continued work to promote well-being for all children, especially those involved with the child welfare system."
Alongside her research focus on the experiences of young people "aging out" of foster care, Dr. Schelbe is exceptionally steadfast in research dissemination and forming research-policy partnerships so that research directly impacts social work practice and policy. She is the author of the book Some Type of Way: Aging out of Foster Care and co-author of The Handbook on Child Welfare Practice. Her book Foster Parent Collaboration: A Guidebook for Social Workers and Other Professionals[LS1] will be published in April.
In 2017, she was named a fellow of the Society for Social Work and Research, a distinction that recognizes members of the society who advance, disseminate, and translate research addressing prevalent issues related to social work practice and policy.
From 2015 to 2024, Dr. Schelbe co-edited the Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, which focuses on social work practice with children and families and addresses current issues in social work drawn from theory, direct practice, research, and social policy. She also was editor-in-chief of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (ASPAC) Advisor and Alert for two years. Dr. Schelbe also served as the director of the college's Arts & Athletics Program for five years, which serves local youths promoting positive youth development.
She has also been recognized for her excellence in teaching, receiving a Graduate Teaching Award in 2019. Dr. Schelbe received a Doris Duke Fellowship for the Promotion of Child Well-Being (2010-2012).
Dr. Schelbe noted that having the endowed chair will assist in her research, "What I am most excited about is that this appointment can help me further my research agenda to determine how best to improve the lives and outcomes of young people in and aging out of foster care. I deeply appreciate the support of my research and hope that the research can impact the youth in Florida's foster care system."
Honoring Jeanene M. Janes
Ms. Janes established the Jeanene M. Janes Professorship to support top-notch faculty at the FSU College of Social Work, training the next generation of social workers. The professorship was first awarded to former faculty member Pam Graham MacDill.
Ms. Janes started working for the Florida Department of Children and Families in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1962 and spent more than 40 years in child welfare with the department. Ms. Janes earned her Master of Social Work degree from Florida State in 1969 and held multiple leadership positions with the National Association of Social Workers. She was the first College of Social Work graduate to receive the Distinguished Alumni Social Work Practice Award in 2013.