FSU Social Work Participants Make a Great Showing at the 2025 SSWR Conference

FSU College of Social Work (FSU CSW) participated in the 2025 Society for Social Work and Research Conference in Seattle, Washington. From January 15-19, faculty and doctoral students and affiliates from the Florida Institute for Child Welfare presented more than 40 presentations and sessions at the conference (listed below with FSU CSW participants).

The college also hosted a reception for alumni and friends to network and connect at SPIN Seattle, a ping-pong social club. Click here to see photos of the conference.

Thursday, January 16

Flash Talk: Listening to Young People in Foster Care and their Caregivers

• Moderator: Dr. Lisa Schelbe

Flash Talk: Psychosocial Wellbeing and Health: Addressing Loneliness, Connection, and Inequities Across Diverse Communities

• Moderator: Dr. Tanya Renn

Poster: Barriers and Facilitators of Access to Healthcare Among Immigrants with Disabilities: A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis

• Researchers: Ngondwe Ponsiano and Dr. Gashaye Tefera

Poster: Exploring Mental Wellbeing in the Pre-and Post-Pandemic Era: Perspectives of Midwestern College Students, Faculty, and Administrators

• Researcher: Dr. Gashaye Tefera

Session: The Quality Standards Assessment: Connecting Quality Care with Youth Outcomes

• Researchers: Dr. Darejan Dvalishvili, Dr. Shamra Boel-Studt, Dr. Jonathan Huefner, and Essa Sabti Samarah 

Poster: Predictor Importance of Job Attributes to Burnout in Child Welfare Workers

• Researchers: Dr. Lauren Stanley, Dina Wilke, Dr. Melissa Radey and Dr. Lisa Magruder

Symposium: Invited Journal Editors Workshop I: Publishing Research in Peer-Reviewed Journals: Talk with the Editors

• Speaker/Presenter: Dr. Bruce Thyer

Friday, January 17

Flash Talk: Resilience and Prevention, Trauma, and Systems of Care

• Moderator: Dr. Tanya Renn

Flash Talk: Unpacking Social Determinants of Health: Barriers, Disparities, and Community Voices

• Moderator: Dr. Tanya Renn

Poster An Evaluation of Advanced Certification Training for Child Welfare Professionals

• Researchers: Dr. Shamra Boel-Studt, Esaa Samarah, Lauren Herod, Dr. Darejan Dvalishvili and Dr. Vivian Mills

Poster: Evaluating the Robustness and Applicability of the Environmental Concerns Scale (ECs): A Systematic Review

• Researcher: Sanoop Valappanandi

Poster: Geographic Differences in Perceptions of Problematic Substance Use Among Persons with Community Corrections Involvement

• Researchers: Dr. John Moore and Dr. Tanya Renn

Poster: Navigating Together: Advancing U.S. Global Social Work Education during COVID-19 and Beyond

• Researchers: Beth Okantey, Dr. Neil Abell and Emily Joyce

Poster: Understanding Substance Use Treatment Outcomes for American Indian and Alaska Native Individuals with Legal Involvement

• Dr. Tanya Renn and  Dr. John Moore

Session: Community Perceptions of Anthropogenic Climate Change in the Indian Lakshadweep Archipelago

• Researcher: Sanoop Valappanandi

Session: Dispelling the 3% Storyline: Systematic Review of Secondary and Postsecondary Education Outcomes for Young People with Foster Care Backgrounds

• Researcher: Lisa Jackson

Special Interest Group Meeting: Research on Social Work Journal

• Convener: Dr. Bruce Thyer

Special Interest Group Meeting: South Asian Social Work Educator's Association

• Convener: Sanoop Valappanandi

Saturday, January 18

Flash Talk: Innovative Interventions in Social Work: From Technology to Therapy

• Moderator: Dr. Michael Killian

Poster: Is Substance Use Problem Recognition Influenced By the Type of Substance Use Disorder?

• Research: Dr. John Moore

Poster: State Policy Variations in Childcare Subsidies and Physical Intimate Partner Violence

• Dr. Bart Klika

Poster: The Effect of Assets on Life Satisfaction in Old Age and Moderating Effects of Changes in Participation in Social Activities after COVID-19

• Researcher: Manjun Kim

Session: Dealing with Difficult Cases: Advice Experienced Caseworkers Would Tell Newly-Hired Colleagues

• Dr. Lauren Stanley, Dr. Jiwan Nam-Speers, Sophia Lutz, Michae Cain and Dr. Dina Wilke

Session: Determinants of Reduced Substance Use and Treatment Completion Among Adults with Comorbid Substance Misuse and Psychotic Disorders

• Researchers: Dr. Amy L. Ai and Dr. John Moore

Session: Development of an Ontology of Social Determinants of Health for Pediatrics

• Researchers: Zhe Yang and Dr. Michael Killian

Session: Exploring the Intersection of Mental Health Challenges and Medical Adherence in Pediatric Solid Organ Transplant Patients

• Researchers: Sonnie Mayeski and Dr. Michael Killian

Session: HIV Testing Frequency & Predictors in a Statewide Sample of Transgender, Nonbinary, and Intersex Adults

• Researcher: Beren Crim Sabuncu

Session: Multifaceted Approach to Promotion of Medication Adherence Using Mobile Health App with Adolescent Heart Transplant Recipients

• Researchers: Dr. Michael Killian, Sonnie Mayewski and Schyler Brumm

Session: Persistent Impacts of Client Violence: Emotional Health Among Child Protective Services Workers

• Researchers: Dr. Melissa Radey and Dr. Dina Wilke

Session: Pre-Transplant Psychosocial Assessment and Preparing Families for Pediatric Organ Transplantation

• Researchers: Schyler Brumm, Dr. Michael Killian, Dr. Lisa Schelbe and Sonnie Mayewski

Session: PTSD Mediated the Link between Childhood Mistreatment and Substance Use in Latinx Nationwide: Discrimination in an Omitted-Variable Bias

• Researchers: Dr. Amy L. Ai and Dr. Yaacov Petscher

Session: Substance Use for Coping Predicts Post-traumatic Stress Symptom in Black and White Disaster Volunteers

• Researchers: Katrina Boone and Dr. Amy L. Ai

Session: The Overlooked War in Northern Ethiopia: Examining Psychological Capital, Mental Distress, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Internally Displaced People in Amhara Region

• Dr. Gashaye Tefera and Ngondwe Ponsiano

Session: The Protective Impact of Childcare Subsidies on the Emotional Neglect of Children

• Researcher: Dr. Bart Klika

Special Interest Group Meeting: Scholars Across Anthropology and Social Work

• Researcher: Sanoop Valappanandi

Symposium: Social Work Practice in Pediatric Chronic Illness: Research on Risk Factors, Assessment, and Intervention in Pediatric Solid Organ Transplantation

• Organizer: Dr. Michael Killian

Symposium: The Context of Substance Use and Mental Health in Diverse Populations

• Symposium Organizer: Dr. Amy L. Ai, Ph.D
• Discussant: Dr. Bruce Thyer

Workshop: Developing and Integrating Shiny Apps into Social Work Research and Evaluative Efforts

• Organizer/Presenter: Sonnie Mayewski

Sunday, January 19

Poster: Perspectives of Parental Engagement in Child Welfare: Voices of Parents and Frontline Workers

• Researchers: Dr. Vivian Mills and Dr. Darejan Dvalishvili 

Poster: Substance Use Treatment Among Veterans: Self-Help's Impact before, during, or Both

• Researcher: Dr. John Moore

Poster: Racial/Ethnic Identity Associated with Major Depression Differently in Subgroup Asian Americans Nationwide

• Researchers: Dr. Amy L. Ai and Katrina Boone

Poster: Navigating Protective Factors That Improve Parenting Competence Among Caregivers of Youth in Foster Care

• Researchers: Dr. Vivian Mills and Lisa Magruder

Session: Examining the Determinants of Community Participation in Decentralized Natural Resource Management in India

• Researcher: Sanoop Valappanandi