THE NEW YORK FOUNDLING AWARDS $100,000 IN SCHOLARSHIPS TO STUDENTS PURSUING CAREERS IN SOCIAL WORK
NEW YORK, NY – November 14 2018 – The New York Foundling announced today that $100,000 in scholarships will be awarded to a group of students pursuing degrees in social work at New York University’s Silver School of Social Work and Fordham University’s Graduate School of Social Service during the 2018-2019 academic year in an effort to encourage talented students to pursue careers as social workers in the child welfare system.
“Child welfare is a challenging, complicated, and at times, a stressful field, but I can’t imagine anything more rewarding than devoting one’s life to keeping children and families safe and healthy,” said Bill Baccaglini, President and CEO of The Foundling. “We constantly need to attract talented, compassionate and smart individuals to enter this profession, and these scholarships will provide a spark – pointing a few more promising students our way – and toward a career making a difference in children’s lives.”
The rising costs associated with a college education, often coupled with the substantial burden of student loans, can be disincentives to pursuing careers in the social services. These scholarships are intended to reduce some of that financial pressure and enable students with the talent and the desire to work in child welfare to pursue the field to the fullest.
As a participating scholarship institution, NYU Silver will provide four students interested in child welfare the opportunity to make a purposeful impact early in their careers. “NYU Silver is dedicated to equipping future social workers with the skills, training, and experience they need to serve the most vulnerable and marginalized populations,” said Dr. Neil Guterman, NYU Silver’s Dean and Paulette Goddard Professor of Social Work. “We are grateful to The Foundling for its vision and generosity in creating these scholarships, and for their strong partnership and collaboration in providing meaningful service options for the next generation of social work leaders.”
Dr. Debra McPhee, Dean of Fordham’s Graduate School of Social Service, expressed gratitude to The Foundling for their commitment to professional social work and their support of Fordham MSW students. She said, “The Foundling’s generous support will allow several Fordham MSW students to pursue their studies with the knowledge that their decision to pursue a career protecting the welfare of children is both valued and important. With this scholarship, The Foundling is making a significant commitment to building the professional child welfare workforce of tomorrow and supporting the students who will become leaders in this area. This truly is a visionary project that will have positive impact for years to come. Fordham is very grateful to be a partner with The Founding in this effort.”
In addition, as part of this initiative, The Foundling is also offering hands-on internships, with several students from NYU Silver already placed at The Foundling’s charter school in the Bronx, as well as at its mental health clinic, deaf services division and with its foster care teams in Queens.
“These unique opportunities give social work students direct insight on working with children in their communities and neighborhoods,” Baccaglini continued, “and an understanding of how their challenges at home impact not only their academics, but their mental health, their behavior and the way they engage with their friends and peers.”
About The New York Foundling
The New York Foundling reaches 30,000 children and families each year in all five boroughs of New York City, surrounding counties, and Puerto Rico. Established in 1869, our vision is a community where every person, regardless of background or circumstance, enjoys the safe, stable, and supportive relationships needed to reach his or her full potential. To achieve this, we provide evidence-based programs that focus on keeping families together; preventing abuse and neglect; providing academic support for children; and giving people with developmental disabilities the tools and training they need to lead independent lives. For more information, please visit www.nyfoundling.org.
About NYU Silver School of Social Work
NYU Silver School of Social Work provides a robust and engaging environment for the education of professional social workers, offering undergraduate, masters, and doctoral degree programs. The School serves as a major postgraduate training center for practicing social workers and offers master’s students intensive learning opportunities in family and children’s services, mental health, integrated health, substance misuse and co-occurring disorders, palliative and end-of-life care, restorative justice, and other innovative and emerging areas of social work. MSW students also have the opportunity to pursue global learning with NYU Silver programs in New York, Shanghai, Buenos Aires, and other cities around the world. Founded in 1960 and renowned for a strong tradition of excellence in direct social work practice and dedication to social justice, NYU Silver has provided rigorous training to over 18,000 social work practitioners and leaders in every area of the field. The School’s faculty are on the leading edge of scholarly research and address society’s most intractable problems with a focus on proactive approaches and preventive interventions that transform lives. For more information, please visit socialwork.nyu.edu.
About Fordham University’s Graduate School of Social Service
For more than a hundred years the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service has been educating social workers to serve as agents of change and champions of human rights and social justice. GSS prepares students for diverse professional practice and leadership through the teaching of culturally responsive, evidence informed practice and engagement in research, public advocacy, and community partnerships. The School offers a baccalaureate (BASW), masters (MSW) and doctoral (Ph.D.) degrees and, in collaboration with the Fordham Gabelli School of Business, a Master of Science degree in Nonprofit Leadership (MS-NPL). Programs are delivered at three campuses: Lincoln Center, Westchester and through a 20-year partnership with Molloy College, Long Island as well as fully online (MSW since 2011). GSS is leading the way in future-focused competency-based curriculum and innovative in academic programming.
