Alma J. Carten MSW, PhD
Associate Professor of Social Work
Curriculum Vitae
B.A. Ohio University; MSW Atlanta University School of Social Work; PhD in Social Welfare from Hunter College School of Social Work (CUNY)
alma.carten@nyu.edu | (212) 998-5933
bio
Dr. Alma J. Carten earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio University, her Master of Social Work degree from Atlanta University School of Social Work, and her Doctorate in Social Welfare from Hunter College School of Social Work of the City University of New York. At NYU, Dr. Carten is chair of the social welfare programs and policies area, and teaches the social welfare policies and human behavior curricula sequences. Dr. Carten is also a Consultant Reviewer for the Children’s Bureau of the Administration for Children and Families (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), helping to shape the national standards for child welfare outcomes. She has held a number of faculty appointments, including Director and Chair of the Westchester Social Work Education Consortium, and has taught at Hunter College School of Social Work and at the Behavioral Science Department at the New York City Policy Academy. Additionally, she was a member of the Administration for Children’s Services Commissioner’s Task Force on Minority Agencies. She served as President of the New York City Chapter of the National Association for Social Workers from 2000-2002.
Dr. Carten has professional experience in both private and public sector agencies. She serves on the United Way of New York City agency membership Review Panel, is board member and consultant for a number of New York City voluntary social welfare agencies and for the Administration for Children and Families, and the Children's Bureau at the federal level. Her work in government includes service as Director of the Office of Adolescent Services for the New York City Human Resources Administration (responsible for policy, program and services development for pregnant and parenting teens), Interim Commissioner of the Child Welfare Administration, special advisor to the Commissioner/Administrator, and appointed member of the Mayor's Commission on the Foster Care of Children. She has conducted research and published on family preservation programs, maternal substance abuse, child survivors of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, independent living services for adolescents, dimensions of abuse and neglect among Caribbean families, and neighborhood based services.
Her professional interests focus on child welfare, and the delivery of culturally competent services to children and families. In particular, she has conducted extensive research studying the Caribbean and African immigrant communities in the New York metropolitan area.
recent work
Among her publications is a book co-edited with Dr. James R. Dumpson, entitled: Removing Risk from Children: Shifting the Paradigm, and a chapter entitled "Family Preservation, Neighborhood Based Services," in Child Welfare Services: An Africentric Perspective, Everett& Leashore, co-editors.
selected publications
- Carten, A., & Goodman Harriett (2005). An Educational Model for Child Welfare Practice with English Speaking Caribbean Families. Journal of Child Welfare, Vol.LXXXIV, #5. Child Welfare League of America.
- Carten, A. (2006). African Americans and Mental Health. In Community Mental Health: Challenges for the 21st Century. Rosenberg, J. & Rosenberg S. (Eds). Routledge Press; New York.
- Carten, A. & Dumpson, J.R. (2004). Family Preservation, Neighborhood Services, in Child Welfare: An Africentric Perspective Revisited, Everett, C., Leashore, B. (Eds) Rutgers University Press
- Carten, A., Rock, L. Best-Cummings, C. (2002). Dimensions of child abuse and neglect among native and immigrant Caribbean Families, Journal of Refugee Studies, Hunter College School of Social Work.
