Transforming Poverty Policy and Practice; Connecting Agency to University and the introduction of the McSilver Institute on Poverty

Transforming Poverty Policy and Practice; Connecting Agency to University
and the introduction of the McSilver Institute on Poverty

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16 • 8:30AM - 1PM

NYU WASSERMAN CENTER
133 EAST 13TH ST

On October 16th, Dean Lynn Videka and Trustee/Institute Founder Connie Silver will welcome the New York City community to the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research. This conference will help shape the School's Poverty Agenda. Linda Gibbs, New York City Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, will deliver the keynote address.

Agenda for the Day

9:15	Welcomes	Lynn Videka Connie Silver
9:30	Introduction of the McSilver Poverty Institute & Conference	Robert Hawkins
9:50	Keynote Speaker	Linda Gibbs
10:20	Facilitated Panel Response	Kim I. Jasmin, Moderator Verona Middleton-Jeter Michael Stoller Mimi Corcoran
11:00	Question and Answer
11:15	Break
11:30	Table Discussions with Agency Leader Facilitators
12:45	Summary and Closing Remarks	Phil Coltoff

The McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research

Lynn Videka

"The McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research, under the auspices of the New York University Silver School of Social Work and with the generous support from Constance and Martin Silver, is poised to become the national leader in research, education, implementation, and dissemination of the latest and best knowledge about poverty and its solutions. True to the tradition of the social work profession, the Institute will achieve its goals through partnerships with New York City-based agencies that are on the front lines of the fight against poverty."

Founding

Connie Silver

The McSilver Institute was founded through the generosity of NYU alumna Constance and Martin Silver with the purpose of better understanding poverty in New York City and developing improved practices to address it. "The advantages offered by the McSilver Institute are two-fold,” said Institute founder Constance Silver. “Its foundation stands on the past fifty years of NYU’s long-held leadership in clinical education and practice. Now, with our school’s renewed emphasis on evidence-based research and policy, the Institute and its working partners will help deepen our knowledge about systemic poverty and identify effective policies to lessen its causes.” Read more about the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research.

Community Partnerships

In order to undertake this work, the Silver School of Social Work has formed an advisory committee of leading figures to help identify needs from the field, which will be integrated into the School’s Poverty Agenda. The School will work with key agencies in New York City to advanced the Poverty Agenda. Selected agencies will be part of a pilot program to integrate the interventions learned into their current practices. Together, we will develop evidence-based interventions to improve current practices; compile a Web-based Poverty Services Provider Database, a Benefits Access Database, and a Poverty Literature Database; and develop the resources to support and connect a larger network of agencies working with poverty and poverty-related issues in New York City.

Resources

The Institute has already developed a number of resources including:

an Economic Empowerment Assessment tool, which is an assessment tool designed to better understand the structural and individual poverty in the lives of low-income people;
a financial social work component to the curriculum for students both in the classroom and the field;
a specialized field learning opportunity in the area of poverty;
and special interventions for women experiencing persistent poverty.

In addition, the Silver School of Social Work has produced the The Silver School Report on Poverty Initiatives, as well as an issue of the alumni newsletter Issues and Action detailing faculty research on the homelessness crisis in America.

The School received its first foundation funding for poverty initiatives with a generous grant from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation and will continue to build financial support for this exciting initiative.