Special Research Projects
The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico
The goals of the project included: 1) identification of the nature, extent, and underlying causes of CSE and the CSEC occurring in the three countries of the North American Free Trade region--the U.S., Canada, and Mexico; 2) identification of those subgroups of children that are at the greatest risk of being sexually exploited; 3) identification of subgroups of adult perpetrators of sex crimes against children—including pimps, traffickers, and adult “customers” of children for sex; 4) identification of the extent to which organized criminal units are involved in the CSEC; 5) identification of the modes of operation and other methods used by organized criminal units to recruit children into sexually exploitive activities; 6) identification of local, state and national laws relating to CSE and the CSEC; 7) identification of international agreements, covenants and declarations pertaining to CSE and the CSEC; 8) identification of the strengths and weakness of the country’s current capacity for preventing CSE, or at least protecting children from its commercial manifestations; and, 9) with governmental and nongovernmental leaders, frame recommendations designed to strengthen the nation’s capacity to prevent and protect the nation’s and region’s children from sexual exploitation. (www.sp2.upenn.edu/~restes/CSEC.htm)
The Evelyn Jacobs Ortner-Unity Program in Family Violence
The Evelyn Jacobs Ortner-Unity Program in Family Violence at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice serves as a vital resource for law makers, agency executives, case workers and educators as they search for answers to the most vexing and troublesome issues surrounding domestic violence. The Program is centered on protecting the rights, safety and well being of the victims of abuse and neglect in all of its many forms. Interdisciplinary collaboration with nearly every School at the University is a cornerstone of this unique Program. Penn’s venerable Schools of Law, Arts and Sciences, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Dentistry and Education each play a vital role in realizing the Program’s most worthy objectives.
Feldman Initiative: Hancock County
After Hurricane Katrina shattered many Gulf Coast communities, SP2 students and
faculty began urging the administration to take action. Emergency situations
such as Hurricane Katrina often generate an immediate outpouring of emotions
and aid. Unfortunately, aid is often unsustained, and often disappears when it
is most needed. Recognizing this pattern, Dean Richard Gelles urged a multi
level response. SP2 students, faculty and staff conducted fund raisers and
made financial donations immediately following Hurricane Katrina. About eighteen months after the storm, the administration began investigating
ways to assist with long term recovery efforts. They contacted Bucks-Mont
Katrina Relief Project and were introduced to Hancock County, Mississippi. A
group of eight SP2 faculty, staff and students visited the region to assess the
unmet social service needs. Over the course of three days, they met with more
than fifty social service providers in the area. Faced with limited funding
and increased mental health problems, these organizations have been scrambling
to meet the needs of the entire community.
SP2 has made a commitment to assist Hancock County residents, service
providers, agencies and organizations in rebuilding, providing and accessing
mental health services. This project, the SP2 Feldman Initiative - Hancock
County, will be incremental in nature. For the first
stage (summer 2007), SP2 sent a few Master of Social Work student volunteers to the
region. They worked in areas and fields where they are considered
competent and have demonstrated a level of mastery and expertise (ie.
counseling, administration, case management, conducting workshops, running
groups, etc). In tandem with the student volunteers, the coordinator of this
initiative will continue networking with existing mental health agencies and
conduct additional needs assessments when necessary. For the 2007 to 2008
academic year, SP2 will continue to send Master of Social Work student
volunteers to the community. Ultimately, the school would like to achieve
three goals: 1) create a Hancock County field placement option for interested
students from all three SP2 masters programs, 2) mobilize the rest of the University
with the adoption of Hancock County and 3) develop a disaster relief model for
other universities around the country.
Social Impact of the Arts Project (SIAP)
SIAP is a research center of the Penn School of Social Policy & Practice. Since 1994, it has undertaken a variety of policy research projects on the role that cultural institutions play in the metropolitan Philadelphia region and its neighborhoods. Our website provides access to the Project's working papers, a summary of its findings, and some of its current activities. (www.sp2.upenn.edu/SIAP)