News Releases
Media contact: Karen Kornegay, Director of External Communications and Marketing, 919-962-1532
MSW students launch initiative to strengthen NC's kinship care system
In North Carolina, of the nearly 8,300 children in foster care, 25% are in homes where kin (a relative or non-relative family member) have willingly agreed to care for them. However, of this percentage, less than 6%, are living in households where adults have been legally licensed as foster parents. For MSW students Angela Krider, Erin Adams, Alecia Mitiguy and Katie Pollard, the numbers highlight a serious concern, including a need to reform the state’s foster care system.
Stephenson volunteers for pro bono project to assist mothers and children seeking asylum
Angie Stephenson, MSW/JD ’03, spent one week in Dilley, Texas, in November as a volunteer with the Dilley Pro Bono Project. The project provides legal representation to mothers and children seeking asylum from extreme violence in Central America and other locations. We recently contacted Stephenson about her experience, which she discusses in the Q&A below.
In memory of Rachel Dedmon, Ph.D.
UNC School of Social Work associate professor emerita Rachel Dedmon died on Nov. 29, 2019, in Pawleys Island, S.C. 
Dedmon, who earned her Ph.D. at Smith College School of Social Work in Massachusetts, joined the UNC School of Social Work faculty in 1974. Over the course of her 28-year career at UNC, Dedmon held many different responsibilities, from associate dean to director of admissions and financial aid. As a faculty member, she taught courses in adult and child mental disorders, in mental health services, and in ethical decision-making.
Dean's statement on Silent Sam settlement
Like many, I have been dismayed and distressed since the November 27th UNC System statement detailing the settlement allowing for the disposition of Silent Sam. I am shocked by the UNC Board of Governors’ decision to authorize an arrangement that directs the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to turn over possession of the Confederate monument and transfer $2.5 million in non-state funds to the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
UNC partners, community leaders break ground on Tiny Homes Village
School of Social Work administrators, faculty and staff joined UNC colleagues, community leaders and others on Nov. 15, to celebrate the official groundbreaking for the innovative Tiny Homes Village (THV).
After years of planning and development and the generosity of donors, construction on the historic project will soon begin on UNC's "Farm at Penny Lane" property in northern Chatham County. When complete, THV will include 15 homes - each about 400 square feet in size - and a clubhouse, all of which are designed for veterans and other people who have persistent and severe mental illnesses, including PTSD and substance use disorders.