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April 30, 2018
Students advocate for bill on 'Capitol Hill' that passes U.S. Senate

More than 45 University of Alabama social work students met with 30 U.S. Congress members, including Alabama Sen. Doug Jones, to advocate for legislation regarding opioid abuse, human trafficking and children in foster care for SSW's 2nd annual Washington, D.C. Policy and Advocacy Fly-In. Shortly after students spoke with lawmakers, the U.S. Senate passed the “Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act,” a bill that will give state attorneys general the ability to prosecute owners of websites that enable sex trafficking. 
MILITARY FAMILIES AND VETERANS
SSW puts focus on military families and veterans research
The Office for Military Families and Veterans was recently established within the School of Social Work to lead the charge in coordinating and facilitating collaborative research, education, and outreach across the state of Alabama for military families, veterans, and the organizations that serve them. Dr. David L. Albright, Hill Crest Endowed Chair in Mental Health and associate professor of social work, is director of the new office.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Two professors awarded highly competitive UA fellowships for dementia, cancer research
Hee Yun Lee, professor and Endowed Chair in Social Work, and Hyunjin Noh, assistant professor of social work, have each been awarded a Community Engagement Graduate Fellowship from the UA Council on Community-Based Partnerships .
Dr. Lee will collaborate with UA researchers and the Black Belt Community Foundation to study how to reduce cancer health disparities in Alabama’s Black Belt region. Dr. Noh will partner with UA's Pickens County Partnership and UA researchers to examine Advance Care Planning for persons with dementia in rural communities of West Alabama.
Each fellowship provides funding for a graduate student research assistant during the project period.
BOOK SCHOLARSHIP
SSW raises $15,000 for textbooks
SSW ranked 6th overall among UA colleges and schools for the amount raised during Bama Blitz , UA's inaugural online fundraising campaign. A total of 37 gifts were made to the Social Work 50th Anniversary Book Scholarship and will go to support 29 textbook scholarships for students this fall.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Alumna selected as new CEO of Women's Fund

UA Social Work alumna  Melanie R. Bridgeforth is the new president and chief executive officer of The Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham. The Women's Fund mission is to create change for women and their children through advocacy, collaboration, and philanthropy in Blount, Walker, St. Clair, Jefferson and Shelby counties . “The work of The Women’s Fund is essential to helping vulnerable families in Greater Birmingham and beyond secure a brighter economic future,” Bridgeforth said.
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