Release

UAlbany's School of Social Welfare to Study Alzheimer's Care in New York

Contact: Catherine Herman (518) 437-4980

ALBANY, N.Y. (July 28, 2005) -- The University at Albany's Center for Excellence in Aging Services will study Alzheimer's care in New York State as part of a $1 million grant from the U.S. Administration on Aging. Center director and School of Social Welfare professor Phillip McCallion and program director Lisa Ferretti will partner with the New York State Office for the Aging on the three-year study.

The project aims to increase family support groups, caregiver assistance and training in New York. It also plans to establish protocols for coordinating Alzheimer's diagnosis, treatment, and services with a county based long term care access system, as well as create a model for meeting needs of rural and ethnically diverse smaller communities, including cities and towns.

A University at Albany School of Social Welfare faculty member since 1996, McCallion is the author of numerous articles, book chapters, conference papers, reviews and commentaries. His most recent book, Grandparents as carers of children with disabilities: Facing the challenges, co-authored with colleague Matthew Janicki, was published in 2000. Much of McCallion's research focuses on gerontology and the effects of Alzheimer's, dementia and related diseases. McCallion, with his colleague Mary McCarron at Trinity College, Dublin, directs the America-Ireland Research and Training Initiative on Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia, and he is the evaluation coordinator for the New York State Dementia Grants Program. McCallion is also the director of the School of Social Welfare's Child Welfare, Drug Abuse, and Intergenerational Risk (CWDAIR) Research Center, funded by a five year $1.9 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

UAlbany's School of Social Welfare is ranked second in per capita scholarly productivity among the social work programs in the nation. The school's mission is to further social and economic justice and to serve people who are vulnerable, marginalized or oppressed. Through education, knowledge development and service, the school promotes leadership for evidence-based social work with a global perspective. As a recognized national and international leader in developing innovative and creative programs, along with facilitating public-private partnerships, the school has been able to attract premier students, providing them with an unsurpassed educational experience at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral level.