Disability Manuscript Award
The award recognizes scholarship that contributes to knowledge about disability; full participation of persons with disabilities; social, political, and economic issues related to disability and persons with disabilities; and social work education curriculum materials focused on disability and persons with disabilities. The Disability Manuscript Award winner(s) are recognized during the Annual Program Meeting.
2022 Disability Manuscript Award
The CSWE Council on Disability and Persons With Disabilities (CDPD) is pleased to announce the 2022 Disability Manuscript Award recipients. The award recognizes scholarship that contributes to knowledge about disability; full participation of persons with disabilities; social, political, and economic issues related to disability and persons with disabilities; and social work education curriculum materials focused on disability and persons with disabilities.
2022 Award Recipients
The 2022 Disability Manuscript Award goes to John Keesler, MSW, PhD (Indiana University Bloomington) and Jade Presnell, MS, LSW (Indiana University School of Social Work) for their submission titled, "Community Inclusion for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: A Call to Action for Social Work."
John M. Keesler, MSW, PhD, is an associate professor in the School of Social Work at Indiana University Bloomington and a native of Buffalo, New York. As a faculty member in the MSW program, Dr. Keesler has taught research and advanced clinical courses, and served as field liaison for practicum placements. He provides his students with opportunities for interprofessional education and real-world application of social work skills through university-community partnerships. As a social work researcher, Dr. Keesler focuses on adversity and trauma, trauma-informed care, and quality of life with a particular emphasis on the disability service industry. His research is grounded in more than a decade of practice experience supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities across the lifespan and their families.
Jade Presnell, MS, LSW, is a licensed social worker with a passion for working alongside the disability community as an ally and advocate. She holds graduate degrees in psychology and social work. Jade has more than a decade of clinical practice experience supporting persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities in various capacities. At present she is a doctoral candidate, research assistant, and adjunct faculty at Indiana University School of Social Work where she engages in research and teaching with the aim of building more inclusive and equitable communities. Working to improve psychosocial outcomes for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, her research interests include strategies for advancing social inclusion and improving direct support workforce competency and well-being, trauma-informed care, and engagement in anti-ableist, human rights-based social work practice and education.
2022 Honorable Mention Recipient
Aesha John, LMSW, PhD (Texas Christian University) for her submission, "Service Learning With Individuals With ID."
Dr. Aesha John is an associate professor in the Department of Social Work at Texas Christian University (TCU). She earned her PhD in Human Environmental Sciences from Oklahoma State University. Her decade- long practice in India with children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) informs Dr. John’s research program, which focuses on well-being among individuals with IDD and their families, as well as parenting in difficult contexts. To include voices of Indian families in the published literature, Dr. John has collaborated with organizations serving children with IDD in several cities in India, and has examined family processes such as parent-child attachment, parents’ reaction to their child’s diagnosis, family stress and resilience, and mothers’ identity construction. Her cross-cultural research also focuses on Indian immigrant families navigating the challenges of adapting to a new culture, while at the same time parenting a child with IDD.
In addition to her international and cross-cultural research, Dr. John engages with the Fort Worth community, and through partnerships with local IDD organizations, she implements community-based book clubs and job training programs for individuals with IDD. To spark interest and passion among the next generation of social workers to practice with individuals with IDD, she creates service learning opportunities for BSW and MSW students to engage in programs supporting individuals with IDD. Dr. John was a recent recipient of TCU’s 2022 Deans’ Award for Research and Creativity, which recognizes faculty who have produced the highest quality research over the last several years.
Award Requirements
All CSWE members with oral presentations, interactive posters, or interactive workshops are invited to submit relevant scholarly papers for consideration. CDPD particularly encourages submission of manuscripts that do the following:
- Are consistent with the CDPD mission
- Use appropriate methodology
- Include well-developed applications to social work practice or policy
- Include clear implications for social work education
- Demonstrate a significant affect on the disability field and persons with disabilities through publication or other means
- Are innovative in overall concepts and purpose
At least one author of the paper must agree to attend the award presentation during the CDPD community meeting at the Annual Program Meeting.
The call for nominations will open in early March 2023.
Nominations must be submitted through Submittable. E-mailed or incomplete nominations will not be accepted.
Questions
Please contact [email protected] if you have questions.