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Dasha Rhodes, PhD, MSW (PI; School of Social Work), and Kathleen Moore, PhD (Co-I; Department of Behavioral Health Science & Practice), received a 3-year grant award from the National Institute of Justice to pilot a police diversion program.

The Behavioral Response and Community Engagement (BRACE) Team is a pilot study seeking to transform the current approach to behavioral health crises in a small urban setting by introducing a single-responder system role, known as a Navigator. The project activities include implementing both quantitative and qualitive methods to evaluate the effectiveness of this alternative single first response system, which aims to minimize law enforcement involvement. It will also focus on improving emergency dispatch training protocols to better address crisis situations. Expected outcomes of this program evaluation include the successful redirection of appropriate calls to the Navigator, a reduction in police contacts, arrests, and Baker Act enactments for behavioral health-related emergencies, as well as an analysis of the Navigator’s and dispatch experiences.

Sponsor: U.S. Department of Justice
Award Period: 1/1/2025 – 12/31/2027
Award Amount: $399,995

Nan Sook Park, PhD (ÊÖ»ú¿´Æ¬ School of Social Work), and William Haley, PhD (ÊÖ»ú¿´Æ¬ School of Aging Studies), are leading the ÊÖ»ú¿´Æ¬ site of a multi-site (CA, FL, TX) R01 study, funded by the National Institute on Aging. This five-year project will test K-Savvy, a culturally adapted version of the evidence-based Savvy Caregiver Program designed specifically for Korean American dementia caregivers.

Caregivers in ethnic immigrant communities, especially those with limited English proficiency, are often excluded from evidence-based interventions. Grounded in stress process and social cognitive theories, this study aims to:

• Assess the efficacy of K-Savvy in reducing caregiver burden and depressive symptoms while enhancing psychological gains.
• Identify mechanisms of action by examining how caregiver appraisals (e.g., stress appraisal, self-efficacy) mediate program outcomes.
• Explore participant experiences qualitatively through interviews with both caregivers and interventionists to capture contextual factors, nuances, and explanations for program successes or challenges.

Using an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, the project seeks to generate both quantitative evidence of impact and qualitative insights to inform future dissemination of culturally tailored caregiver interventions.

For more information contact Nan Sook Park at nanpark@usf.edu.

Stepped Care Approach for Addressing Youth-Motivated School Refusal Behaviors (STAY)

This project aims to develop the Stepped Care Approach for Addressing Youth-Motivated School Refusal Behaviors (STAY), an intervention to address school refusal behaviors for students with/at risk for disabilities in grades 3 through 8. 
Funding: Institute of Educational Sciences, US Department of Education (2 million; PI Iovannone, R) 
Co-Principal Investigator: Alison Salloum, PhD, LCSW

Pragmatic RCT of a multi-level mechanistically informed community intervention to prevent the onset of behavioral health symptoms among socioeconomically disadvantaged pandemic affected children

The purpose of this study is to use a Stage III prospective intervention to examine the
implementation and efficacy of the COVID-19 adaptation of a widely disseminated
disaster focused empirically supported prevention intervention, the Journey of Hope
compared to Switch Off Get Active 

Site Principal Investigator: Alison Salloum, PhD, LCSW
Funding: National Institute of Mental Health [1R01MH131248-01] PI: PI Tara Leytham Powell 

Stepped Care CBT for Children after Trauma 

Alison Salloum continues to work on the Stepped Care CBT for Children after Trauma intervention to help children who have experienced traumatic events. More information about .

Site Principal Investigator: Alison Salloum, PhD, LCSW

Use of AI to detect childhood PTSD 

Research on the use of AI to detect childhood PTSD is underway. See more. For more information, please contact Alison Salloum, PhD, LCSW, at asalloum@usf.edu. 

Project 1: Virtual Reality–Based Positive Psychology Intervention 

This project investigates the potential of virtual reality (VR) as a culturally tailored platform to deliver positive psychology interventions for older Korean immigrants. Older immigrants often face discrimination-related stress and adverse mental health outcomes, including depressive symptoms, anxiety, and chronic stress, which can undermine overall well-being. The intervention leverages immersive VR environments to foster positive affect, optimism, gratitude, and meaning in life, with the goal of enhancing mental health and ameliorating discrimination-related stress. The project seeks to improve positive psychological well-being and address the unique stressors experienced by this population. Beyond its direct therapeutic potential, the study also informs broader discussions on the role of VR in bridging cultural and linguistic gaps in digital health interventions for immigrant communities.

PI: Soonhyung Kwon, PhD, University of South ÊÖ»ú¿´Æ¬ School of Social Work
Advisor: Rose Hernandez, PhD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign School of Social Work

Project 2: AI-Driven Mindfulness App 

This project focuses on testing the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven mindfulness mobile application tailored for older Korean immigrants. This population often experiences barriers to accessing mental health care due to cultural stigma, limited English proficiency, and structural inequities. By integrating artificial intelligence into a mobile health platform, the project delivers personalized mindfulness exercises, including sound therapy and meditation, intended to foster positive psychological well-being while reducing depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress. The AI-driven design allows for adaptive feedback and continuous engagement, making it more responsive to individual needs. This project will generate important evidence on the acceptability and feasibility of AI-based mental health interventions. Findings will help determine whether AI-enabled mindfulness apps can serve as scalable, accessible, and culturally sensitive solutions to improve immigrant health equity.

PI: Soonhyung Kwon, PhD, University of South ÊÖ»ú¿´Æ¬ School of Social Work

Co-PI: Nan Sook Park, PhD, University of South ÊÖ»ú¿´Æ¬ School of Social Work
Consultant: Rose Hernandez, PhD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign School of Social Work

The Disease Intervention Specialist (DIS) Training Program is designed to equip public health professionals with the skills and knowledge needed to prevent and control communicable diseases. This multiyear and interdisciplinary project engages experts to develop curriculum and provide in person training to ÊÖ»ú¿´Æ¬ Public Health employees. 

Sondra J. Fogel, PhD, LCSW, is the lead social work faculty member on this project. Funded through the ÊÖ»ú¿´Æ¬ College of Medicine and Public Health, this project supports doctoral students throughout their time here.

The Duvall Initiative represents a strategic community-academic partnership between the University of South ÊÖ»ú¿´Æ¬ and community members and organizations in the Sarasota-Manatee region. Its mission is to strengthen local human service capacities and improve community health outcomes through service and research. The initiative is supported by the Evelyn Duvall Endowed Chair of Family and Community Health within the School of Social Work.

This study examines the barriers and facilitators to recruitment, retention, and advancement of behavioral health trainees and professionals working in integrated and specialty care settings through surveys and interviews with advanced clinical trainees, graduates of state universities, field supervisors, and integrated/specialty care providers. Study findings are expected to produce recommendations to enhance training program effectiveness and generate policy recommendations for strengthening and expanding IBHC training statewide.

Funding agency: ÊÖ»ú¿´Æ¬ Center for Behavioral Health Workforce
Time period: July 2025 – June 2026
Amount: $148,000

For more information contact Dr. Manisha Joshi, PhD, MPH, MSW, at manishaj@usf.edu.

Interdisciplinary Solutions for Promoting Innovation and Research Engagement (INSPIRE)

Director: Dasha Rhodes, PhD, MSW

CBCS-InspireLab@usf.edu

This research contains the only data set of all capital punishment decisions in North Carolina from 1977-ongoing. Sondra J. Fogel is one of three faculty members to do the data collection, specifically adding to the database by including the collection of mitigating factors for each case. This ongoing work examines numerous variables to understand both the guilt phase and the following sentencing phase of capital punishment trials.

For more information, contact Sondra Fogel, PhD, LCSW, at sfogel@usf.edu.

This initiative utilizes an interactive, web-based simulation platform to provide social work students with opportunities to apply theoretical knowledge and master essential competencies through virtual client interactions that present diverse behavioral and mental health issues in various settings. For more details, for a published article based on this project.  

Faculty team: School of Social Work's AI Taskforce

• Manisha Joshi, PhD, MPH, MSW (Chair)
• Vickie Lynn, PhD, MPH, MSW
• Lisa Macri, PhD, MSW
• Chris Simmons, PhD, MSW

For more information contact Manisha Joshi at manishaj@usf.edu