Advances Vol. 3, No. 1 i Editorial Barry R. Cournoyer TheSpring2002 (Volume3,Number1) issueofAdvances in SocialWorkmarks the beginning of its third year of existence. The Editorial Board and I are extremely pleasedwith andproud of the journal’s growth anddevelopment.We feel priv- ileged to be associated with Indiana University School of SocialWork and the presti- gious cadre of consulting editors that provide such sage advice and consultation. I personally wish to thank all members of the AISW teamwho have enabledme to serve as editor during these past two years. I could not possibly have produced these four issues without their hard work and scholarly input. This is my last issue as edi- tor. I have truly enjoyed and valued this experience. I have been energized by my involvement with the many authors who have contributed their written work and have been inspired by the wonderful reviewers who have helped to improve the quality of both accepted manuscripts and those that were returned. I will miss this role but, at this time, I must turn my attention to other projects. However, we have the good fortune to have a new editor who will guide the journal’s development toward an even more prominent future. Dr. JamesG.Daley is Associate Professor, IndianaUniversity School of SocialWork. He is a prolific author, exceptional researcher, and a truly great social worker. Dr. Daley brings a multitude of strengths to the editor position. He has 24 years of clin- ical experience. He has served as the director of an inpatient alcoholism treatment program, the chief of a mental health clinic, and a policy analyst on mental health and family violence issues. He regularly conducts workshops nationally and inter- nationally. He has published extensively and has served as a reviewer for several prominent journals. His areas of interest include families in crisis, internationalmil- itary social work, and family measurement issues. He is extraordinarily well-suited to shepherd AISW for the foreseeable future. I feel special delight in introducing the contents of this issue.During the 2001-2002 year, we have celebrated the 90th anniversary of social work education at Indiana University. Formed in 1911 as a small department, the School of Social Work has grown into one of the nation’s largest andmost prestigious institutions. On April 12, 2002, the School sponsored a day-long symposium as part of the anniversary cele- bration. Several hundred participants joined as social work doctoral students pre- sented research posters, experts led workshops and seminars, and all enjoyed vari- ous celebratory activities. The symposium’s keynote address was delivered by Mr. AndrewCuomo, formerU.S. Secretary ofHousing andUrbanDevelopment and cur- rent candidate for Governor, NewYork State.We are especially pleased to introduce this issue with a transcript of his remarks. His speech is funny, poignant, philosoph- ical, spiritual, and, of course, political. He addresses issues dear to the hearts of social workers as he discusses housing and homelessness, social and political phi- losophy, and the potential impact of the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Dr. Lisa S. Patchner’s article “In the Belly of the Beast: A Case Study of SocialWork in aManagedCareOrganization” addresses the contemporary employment of social workers withinmanaged care organizations. In particular, Dr. Patchner explores the nature and quality of social workers’ service as case managers within a Medicaid ii Health Maintenance Organization (HMO). Based upon semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and participant observations, she concludes that case management services were successful in helping HMOMedicaid clients address various bio-psy- chosocial needs. She also outlines the specialized knowledge and expertise required by social workers who practice within managed care organizations. In “Evaluating Kinship Care Alternatives: A Comparison of a Private Initiative to Traditional State Services,”RodneyEllis,GaryEllis, andRochelleGaley explore the“new- old” practice of kinship care as an alternative to traditional foster care programs and approaches. Most social workers are painfully aware of the challenging state of the childwelfare systemand the increasing demands for placements for at-risk children. Kinship placements offer numerous advantages over non-familial foster care. This paper represents one of the first attempts to evaluate the effectiveness of kinship careby comparing the stability of placement outcomesobtainedby twoprograms: an innovative, multi-service program operated by a private, not-for-profit organization and a more traditional program sponsored by a public state child welfare agency. In their article“AfricanAmericansandClinicalTrialsResearch:Recommendations for Client Engagement,” SharonMoore andWanda Lott Collins discuss the understand- able suspicions that many African-Americans hold when invited to contribute as participants in research studies, particularly those involving clinical trials. Drs. Moore and Collins review some of the historical events and associated theories that lead to apprehension, fear, and sometimes rage among African-Americans whose brothers and sisters have been violated in various medical experiments. They iden- tify significant healthproblems commonamongAfrican-Americans, outlinehowand for whom participation in clinical trials might be safe and helpful, and suggest means and processes that researchers might adopt to recruit African-Americans as informed consenting participants in research studies. Nancy P. Kropf and Mininder Tracey address the subject of service learning, an increasingly popular topic throughout university and professional settings. In “Service Learning as a Transition into Foundation Field,” they distinguish the func- tions of service learning activities from those of professional internships and explore their use as a bridge to traditional field practicum experiences. In “Student-Identified Strengths and Challenges of Using BlackboardTM for Group Projects in a SocialWork Course,”Melissa B. Littlefield discusses her study of students’ experience in the use of a popular web-based educational tool that facilitates online communicationand learning.BlackboardTM enables studentsand instructors to engage in real-timeor asynchronousonlinediscussion, transmit and receive e-mailmessages, exchange computer files, and link to Internet resources. Most students reported that BlackboardTM was user-friendly and contributed to the success of their group project. The results suggest that online technologymay contribute to group learning activities, increase efficiency, and enhance personal accountability among social work students. The Editorial Board and I are pleased to present this issue ofAdvances in SocialWork to the social work community. In this,my last editorial, I wish to expressmy gratitude to all members of the AISW team, the Indiana University School of SocialWork com- munity, the many authors and reviewers, and especially the social workers who con- scientiously continue to readand think and learn fromprofessional journals in order to provide the highest quality of social service to the peoplewe call clients.Thank you for your service to the most vulnerable among us.