Department of Social Work and Social Ecology

Viola Lindsey, MSW

Welcome students and friends!

My name is Viola W. Lindsey, and I am a member of the clinical faculty in the Department of Social Work and Social Ecology. I teach foundation and advanced clinical seminar classes, and Children and Families Policy and Services.

I graduated from Stillman College, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, with a BA in sociology and earned my MSW from Loma Linda University, concentrating in policy, planning, and administration. I have certificates in counseling and gerontology from the University of California, Riverside. Currently I am working on my PhD in Social Policy and Social Research.

I bring a breadth of knowledge and experience to the classroom having worked over 20 years in administration, as well as direct services, in the child welfare and adult services arenas. My duties have included:

Social Services Supervisor with responsibilities for supervising a staff of seven Child Protective Services social workers who provided a continuum of services ranging from first responders to allegation of child abuse to developing permanent plans for placement.

Senior Program Specialist with responsibilities for keeping abreast of, and analyzing governing laws that regulated both child welfare and adult services to ensure adherence to federal, state, and county guidelines, including developing and implementing operational policy changes.

Child Welfare Social Worker with responsibilities for:

• working with the courts to reunify families and children who were separated due to abuse issues.
• evaluating individuals’ homes for potential day care and foster care licensure, which included investigations of complaints post-licensure.
• served as liaison between foster parents and social workers in determining financial needs of children in placement.

Family Conferencing Supervisor with responsibilities for assisting families to resolve their own problems with the help of a mediator.

Group Facilitator for Regional Interagency Sexual Abuse Council (RISAC) with responsibilities for assisting male, intra-familial, sexual perpetrators to address sexual abuse issues and take responsibility for their actions.

Anger Management Facilitator (court-ordered, 52-week program) for male perpetrators of domestic violence.

Field Instructor - California State University, San Bernardino and Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California

Community Services:

• United Way of the Inland Valleys (UWIV) - Blueprint for Volunteer Diversity in Leadership - Training Facilitator
• Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) - Training Facilitator
• Family Services Association of Western Riverside County - Member Conference Planning committee
• Sickle Cell Organization of the Inland Counties (SCO) - Past Board President
• American Association of University Women (AAUW) - Past Program Development Chair
• California Welfare Director’s Association (CWDA) – Past Adult Services and Child Welfare committee member

Department of Social Work and Social Ecology Committee Memberships:

• Field Faculty
• Faculty
• Curriculum

Other:

• Student Advisement

Presentations:

• Child Abuse Reporting Laws: What Mandated Reporters Need to Know
• Elder Abuse Reporting Laws: What Mandated Reporters Need to Know
• Transracial Adoptions Policies: A response to disproportionality and Fairness and Equity Issues
• Dancing through Mind Fields: Cultural Competencies Issues for Elementary and Middle School Clinicians
• IV-E Curriculum Competencies/Standards and Values for Child Welfare
• Making the Most out of Supervision
• Stress Management
• Dealing with Problem Students
• Interpersonal Violence: Dominance, Learned Behavior or Both
• What on Earth am I Here for: The Role of Spiritual Women in the Church
• Blueprint for Volunteer Diversity Leadership: Benefits of training for Community
  Involvement
• Emergency Response (ER) Protocol for Riverside County

Area of Research Interest:

I am interested in exploring the barriers that impact collaboration between law enforcement and child welfare in responding to allegations of child abuse, and whether inter-professional training is a mechanism for bridging these barriers.

Contact information

Location

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