History of the Center/Accomplishments

1969-2009 40th Anniversary
Celebrating 40 years of leadership and support defining WORKPLACES that WORK.

Founded in 1969 with a grant from the Vocational Rehabilitation Services of the then Department of Health, Education and Welfare as a Regional Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, the Industrial Social Welfare Center, more recently renamed the Center for Social Policy and Practice in the Workplace (Workplace Center) has a history that reflects the changing nature of the world of work.  It is devoted to defining the roles of labor and management in resolving social workplace issues (e.g., employment of individuals with disabilities, or other disadvantaged status, building a work environment that supports workers experiencing traumatic stress, preparing peers to contribute to work teams, promoting work/family balance for employed caregivers) and to identifying the intersect of social welfare and the workplace (e.g., building coordination across sectors in the interest of improved service delivery, helping establish a business case for corporate philanthropy and inclusive workplaces).

We have been instrumental in defining the roles of EAPs and MAPs and analyzing their actions and outcomes with funding from such varied sources as the United States Department of Labor, the New York City Office of Labor Relations, the Weirton Steel Corporation, the International Union of Operating Engineers, the New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority, the National Institute of Drug Addiction and the Rehabilitation Services Administration of HHS.

We have examined diversity and gender issues and advised on and implemented inclusion policy with funding from the Exxon Corporation, Local 589 of the Sheetmetal Workers Union and Allied Building Metal Industries, the New York City Fire Department, the New York City Women’s Bar and the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development.  In related work we have helped educate unions and businesses on immigration issues under funding from the United States Department of Justice. 

Our attention has been focused on family concerns and policy development around the balance of work and family demands with funding from the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Ogilvy Mather Corporation, the Philip Morris Foundation and the National Institute of Child Health and Development.  

We have been extensively involved in describing the circumstances under which individuals with disabilities, and especially those with mental health conditions, can be effectively employed, as well as in establishing disability management initiatives in a variety of corporate, union, government and non-profit settings with funding from the New York Community Trust, the Rehabilitation Services Administration, the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research, the New York Work Exchange and the Langeloth Foundation.  

We have carried out research to help formulate and implement policy recommendations for issues ranging from health care, service delivery, substance abuse, employment and labor force development, disability management, provision of legal services and Medicaid funding with support from the Actors Fund, the Dole Foundation, Health Insurance Plan (HIP), Ford Foundation, Corporation for Supported Housing, Cornell University, the Silberman Foundation, National Institute of Drug Abuse, New York State Office of Mental Hygiene, and the New York City Office of Labor Relations.

We have provided leadership to those interested in the potential for employment of individuals with mental health conditions, and the related issues of disclosure and accommodation, with funding from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, New York Community Trust, New York City Office of Health and Mental Hygiene, National Institute of Mental Health and New York State Office of Mental Hygiene. 

We have focused on special populations such as youth, particularly those aging out of foster care, victims of domestic violence, homeless individuals,  and their needs related to employment with funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Good Shepherd, and Praxis.

Most recently our attention has turned to crisis and disaster preparedness with special consideration to social work roles with funding from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the National Center for Disaster Preparedness.