Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College

 

Education

• Ph.D, University of Texas at Arlington/ Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon
• MSW, University of Michigan

Areas of Expertise

• Homeless and Street-living Youths
• Vocational Intervention Development with Homeless Youths
• Social Enterprises
• International Social Work and Social Development
• Social Capital

Courses Include

• Social Welfare Policy
• Ways of Knowing: Perspectives in Youth Development
• Community Organization, Planning and Development II

Recent Scholarship

• Ferguson, K., Xie, B., & Glynn, S. (2012). Adapting the Individual Placement and Support model with homeless young adults. Child & Youth Care Forum, 41(3), 277-294. DOI 10.1007/s10566-011-9163-5
  
  
• Ferguson, K. (2011). Merging the fields of mental health and social enterprise: Lessons from abroad and cumulative findings from research with homeless youths. Community Mental Health Journal,48(4), 490-502. DOI 10.1007/s10597-011-9440-7.

• Ferguson, K., Bender, K., Thompson, S., Maccio, E., & Pollio, D. (2011). Employment status and income-generation among homeless young adults: Results from a five-city, mixed-methods study. Youth & Society. DOI 10.1177/0044118X11402851
  
  
• Ferguson, K., Bender, K., Thompson, S., Xie, B., & Pollio, D. (2011). Correlates of street survival behaviors in homeless young adults in four U.S. cities. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 81(3), 401-409. DOI 10.1111/j.1939-0025.2011.01108.x
  
  
• Ferguson, K., & Xie, B. (2008). Feasibility study of the Social Enterprise Intervention with homeless youth. Research on Social Work Practice, 18(1), 5-19. DOI 10.1177/1049731507303535
  

Current Research

• The Children of East Harlem, Model Engagement and Service Delivery Matrix (MESDM): A Comprehensive, Coordinated Approach to Meeting the Needs of a Challenged Community
  The goal of this intervention study is to design, implement and evaluate a service engagement and delivery model for at-risk children, youth and families in East Harlem through the use of peer mentors, technology-enhanced referrals, and psycho-educational workshops. The community-based social service agency, SCAN-New York, and the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College are collaborating on this intervention research study.
  Sponsor: New York Community Trust
  
  
• Pilot Study of the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Program with At-Risk Young Adults in East Harlem
  The goal of this pilot study is to adapt, implement, and evaluate the feasibility of the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model of supported employment with 20 at-risk young adults in East Harlem. The IPS is an evidence-based employment intervention that targets individuals with severe mental illness with customized, long-term, and integrated vocational and clinical services to help them gain and maintain competitive employment.
  Sponsor: PSC-CUNY Research Award Program
  
  
• Engaging Homeless Youth in Vocational Training to Meet Their Mental Health Needs
  This study evaluated the impact of involvement in the Social Enterprise Intervention (SEI) and the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) models of supported employment on 72 homeless youths’ mental health, behavioral, employment, functional, and service outcomes. The SEI is a social investment approach to social services that aims to impact homeless youths’ mental health status, social support, functional outcomes, and service use through peer mentoring, vocational and business training, clinical services, and harm-reduction strategies.
  Sponsor: National Institute of Mental Health

Kristin Ferguson-Colvin, PhD

 

Associate Professor

Phone: 212.396.7553

kferg@hunter.cuny.edu

Room: 454