Monday, August 11, 2008
by: Anne M. Hewitt, Ph.D.

The White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives recently sponsored a national conference “Innovations in Effective Compassion” with President George W. Bush as special keynote speaker. Other speakers included Secretary Elaine L. Chao, U.S. Department of Labor; Michael Mukasey, U.S. Attorney General; Secretary Steve Preson, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; John P. Walters, Director, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy; and Ambassador Mark Dybul, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator.

Anne Hewitt, Ph.D., associate professor of public and healthcare administration and director of the Seton Center of Community Health at Seton Hall University, was invited to present her research on New Jersey Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Dr. Hewitt presented her paper “Identifying Capacity-Building Best Practices: A 10-year Retrospective Review of New Jersey’s Faith-Based Initiatives” as part of a panel presentation focusing on “Building Capacity among Faith-Based and Community Organizations”. The paper is available at: http://innovationincompassion.hhs.gov/research_eval/new_research.html.

Dr. Hewitt established the Seton Center for Community Health (SCCH) in 2004 as an academic resource for collaboration, learning and research that will enhance the quality of life for individuals and communities in need. The center is located in the Department of Public and Healthcare Administration in the College of Arts and Sciences. SCCH provides technical assistance and scholarship to community agencies focused on improving the health status of New Jersey residents. It has provided technical assistance to Catholic Charities (Diocese of Newark) – JUMP juvenile program, Team 2000 – prisoner re-entry, Camden Area Health Education Center – seniors, Help and Reconciliation Ministry – immigrant health, and the Bergen County Community Action Committee – homeless.

The purpose of the national conference was to highlight recent research on the role of faith-based and community social service programs and to highlight their effectiveness. The conference was held in Washington DC with over 1000 participants. 
 

For more information please contact:
Anne M. Hewitt, Ph.D.
973-275-2070
hewittan@shu.edu