BOONE—Two students from the social work program at Appalachian State University were invited to give presentations at the recent Annual Program Meeting of the Council on Social Work Education.

Matt Ballard, a senior social work major from Charlotte, presented the results of his independent study “Canned Responses to Food Insecurity: Proposal of an Alternative, Just Approach.”

Graduate student Mary Walker presented a paper co-authored with Sally M. Brocksen, an assistant professor in Appalachian’s Department of Social Work. The paper is titled “Analysis of Health Care Access for Children Using Integrated Health Interview Series (IHIS) Data.”

“This is quite an accomplishment since this conference is very competitive and it is unusual for students to be accepted for presentations, let alone two students from the same university,” Brocksen said.

Ballard looked at the history and politics of public and private food assistance programs, and policies that tend to limit the poor’s access to healthy food choices.

He suggests that a policy that incorporates values from the National Association of Social Work Code of Ethics, such as preserving a person’s dignity and worth, valuing human relationships and empowering those needing the service would provide a better system for ensuring low-income individuals’ access to food.

Community gardening, community‐supported agriculture, senior and WIC farmers’ market nutrition programs are examples of possible programs.

Walker tracked data from the Integrated Health Interview Series (IHIS) showing that children who are from low-income families or are uninsured are at a significant risk for not receiving appropriate health care services.

“The study found that there are children living below the poverty line without health insurance when there are state programs in place for these children,” Walker said. “Social workers need to look at the system and identify the barriers to health care, including the enrollment process for families, transportation and identification of participating health professionals. Until the health care system is improved, we must be creative to meet the health care needs of children.”

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