Elaine Congress

BA, Brown University

MAT, Yale University

MSW, Columbia University

MA, New School for Social Research

DSW, CUNY (Hunter)

Ethics

Cultural Diversity

Interprofessional Collaboration

Public Health

Social Work Education

Dr. Elaine Congress is Professor and Associate Dean for Special Programs. She directs the dual MSW/MPH program with Mt. Sinai and the MSW student program at the United Nations. She also co-chairs the Fordham Institute for Women and Girls. She has served as Director of the Doctoral Program.

At the United Nations, Dr. Congress represents NGOs the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), the Institute for Multicultural Counseling and Education Services (IMCES), and Fordham which is a NGO at the United Nations. She has served as the North American Representative to the International Ethics Committee of the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) She currently is co-chair of the Social Work section at NYAM (New York Academy of Medicine and serves on the national NASW Pioneer Board. Previously she was on the National Board of Directors of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and a past President of the New York City Chapter of NASW.

Dr. Congress has written extensively in the areas of social work values and ethics, cultural diversity, social work education, non-profit management, public health, and the United Nations including fourteen books and over sixty professional journal articles and book chapters. Three of her books have been translated into Korean.

Her three most recent books have focused on the United Nations. Behavioral Science in the Global Arena: Addressing Timely Issues at the United Nations and Beyond, Behavioral Science in the Global Arena: Global Mental, Spiritual, and Social Health, and Behavioral Science in the Global Arena: Global Trends and Issues provide clear, comprehensive information about the United Nations, the Sustainable Development Goals, and timely important issues affecting our world. The books have an inter-professional approach as it is co-authored with a psychologist and has contributions from social workers, psychologists, leaders of NGOs, UN officials, lawyers, scientists, and medical doctors. Dr. Congress is committed to promoting professional development of students and several of the book chapters are co-authored by social work students.

Another recent book she edited  is the fourth edition of Multicultural Perspectives in Working with Families. This book is interdisciplinary as psychologists, as well as social workers, have contributed chapters. This approach is also true of her books Social Work with Immigrants and Refugees which are  co-authored with a lawyer.

Other important books edited by Dr. Congress are Health and Social Work: Policy, Practice, and Research as well as a book  Nonprofit Management: A Social Justice Approach where faculty and staff from both the business and social work schools contributed chapters. Her books on ethics include two editions of Teaching Social Work Values and Ethics: A Curriculum Resource that includes course outlines, teaching modules, class exercises, electronic resources, and an extensive annotated with references on social work values and ethics.  An earlier book, Social Work Values and Ethics: Identifying and Resolving Professional Dilemmas presents the ETHIC model of decision-making to use in identifying and resolving ethical dilemmas in social work practice.

Her many professional journal articles and book chapters have focused on dual relationships, teaching social work ethics, resolving ethical dilemmas, confidentiality, comparative international codes of ethics, social group work, empowering communities, ethical issues in administration, groups for immigrant children, and immigrant issues in an urban environment.

Dr. Congress has presented on social work ethics, cultural diversity, and immigrants at national conferences in San Francisco, Anaheim, Chicago, Atlanta, Washington, Charleston, Orlando, and international conferences in Canada, France, England, Germany, Australia, Finland, Holland, Korea, and Singapore. Dr. Congress has two podcasts, one on the culturagram a family assessment instrument she developed, and the second on social work with immigrants and refugees. These podcasts can be accessed at www.socialworkpodcast.com.

Before entering academia, Dr. Elaine Congress worked as a practitioner, supervisor, and administrator at a community mental health clinic.

Congress, E.; Meister, D.; Osborn, S.; and Takooshian, H. ( 2022). Behavioral Science in the Global Arena: Global Health Trends and Issues.  Information Age Publishing.  

Congress, E.; Meister, D.; Osborn, S.; and Takooshian, H. ( 2022). Behavioral Science in the Global Arena: Global Mental, Spiritual, and Social Health. Information Age Publishing.

Congress, E., and Gonzalez, M. (2020). Multicultural Perspectives in Working with Families (4th edition). New York, Springer Publishing Company.

Congress, E., Takooshian, H., and Apgar, A. (2020) Behavioral Science in the Global Area: Addressing Timely Issues at the United Nations and Beyond, Charlotte, North Carolina: Information Age Publishing, Inc

Heyman, J., and Congress, E. (2018). Health and Social Work: Practice, Policy, and Research. New York: Springer Publishing Company.

Congress, E. (2017) Immigrants and Refugees in Cities: Issues, Challenges, and Interventions for Social Workers Urban Social Work 1 (1), 20-35.

Congress, E, Luks, A.; and Petit, F. (2016) Nonprofit Management: A Social Justice Approach. New York: Springer Publishing Company.

Chang-Muy, F. and Congress, E. eds. (2015). Social work with immigrants and refugees: Legal issues, clinical skills, and advocacy (2nd ed.) New York: Springer Publishing Company.

Congress, E., and Gonzalez, M. (2013). Multicultural perspectives in working with families. (3rd edition). New York: Springer Publishing Company.

Congress, E. (2012). Continuing Education: Lifelong Learning for Social Work Practitioners and Educators. (Invited editorial) Journal of Social Work Education 48(3), 397-401.

Congress, E.; Black, P.; and Strom-Gottfried, K. eds. (2009) Teaching social work values and ethics: A curriculum resource. (2 nd ed.) Alexandria, VA: CSWE.

Weaver, H., and Congress, E. (2009). Indigenous people in a landscape of risk: Teaching social work students about socially just social work responses' Journal of Ethnic And Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 18(1), 166-179