Scholarship Fund is Renamed in Honor of Slain Social Work Student Amy Watkins
(September 2002)
 Pictured from left: ACS Commissioner William Bell; Margaret Ross, Co-Chair Pace; Dean Bogart Leashore, Hunter College School of Social Work; Captain Harthman, NYPD; Assemblyman Roger Green; James Caldwell, 77th Precinct; Terry Mizrahi, National NASW President; Mr. and Mrs. Watkins; Mary Pender Greene, NASW Chapter President and Robert Schachter, Chapter Executive Director. |
Assembly member Roger Green, Chair of the New York Assembly Children and Families Committee and a strong supporter of the social work community, renamed a social work scholarship fund in honor of Amy Watkins, a student at Hunter College School of Social Work, who was brutally murdered in Brooklyn in 1999 as she returned home from her field placement.
At this event, attended by numerous dignitaries, including Mayor Bloomberg, Amy's parents were presented with a legislative resolution that establishes the Amy Watkins Caseworker Education and Training Fund. This fund will be used to pay for scholarships for child welfare workers to get their MSWs. The scholarship fund was instituted with a $2.3 million dollar state appropriation.
The NYC Chapter has been working for several years in collaboration with Assembly member Green to obtain funding for social work scholarships. These efforts resulted in a fund established a few years ago that totaled $1,250,000 being appropriated for MSW scholarships for public and private sector child welfare workers.
The NYC Chapter recognizes the crucial role that social workers in the child welfare field play. Strengthening the skills of workers dealing with difficult family problems is an essential element in ensuring that the most vulnerable children and families in our city get the services they need. Social work scholarships also afford the opportunity for talented and dedicated child welfare workers to advance professionally.
Strengthening social work services and developing a strong workforce is a Chapter priority. The child welfare scholarship fund is an important element toward this end. Renaming the fund after Amy Watkins is a small gesture that helps the social work community remember her spirit and passion for the social work profession. The transcript of the legislative resolution given to her parents is presented here because it speaks to Amy's enthusiasm and commitment to the ideals of the profession.