Diane Pagen
Diane R. Pagen, LMSW

dianepagen@yahoo.com

SUMMARY

I am a social worker, writer and social policy analyst with fourteen years of policy and clinical experience.

EDUCATION

2004 MSW, Fordham University Graduate School of Social Work, New York City
1995 BA, Modern Languages, Magna Cum Laude, Universidad de Puerto Rico, San Juan

PUBLISHED WRITING

Our Grenfell: Slow Death of the Poor. In New York Daily News, July 8, 2017.

The Big Sneaky: GOP Poverty Forum Pretends that Welfare Is Still a Federal Program. In Basic Income Action blog, January 20, 2016. http://www.basicincomeaction.org/the_big_sneaky_poverty_forum

Remember the Children: A Call for a Basic Income Supplement in the U.S. In Basic Income Action blog, September 26, 2015, www.basicincomeaction.org/remember-the-children

Turkeys and Coats are not a Safety Net. In NJ Star Ledger, December 8, 2014.

Food Stamps, Crab Legs, Childhood Obesity. In The Dallas Morning News, June 28, 2013.

Aún Podemos Aprender del Suicidio de Joel Morales. In El Diario La Prensa, July 9, 2011.

The Folly of Job-Training Programs. In The Daily Star (Albany Region, New York), July 9, 2011.

Breastfeeding is a Must, for Those who Can Afford It. In City Limits Magazine, February 23, 2011.

Pagen, D. and Funiciello, T. (2007) The Adventures of Carrie Giver: The Cost of Caring. TR Rose Associates.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

March 2015 – Present
New York City Department of Education, Committee on Special Education: School Social Worker
New York, New York

  • Conduct social history interviews for students in the evaluation process of the Committee on Special Education and explain parental due process rights
  • Schedule and conduct annual reviews of Individualized Education Plans
  • Assist in the writing of Individualized Education Plans for New York City special education students
  • Guide parents in navigating special education evaluations and services

December 2013- March 2015
Jewish Board for Family and Children’s Services: Social Worker, Tier II shelter for families
Queens, New York

  • Assisted mothers and children in temporary housing with developing care plans and employment plans, and housing searches
  • Arranged visits from community organizations who helped families get access to resources
  • Troubleshooting and advocacy for the families when problems arose with their public assistance benefits
  • Designed and facilitated resident weekly community and therapeutic groups
  • Provided advocacy services for mothers at HRA centers when benefits were interrupted
  • Accompanied parents to social services appointments to ensure decent treatment

April 2012-August 2013
Winston Medical Staffing: Counseling and social work at St. Lukes/Roosevelt Hospital Inpatient Psychiatry
New York, New York

  • Performed crisis intervention with patients and supplied intensive support and encouragement to follow discharge plans
  • Facilitated support and assistance to families of psychiatric patients, especially to families unfamiliar with inpatient psychiatry and Spanish-speaking families
  • Organized a weekly support group to assist staff with mental health self-care

March 2011-January 2012
Child Protective Services Caseworker, Delaware County, New York

  • Reduced obstacles to service delivery to non-English speaking recipients of Food Stamps and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
  • Mediated conflicts between family members with CPS involvement to keep the family focused on improving the environment for children
  • Conducted CPS investigations, responding to reports of child abuse or neglect
  • Led disaster outreach to Spanish speakers in Mexican enclave of rural New York after Hurricane Irene flooding
  • Produced report for the Commissioner of Social Services, “Reducing Periodic Reporting in the Food Stamp program to Increase Child Well Being and Improve the Economy in Delaware County (New York).” The report was shared with Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance Executive Commissioner Elizabeth Berlin and obtained a personal response from her

January 2008-March 2011
Social Worker/Asthma Counselor
Metropolitan Hospital Center, New York, New York

  • Presented report, “Return on Investment Analysis on an Asthma Case Management Program in East Harlem, New York City” to Chiefs of Staff at Metropolitan Hospital Center
  • Provided bi-lingual social work counseling with children and their parents to help improve functioning
  • Performed community outreach and home visits with English and Spanish speaking residents of Harlem to help them access asthma care, income support programs and social services
  • Obtained over $2500 in vouchers for fruit and vegetables for low income residents of East Harlem enrolled in my asthma program.

July 2002-December 2008
Program Coordinator
Social Agenda, Inc. New York, New York

  • Secured media coverage 30+ times between January 2006 and September 2007: Des Moines Register, Roll Call (DC), Washington Examiner, UN News Radio, Woodstock Times, and Comic Book News for our work on policies affecting women and children
  • Co-created and published a policy advocacy comic book (having had no prior experience with this medium). Persuaded noted American comic book artist (Mr. Neal Adams) to donate cover art
  • Designed a survey instrument to measure the frequency of unpaid caregiving of adults for the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.
  • Planned and initiated outreach, reports, advocacy, and public relations for the national women’s policy project, the Caregiver Credit Campaign, to amend federal tax law to benefit mothers and other unpaid caregivers
  • Traveled to Spain and Ireland to collaborate with anti-poverty groups in Europe working on tax policy reform to benefit low income families

May 2002-March 2005
School Social Worker
St. Dominic’s TORCH Pre-K for children with learning delays, Bronx, New York

  • Designed a parental involvement curriculum and conducted bi-lingual workshops to improve families’ functioning in the community, support effective parenting, and access economic supports and opportunities to be part of social and neighborhood networks

April 2000-May 2002
Program Coordinator, National Center for Schools and Communities
Fordham University Graduate School of Education/Social Service, New York, New York

  • Encouraged public school youth to learn about equity issues in their schools and express opinions at stakeholder meetings with the Department of Education
  • Assisted parent groups to use independent surveys and data to obtain equitable funding for their children’s schools

SOCIAL WORK TEACHING EXPERIENCE

State University of New Jersey at Rutgers, 2008-2009, and 2013-2015
Social Welfare Policy and Services (SWPS I).

Human Ecology Program, State University of New York at Oneonta, 2010-2011
Introduction to Family Systems (ECO 101).

Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY, 2009-2010
Introduction to Human Services (Hum 101).

PRESENTATIONS (recent)

At the Democrats for Life first annual conference, Denver, CO
At the National Association for Welfare Research and Statistics conference, Pittsburgh
At North American Basic Income Guarantee Network Congress at Silberman School of Social Work, New York
For Lilliam Barrios-Paoli, Board of Directors NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation
For Richard Ravitch, Former President of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of New York City
For The Volker Alliance, New York City
For Urban Justice Center’s Safety Net Activists, New York City
At Left Forum New York City
At the Network for Social Work Management Conference, Boston

SPECIAL SKILLS

Public speaking and presentations on U.S. social assistance programs; fluency in spoken and written Spanish; community education on income maintenance program injustices; intermediate ability in French; experience tutoring ELA with elementary and middle school students; published writer; comic book production; special knowledge of safety net and income maintenance policy

AFFILIATIONS

Member, Scandinavia House
Founding member, Basic Income Action
Lifetime member, Red Renta Básica Spain

REFERENCES

References available upon request