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Karen Smith Rotabi

Karen Smith Rotabi

Assistant Professor
Phone: (804) 828-5411
E-mail: ksrotabi@vcu.edu

Global social work practice

“At one time there was a dismissal of international social work practice as merely an ‘interest area’ that took place outside of our daily routines here in the U.S. Global practice is now a reality, given immigration patterns and world events, including war. For example, our military veterans are returning to their families in communities throughout the U.S. with complex global experiences, forever impacted by their engagement in the Middle East or elsewhere. Immigrants from regions such as Latin America are placing greater expectations on social workers to engage with bilingual practice skills or interpretation services. Other examples of global intersections include intercountry adoption, asylum seeking and human trafficking. All of these phenomena have significant consequences for social workers.

“My personal practice experience is largely in global child welfare and family support settings with a background that includes Peace Corps, military social work/child protection and domestic violence, child health promotion and adoption. I bring all of these pieces together into my concept of global social work practice. My perspective is holistic, with recognition of the connections across space and place. I am particularly interested in families impacted by war, especially in a post-conflict context. Having worked in such settings, I find the complexities of post-conflict environments to be a real challenge whether here in the U.S. with military families and returning veterans or overseas in nations struggling to rebuild after war. Ultimately my focal point is ethical engagement and human rights in our global community.”

Education

  • Ph.D. – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, N.C.
  • M.S.W. – University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.
  • M.P.H. – University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.

Research interests

  • Families impacted by war

Courses taught

  • Social Work Practice I
  • Social Work Practice II
  • Social Work Planning and Administrative Practice I
  • Social Work Planning and Administrative Practice II
  • Human Behavior in the Social Environment

Selected publications

  • Rotabi, K.S., Morris, A.W., Weil, M.O. (in press). International child adoption in a post-conflict society: A multi-systemic assessment of Guatemala. Intergroup Relations.

  • Rotabi, K.S. (in press). Ecological theory origin from natural to social science or vice versa? : A brief conceptual history for social work. Advances in Social Work.

  • Rotabi, K.S. (in press). Face-to-face with disability in Central America: Learning from amputees about social support and resilience. Reflections.

  • Rotabi, K.S., & Morris, A.W. (July/2007). Adoption of Guatemalan children: Impending changes under the Hague Convention for Intercountry Adoption. Social Work and Society News Magazine. Retrievable from http://www.socmag.net/?p=171.

  • Rotabi, K.S., Gammonley, D., Gamble, D.N., & Weil, M.O. (2007). Integrating globalization into the social work curriculum. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, XXXIV(2), 165-184.

Professional affiliations

  • Council on Social Work Education
  • Member, Development Executives