Author: ISS USA

ISS-USA…The best job I have ever had.

Allison Blake, ISS-USA Board member, former Commissioner for the New Jersey Department of Children and Families and currently CEO of Child and Family Agency of SE CT sat down to lunch at a local community organization in Madison, Connecticut and started chatting with the woman on her left. To her surprise, she too was also a social worker, an alum of the very same place where Allison had earned her PhD in social work, and most intriguing of all, Joan talked about the “best social work job she had ever had.”

The Role of the ISS in the History of Private International Law

The ISS has been hiding in plain sight in the history of private international law since the 1920s. Anyone lucky enough to visit ISS-USA’s archives at the University of Minnesota would be astonished by ISS’s extensive engagement with virtually every aspect of transnational family law. During the first half of the 20th century the ISS left no stone untouched in an effort to devise an international socio-legal framework for cross-border family maintenance claims.

Advocacy for Equity: Getting Access to Services Upon Return

In a society fueled by division, Case Managers exemplify the power of unity and equity. Collaboration is fundamental to case managers’ empowering their clients to achieve the best possible outcome. They devise a plan together with their client to support...

Successful Family Reunification Takes Preparation and Hard Work

June marks National Reunification Month, a time when agencies are celebrating successful efforts to reunify children with their families. It’s widely recognized that whenever possible and safe, the best home for a child is with his or her family. International...

What if International Social Service, USA Ceased to Exist?

Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?[i] In 1946, George Bailey, portrayed by Jimmy Stewart in the film, It's A Wonderful Life, contemplates ending his...

ISS-USA Interns Visit Geneva: Photoblog

ISS-USA interns Alanna Hays (left) and Ema Makas (right) traveled to Geneva, Switzerland in December. During their time there, they visited with International Social Service's CEO, Secretary General, Jean Ayoub (center). "ISS Geneva, the General Secretariat, is the central link...