Gerald J. Bostwick Jr.

A relationship is developed through interaction, said Gerald Bostwick, dean of the University of Cincinnati School of Social Work and a child welfare specialist."That's how the child learns, and if you're not doing that yourself, you're not parents."

Using technology to watch children is "giving up part of parenting responsibility to a third party," he said.

Some services can give parents a false sense of security.The GPS jacket might alert a parent when a toddler moves outside his territory, Bostwick said, but unless the parent is outdoors with the child, it couldn't prevent an abduction or stop the child from getting lost.And a teenager whose phone is tracked with GPS could easily park the phone in approved territory before venturing off-limits.

Using such services with a teenager sends the message "I don't trust you," he said."They're at an age when they're trying to be independent, and here the parents are, spying on them.It's a source of conflict.Parents need to give teens a little leeway for development."

If a teen violates your trust, you can say, "Because you violated our agreement, you'll be on geo-fencing," Bostwick said.

A relationship is developed through interaction, said Gerald Bostwick, dean of the University of Cincinnati School of Social Work and a child welfare specialist.

ANSWER: Kids have to learn how to handle peers, but parents should get involved if bullying involves a child, said Gerald J. Bostwick Jr., a professor of social work at University of Cincinnati.

"This type of situation is overwhelming for most children and they need support," he said.

Alert the school principal, even though that can increase the amount of bullying, Bostwick said, and be sure teachers monitor student interactions closely.

* Gerald J. Bostwick, PhD, LISW, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

Gerald Bostwick, Program Chair(513) 556-4615Fax: (513) 556-2077

Gerald Bostwick, Associate Dean(513) 556-4615Fax: (513) 556-2077

By organizing a school/community collaboration, Dr. Gerald Bostwick, University of Cincinnati, created an entirely new MSW curriculum to prepare social work students to practice in the public child welfare arena.

Gerald J. Bostwick, Jr.University of Cincinnati, OhioSchool of Social Work

ANSWER: Kids have to learn how to handle peers, but parents should get involved if bullying involves a child, said Gerald J. Bostwick Jr., a professor of social work at University of Cincinnati.

"This type of situation is overwhelming for most children and they need support," he said.

Alert the school principal, even though that can increase the amount of bullying, Bostwick said, and be sure teachers monitor student interactions closely.

Gerald Bostwick , professor at the School of Social Work at the University of Cincinnati , said Ohio runs behind several states in social-worker salaries.

I had a professor from California come talk to my class of seniors , and he offered them all a job , giving them $35 , 000 to start , along with a $5 , 000 signing bonus , '' he said.Once we graduate students , we just can't keep them here.''.

In Ohio , there are 21 accredited social-work college programs.

There are about 1 , 500 vacancies just in public child welfare a year alone , and the state produces about 1 , 110 graduates a year , '' Bostwick said.We don't even produce enough graduates to fill all the vacancies.''.

Last month , 26 students with bachelor's degrees and 76 with master's degrees in social work graduated from the University of Cincinnati.

We haven't seen a dramatic decrease in enrollment numbers.We oftentimes have waiting lists to get into our programs.
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The problem is there's so many jobs in social work , '' Bostwick said.