Cnaan, Ram

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Disciplines

Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration

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Position

Associate Dean for Research, Professor, and Chair of the Doctoral Program in Social Welfare

Introduction

Dr. Ram Cnaan is a professor, associate dean for research, and chair of the Doctoral Program in Social Welfare at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Social Policy & Practice. He received his doctorate from the School of Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh, and his B.S.W. and M.S.W. from the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel. Dr. Cnaan has published numerous articles in scientific journals on a variety of social issues. He is the author of: The Newer Deal: Social Work and Religion in Partnership (Columbia University Press, 1999) and: The Invisible Caring Hand: American Congregations and the Provision of Welfare (New York University Press, 2002). The former book discussed the need to link social work with religious social services providers. The latter book discusses how American congregations became the hidden safety net of the American welfare system. Dr. Cnaan's 2006 book deals with congregations in one large city, titled: The Other Philadelphia Story: How Local Congregations Support Quality of Life in Urban America (University of Pennsylvania Press). Along with Professor Carl Milofsky from Bucknell University, professor Cnaan edited the Handbook of Community Movements and Local Organizations (2006; Springer's series of Handbooks of Sociology). This volume aims to capture the field of community practice from a theoretical and conceptual levels using knowledge from a multidisciplinary approaches. Finally, along with Professor Stephanie C. Boddie from Washington University, Professor Cnaan edited Faith-Based Social Services: Measures, Assessments, and Effectiveness (forthcoming, Haworth Press). This volume provides the first systematic review of the effectiveness of faith-based organizations. Dr. Cnaan is the director of the Program for Religion and Social Policy Research (PRSPR) at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice. He carried out the first national study on the role of local religious congregations in the provision of social services and introduced an innovative new course on social work and religion. He is considered a leading expert in studying faith-based social services. He also carried the first ever census of congregations in an American city (Philadelphia). Dr. Cnaan is also known as an international expert on nonprofit organizations and voluntary action with a specialty in the study of volunteerism. He studied the role of volunteers in human services, volunteer management, and volunteerism as a social construct. Previously, Dr. Cnaan researched and published in the areas of information technology in social work practice, mentally-ill homeless persons, and practice evaluation. Dr. Cnaan serves on the editorial board of seven academic journals.

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 26
  • Publication
    Does Social Work Education Have an Impact on Social Policy Preferences? A Three-Cohort Study
    (2005-01-01) Weiss, Idit; Gal, John; Cnaan, Ram A
    This article examines the impact of social work education on the social policy preferences of social work students through a panel study of three cohorts of students at three universities in two countries - the United States and Israel. The findings of the study indicate that though the initial policy preferences of the students at the beginning of their studies at the three universities differed, by the end of their studies, the students' preferences were similar and supportive of the welfare state model.
  • Publication
    The Role of Social Anxiety in Volunteering
    (2007-09-01) Handy, Femida; Cnaan, Ram A
    The volunteer management literature suggests that the most effective means of recruitment is personal asking. However, agencies that apply this method do not report the expected success in volunteer recruitment. Often they face the volunteer recruitment fallacy: those people assumed to be interested in volunteering do not necessarily volunteer. Based on the literature of shyness or social anxiety and on empirical observations, this article suggests that social anxiety often deters volunteering by new recruits. We hypothesize that people with greater levels of social anxiety will be less likely to volunteer. Furthermore, we hypothesize that people with high social anxiety will prefer to give monetary support to worthy causes rather than volunteer their time, and if they do choose to volunteer, they will do so alongside friends. Our hypotheses are supported based on the findings from a large-scale nonrandom sample in North America. We suggest how to avoid the volunteer recruitment fallacy by creating a personal environment in which high-social-anxiety recruits feel safe and accepted. By removing the fear of being negatively judged by strangers as they enter the agency and creating a more personal approach, new recruits may have a higher probability of becoming long-term and consistent volunteers.
  • Publication
    Philadelphia Census of Congregations and Their Involvement in Social Service Delivery
    (2001-12-01) Cnaan, Ram A.; Boddie, Stephanie C.
    This census of congregational social services is the first attempt to identify all of the congregations in Philadelphia and their services. This article reports results from 1,376 of an estimated 2,095 congregations. It finds that 1,211 congregations (88 percent) have at least one social program. On average, each congregation provides 2.41 programs and serves 102 people per month. The primary beneficiaries are children (served by 49.2 percent of all programs). According to the census, 571 congregations (41.5 percent) collaborate with secular organizations, and 857 congregations (62.3 percent) are open to collaborating with government welfare programs. Conservatively, the financial replacement value of all congregational social services in Philadelphia is $246,901,440 annually.
  • Publication
    Review of Hillel Schmid, Neighborhood Self-Management: Experiments in Civil Society
    (2003-01-01) Cnaan, Ram A
    In this volume, Professor Hillel Schmid of the Hebrew University describes and analyzes an attempt to establish neighborhood-based mechanisms that will serve as representatives and service coordinators to local residents. The experiment took place in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel. Israel is too often given negative press in the media where three monotheistic religions see home and heritage. Yet, it is important to remember that it is also a place where some 600-700,000 people work, live, and consume municipal services. Chapter 5 describes Jerusalem in such a perspective and would be of interest to many readers, even those who are not concerned with community practice and civil society issues. In the early 1990s, the city integrated two groups that served the residents interests: community centers and neighborhood self-management into a joint body called "community council."
  • Publication
    Charitable Choice and Faith-Based Welfare: A Call for Social Work
    (2002-07-01) Cnaan, Ram A; Boddie, Stephanie C
    The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 contains a little known section referred to as "Charitable Choice." This section encourages states to involve community and faith-based organizations in providing federally funded welfare services. Most social workers are unfamiliar with this part of the legislation and its far-reaching implications for society as a whole and for the social work profession as it opens the door for mixing religion and publicly supported social services provision. This article reviews how Charitable Choice has shifted the way government engages faith-based organizations in social services delivery. A review of the public discourse and research findings regarding the relevance and implementation of Charitable Choice is also presented. Implications for social work are discussed, and a call for social involvement is made.
  • Publication
    Public Perception of "Who is a Volunteer": An Examination of the Net-cost Approach from a Cross-Cultural Perspective
    (2000-03-01) Handy, Femida; Cnaan, Ram A; Brudney, Jeffrey L; Ascoli, Ugo; Meijs, Lucas C; Ranade, Shree
    Volunteers are the cornerstones on which the voluntary sector is predicated. We are accustomed to using this phrase in every aspect of our lives, yet too little systematic work has been carried out to define this term in a rigorous and precise manner. Volunteering is the essence of the scholarly work of numerous academicians around the world, however there are many issues that arise when people report their own volunteering or attempt to define the term volunteer. No clear-cut definition that encompasses all aspects of volunteering exists. Often too many different activities and situations are aggregated into this concept (Cnaan, Handy, & Wadsworth, 1996; Scheier, 1980; Smith, 1995; Tremper, Seidman, & Tufts, 1994; Vineyard, 1993).
  • Publication
    Assessing the Impact of Two Residential Programs for Dually-Diagnosed Homeless Individuals
    (1994-12-01) Blankertz, Laura E; Cnaan, Ram A
    Two residential programs for dually diagnosed (severely mentally ill and substance abusing) homeless individuals in Philadelphia were compared in a quasi-experimental field study. Findings indicate that the experimental model, a hybrid psychosocial and drug rehabilitation program, did significantly better in maintaining clients in care and in successful rehabilitation than the comparison model, a modified therapeutic community program. However, the overall rate of success in both programs was quite modest. We found Emile Durkheim's concepts of organic and mechanical solidarity to be useful in comparing the structure of the two programs. Because of the small number of clients treated by these programs and the unique characteristics (predominantly young, black and male) of this urban population, findings are not conclusive but clarify direction for further practice and study.
  • Publication
    Review of Artisans of Democracy: How Ordinary People, Families in Extreme Poverty, and Social Institutions Become Allies to Overcome Social Exclusion
    (2002-01-01) Cnaan, Ram A
    As a longtime reader and contributor to NVSQ, I have been occupied for quite a while with trying to select what book is worthy of a review in NVSQ. So many new books cover aspects of the nonprofit sector or voluntary action, or both, that the list of books alone would take the entire space allocated for book reviews. Rarely do I encounter a book that is unknown by most scholars in the field yet that is pivotal to what we collectively stand for. Rosenfeld and Tardieu’s book epitomizes the entire nonprofit sector—from one determined volunteer to an impressive international movement that refuses to co-opt and maintains a spirit of care and respect.
  • Publication
    What Kind of Social Policy do Social Work Students Prefer? A Comparison of Students in Three Countries
    (2002-01-01) Weiss, Idit; Gal, John; Cnaan, Ram A; Majlaglic, Rea
    The goal of this article is to contribute to our understanding of the way in which students at the very beginning of their social work training view the sources of social problems and the way in which society should deal with these problems. This is part of an effort to determine the contemporary role of social change in the thinking of social workers in different national settings. Traditionally, social work has regarded social change as one of its primary professional objectives. Ever since the settlement houses were first established in the late years of the 19th century, many social workers have indeed been actively involved in social action aimed at bringing about social reform for the betterment of deprived segments of society. These efforts first took place in a period during which the term "welfare state" had yet to be coined and the notion of state responsibility for social protection for the poor was not widely accepted. Nevertheless, the conviction of these early social workers that social conditions were the prime cause of deprivation and poverty led them to actively seek improved social legislation and programs (Addams, 1910: Leighninger and Midgley, 1997).
  • Publication
    Community Development as a Public Sector Agenda
    (1999) Perlmutter, Felice D; Cnaan, Ram A
    This paper documents how one Department of Recreation in a large city underwent a planned change effort which transformed some 200 site managers into active community organizers. Based on the philosophy of a very dynamic new commissioner (a former community organizer), city employees enhanced local civic participation and forged a partnership between the public and private sectors as well as with local residents. The paper presents the guiding philosophy, implementation steps, an assessment of the impact of the change, and a discussion of the potential of such a process which can be adopted nationwide.

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