

Sook Hyun Kim
Education
- Boston University, PhD, Interdisciplinary PhD program in Sociology and Social Work, 2011
- Boston University, MSW, Macro practice, 1994
- Ewha Women's University, BA, Social work, 1990
Research Interests
My scholarly contributions are mainly focused on: (1) International social work (immigrant and refugee populations), (2) Child welfare, and (3) Artificial Intelligence (AI) and social work. Over the past five years, I have disseminated my knowledge and passion in these three areas of my research via publications. I have also presented at international, national, and local conferences and workshops. My post-MSW practice experience, in addition to training during my doctoral studies, has increased my awareness of issues regarding immigrant and refugee populations and shaped my strengths-based perspective in approaching such issues.
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Selected Publications
Collins, Mary E. , Duffy, Joe and Kim, Sook Hyun (2021) Borders: An international comparative analysis of social work’s response. British Journal of Social Work.
Sousa, Lori, Kim, Sook Hyun and Silmere, Hiie (2021) An exploration of human rights in social work education in the United States. Journal of Human Rights and Social Work.
Kim, Sook Hyun (2021) Organizational empowerment: A study of community-based welfare organizations for North Korean youth refugees in South Korea. vol. 1. no. 4. pp. Article 81. SN Social Sciences.
Collins, Mary and Kim, Sook Hyun (2020) Governors as Policy Entrepreneurs: Setting the Agenda for Children. vol. 98. no. 2. pp. 1-22. Child Welfare.
Duffy, Joe, Collins, Mary and Kim, Sook Hyun (2018) Linking family engagement with a rights perspective: macro factors influencing practice. vol. 21. no. 1. pp. 45-60. European Journal of Social Work.
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Current Courses
- Awards/Honors
Dissertation Award: The 24th National Symposium on Doctoral Research in Social WorkPresented by Ohio State University
- Professional Memberships
Society of Social Work and Research
Council for Social Work EducationThe CSWE is the national association representing social work education in the United States to support quality social work education and provide opportunities for professional development.
International Association of Schools of Social WorkThe IASSW was established to promote the development of social work education throughout the world, provides forums for sharing social work research and scholarship, and promotes human rights and social development.
- Grants and Sponsored Research
SU Foundation Grant for Professional Development, SU Foundation, Inc
Dr. Dan S. & Bethany E. Berry Endowed Fund, Roberts Wesleyan College
The Sittig Fund, Roberts Wesleyan College
- Presentations
Cultural values and parenting experiences among mothers defecting from North Korea: Using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA).January, 12 2023Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR), Pheonix, AZ
Social work practice and innovation through technology and artificial intelligence: Systematic literature reviewJanuary, 14 2022Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR), Washington, DCBackground and Purpose:
This study systematically reviewed the existing literature to identify social work intervention areas where Artificial Intelligence (AI) could be most useful and the ethical issues that may arise as a result of the use of AI in practice. AI and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have recently seen use and have reshaped social work practice. Technology-based interventions could contribute to social work practice in many ways, such as predicting and preventing crisis response and health issues, improving delivery systems, and better predictions in decision- making. Also, AI or ICT could help marginalized populations by age, disability, sexual orientation, geography, or economics (Berzin et al., 2015). Compared to the other disciplines, however, social work has been slow to adopt AI and is still in its infancy due to limited resources, ethical concerns, lack of training, and social work’s reliance on direct, face-to-face communications (Mishna et al., 2015).
Methods:
Utilizing the PRISMA guidelines, this study conducted a systematic review of the literature. I employed electronic databases, hand-searching of electronic journals, and citation-tracking. I searched the following electronic databases: APA PsycInfo; MEDLINE; Nursing and Allied Health; Social Service Abstracts; and Social Work Abstracts. Searches consisted of a combination of keywords that included: “Artificial Intelligence” OR “Information and Communication Technology” OR “Machine Learning” OR “Robotics,” paired with AND “social work practice” OR “social work” OR “social care” OR “social good.” They were also combined with “ethics” OR “risks.” Inclusion criteria for searches were studies written in English published between 2000 and 2020.
Results:
A comprehensive literature review of this study finds that the social work intervention areas where AI could be most useful include: child protective services, health, and mental health services, elderly care, and sexual minority youth. Regarding ethical considerations, this study discusses the following: a loss of privacy and confidentiality resulting from the monitoring system, the potential reduction of human contact and quality of care, people’s loss of dignity, and encouragement of dependency. Also, concerns about AI systems are reinforcing inequality and existing biases to gender and race. Furthermore, the literature tells social workers’ job loss and loss of autonomy.
Conclusions and Implications:
The findings of the study offer some implications for using AI in social work practice. The use of AI in social work interventions has the great potential to serve people who are previously marginalized or whose problems do not fit within the traditional social work framework. Evidence on the use of AI in social work interventions is still limited. Also, a lack of empirical research on AI and technology-based interventions has inhibited social work practitioners’ AI application to their practice. This study suggests that social work requires more in-depth research to use AI ethically and effectively. Although there are ethical concerns in applying AI into social work intervention, there are potentially far‐reaching benefits. Also, there is a need for interdisciplinary collaboration with other disciplines, such as computer science, engineering, and businesses, to help social work effectively adopt AI.
Understanding the coping strategies of refugee adolescents and the roles of social workersJanuary, 16 2022Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR), Washington, DC
- External Collaboration Highlights
Recently, two scholarly works were published. After working in collaboration with two co-authors of Boston University (MA, USA) and Queen's University (Belfast, Northern Island), the manuscript was published in the European Journal of Social Work. This article offered a comparative analysis focused on family-oriented and rights-based child welfare frameworks of different countries. Also, I participated in writing a chapter in the book entitled “Practicing as a social work educator in international collaboration” with co-authors from multiple external academic institutions. This book was published by the CSWE Press in 2017.
Another opportunity to develop the Scholarship of Integration was my contribution to the non-academic publication that addressed discipline-related concerns. The Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare invited me to join their annual report on the comparative study of social welfare programs in the United States, Germany, and Japan. Through funding by the Korea Ministry of Health and Welfare, I produced a report on Social Impact Bond (SIB)/Pay-For-Success (PFS) programs in New York State. As an innovative type of finance mechanism to fund social programs, SIB/PFS tackles the most challenging social problems (i.e., reducing recidivism of former youth prisoners) through public and private partner collaboration for public programs. My report examined New York’s two major SIBs – the nation’s firsts – to discuss potential benefits and risks of SIBs and the role of the federal government in making this new funding mechanism effective.
One of the research studies on which I am currently working is regarding border issues in the United States, South Korea, and Northern Island. As another international collaboration including colleagues of the Boston University (MA, U.S.) and Queen's University (Belfast, Northern Island), this study examines the border issues in US/Mexico, South Korea/North Korea, and Northern Ireland/Ireland. With the human rights framework, we take the macro perspective about social work engagement at national/international levels.- Press Releases
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SU Celebrates Recent Faculty Publications
Friday, August 13, 2021
- Awards/Honors