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NASW Foundation National
Programs
NASW Social Work Pioneers®
Carl G. Leukefeld, DSW
Carl Leukefeld is an internationally known social worker who has performed
pioneering research, teaching, and clinical service development in the
behavioral aspects of drug and alcohol addictions and other serious illnesses. His
concerns in the areas of prevention of addictions and disabilities made
him one of the first clinicians and researchers to identify the link between
drug users and HIV/AIDS.
Leukefeld has had an outstanding career as a commissioned social worker
in the U.S. Public Health Service (1967-1990). For more than a decade
(since 1990), he has directed clinical research in addictions at the College
of Medicine, University of Kentucky. He is now chair of the Department
of Behavioral Science, College of Medicine, and director of the Center
on Drug and Alcohol Research. In addition to his position in the College
of Medicine, Leukefeld also holds a joint appointment in the School of
Social Work at University of Kentucky.
His first assignment in the USPHS began with the Narcotic Addict Rehabilitation
Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), where Leukefeld
was responsible for developing and monitoring patient care contracts for
narcotic addicts in several Western states. In 1971, he was assigned to
the headquarters of NIMH, and later the National Institute of Drug Abuse
(NIDA). As he continued working in the addiction field, Leukefeld was
afforded increased responsibilities for research, program development,
and management, and was selected to serve on many policy-related task forces
and committees related to his special knowledge about the human and behavioral
factors associated with addictions.
Some of the research areas in which Leukefeld specialized included evaluation
of the efficiency of prevention and treatment techniques in the field of
drug addiction¾especially the outcome of mandated
treatment¾and the development of new approaches
and their application. For eight years he served as deputy director and
interim acting director in the Division of Clinical Research at NIDA. Among
Leukefeld’s specific studies were health promotion, disease prevention,
and clinical research studies focused on preventing the onset and spread
of AIDS among drug users and their spouses and offspring.
Throughout his career, Leukefeld has been active in professional organizations,
including NASW. He served as editor of the National Health Line for Health
and Social Work Journal, contributed articles to the Social Work
Encyclopedia, and gave many presentations at national conferences. Characteristically,
he made many efforts to present his knowledge about developments in public
health and medical research to his colleagues. Leukefeld is also active
in several other professional organizations, including the Kentucky Society
for Clinical Social Work, the American Public Health Association, and the
Society for Prevention Research. He was awarded the Distinguished Alumni
Award by the Catholic University of America and the 2003 Knee/Wittman Lifetime
Achievement Award in Health and Mental Health Practice by the National
Association of Social Workers.
Leukefeld grew up in Missouri and received his bachelor of science degree
from Missouri Valley College, in Marshall. He earned his master of social
work degree from University of Michigan in 1967, and was awarded a doctor
of social work degree from the Catholic University of America in 1975.
Social Work Pioneer 2003 |
