Fr. Luke Robertson, TOR

• Master’s degree in Ecclesiastical History, the Washington Theological Union, Takoma Park, Washington D.C. Thesis Title: Catholic Presence in the 1965 Selma Civil Rights Campaign. Graduation Date:  June 1998

• Master’s degree in Divinity, the Washington Theological Union, Takoma Park, Washington, D.C. Clinical Pastoral Education at Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, DC. Internship: Assistant Campus Minister at Trinity College, Washington, DC. Graduation Date:  June 1998

• Master’s degree in Social Work, the University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY. Practicum experience: Legislative Aide to State Representative Ernesto Scorsone in Frankfort, KY.   Social Work Intern at the Veterans’ Administration long-term psychiatric hospital in Lexington, KY. Graduation Date:  December 1986

• Bachelor’s degree with Honours in English and American Literature, the University of Warwick, Coventry, West Midlands, U.K. Graduation Date:  May 1980

Director of Field Education, Social Work Program, and Assistant University Chaplain, the Franciscan University of Steubenville, June 2018 – Present.

Responsibilities include: teaching the Field Education Seminar; student advising; liaison with field agencies; coordinating athletic chaplains; and other sacramental and administrative responsibilities.

Pastor, St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church, Arlington, TX, August 2015 – June 2018.

Responsibilities included: sacramental duties; supervision and assessment of the parish staff team; facilitating directors’ and all-staff meetings; budget preparation, management, and oversight; liaison with the Diocese of Fort Worth and local parishes; and supervision of the school principal.

Director of Pastoral Ministry, the Franciscan University of Steubenville, assigned to the Gaming, Austria campus, August 2012 – May 2015.

Responsibilities included: sacramental duties; membership on the administrative core team; supervision and evaluation of pastoral ministry staff; behavioral assessment of students in consultation with the campus Wellness Center; crisis intervention and education; and supervision of SWOP students.

Associate Pastor, St. Andrew Catholic Church, Fort Worth, TX, June 1999 – January 2002 and April 2010 – June 2012.

Responsibilities included: sacramental duties; supervision and consultation with the school’s principal, faculty, and staff; religious education; counseling and crisis intervention in the parish middle school; and spiritual direction.

Lead Caseworker, the Catholic Charities of Fort Worth Street Outreach Services (SOS) Program, Fort Worth, TX, September 2007 – April 2010.

Responsibilities included: program start-up and ongoing development; grant writing; program assessment and quality control; hiring, supervision and evaluation of program staff; liaison with other community social service agencies; supervision of BSW and MSW students from the Texas Christian University, the University of Texas at Arlington, and Tarleton State University; adjunct faculty member, the Texas Christian University; and providing quality intervention services to the unsheltered homeless population of Fort Worth.

Secretary for Mission Outreach, the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, Altoona, PA, June 2004 – September 2007.

Responsibilities as Director of the Diocesan Catholic Charities Agency included: program start-up and ongoing development; budget formulation and supervision; fund-raising and development; quality control; hiring, supervision, and evaluation of program staff; liaison with the agency’s Advisory Board; purchase and installation of a new, comprehensive, cloud-based client record-keeping system; liaison with other community service agencies; grant-writing; supervision of BSW students from St. Francis University.

Pastor, St. Mary, Our Lady of Grace Church, St. Petersburg, FL, January 2002 – June 2004.

Responsibilities included: sacramental duties; liaison with the Diocese of St. Petersburg; hiring and supervision of staff; liaison with the parish’s finance and parish Councils; financial oversight; and religious education.

Administrative Director and Clinical Therapist, the Family Intervention Crisis Services, Bellefonte, PA. January 1987 – September 1991.

Responsibilities included: program start-up and development; liaison with local and state agencies and schools; quality control; hiring and supervision of program staff; grant writing; supervision of BSW interns from the Pennsylvania State University; providing counseling services to children, youth, and families; expert court testimony; and crisis intervention.

Fr. Luke Robertson has attended and contributed to many conferences and workshops on such topics as: the etiology of homeless populations; effective leadership; hiring and supervision of staff; current mental health practice; legal issues in Social Work; financial management; computer skills; and quality control practices, among others.

Ordination Date:  May 1999

Solemn Profession Date:  August 1997

Profession Date:  May 1994

Formation Dates:  August 1992 – May 1999

Local Minister, Holy Spirit Friary, the Franciscan University of Steubenville: June 2018 – Present

• McRoy, R. & Belanger, K. (2014). Examining racial disproportionality through research: A handbook for social work education. Arlington, VA: CWLA Press.
• Green, D., Belanger, K., McRoy, R. & Bullard, L. (Eds.) (2011). Challenging racial disproportionality in child welfare: Research, policy and practice. Arlington, VA: CWLA Press.
• Belanger, K. & Brooks, S. (2010). Guidelines for cultural competence in rural child welfare. Arlington, VA: CWLA Press.
• Belanger, K. Rural child welfare: The importance of community in human service deserts. (2018). In C. James-Brown, D.S. Wolfe, J. Collins, R. Adams, et al. (Eds.), Child maltreatment in insular and isolated communities. Washington, DC: CWLA Press.
• Belanger, K. (April, 2016). Examining Social Determinants of Health in Rural Appalachia. Sponsored by Rural Policy Research Institute sub-award from the Office of Rural Health Programs, Department of Agriculture.
• Belanger, K. H., Cheung, M., Cordova, W. (2012). The Role of Worker Support and Religious Support in African American Special Needs Adoption: The Bennett Chapel Experience. Adoption Quarterly, 15(3).
• Belanger, K. (2012). Sustainable Communities: Social Connectedness and Social Capital. In J. Williams & W. Forbes (Eds.), Toward a More Livable World: Social Dimensions of Sustainability, Nacogdoches, TX: Stephen F. Austin State University Press.
• Belanger, K. Plitt-Donaldson, L. (2012). Catholic Social Teachings: Principles for the Service and Justice Dimensions of Social Wok Practice and Higher Education. Social Work & Christianity, 39(2), 119 – 127.
• Belanger, K. & Smith, O. M. (2012). “To All People of Good Will”: Catholic Social Teaching, Natural Law, and Racial Disproportionality in Social Work. Social Work & Christianity, 39(2), 204 – 226.
• Belanger, K., Copeland, S. & Cheung, M. (2011). Challenging disproportionality through communities of faith. In D. Green, K. Belanger, R. McRoy & L. Bullard (Eds.) Challenging racial disproportionality in child welfare: Research, policy and practice. Arlington, VA: CWLA Press.
• Belanger, K. (2006). Behavioral Health, Substance Abuse and Dual Diagnoses: a Comprehensive Needs Assessment of Current Processes, Difficulties and Targets for Solution in East Texas.
• Belanger, K. & Smith, O. (2010). A faith informed model of moral decision making in social work. NACSW. Available at https://www.nacsw.org/Publications/Proceedings2010/BelangerKAFaith.pdf.
• Belanger, K., (Ed.) (2008). Rural Child Welfare [special issue]. Journal of Public Child Welfare , 1(4).
• Belanger, K., Bullard, R. & Green, D., (Eds.) (2008). Racial disproportionality in child welfare [special issue]. Child Welfare, 87(2).
• Belanger, K. (2003). Social justice in education for undocumented families: Texas House Bill 1403 and its implications for social workers. Journal of Family Social Work, 6(4).