What has Happened at the School Related to IIDEA?

What Has Happened at the School Related to IIDEA?

Integrating Liberatory Consciousness Framework in the School of Social Work by Patricia Findley, DrPH, MSW, Professor and MSW Director

The specialized competencies based on the Liberatory Consciousness Framework were developed by the clinical and MAP curriculum subgroups, then were approved by the MSW Curriculum Committee. Those specialized competencies were approved by the full faculty in late March. The MSW Curriculum Committee will give the charge to the faculty/course coordinators in April to use these competencies to update syllabi to include the Liberatory Consciousness framework and other diversity, equity, and inclusion components. The updated syllabi will be gathered in early Fall 2022.

Training by Transgender Institute for Faculty and Staff by Laura Curran, MSW, PhD, Associate Professor and Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs All faculty and part-time lecturers took part in a two-part training hosted by the Transgender Training Institute. The training addressed current issues impacting the transgender community, inclusive pedagogical practices for faculty and lecturers, and broader practices to help create an inclusive educational environment and community for our trans, non binary, and gender diverse students.

Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Expression (SOGIE) Training for Field Instructors by Mark W. Lamar, MSW, MBA, Associate Professor of Professional Practice Executive Director, Office of Field Education

In October 2021, the Office of Field Education hosted over 300 agencies and field instructors for a SOGIE training, provided by the HiTops Organization of Princeton, NJ.

HiTops is a field placement agency that has been providing sexual, gender orientation, gender identity, and gender expression training, education, and direct services in Princeton and central NJ for over 40 years. Many of their clients are area corporations seeking to improve the readiness of their workforces.

Two HiTops trainers led the session, which was coordinated by School of Social Work field education faculty The impetus for the training derived from feedback from students who, over the past year, had indicated on field process surveys and anecdotally that their field agencies and field instructors were in need of SOGIE information and training.

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Student Effort Leads to Change of Image in the Research II Course Shell by Monica Sanagustin

One of my classmates in my Research II class brought to my attention the image in our course shell. I looked at the picture, and my initial thought was, “How long has this image been used in this course,” and “Has no one said anything?” The first thing I noticed about the picture was that all the females were white, and a couple of men in the picture were white. That night, I emailed Dr. Farmer regarding my concern, asked who I could I contact about this picture.

I attached the photo to the email I sent Dr. Farmer. Dr. Farmer immediately emailed me and told me to contact Dr. Patricia Findley, the director of the MSW program.

I emailed Dr. Findley, included the picture, letting her know that this picture went against the University's efforts for diversity and inclusion and asked how it could be changed. Dr. Findley responded to me promptly, stating that they would remove it, and after a few days, the photo was removed from the canvas shell.

Forums Lead to Anti-Black Racism Course

Following the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, a volcano of national and global protests erupted with the demand for an end to anti Black racism and police violence in minoritized communities. Sadly, this scenario had played out before with the deaths of Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, and many others. Rutgers School of Social Work has provided a space for students, faculty, and staff to share their concerns and renew their commitments to do more to promote racial justice. Promoting racial justice is a primary concern for both the National Association of Social Workers and the Council on Social Work Education and eliminating racism has been added as one of the Grand Challenges for Social Work. During our student faculty forums, students demanded that we do more to prepare them to confront anti Black racism. Already underway was an effort to establish an antiracist framework for our BASW program, and a new course was developed entitled, "Confronting Anti-Black Racism.” Centering Black writers from various disciplines, including social work, students explore ways to disrupt anti Black racism actively and daily. Guided by the readings, advocacy efforts, and social justice actions to promote racial justice, students choose a social action project focusing on eliminating anti Black racism.

Development of New Course: Spanish for Social Workers

This multi-level language and culture online course is designed for current or pre service social workers who want to learn or improve their Spanish for the professional setting and learn more about the culture of the Spanish speaking countries. It combines language learning practice with awareness of language and cultural diversity. Students will have the opportunity to (a) focus on the learning/practice of linguistic functions needed in the field and (b) reflect on cultural practices and perspectives to better understand the Spanish speaking community in the US. Critical reflection of cultural practices and their implementation in language activities are emphasized. In addition, students will explore the role of technology to attain this goal and apply their knowledge by creating activities and tasks that are appropriate when engaging with the community.

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Latina/o/x Initiatives, Service Training, and Assessment (LISTA) Initiatives

• Established Community Advisory Board for LISTA Certificate Program.

• Developed LISTA Links Mentoring program for students in LISTA Certificate Program.

Huamin Research Center

The Huamin Research Center (HRC) conducts research in the areas of social work, social policy, and philanthropy in China and the United States. In the last year, HRC has conducted two surveys in China. The first survey, in collaboration with 12 colleges and universities in China, collected data from 1,800 youth regarding their childhood experience, current mental health and behaviors, and philanthropic activities during the COVID 19 pandemic. The second survey, in partnership with four universities in China, collected data from about 1,900 employees, including social workers, foundation employees, and delivery drivers, on their job demands and resources, mental health, and well being. The research teams are comprised of faculty and five doctoral and MSW students at Rutgers School of Social Work, and two of them are international students from China. The team closely worked with their faculty and student counterparts in partnered universities in China. From this partnership, six peer reviewed papers have been published and another four manuscripts are under review.

This collaboration provides research and exchange opportunities for both domestic and international students who are interested in international social policy and social welfare research. In particular, given the research’s focus on China, these projects offer international students from China to be a part of the Rutgers community at the School of Social Work, and they align with IIDEA’s principles of inclusion.

Center for Research on Ending Violence

The Center for Research on Ending Violence (REV) officially changed its name in January 2022 (formerly the Center on Violence Against Women and Children). The name change was intended to better reflect not only the work we encompass but also the inclusivity we strive to achieve and encourage. While violence against women and children is pervasive in our society, so is violence against men and boys, against specific racial and ethnic groups, against the LGBTQ+ community, against gender non-binary individuals, and so many others. Starting in late 2019, we made it a strategic priority to consider a new and more aligned name for the Center’s research and our vision for a violence free future. Over a two year process, we engaged in a thoughtful and rigorous process to land at this decision that involved gathering feedback from many internal and external partners. The goals set by Rutgers School of Social Work's Committee for Inclusion, Intersectionality, Diversity, Equity and Advancement (IIDEA) aligned with our intention to change our name, and engaging in the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Challenges (SWOC) analysis encouraged us to move forward with the transition and consider how to best communicate the reasons behind it.

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