Activities that Further IIDEA

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Challenges (SWOC) Analysis

All units of in the School engaged in a Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Challenges (SWOC) analysis. The purpose of the analysis was to determine the strengths, weakness, opportunities, and challenges related to IIDEA. The results of the analysis will be used to develop goals and action steps to address areas of weakness, opportunities, and challenges.

New

Jersey

Inclusive

Healthy Communities Evaluation by Patricia Findley, DrPH, MSW, Professor and MSW Director and Emily Greenfield, PhD, Professor

The Inclusive Healthy Communities (IHC) Grant Program in New Jersey supports organizations in capacity development and implementation activities toward enhancing access to the benefits of healthy communities among people with disabilities. Unique to the program is a focus on policy, systems, and environmental changes that have potential for widespread and sustainable population health impact. This emphasis complements longer standing approaches in the field of disabilities, which traditionally have oriented to individual and group service delivery. To read more about the evaluation report, please click here.

Activities that Further IIDEA

Contributions by Faculty and Staff that Highlight IIDEA

These are a few of the stories written by faculty and staff and are based on observances found in the diversity calendar, which can be viewed on the DEI website. To read additional articles by faculty and staff, go to socialwork.rutgers.edu.

October 29, 2021

LGBT History Month: Q&A with Elizabeth Salerno as told to Hannah Loffman by Elizabeth Salerno, MSW, Teaching Instructor and Coordinator of Field Education

Many people forget that October is LGBTQ+ History Month since the Pride parades typically occur during the summer and gain so much attention. Read the full article here.

December 1, 2021

Observe through Action: December 1 is World AIDS Day by Mary Beth Ali, Teaching Instructor and Coordinator of Field Education What does December 1 mean to you? Those who lived during the last two decades of the 20th century may know it as World AIDS Day, a day dedicated to recognizing HIV and its effects globally. Read the full article here.

January 27, 2022

Honoring International Holocaust Remembrance Day by Stephen Sidorsky, LCSW

Taking time to recall [the Holocaust] and honor those who were lost, as well as all of those who were affected and continue to be affected, enables

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us to consider the lessons that may be learned to ensure that such a social/political disaster –an unthinkable event – will never happen again.

Read the full article here.

February 23, 2022

Celebrating Black History Month: An Interview with Dr. Tawanda Hubbard by Tawanda Hubbard [Black History Month] is a time to celebrate the Black community and learn exactly what the Black experience is in America, and what the Black experience has been like in the United States. It is important to take time to learn the whole story and get a “balance of stories.”

Read the full article here.

April 1, 2022

April is National Stress Awareness Month by Bernardo Hiraldo, MSW, Teaching Instructor and Associate Director of Field Education The purpose of this month is to make us aware of the negative impact that stress can have on each of us. The effects can lead to mental, emotional, and physical symptoms. An individual experiencing stress can feel anxious, depressed, or irritable and may find themselves not behaving in productive ways.

Read the full article here.

Activities Focused on Enhancing Instruction

This year, members of the faculty organized three teaching circles. Each had a different focus. For example, one of the teaching circles focused on the implications of the liberatory consciousness framework for pedagogy at the School of Social Work. The School held its fourth annual part time lecturer (PTL) conference on January 14, 2022. This year’s theme was “Inclusive Pedagogy: What about Neurodiversity?” Speakers were Christopher Manente, PhD., Executive Director of the Rutgers Center for Adult Autism Services, who spoke on neurodiversity. The other speaker was PTL Ivan Page, PhD, who spoke about engaging in scholarship and dissemination while working full time and teaching as a PTL.

DEI Events in Conjunction with IIDEA

• September 20, 2021: Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month: Panel on Immigration Presenters were Nedia Morsy, Lead Organizer, Make the Road New Jersey; Yamika Mena, MPA, Director of Immigration Initiatives, Hispanic Federation; Xiomara Guevarra, JD, Vice President for Legal Affairs and Deputy Chief Operation Officer, Greater Bergen Community Action Center.

• October 19, 2021: Identifying Microaggressions and Intervening When They Occur with Babe Kawaii Bogue, BA, MA, MSW, MS, PhD

Microaggressions have a detrimental effect on one’s physical and psychological health. Because of this, it is important that students know when they or their peers

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experience a microaggression and how to effectively respond to the person who did the microaggression.

• April 1, 2022: The Time is Right for Social Work: Ally to Co conspirator Maxine Davis, PhD, Assistant Professor, Rutgers, The State University, School of Social Work, Kaysie Getty, MSW, Senior Program Analyst for the Center for the Study of Social Policy, Jeff Brooks, Rahway City Councilman, Co Chairperson of Rahway Social Justice Commission, and Kenneth Bourne, MSW, Bourne Anew, LLC. The title of this event was inspired by the theme for Social Work Month and focused on the importance of being an ally to becoming a co conspirator.

Continuing Education Events Related to IIDEA

6th Annual Challenging Racial Disparities Conference: A Call to Action Designed with the practitioner in mind, this livestreamed webinar provided social workers and allied professionals with a meaningful learning opportunity on the topic of racial disparities. Attendees gained new skills and ideas to address issues of race in their practice with clients, organizations, and communities. This conference took placed on June 1, 2022.

The conference opening keynote presentation was by Diana T. Sanchez, PhD, Full Professor in the Rutgers University Psychology Department and a Faculty Fellow in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Division Dean's Office Dr. Sanchez discussed “Expanding Our Understanding of Stigma & Inclusion Efforts Through the Lens of Generalized Prejudice ” The main keynote was delivered by Michael Eric Dyson, PhD. Dr. Dyson is a Vanderbilt University Centennial Chair and University Distinguished Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies, University Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Society, a New York Times contributing opinion writer, a political analyst for MSNBC, and a contributing editor of The New Republic. Dr. Dyson is the recipient of two NAACP Image Awards and the 2020 Langston Hughes Festival Medallion.

Select Continuing Education Webinars

• Working with Undocumented Clients: Addressing the Myths and Understanding the Challenges

• Dear Black Males…

• Multicultural Perspectives in Developmental Disabilities

• Developing Cultural Competence in a Multicultural Society

• Improving Cultural Competence: Addressing Implicit Bias, Bias and Microaggressions

• Clinical Work with LGBTQ Youth

• Cognitive Behavior Therapy with Latino Populations

• Sexual and Relationship Violence on College Campuses

• Legal & Ethical Issues in Working with Trans Youth

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