Social work’s promotion and adherence to oppressive policies and practices

The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Educator’s Resource highlights the role of social work in furthering “racially punitive systems” (CSWE, August 2021). Information on two resources to learn more is available on the CSWE Educator Resource of the Month for August 2021. One resource is the book by Dr. Yoosun Park, professor of social work, Facilitating Injustice: The Complicity of Social Workers in the Forced Removal and Incarceration of Japanese Americans 1941-1946. The second resource is the report released April 19, 2018  by Dr. Reuben Jonathan Miller, professor of social work, Report to the United Nations on Racial Disparities in the U.S. Criminal Justice System.  To learn more about these resources visit https://www.cswe.org/centers-initiatives/center-for-diversity/educator-resource/August-2021

National Association of Social Workers – Racial Equity

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) CEO, Dr. Angelo McClain and the Board Governance Committee shifted its attention to addressing racism in the U.S. and in the social work profession. To hear the statement from Dr. McClain visit the NASW Social Work Talks Episode 54 Where we stand on racism at   https://www.socialworkers.org/News/Social-Work-Talks-Podcast/EP54-Where-We-Stand-on-Racism 

NASW was challenged to examine the social work profession resulting in a study of racism in and perpetuated by social work historically and in contemporary times. The results are two reports and a NASW Anti-Racism Statement (June, 2022). For a copy of the Statement and the two reports to the social work profession: Undoing Racism Through Social Work: NASW Report to the Profession on Racial Justice Priorities and Action (June 2021, Vol. 1) and Undoing Racism Through Social Work: A Collaborative Vision for an Anti-Racist Future (October 2022, Vol. 2) visit NASW here:   https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Diversity-Equity-and-Inclusion 

Faculty members are involved in research related to diversity and inclusion. Some examples include the following:

Byrnes, E. & Arleth, B. (2017). Racial Disproportionality in Spokane Police Stops. Using data from the Spokane Police Department’s Computer Assisted Dispatch (CAD) database, the researchers identified that there were significantly disproportionate numbers of contacts, searches, and arrests among people of color. The results of this work have been presented in community groups, including the NAACP, and at the Society for Social Work Research (SSWR). 

Halaas, B. & Biswas, B. (ongoing). Co-Constructing Strategies for addressing Structural Inequality in Refugee and Immigrant Communities (SSIRI). The SSIRI project focuses on the refugee and immigrant communities in Spokane, Washington by exploring the capacity, readiness, training needs, and challenges of service delivery organizations while collaboratively reaching for anti-racist and anti-oppressive solutions. Strategies include building sustainable collaborative partnerships between system-level providers and communities served.

Lopez, K. & Hilton, T. (Current Research). Increasing Accessibility to Health Care Services for People Living in Permanent Supportive Housing. We conducted a qualitative evaluation of a permanent supportive housing program in Spokane. We examined how an interdisciplinary, enhanced care team model with case management, integrated healthcare, and mental health clinicians worked to engage permanent supportive clients in healthcare, mental healthcare, substance abuse treatment, and other services. We conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 27 clients and 18 program staff. Our research identified patterns of client engagement with medical and human services professionals, as well as strategies used by program staff to improve connections to services. Results of this study focus on how this model works to strengthen health, engage clients in care, and improve their overall quality of life.

Nover, C. (2022). The employment landscape for transition-age youth and youth of color with disabilities. Journal of Rehabilitation, in press. This review describes the current employment landscape for transition-age youth (TAY) with disabilities and describes interventions to improve employment, with a focus on the International Labor Organization (ILO)’s Four Pillars of “decent work” (ILO, 2018). The literature related to employment for TAY with disabilities indicates that this population has low labor force participation and numerous barriers to meaningful employment. More mezzo- and macro-level interventions are needed to ensure TAY with disabilities can engage in full and meaningful employment.

Nover, C. & Farrell, A. (2022). Trauma-informed paraeducator training in the United States. Education and Treatment of Children, 27(5). Paraeducators in the United States are often paired with students with disabilities who have experienced trauma, but paraeducators may not be adequately knowledgeable about behavioral impacts of trauma. A review of all states and the District of Columbia in the United States found that no specific jurisdiction has required trauma education for paraeducators. Recommendations include state-sponsored professional development, incentives, team training alongside teachers, and accepting continuing education units from other professions.

Nover, C. (Current Research). Implementation of the Faculty Accessibility Pilot Project: Strategies and Barriers. This qualitative, exploratory study examines faculty implementation of digital accessibility concepts learned in the 2021 Faculty Accessibility Pilot Project, a Canvas course created by this author for faculty to learn about digital accessibility. Faculty who completed the pilot project participated in semi-structured interviews to determine whether and how they implemented content from the Canvas course into their 2021-2022 course development and design. The objectives of this research are to identify barriers to incorporating accessible content in course materials, strategies for incorporating accessibility concepts in course materials, faculty experiences with incorporating accessibility concepts in course materials, and faculty support needs to further incorporate digital accessibility in course materials. The long-term goal of this study is to improve digital accessibility at EWU by informing practices and/or policies related to faculty instruction and digital accessibility.

Reedy, A. (ongoing). Social Work with Veterans and Military Families. This research has focused on the informal and formal support needs of veterans and military families as well as focus groups with military children. The findings have resulted in publications and presentations. Knowledge has also been integrated into an annual “Got Your 6” training provided in collaboration with the EWU Veterans Resource Center and an elective course.

Sanchez, H. & Svoboda, D. (Current research). Del salón de clases a la comunidad – Mujeres in Action/From Classroom to Community – Mujeres in Action. Domestic and sexual violence have been identified as a major public health problem by the W.H.O. and the U.N.  The Latinx community is not immune from this type of violence and has increased risks of harm due to racism, xenophobia, and systematic marginalization. In Spokane in 2018, an EWU alumna, faculty member, and community partners founded Mujeres in Action (M.i.A.) which evolved from a course research paper into a thriving non-profit organization serving survivors of domestic and sexual violence. M.i.A. is an extraordinary case example of theory into action for the common good.