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The Social Work Policy Network remains committed to sharing key news updates, policy changes, action opportunities, events & more - with content particularly focused on social justice, equity, and systemic change.
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Professional Opportunities
Communications Coordinator - Alphabet Workers Union (remote)
Bilingual Spanish/English Harm Reduction Navigator - New Jersey Harm Reduction Coalition (Hybrid: Trenton, NJ)
Youth Organizer (part time) - American Friends Service Committee (Red Bank, NJ)
Affordable Housing Manager - Community Grants, Planning & Housing, LLC (Cranbury, NJ)
PAID Fellowship & Internship Opportunities
State Policy Fellow - New Jersey Policy Perspective (hybrid: Trenton, NJ)
Summer State Democracy Policy Intern - League of Conservation Voters (remote)
Engagement & Leadership Summer Fellow - National Council of Jewish Women (Washington, DC)
National Policy News Highlights
Trump is ‘dangerously’ conflating gender-affirming care with a human rights violation
The Advocate
"A network working to end female genital mutilation and cutting (FGM/C) in the United States and globally says President Donald Trump’s January 28 executive order attempting to restrict gender-affirming care for transgender youth “wrongly and dangerously” conflates the two. Opponents of transgender rights have sought for several years to co-opt anti-FGM/C laws to further gender-affirming care bans, mostly in state legislatures. The executive order builds on these efforts by directing the Department of Justice and state authorities to review and prioritize the enforcement of laws banning FGM/C, which are unrelated."
Education Dept. Gives Schools Two Weeks to Eliminate Race-Based Programs
The New York Times
“The Education Department warned schools in a letter on Friday that they risked losing federal funding if they continued to take race into account when making scholarship or hiring decisions, or so much as nodded to race in ‘all other aspects of student, academic and campus life.’”
Kennedy says panel will examine childhood vaccine schedule after promising not to change it
The Associated Press
“In his comments Tuesday, Kennedy promised that a new “Make America Healthy Again” commission would investigate vaccines, pesticides and antidepressants to see if they have contributed to a rise in chronic illnesses such as diabetes and obesity that have plagued the American public. The commission was formed last week in an executive order by Donald Trump immediately after Kennedy was sworn in as the president’s new health secretary.”
Morgan State leads national conference to address gun violence on college campuses
CBS News
“Morgan State's Center on Urban Violence and Crime Reduction, as well as its School of Social Work, collaborated with other colleges at the inaugural National Conference for Gun Violence on U.S. College and University Campuses to address policies and safety in higher education. Between 2013 and 2023, there were over 300 instances of gunfire on college campuses, including Morgan State, which saw three straight years of shootings on campus during homecoming, according to The Center on Urban Violence and Crime Reduction.”
Regional Policy News Highlights
Talks collapse, school desegregation case will go back to court
NJ Spotlight News
“Lawyers for Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration and the plaintiffs in Latino Action Network v. New Jersey entered mediated talks to address long-standing segregation in New Jersey schools in November 2023. Both sides previously said mediation had the potential to resolve the matter more quickly than litigation, saving the state time and money. In a statement, the plaintiffs’ attorneys said they now believe a court judgment is the ‘surest way to achieve a remedy for this unacceptable reality, in which hundreds of thousands of the state’s children attend school in segregated settings.’”
$6M+ in social equity tax funds sitting unspent, cannabis agency says
The New Jersey Monitor
“More than $6 million collected from a cannabis tax has been sitting unused even though the state’s cannabis agency has sent spending recommendations to the Legislature for three years. The millions in revenue — collected from what’s called the social equity excise fee — have been accumulating since recreational cannabis sales began in 2022. The tax is paid by cannabis cultivators, and the revenue is intended to be used for projects in towns impacted by the war on drugs.”
Protesters push NJ lawmakers to adopt Immigrant Trust Act
NJ Spotlight News
“Protesters lobbied at the offices of state lawmakers on Tuesday, including Senate President Nick Scutari’s office in Clark, urging action on the proposed Immigrant Trust Act. The bill, which would codify certain protections for undocumented immigrants, has languished in committee since its introduction last August. The advocates argued that lawmakers need to act now.”
N.J. lawmakers want to address the growing shortage of nurses and other health care workers
WHYY (NPR/PBS)
“Under the bill approved by the state Senate Commerce Committee, qualified alcohol and drug counselors, marriage and family therapists, professional counselors, physicians, homemaker-home health aides, certain nurses, psychologists, psychoanalysts, respiratory care practitioners and social workers licensed or certified to practice in another state who apply for a license or certification in New Jersey will be authorized to practice in-state for up to one year, pending a final determination on their application.”
Upcoming Events
Community Defender Training: Unmasking Expedited Removal: What You Need to Know to Fight Back
Presented by the National Immigration Project
Tuesday February 25th, 2025
3:00pm - 4:00pm
*online*
Join the National Immigration Project for a free webinar for community defenders, advocates, and impacted community members to go over the process of expedited removal and how to best prepare for it. Expedited removal is a fast-track process used by U.S. immigration authorities to quickly deport people. There have been recent changes to expedited removal that community members should be aware of. They’ll go over the basics of expedited removal and what changes have been made, walk through the process, explain your rights in this context, and offer practical tips for preparation. Whether you are directly working with community members who may be impacted or simply seeking more information, this training will provide valuable tools to help navigate this complex and overwhelming process. They will have simultaneous interpretation in Spanish and Haitian Creole during this webinar.
Who should attend this program? This training is primarily designed for people who are not lawyers, including community members and organizers working with immigrant communities. To register for this event, click here.
Social Work in Action: Protecting Immigrant Rights and Dignity
Presented by Rutgers School of Social Work Latina/o/x Initiatives for Service, Training, and Assessment (LISTA) and Law School
Thursday February 27th, 2025
7:15pm - 8:45pm
*online*
Join the Latina/o/x Initiatives for Service, Training, and Assessment (LISTA) team for a dynamic webinar featuring legal experts and a panel of social workers, designed to equip social workers with essential legal knowledge, community insights, and best practices to protect the rights and dignity of New Jersey’s immigrant communities. Those attending this webinar will receive practicum hours or CEUs (1.5 hrs). Register for the zoom here.
Black History Month 2025: African Americans and Labor
The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) has chosen "African Americans and Labor" as the theme for this year's Black History Month. They would like to highlight that "2025 marks the 100-year anniversary of the creation of Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and Maids by labor organizer and civil rights activist A. Philip Randolph, which was the first Black union to receive a charter in the American Federation of Labor. Martin Luther King, Jr incorporated issues outlined by Randolph’s March on Washington Movement such as economic justice into the Poor People’s Campaign, which he established in 1967. For King, it was a priority for Black people to be considered full citizens."
The contributions and labor of the African American community have been foundational to the creation of the United States before it even existed. We acknowledge that slavery is (and continues to be) a scar in the history of this country, and we continue to privilege from the racial disparities that have remained.
The resilience of the African American community is something to be admired and studied in-depth, and we are thankful for the opportunity to learn and provide resources to continue learning about African American Labor movements and their underrated contributions to the country. Click the links below to learn more about Black History Month and this years theme:
The Origins and History of Black History Month
Association for the Study of African American Life and History
A Conversation with Teri Lassiter
Rutgers University School of Public Health
Honoring Champions for Black Labor and Social Justice
Howard University School of Social Work
African-American Movements & Milestones: Labor Movement
SUNY Cortland
African Americans and the American Labor Movement
The National Archives
