“There are three ways in which one can deal with an injustice. (a) One can accept it without protest. (b) One can seek to avoid it. (c) One can resist the injustice non-violently. To accept it is to perpetuate it.” — Bayard Rustin, political activist, civil rights leader, and organizer of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963
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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 and Community Outreach Manager - Assembly Majority Office (Trenton, NJ)
Training Technician 2 (Posting #034-25) - New Jersey Department of Children and Families (New Brunswick, NJ)
Staff Writer - ACLU of New Jersey (hybrid: Newark, NJ)
Community Organizer - Resistencia en Acción (email cover letter and resume to appazmino@resistenciaenaccionnj.org)
PAID Fellowship & Internship Opportunities
State Policy Fellow - New Jersey Policy Perspective (hybrid: Trenton, NJ)
Summer Congressional Champions Campaign Intern - League of Conservation Voters (hybrid: Washington, DC)
National Policy News Highlights
Higher new Census population estimates will affect the employment report
The Brookings Institution (report)
“Over the past year, researchers have been deliberating about how to measure the size of the U.S. population. In early 2024, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) published estimates suggesting much higher post-2020 population growth than previously estimated, largely stemming from an unanticipated surge in migration. Now the Census Bureau has revised its population estimates to be more closely aligned with the higher CBO numbers. This brief explains why the change matters and how it will affect the employment report slated to come out [today].”
Trump's anti-trans effort is an agenda cornerstone with echoes in history
NPR
“On Wednesday afternoon, President Trump signed the latest in a series of executive orders concerning transgender Americans, which aims to ban transgender women from participating in women's sports…Other initiatives of the current administration aim to curtail, among other things, trans people's access to bathrooms, medical care and legal documents that reflect their gender identity. In his comments before signing the order on sports participation, Trump repeated the lie that 2024 Olympics gold medal women's boxer, Imane Khelif, is a man, and asserted that transgender women ‘beat and batter female athletes.’”
25% uptick in student homelessness highlights the demand for school resources
K-12 Dive
“Students experiencing homelessness have higher rates of chronic absenteeism and lower graduation rates compared to their peers, the data shows. The figures from the Education Department align with data released late last year by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which showed a 39% increase from 2023 to 2024 in the number of families with children experiencing homelessness.”
Regional Policy News Highlights
NJ lawmakers move to decriminalize underage casino gambling
NJ Spotlight News
“In New Jersey, people under 21 caught gambling at casinos can be found guilty of disorderly persons offenses, which can include penalties of six months in jail and up to $1,000 in fines. Now, legislators are seeking to drop the criminal penalties and make the violations subject to civil fines of up to $2,000 under a bill that cleared the Assembly last week.”
Pennsylvania immigrant jail must let N.J. detainees attend criminal hearings remotely, judge says
New Jersey Monitor
“Federal immigration authorities violated the constitutional rights of people held in a Pennsylvania detention center who were facing criminal charges in New Jersey by blocking their requests to attend court hearings virtually, a federal judge recently ruled…The decision is a win for the American Friends Service Committee and five detainees who sued federal officials in an effort to halt their practice of barring remote court access. The detention center is located in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, nearly 300 miles from Newark.”
Student voters keen to impact Newark school board election
NJ Spotlight News
“Newark students who will turn 16 by the city’s school board election on April 15 are now eligible to register to vote, making them the youngest eligible voters in the state. The milestone for the Vote16 movement comes after years of advocacy to lower the voting age to 16 in school board elections in New Jersey’s largest city. More than 6,000 young people are now eligible to vote for who they want to serve on the Board of Education and on bond referendums that would increase taxes to pay for improvements to school facilities.”
The More You Know!
Ethics Alive! Before You Sign: Understand Confidentiality Provisions, Noncompete Clauses, and Other Terms of Employment for Social Workers
The New Social Worker
“When an agency offers a job, you may be inclined to sign the employment contract without thoroughly reading its terms or questioning concerning provisions. Given your excitement about having a job offer, you may not want to raise questions that could jeopardize it. Some employment contracts are long and complex, filled with legal jargon and archaic terms. Despite your desire to lock down the job as quickly as possible, it is prudent to ensure that you have a clear understanding of key contractual terms before signing.”
Upcoming Events
How to Respond to Harassment & Practice Resilience When Experiencing Anti-Asian Harassment Training
Presented by AAPI New Jersey
Monday February 10th, 2025
3:00pm
*online*
In this training, you’ll learn how your identities can shape your experiences of harassment and the impact that harassment has on you and your community. They’ll take a deep dive into how to build your resilience on an individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, and societal front. You’ll leave with new tools on how to respond to harassment, whether your response is in the moment while that harassment is happening or long-term.
This training will be facilitated in a mixture of Tagalog and English. To register for the training, click here.
A Talk with Dr. Brian Bridges, the NJ Secretary of Higher Education
Presented by the New Jersey State Policy Lab
Wednesday February 12th, 2025
9:30am-11:30am
The Bloustein School Civic Square Building
33 Livingston Avenue
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
The New Jersey State Policy Lab will be hosting a talk and Q&A with Dr. Brian Bridges, the Secretary of Higher Education for the state of New Jersey.
During this event, Dr. Bridges will discuss trends in higher education’s affordability, accessibility, and attainment in the Garden State, as well as challenges confronting assorted stakeholders. The event will include a continental breakfast, and there will be opportunities for networking before and after the seminar.
Register for the event here.
Highlight of the Week:
Data Preservation
The new presidential administration is in full swing, and that could not be more evident than in its handling of federal data. Less than a month has passed since the inauguration, and government agencies have been removing publicly accessible data sets and entire web pages at the order of the President. According to the New York Times, over 8,000 web pages have been removed as of 2/3 to comply with anti-DEI language policies. Some of the most impacted agencies and programs have been:
- the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - 3,000+ pages, including those providing guidance on STD treatment, overdose intervention, vaccine administration, and more.
- the Census Bureau - 3,000+, the vast majority containing articles filed under research and methodology.
- the Office of Justice Programs - 1,000+ pages
- Head Start - 200+ pages
- the Department of Justice - 180+ pages, including all state-level hate crime data and seven pages discussing anti-L.G.B.T.Q. hate crimes.
As more pages disappear daily, organizations are working to preserve and archive the data so everyone can continue accessing it. These websites can be utilized to look for information and data that may no longer be deemed appropriate by the current administration despite their academic importance. For your convenience, save the links below for easy access:
- the Harvard Law School Library Innovation Lab data vault
- the End of Term Web Archive
- The Journalist's Resource data preservation guide and tips
- Public Environmental Data Project
- the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool
- the Internet Archive's CDC Data pre 1/28/2025
We believe knowledge is power and that access to knowledge and data is empowering. Despite the ways in which the administration will continue to withhold information from us, there are always folks prepared to fight restrictions and break down barriers. Share this information with your peers!
