Happy National Native American & Alaskan Native Heritage Month!
Happy Transgender Awareness Month!
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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.
Thank you for your continued support of the Social Work Policy Network!
Professional Opportunities
Program Associate, Legal Empowerment Program - The Right Question Institute (remote)
Policy Analyst - New Jersey Consortium for Immigrant Children (Jersey City, NJ)
Outreach and Program Administrative Coordinator - Sea Change Recovery Community Organization and Harm Reduction (Eagleswood, NJ)
Research Scientist 2 (Posting #431-24) - New Jersey Department of Children and Families (Trenton, NJ)
Training Operations Coordinator - The Management Center (TMC) (remote)
2024 Program Manager, Field Building and Resources - Camden Coalition of Healthcare (Hybrid: Camden, NJ)
Worker Organizer - Make the Road States (Elizabeth, NJ)
Program Coordinator, Literacy NJ Atlantic-Cape Programs - Literacy New Jersey (Hybrid: Pleasantville, NJ)
National Policy News Highlights
The climate vulnerability gap: Developing a metric to advance racial equity and more just climate investment
The Brookings Institute
“While climate change is caused by greenhouse gas emissions warming the atmosphere, many of the growing impacts of climate change are social and economic. For the most vulnerable communities, these alarming impacts aren’t a future problem—they’re being felt now, and innovative policy is desperately needed to ensure that they do not undermine progress in social and racial justice.”
Amid Legacies of Colonial and Anti-Trans Harm, Two-Spirits Struggle for Safety
Truthout
“Since the introduction of anti-trans bathroom bills in 2015, anti-trans rhetoric and policy have been on the rise throughout the U.S. The increased vitriol against trans people has resulted in over 650 anti-2SLGBTQ+ (Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, and additional sexual orientations and gender identities) policies being introduced in 2024 alone. As a high political watermark, the Heritage Foundation’s Christian nationalist Project 2025 paints a picture of the U.S. where transgender ideas are codified as “pornographic” and are thus minimized, if not eradicated, from public life.”
Black teachers’ salaries, raises trail those of White teachers
Industry Dive (Informa)
“In its 2024 State of the American Teacher Survey, Rand asked 1,479 K–12 teachers to report their base salaries for both the 2023-24 and 2022-23 school years. In 2023-24, the average salary for Black teachers was $65,013, compared to $70,695 for White teachers, Rand found. White teachers also got a higher annual raise on average — $2,030 — compared to $1,684 for Black teachers.”
States rush Medicaid requests before Trump return
POLITICO
“The new administration is expected to have a very different view of Medicaid than the Biden administration, and GOP lawmakers in Congress are eyeing major changes. Some states want waivers that will impact their states’ budgets, but others seek to allow Medicaid to pay for social services, a Biden administration innovation that links health to social well-being, POLITICO’s Rachel Bluth, Maya Kaufman, Kelly Hooper and Robert King report.”
Regional Policy News Highlights
Court mulls school parental notification policies on transgender students
The New Jersey Monitor
“Attorneys for the state of New Jersey and four school districts squared off in court in Newark Tuesday over district policies that require parental notification when students change their sexuality or gender identity. The school districts asked a three-judge appellate panel to lift temporary court orders that prohibit Middletown, Marlboro, Manalapan, and Hanover school districts from implementing the policies.”
Sentencing and Disposition Commission recommends end to mandatory minimums for non-violent drug crimes, among other recommendations
ROI NJ
“In a continuing effort to create more just and fair sentencing guidelines in the state, the Criminal Sentencing and Disposition Commission issued its annual report [last week], one that makes four recommendations, including the elimination of mandatory minimum sentences for those convicted of non-violent drug crimes. The group, which is made up of representatives from every facet of New Jersey’s criminal justice system along with designees from all three of New Jersey’s branches of government, is chaired by Chris Porrino of Lowenstein Sandler, and the former attorney general for the state of New Jersey.”
Fighting hunger at school: N.J. lawmakers working on plans to expand free school meals for all students
WHYY (PBS)
“According to the most recent data available from the Department of Health, more than 13% of Garden State kids, about 263,000, sometimes skip a meal during the school day because their families are struggling to make ends meet. Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, the co-chair of the Joint Committee on the Public Schools, is sponsoring legislation to expand school meal options for all kids. She is supporting a separate measure, to create a pilot program that provides nourishing meals at school cafeterias.”
Courts urged to update eviction process
NJ Spotlight News
“Evictions were the second most common cause of homelessness across the state last year, increasing significantly from 14.1% in 2022 to 18.51% in 2023, according to a report from the state Office of Homelessness Prevention. Additionally, over 12,600 people in New Jersey were experiencing homelessness on a single night in late January, according to NJ Counts 2024, the state’s annual point-in-time count of homeless people in the state. This year’s count indicates a 24% increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness compared to 2023.”
Spring Course Highlight
Criminal Justice Policy & Social Justice (34:833:557:90)
offered by the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
Mondays, online, 5:40 to 8:40PM
This course is being facilitated by Rutgers MSW alumna, Marleina Ubel, of New Jersey Policy Perspective!
"The criminal legal system doesn't exist in isolation; it is intertwined with multiple aspects of American life, including housing, employment, education, child rearing, and healthcare, particularly for lower-income and otherwise marginalized groups. In this graduate-level course, we explore the intersection of the criminal legal system, social justice, and public policy. We will bridge theory and practice to uncover the criminal legal system’s far-reaching impact on other systems and the consequences of its encroachment. Students will engage with guest speakers from various backgrounds and explore the impact of the criminal legal system on policy decisions and potential avenues for reform. Students will then translate their knowledge into comprehensive policy proposals aimed at rectifying disparities and promoting social justice."
Upcoming Event
The Walrus Talks at Home: Indigenous Perspectives on Belonging
Monday, November 25th, 2024
7:00pm - 8:00pm
**online**
"The world is facing a crisis of belonging. Leading public health authorities have declared an epidemic of loneliness and social isolation. Globally, researchers and policymakers are reaching for new ideas to restore social connection amid the upheavals of social media, AI, automation, polarization, and environmental change.
"As First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities across Turtle Island (North America) restore their spiritualities, cultures, and languages, there is an opportunity to learn from Indigenous wisdom and practices that have built belonging for thousands of years.
"In this...session of The Walrus Talks at Home, [you]’ll hear from a panel of leaders and experts from diverse Indigenous nations, sharing stories and experiences of cultivating community, connecting to nature, and growing a shared sense of power and purpose.
"Join...for an evening that will deepen your understanding of Indigenous conceptions of belonging and how the ongoing process of reconciliation can foster more meaningful relationships across society."
Click here to register and learn more about the event.
Highlight of the week:
Documenters.org
Would you like to get paid to attend local public meetings in Newark, NJ and New Brunswick, NJ? Through The Documents Network, you can! The Documents Network trains and pays you to attend local governmental meetings and take notes.
"The Documenters Network was created in 2018 by City Bureau, a nonprofit civic journalism lab that goes beyond informing the public. [They] focus on equipping people to access and produce the information they need. We make our work, process and tools as open and useful as possible."
While federal and state government often get the most media coverage, our local governments and municipalities impact our day-to-day lives the most. Many of us have never been to a local town meeting, but there are plenty of opportunities to get involved today (and maybe get paid for it)!
To learn more about this opportunity, please watch this video.
The Social Work Policy Network's e-newsletter is created by:
K.D. "Dash" Barany, MSW/MPP Graduate Student, Network Research Assistant
Dr. Lenna Nepomnyaschy, RU Professor, Network Founder
