Today, the Social Work Policy Network offers a glimpse of their weekly e-update.
Intrigued? Subscribe to receive the SWPN newsletter every Tuesday!
Want daily updates from the Social Work Policy Network? Follow us on Twitter!
Subscribers will receive policy updates as well as additional events, podcasts, and job opportunities.
UPCOMING EVENTS
The Impact Of Cash Support For Low-Income Families On Infant Brain Activity
with Institute for Research on Poverty. February 9 (2:00-3:00 PM EST) via Zoom
Free. Registration Required.
How to Build A Fair and Welcoming New Jersey: Introducing the Values Act
with ACLU NJ. February 16 (6:00 PM EST) via Zoom.
Free. Registration Required.
LOCAL & REGIONAL UPDATES
Parties unveil plans for new legislative districts, NJ Monitor: "Republican and Democratic delegations of the panel tasked with creating new boundaries for New Jersey’s 40 legislative districts unveiled their proposed maps Monday... The New Jersey Apportionment Commission gave each map a nickname — one is Turnpike, the other Parkway — in an effort to remove partisanship from public comment expected at its Wednesday meeting. But the maps’ boundaries make clear the Turnpike map was drawn by Democrats and the Parkway map by Republicans."
Redistricting & You: New Jersey, Fair Districts NJ:
Access this map to compare current districts with proposed plans.
New Jersey School Funding: The Higher the Goals, the Higher the Costs, NJPP: "New Jersey’s most affluent school districts have the resources they need — and more — to provide a rigorous education. The state’s large, high-poverty districts, however, have far less funding than needed to meet the same exacting standards." Also - Amid court battle, NJ lawmakers consider a different way to pursue school integration
NATIONAL UPDATES
The Biden Administration Is Paying Out Thousands to Victims of Anti-Gay Discrimination, Slate: "The Biden administration is paying out substantial sums of money to the surviving partners of same-sex couples who were denied the right to marry. No one knows exactly how many people are eligible, though the best estimate reaches into the thousands (at a minimum), and the pot of money stretches into the millions. Unfortunately, few of these individuals know they’re entitled to these payouts, and many are elders of advanced age."
The unequal toll of COVID-19 on workers, Economic Policy Institute: "When low-income workers miss work due to COVID-19, they not only face the risk of severe illness—their families also report not being able to afford enough food to eat. After the expiration of the federal sick leave program, few low-income workers have access to paid sick leave to support them in self-isolating while infectious, reducing viral spread in the community, and leading a healthy recovery. Only 35% of low-wage workers have paid sick leave while 95% of high-wage workers do." Read more on how these inequities are shaped by policy decisions.
The Supreme Court’s newest attack on voting rights, explained, Vox: "On Monday night, the Supreme Court handed down a deeply alarming decision... The immediate impact of the Court’s 5-4 decision in Merrill v. Milligan is that Alabama’s new congressional maps, which a three-judge panel...determined to be an illegal racial gerrymander, will take effect in the 2022 election."
PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
*Subscribe for numerous additional opportunities each week.
Volunteer for the Rutherford 4 Mayor Campaign (West Orange, NJ).
& Learn more about Bill Rutherford here.
Development Coordinator, Spectrum 360 (West Orange, NJ)
Senior Researcher, Thurgood Marshall Institute, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (NY, NY)
Center for the Study of Social Policy (Washington, DC)
