The Social Work Democracy Project, officially launched last month during CRISP’s Social Work Day on the Hill event, is pleased to welcome Marla Blunt-Carter to its Board of Directors. An Associate Professor of Professional Practice at Rutgers School of Social Work, to say that Blunt-Carter has extensive experience in the world of politics is an …
I was back on Capitol Hill Tuesday, April 5, for the first time in two years. My last visit to the Hill was CRISP’s Social Work Day on the Hill reception in the Rayburn Building in March 2020. We cancelled Student Advocacy Day scheduled for the next day as the House and Senate would go …
The future belongs to the young and I am encouraged by the incredibly gifted young people who are joining the social work profession these days. Our 2022 Student Advocacy Day was a testament to growing activism among young people generally and the passion within our profession to have an impact on the trajectory of our …
Grooming the Next Generation of Social Work Leaders Read More »
Those who seem hellbent on following Trump and Republican downs the path to authoritarianism may not be thinking about what life might be under a Trump monarchy. The liberties and freedoms that these folks cling to so zealously could easily vanish. Once in power, authoritarians usually do whatever they believe is necessary to maintain power. …
As a social worker I implore you to reconsider your staunch opposition to amending the current Senate practice of requiring a 60-vote threshold to allow a motion to end debate in the United States Senate and allow a vote on the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. While there …
Unlike Ayn Rand who believed the world would end when she died, many of us—particularly those who devote our lives to social work—would like to live our lives knowing we are contributing something that will leave the world in a bit better shape that it was when we arrived. We are trying through our work …
While CRISP focuses on Congress and the federal government, social issues such as, child welfare, healthcare, housing, and voting rights are being decided at the state and local levels as well as Congress. Our very democracy could be in jeopardy if citizens are not actively engaged in its preservation. CRISP will provide you with information that will equip you to be an informed and responsible citizenry. We send representatives to government to look out for the welfare of citizens. It is up to us to hold them accountable.
Justin Hodge is a clinical assistant professor of social work at the University of Michigan. He is the co-lead for the Policy & Political Social Work Pathway and the director of the Online Certificate in Political Social Work. Hodge is committed to increasing the presence of social workers in policy and political spaces. He teaches courses that provide students with the tools to engage in politics and approach policy work from a social justice perspective. Hodge was elected to the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners in November 2020. As a county commissioner, he brings his social work perspective to addressing the most pressing problems facing Washtenaw County. Hodge has a particular focus on addressing inequities in the county and promoting economic opportunity. In 2021, Hodge was appointed by Governor Whitmer to the Commission on Community Action & Economic Opportunity, where he is able to lend his expertise at the state level. Nationally, Hodge serves as board president of the Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy, which works to expand the participation of social workers in federal legislative and policy processes. He is also a founding board member of the Social Work Democracy Project, a charitable organization focused on providing resources to Schools of Social Work to advance knowledge of government and democracy.