With so many issues filling the airwaves, from political polarization, roiling campus protests about the war in Gaza and its antisemitic antecedents, the growing threat of global warming, and threats even to our democratic system, the sad plight of the many thousands languishing behind bars for nonviolent offenses seems to be forgotten. Many are the …
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.