School of Social Work News

“I have lots of challenges around my experience with law enforcement,” says Clinical Assistant Professor Daicia Price. “I have been incarcerated myself, and my son has been incarcerated for crimes he did not commit. With all that is going on now, I was trying to figure out how to make a difference.” Price decided to become trained in connecting law enforcement and mental health.

 With the challenges that communities of color, in particular, have faced regarding policing and use of force, there have in fact been several calls to increase mental health training of law enforcement. Price has partnered with Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network to provide Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) for interested law enforcement agencies. Just this week as a CIT trainer, she has trained officers from Wayne County Sheriff's Office, Wayne County Jail, Detroit Police Department, Canton Police Department and Northville Police Department in ways to intervene using trauma-informed policing.

 “We use role plays and scenarios to teach police officers different ways of engaging with people,” says Price. “We connect them with other social service providers and clinicians — connections they never had before. We listen to their challenges. For example, police are frustrated when people ask them to address situations for which they are unprepared, such as mental health. To hear their desire to help but not knowing what to do is powerful for me. The general public has no idea there are officers trained in critical interventions and to connect with social services to access care. This is so critical right now.”

Between the pandemic and the protests in the wake of George Floyd’s brutal death, social workers have been called to action.  We checked in with a number of students, alumni and community members to hear how they are putting their training into action these last several months.  Read the stories of social work in action.

PhD student Change Kwesele recently published “‘It’s Not a Quick Fix.’ Notes for the ‘good’ white people: Insights on conversations about race at work” on Medium.  Kwesele breaks down why the choice of words matters.  “White people must be mindful of how certain ‘polite’ words and conversations have been used to harm Black people.”

Dear Michigan Social Work Community,

Today, we name Robert Fuller and Malcolm Harsch. We grieve with their families and with too many other families facing similar loss.  We endorse the further investigations of their deaths which are overseen by the FBI and the state of California.  At the same time, we know that many in our SSW community feel tired, scared and outraged about these deaths in the midst of so many others in our nation. The number of deaths and frequency of violence towards Black men and women make some worry about the potential futility of efforts to stand up against white supremacy and anti-racism.  We cannot be discouraged.  We call on everyone, and especially our white social work colleagues, not to close our eyes and look away. Being anti-racist is an active state of being. We must continue to work towards all that is just. 

In solidarity (in word and action),

Clinical Assistant Professor of Social Work Abigail Eiler was appointed to the Big Ten Anti-Hate and Anti-Racism Coalition. The coalition will encourage, educate and empower student-athletes and will develop tangible and actionable efforts in a collective manner and provide viable solutions addressing the issues of hate and racism in our society.

The University of Michigan School of Social Work stands for health equity and equal human rights for the LGBTQIA2S+ community. Over the weekend the federal government reversed an important Obama administration ruling that provided access and nondiscrimination in insurance coverage for transgender and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer people in the United States. This impacts transgender individuals the most, and even more so, transgender people of color. 

Assistant Professor Shanna Kattari, eloquently summarizes what each and every social worker can do to stand up for equal justice in their practice and in their advocacy.  As social workers, join us in standing up now for equal rights and health services for transgender people of all races. 

If you are eligible, be sure to cast your vote in the primary (August) and general (November) elections. Voting influences public policy!

Resources 

National Center for Transgender Equality - Know Your Rights in Health Care

Transgender Law Center - 10 Tips for Working with Transgender Patients

Black Trans Advocacy Coalition

Black Trans Health Initiative

Transcend the Binary (a Michigan organization)

Fenway Health on the health of Black LGBTQ+ people

What do I need to know about trans health care?

Movement Advancement Project health care laws and policies

In light of COVID-19, and ongoing protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death, Professor and Associate Dean of Research Rogério M. Pinto spoke to MLive about both the timing and the power of this moment of unrest.  “Protests can be a powerful strategy to enact change, and already the movement has scored some results. That includes having criminal charges filed against all four Minneapolis police officers involved in Floyd’s death and upgrading of charges from third- to second-degree homicide for the officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck. “The simple fact they’ve been charged already is a phenomenal result.”

"We must move past indecision to action...If we do not act, we shall surely be dragged down the long, dark, and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight.”
-Martin Luther King Jr.

Dear Social Work Community,

In the past few days, as we listened the news we felt appalled at the at the knee-choke-hold that killed George Floyd in Minneapolis, while the nation was still reeling from the brazen murder of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, and the killings of Breonna Taylor and Sean Reed.  And all of this in the midst of the racial disparities of the COVID pandemic, in which Black and Latino Americans are killed disproportionately due to effects of underlying social inequality in income, in nutrition and in health care. 

On Thursday, May 28, 2020, Sidney Arrington, MSW student, raised concerns clearly, painfully and with an acknowledgement that our social work community can and should do more. Her courageous efforts inspired students, faculty and staff.  We apologize to Sidney that it was she and not us who spoke first.

We admire the collective spirit of our community that compels and validates the importance of action, leadership and solutions. We are grateful for the supportive responses and the calls for action.

We are working diligently on the School's call to action. These include: 

• a town hall in the memory of George Floyd, scheduled for Tuesday, June 2 at 5 PM.
• a message from the Associate Dean and MSW Program Director to faculty about the importance of discussing and addressing in class the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and other acts of racial violence. 
• a workshop for faculty and field instructors is being developed with Continuing Education.
• a group of faculty teaching this summer have already begun to discuss these events with their classes.

Yes, we have been an academically remote program for several months. However, offering classes  remotely is not a justification for emotional insensitivity or a lack of action. Not now. Not ever. Our School, the University of Michigan School of Social Work, must take a strong stance protesting these unjust deaths.

We encourage our community — students, staff, alumni and faculty — to provide suggestions for  actions we should take now and in the future.  We call on the leadership group of students, faculty and staff to construct a clear and visible strategy to be responsive and sensitive. We will work to activate every member of our community to take a stand against the structures that perpetuate and tolerate killings of Black Americans.  And Asian Americans.  And Latinx Americans.

This is our work as social workers.  Students, thank you for calling us to action.

In Solidarity,

Lynn Videka, Dean
Tim Colenback, Assistant Dean for Student Services
Larry M. Gant, Director, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program
Lorraine M. Gutiérrez, Associate Dean for Educational Programs