School of Social Work News

Dear Michigan Social Work community -

In the past few days, we have been horrified to read about racially motivated hate crimes involving physical violence and harassment, targeting elderly Asian Americans. These are not isolated events, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, inflammatory and xenophobic rhetoric, harassmant and violence against Asian American and Pacific Islander persons, families and communities have increased. These acts damage our society and counter the values of social work practice.

Advancing racial equity and economic inclusion for people of all races and ethnicities is critical to guaranteeing the safety and security of everyone. We will work to activate every member of our community to take a stand against the structures that perpetuate and fuel discrimination and assaults on Asian American and Pacific Islander persons.

Hate against some of us harms all of us. We encourage our community — students, staff, alumni and faculty — to acknowledge, amplify, and denounce the ongoing anti-Asian hate crimes. This is our commitment as social workers.

In Solidarity,
Lynn Videka, Dean
Larry Gant, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Program Director
Ayesha Ghazi Edwin, Lecturer and ENGAGE Program Manager, Chair of the Michigan Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission (MAPAAC)
Lorraine Gutiérrez, Associate Dean for Educational Programs
Joseph Himle, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs
Trina Shanks, Director, School of Social Work Community Engagement

ENGAGE Program Manager Fatima Salman, MSW ‘15, is one of five alumni named as Racial Equity Fellows by Detroit Equity Action Lab. The Racial Equity Fellowship develops leaders who work to end structural racism in Detroit. Other alumni fellows include Michelle Anderson, MSW ‘01, Margo Dalal, MSW ‘18, Sibohan O’Laoire, MSW ‘13, and Robert Siporin, MSW ‘14.

Clinical Assistant Professor Daicia Price discusses mental health in the community in the latest Mental Minute with Michigan Medicine. The Mental Minute discusses a variety of prescient mental health topics and features expert interviews from within and outside the U-M community.

Required Weekly COVID-19 Testing

All students – including graduate and professional students – who live on or come to campus will be required to be tested weekly through the U-M Community Sampling and Tracking Program starting February 16. Currently, over 10% of all COVID reports of students are graduate students.

Weekly testing will be required for all SSW students (including those who have received the vaccine) who:

• Live in Michigan housing.
• Are registered for any in-person courses that meet on campus, regardless of how frequently the course meets in-person.
• Are employed or have in-person field placement on campus (including Michigan Medicine).
• Conduct research in a campus facility/building.
• Come to campus to use facilities (e.g. libraries, unions, Rec Sports, SSW building).

Field

Listed below is testing information for field:

• If your field placement is on campus and in-person, you will be required to participate in the weekly testing program.
• If your field placement is not on campus, you only need to test if it is a requirement of the field agency/site. You can participate in the U-M testing program.
• If you are uncomfortable with testing protocols related to field education, please contact your field faculty about options.
• If your field placement is entirely off campus AND you do not come to campus for any reason, you are not required to be tested weekly. You are eligible, though, to voluntarily sign up for periodic testing on campus.

If You Have Tested Positive for COVID-19

If you have previously tested positive for COVID-19, you are excluded from testing for a 90-day period from the date of your test. If you were tested by the U-M Community Sampling and Tracking Program, University Health Service or Occupational Health Services, your result will automatically be captured. If you were tested elsewhere, please submit your positive results.

Luke Shaefer spoke with the New York Times about the expansion of the child tax credit in Biden’s plan against child poverty. “To me, it’s the most transformational thing that’s under discussion, and nobody’s talking about it,” says Shaefer.

PhD student Charles Williams has been appointed chair of the Bipartisan Protect Michigan Commission African American workgroup by Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Housed within the Department of Health and Human Services, the commission will help raise awareness of the safety and effectiveness of an approved COVID-19 vaccine, educate the people of the state, and help protect the health and safety of all Michigan residents.

Washtenaw County Health Department in partnership with the University of Michigan issued a public health emergency “Stay in Place” directive for University of Michigan undergraduate, graduate and professional students enrolled in winter 2021 effective immediately and ending on February 7, 2021 at 11:59 PM.

Associate Professor Terri Friedline and PhD student So’Phelia Morrow call on President Biden to stop the predatory burden of student loan debt in an article in Ms.“To advance his promises of racial and gender justice and to better ensure an inclusive economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, President Biden should cancel all student loan debt—not just a meager portion of it.” Their article also cites research conducted by a team at Michigan Social Work, which focuses on the physical and mental health tolls women face due to their debts and outstanding obligations.