Reimagining Social Work’s Social Justice Strategy

5:00pm to 8:00pm EST

LIVE WEBINAR

Presenter: Luisa Lopez, MSW, Jacqueline Mondros, DSW, MSW

FREE for ALL Attendees!

NASW-NYS certificates will now be distributed through Gutenberg Certs. Please ensure that you register and/or join on Zoom with the name you would like to appear on your certificate.

This workshop is approved for 3.0 continuing education credit hours for licensed social workers, licensed mental health counselors, licensed marriage and family therapists and licensed psychologists

Workshop Description

Social Work has long been associated with social justice, and social justice is included in the NASW Code of Ethics as an ethical principal. Given the stakes for the clients and communities we serve, it is essential that the profession pursue social justice effectively. Drawing from studies of social action organizations in similar contexts, the presenter will examine the way the social work profession views power. The presenter will describe reasons why power building receives minimal attention as a legitimate activity in social work education and professional practice, and argue that goals to oppose racism and achieve justice require us to build power, voice, and visibility. The workshop will review the sources of power available to social workers, and finally offer suggestions to transform social work to effectively meet social justice goals in an increasingly volatile and hostile world. Additionally, the workshop will use an example of a current social work campaign as an illustration.  

Learning Objectives

After the completion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• Describe various social work concepts and practices of social change and the systemic and cultural reasons for the development of these concepts and practices
• Explain various theories of change and the resources social workers have for making change
• Identify ways social workers can use themselves effectively to address issues of social justice
• Describe ways to incorporate a theory of change into practice

This workshop is approved for 3.0 continuing education credit hours.

NASW-NYS is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers (Provider ID #0014), licensed mental health counselors (Provider ID #MHC-0053), licensed marriage and family therapists (Provider ID #MFT-0037) and licensed psychologists (Provider ID #PSY-0088).

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Learn More about Social Workers for Justice

We’re working to end the requirement of the LMSW Licensure Exam in New York. This test has been proven to disadvantage social workers of color and there is no evidence that passing a standardized test is an indication of the ability of a social worker.  There is a bigger and more important context.  New York desperately needs a strong and diverse social work workforce.  

It is estimated that 80% of the clients and communities served by New York State’s social workers are people and communities of color.  It is also well documented that social workers who represent the lived experience of the people they serve are more effective in providing services in communities of color.  Consequently, not only does the disparities in licensure impact the graduates who have spent time and money getting their degree (and who often have many years of experience in social services), but it has deleterious effects on the clients and communities that need them. 

In effect, the very principle of licensure– to protect the public by ensuring that social workers are competent to practice is being undercut by an exam that results in such great racial disparities.  

Click here to sign the petition

Presenter:

Luisa Lopez is a native of New York City and serves as President of the Latino Social Work Coalition and Scholarship Fund, and Director of Social Services and Communications at the Urban Outreach Center of NYC. A seasoned government relations professional, she has held roles at the Office of the Manhattan Borough President, the NYC Council, and served in the Washington, DC office of former Bronx Congressman José E. Serrano. In her career, she has concentrated on addressing structural challenges by developing and implementing social interventions aimed at effecting positive change at all levels of government. Additionally, Luisa has become an advocate for the increased accessibility and availability of assisted reproductive technology, as well as destigmatizing infertility in communities of color. As President of the Latino Social Work Coalition and Scholarship Fund, she is a fierce advocate for increasing the number of culturally and linguistically competent social workers serving in New York City’s most vulnerable communities, as well as for elevating the importance and value that social workers bring to all areas of public life and civic engagement. In 2021 she became a published author in the Amazon #1 bestseller, ‘Latinx in Social Work’, writing an account of how her family building endeavors have impacted her social work journey thus far. Luisa holds B.A. in Political Science from the College of the Holy Cross. A social worker by training, Luisa earned her Master of Social Work from the New York University Silver School of Social Work. 

Dr. Jacqueline B. Mondros, D.S.W., is Dean and Professor Emeritus of the School of Social Welfare and Assistant Vice President of Social Determinants of Health at Stony Brook University SUNY. She is past president of the National Deans and Directors of Social Work and was co-director of the Leadership Academy for Deans and Directors of Social Work from 2014-2018. She has been awarded the Top Leader Award by NASW-NYC Chapter, and in recognition of her career long commitment to university-community partnerships, was the recipient of the Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award in 2022.

Dr. Mondros received her masters and doctorate from University of Pennsylvania. Her research interests are in the study of urban neighborhoods and she has written extensively on community social services, community development, and community organization. She is the recipient of numerous grants, most recently in the area of aging in place. Her co-authored book, Organizing for Power and Empowerment: The Fight for Democracy, was published in 2023 by Columbia University Press.

Before entering academia, Dr. Mondros had a successful career in social work practice. She was director of clinical services at a school for girls and executive director of a settlement house in Philadelphia. She was appointed by three mayors to the New York City Age Friendly Commission and served from 2014- 2020. She has remained a dedicated community activist, working to bring the resources of academia to effect change in local communities throughout the country, and is a co-founder and interim director of Social Workers for Justice NY.