Answering the Call for Racial Justice
During the last year, many events converged to bring renewed urgency to combating racism and white supremacy. The College responded by placing race and racial justice at the center of many activities.
“What is racial justice? A better starting point might be to talk about racial injustice, identify all the places injustice exists,” says Henrika McCoy, JACSW Associate Professor and Interim Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Student Services . “As Dr . Martin Luther King Jr . wrote from his jail cell in Birmingham, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’
”The list of racial disparities, inequities and injustices in the United States is long, at this point almost a litany that should be well-known to scholars and practitioners in social work: the overrepresentation of Black families in the child welfare system; the racially disproportionate use of detention and other punitive practices in schools; the underrepresentation of Black students in higher education; racial disparities in criminal justice, from policing and sentencing, to parole and post-prison; and the disproportionate use of force and violence by police in communities of color. “The list just goes on . It can be overwhelming to think about,” McCoy says . “But we have to. We must be willing to talk about injustice and inequity, and shine a light on racism everywhere it exists .
”Advancing racial justice is a core part of the College’s mission and informs much of the work done at the College and its Centers .Concomitantly, elevating the voices of people who live in marginalized communities of color and including their lived experiences in research and advocacy is central to that work .The past year, however, brought a renewed call to action for combating racism and ending discrimination, with people across the country and around the world pouring onto the streets to express outrage and call for an end to white supremacy . The College has answered that call in a number of very meaningful ways .
Giving Voice to Experiences of Racism and White Supremacy
Dr . McCoy has been studying experiences of violent victimization among young Black men, including both familial, interpersonal and structural violence . Central to her research were interviews conducted with such young men, gathering their experiences and unique perspectives in their own words . More recently, however, her focus turned to other forms of structural and institutional racism, especially as they exist in social work and in higher education .In the last year, she has published powerful and incisive articles on these topics, in both the academic and popular press . McCoy is quick to point out that the experiences she has written about are nothing new, and that she is expressing thoughts and ideas many people have but may not feel secure or safe enough to share . “America is in a state of heightened awareness of race and racism, and social workers are being asked to interrogate white supremacy in their own practice,” she says .“I think there’s a general feeling that we have a window of time in which we can speak more directly to these issues, so that’s what I’ve been doing .We need to take advantage of this because, if history is any indicator, the window will probably close as quickly as it opened .”As made clear in her article What Do You Call a Black Woman With a PhD? A N*****, as well as in a recent panel the College hosted with the American Society of Criminology (see below), Black academics have no difficulty citing personal experiences of racism in academia . “No matter who you are as a Black person, in my case a Black woman, you don’t have the power to say anything about it . Because even when you do, your words don’t matter as much as the other person’s,” she observes .Racism can extend beyond personal interactions to the core of social work practice, where certain attitudes, no matter how well-intentioned, can manifest white supremacy . “Traditionally, social workers see themselves as people who want to help the world . I remember my first day as a student in practice class, and the instructor asked how many of us were there because we wanted to help people . We all raised our hand,” McCoy says with a chuckle . “She said to us, ‘Put your hands down, that is not what social workers do!’ Social work is not about you being a savior .”McCoy thinks there has long been an underlying sense among many well-meaning social workers, though certainly not all, that the point of their practice is to be heroes or saviors, bringing exogenous knowledge into the community and speaking on behalf of people . “I’m increasingly seeing this, social workers assuming they know what the problems are, what people in the community need or want,” McCoy observes . “But they don’t live in the community . They’re latching onto what they think is important because they heard one community member say it . That’s not good enough . Broad involvement from community members must underlie our understanding of what’s true, as well as our practice as social workers and advocates .”
McCoy hopes that her recent scholarship, op-eds and opinion pieces will have an impact as a form of macro social work advocacy, but she has no illusions about the resistance or discomfort some people experience with these issues. “The primary goal in all of my work is to give voice to people who don’t have the same opportunity to share their thoughts and experiences . In my recent articles, I hope that my voice has been representative of people who are perhaps unable to share their own experiences,” she says . “And I want to make sure that paternalistic or racist attitudes in social work are pushed aside, and that we foster an authentic community-based ethos in our practice. Social workers are not saviors; the community leads,we follow .”
Addressing Racism with the American Society of Criminology
A screenshot from Activism Among Academics: Creating Change from “The Ivory” showing the five panelists, including JACSW associate professor Henrika McCoy (top left).
Beginning in the Fall of 2020 and continuing through Spring 2021, the College has partnered with The American Society of Criminology, Division on People of Color and Crime, to produce a series of webinars exploring aspects of race and activism in academia. The first such webinar was Activism Among Academics: Creating Change from “The Ivory” and featured a panel of four Black academics at different stages of their careers . The panelists discussed racial disparities and personal experiences with discrimination in academia, as well as their decisions to engage in anti-racist activism despite potential damage to their academic careers.
Interim Associate Dean Henrika McCoy served as a panelist, drawing on the ideas and experiences she has presented in her own scholarship . “Calling out racism can have professional ramifications, and Black tenure-track academics have to make a potentially difficult decision . Your academic career can be dependent on other people who have power over you,” she says . “I’m very fortunate that Dean Hairston has been so supportive; I’m sure I would not have felt as free to say such things in other environments. But it is very important to share these experiences and ideas because people need to know the truth .”
The second webinar, Black Lives Matter vs. Far Right Extremism: Protests, Movements, and Riots, featured Black academics and activists who addressed the rise in white supremacism and how Black activists and their allies can combat this threat to justice and equity . This panel included JACSW doctoral candidate Janaé Bonsu, who has been a prominent and powerful voice for racial justice in Chicago.
Engaging with Race, Racism and Trauma in School Settings
The 2020 JACSW Training Institute for School Social Work Professionals, titled Mental Health Strategies for School Re-entry for Students & Staff Amidst Societal Uncertainty and hosted virtually in August, was a response to what Clinical Associate Professor Annette Johnson, MSW ’03, describes as the “double pandemic of COVID-19 and racial injustice .” Johnson is Chair of the college’s specialization in School Social Work and also spearheads the annual training institute.
“I was concerned that there was so much information about the concrete, preventative aspects of the pandemic, such as wearing protective equipment and social distancing, but very little was being said about people’s emotional response to COVID-19,” she says . “Communities of color have been so disproportionately affected by the pandemic, then in the midst of that we saw the killing of George Floyd and the social unrest that followed . All of these things can be traumatic and impact mental health, especially among vulnerable young people . I knew we had to do something .”
Johnson searched the literature but found very little that would help address the issue, so she assembled a team of practitioners and administrators from Illinois schools . The team examined ways of addressing the social and emotional impact of the double pandemic on students, teachers and staff . “We began to think about what this would look like when in-class instruction resumed, what information school practitioners would need to convey to administrators, teachers and students,” she says .
The institute drew nearly 180 participants from across the country and featured Sharon A . Hoover, PhD, Co-Director of the National Center for School Mental Health, who provided expertise in school practice and the mental health needs of students . “The webinar was very well-received, and all participants received a comprehensive resource guide that was developed by our team,” Johnson says . “But I knew there was more work to do, that we had not exhausted the topic of addressing race and racism .”
In January of 2021, a virtual Booster Session was hosted to continue that work . Titled Expanding Equity: Addressing Racism in Our Work, the discussion was led by three outstanding school-based practitioners, Jenny Andersen, LCSW, Dawn Deacon Maroscher, School Psychologist, and Joe Alger LCSW . The webinar prepared school practitioners to engage in difficult conversations about race and equity . The discussion challenged attendees to alter their paradigm on how best to engage in discourse on race, structural inequalities, oppression, and the invisibility of privilege .
Johnson notes that as remote learning has continued longer than anticipated, practitioners have had no knowledge of how students have been impacted by social isolation amidst the ongoing double pandemic . “In addition to addressing the trauma we wanted to continue building on the themes of racism and equity, and get helping practitioners to think reflectively and introspectively about their own perspectives, and how they address equity and racism,” she says .“School social workers need to be acutely aware of their own potential biases, how they see and respond to students of color .
”The presenters also spoke of “the talk”, a conversation that African American parents have with their children . “I think some people may not know what that talk is . But I don’t think you can approach an African American parent who hasn’t had that talk with their children, particularly if the children are male,” says Johnson .“What we’ve accomplished in this session is to open this conversation for practitioners, get it on their radar . And we will continue building on this foundation, and are looking to continue this important work at future institutes .”
The Injustice of Trauma and Violence Among Young Black Males
Olga Osby, DSW
Special Guest Panelist
The focus of the Karen J . Honig Memorial Lecture has always been children, especially those in urban settings and/or involved with the child welfare or foster care systems. However, given the nation’s renewed sense of urgency for racial justice, the theme for this year’s virtual lecture was Strategies to Address Trauma, Anxiety and Violence Interruption Among Black Males, a topic that is crucial for the advancement of racial justice in marginalized communities. For the lecture, a panel was assembled to bring expertise in trauma-informed clinical practice with youth and families, community violence, and violence intervention and prevention, in order to fully explore the theme.
Panel moderator Associate Professor Henrika McCoy has herself researched violent victimization experienced among young Black men . “Young men in marginalized Black communities may experience so many forms of violence and trauma, which have so many ramifications for their mental and physical health and well-being, as well as their progress in our society,” she says . “The importance of addressing these experiences and traumas cannot be overstated . This is why we asked Dr . Olga Osby to present as our special guest panelist .”
Olga Osby, DSW, who has received many honors and accolades throughout her career, is currently co-managing partner of Clean Slate Behavioral Health Solutions, LLC, which provides trauma-informed training to health care, law enforcement, social service and other professionals, and trauma-informed counseling to children, families and communities . It was this range of experience that made her particularly well-suited to this panel.
The other panelists were JACSW faculty members, each bringing essential knowledge and experience to inform this discussion . Assistant Professor Kathryn Bocanegra has over fifteen years of experience in community mental health and violence prevention, and is advancing survivor-centric reforms to criminal justice processes and developing community-based models of public safety. Dr . Joseph Strickland brought 25 years’ experience in community-based advocacy and programs for affordable housing, community development, ex-offenders, youth, and community health, and has a research focus of how Black males bounce back from the traumas of incarceration and street violence .
“Addressing racial injustice has long been a pillar of the college’s mission and the work of its faculty, whether the injustice occurs in schools, the criminal justice system or other environments . It is affirming to see social workers and social work educators joining these discussions, and calling for justice with an energy and interest seldom seen before,” says JACSW Dean Creasie Finney Hairston . “Yet we know the magnitude of the task that lies before us, the work we have still to do, on a number of fronts . To help meet that challenge, the college will continue to foster these sorts of dialogues – in a spirit of openness and inclusivity, even if uncomfortable at times – in the knowledge that we share a common goal of achieving justice and equity for all people . Working together, we can make a difference for individuals, families and communities of color .”
This article was printed in the UIC Jane Addams School of Social Work Spring 2021 Edition of “Affirmations”.
The Top Three Highlights of 2020 as SOS Illinois Closes the Door on its 30th Anniversary Year
“Home Alone” and “Dances with Wolves” were released. “Beverly Hills, 90210” premiered. The Hubble space telescope was placed into orbit. The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed. “Sue” the best-preserved Tyrannosaurus Rex ever (now at the Field Museum) was discovered. Nelson Mandela was released from a South African prison. Thirty-four countries met in Paris, France to formally mark the end of the Cold War. This remarkable list of things and more share something in common with SOS Children’s Villages Illinois: This past year, we all turned 30.
As SOS Illinois embarked on the celebration of our 30th year of providing innovative, transformational care to children in foster care and at-risk youth and families, we reached several significant milestones – all during a most unprecedented time due to the COVID-19 virus. To wrap up this year of important moments in our organization’s history, we would like to share the top three highlights of 2020.
As we embarked on the celebration of our 30th year of providing innovative, transformational care to children in foster care and at-risk youth and families, SOS Illinois reached several significant milestones – all during a most unprecedented time due to the COVID-19 virus. To wrap up this year of important moments in our organization’s history, we would like to share the top three highlights of 2020:
#3 Innovation: Uplifted by the Generosity of Our Amazing Donors
We are grateful for the immense support of our corporate partners and donors who found new ways of supporting us in a most unprecedented year. As COVID-19 interrupted every facet of life, we were grateful our services were deemed essential; and therefore, continued without interruption.
As an organization with a 30-year history of having faced both challenges and successes, we were thankful we did not have to confront this uncertainty alone. SOS Illinois rose to the occasion; and we did this with the help of our Board of Directors and amazing friends. For your outpouring of encouragement, we are so thankful that you stayed connected to us during these unprecedented times. We are pleased to be able to share a few highlights:
In the early weeks of the pandemic through August, SOS Illinois families received meals twice a week from the #FeedItForward initiative, started by the Lavin Family Foundation.
Swissôtel Chicago held a free give-back initiative with a virtual story hour where they matched donations, delivered groceries to each of our families’ homes, helped us host our Zoom events for Foster Parent Appreciation and our virtual graduations, as well as supported our Holiday Giving Program.
Christian and Sibi Bale recognized the importance of having a good computer to work on for school during this pandemic and donated a new Chromebook to each household and connected us with Baby2Baby to provide baby supplies for our youngest youth in care.
HSBC’s Hispanic Latin Diversity Committee donated 75 brand new Dell “Venue 10 Pro 5056” tablets, keyboards, and more for our families to use in their remote learning efforts. So many thanks for helping our children succeed.
The Ignite a Better World Foundation, Synchrony Bank, and the United Way of Will County among dozens of other individual and corporate donors donated funds specifically to address ongoing expenses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Chicago Regatta presented by Wintrust kept hope afloat with on-water racing during the regatta and a virtual auction and event afterwards.
The Related Lendlease Charity Golf Classic looked a bit different, but went off without a hitch and supported our families in an amazing response from longtime supporters. Thank you so much.
Evening of Hope took a turn onto the “Information Superhighway” and held a virtual event in November. Committee Members, Honorees, Sponsors, and attendees raised an incredible amount of money for the children in our care. Also, a special thanks to Actor David Eigenberg, Swissôtel Chicago Executive Chef Dan McGee, and an SOS Illinois Alumnus for participating in a special cookie baking segment.
Chicago Bear’s Player Deon Bush shared Thanksgiving Dinners with Chicago Village Families, and during the holidays, Chicago Bear’s Defensive End Akiem Hicks and his mother spread holiday cheer in a safe, and socially distanced celebration.
Holiday Giving donors pivoted with us to start online teams and raise funds for our Foster Parents to purchase holiday gifts for the youth in our care. This particular campaign raised over $55,000! This is in addition to many meals, treats, and other gifts delivered to our families this season.
We are incredibly grateful to all our donors, and would like to specifically thank: Christian and Sibi Bale; Swissôtel Chicago; Bohne Foundation; T-Mobile; Chicago Blackhawks Foundation; Chicago Yacht Club; Synchrony Bank; PHMG; Lochner; Central Church of Chicago Foundation; Conagra Foods; CC’s Wish List/ Enchanted Backpack; Lavin Family Foundation; BorgWarner; Maestro Cares Foundation; Goya Foods; Atlas Wealth Management; Headwaters Relief Organization; Home Depot in Homer Glen/The Home Depot Foundation; Win Biernacki and Rama Dandamudi, M.D.
#2 Resilience: Responding to COVID-19 to Keep Children and Families Safe
COVID-19 made this year of providing care to children and families very different from prior years. As a result, operations of the organization had to adapt. With these new and unforeseen changes, SOS Illinois reacted rapidly to successfully navigate the new pandemic. SOS Illinois first responded quickly by ensuring children and families were safe, as well as provided appropriate personal protective equipment. From there, SOS Illinois had a strategic focus on safety, education, behavioral health, and diversity & inclusion at our Villages and sites.
Safety: As we reopened the administrative sites, we took precautionary measures by putting into place additional protocols. Read a special message from our CEO, Tim McCormick, on the safety measures we took.
Education: As Foster Parents took on the additional roles related to our children’s virtual education, we realized additional support was needed. With the expertise of Win Biernacki, video segments for Foster Parents helped answer questions regarding online education. We also developed an entirely new Education Department focused on supporting every age and level of learning at our Villages as e-learning continued. See how we celebrated our graduates virtually this year.
Behavioral Health: The level of uncertainty experienced by all of us was challenging and in many ways traumatic, which is all too often part of what occurs for children entering the foster care system. Group sessions via Zoom took place, and resources were being provided to help Foster Parents. Also, we participated in Mental Illness Awareness Week.
Diversity & Inclusion: As our Villages and services continue to care for children and families of diverse racial and ethics backgrounds, SOS Illinois made the commitment to do more to provide diversity and inclusion training, workshops, and education for our Foster Parents and staff. Additionally, a committed group if staff have led this effort throught the Racial Justice Committee, which will launch initiatives in 2021.
#1 Determination: The Opening of the Roosevelt Square Community Center
The Roosevelt Square Community Center, designed by internationally recognized architect Juan Moreno and construction led by Lendlease, was completed this year, even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks due to construction being deemed an essential service. The Center is an 11,000 square-foot facility that features a 3,000 square-foot multipurpose room, Goya Learning Kitchen, learning annex, staff offices, playground, community garden, and more. Even with the uncertainty that COVID-19 presented, thanks to the tireless work of the construction teams, the Center was completed on time and on budget.
Most notable about this building, is that it is a first-of-its-kind for the City of Chicago. The Center is the first public building in the City allowed to be fully constructed from cross laminated timbers, as well as glulam columns and beams. Additionally, other sustainable and renewable energy sources like solar panels, energy efficient appliances, light fixtures, and a community garden, reflect the focus of building sustainable futures for our children, as well as our desire to help create a greener future for our City.
Launching this Center was a huge milestone for SOS Illinois and will be a lasting legacy as it continues to serve over 5,000 children and community members for years to come.
Special thank you, once again, to all of the donors, partners, and board members who helped to make the Roosevelt Square Community Center a reality. From philanthropy, to in-kind support, to countless hours of service, we are deeply grateful to you all. Learn more about the Center and our donors in our virtual tour.
Saying Goodbye to 2020 and Hello to the Next 30 Years
SOS Illinois has been proud to provide three decades of hope through the phenomenal individuals of staff, board members, volunteers, corporate partners, and donors working together tirelessly to support the important mission of caring for Illinois’ most vulnerable children and families. Thank you, and we look forward to the next 30 years.
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Mercy Home's 28th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting
BRIGHTER TOGETHER!
This year’s Christmas Tree Lighting at Mercy Home took place LIVE over YouTube:
Welcome to Brighter Together: Mercy Home’s 28th Annual Tree Lighting Celebration!
Thank you for joining us as we ring in the Christmas season with this special, virtual tree lighting celebration! We are so excited to share this beloved Mercy Home tradition with all of you.
As we light up the tree, know that you are helping to bring healing and hope to more than 1,400 children and their families. Every donation will help to light up the tree – and make the holiday brighter for our kids!
Please like, subscribe, and share this video with your friends to spread the message of a brighter future for the kids at Mercy Home. Merry Christmas!
Developing Community Leaders: Race Matters
Initiatives at JACSW are helping individuals from communities of color, especially Black communities, acquire the knowledge and skills needed to lead social services and development in their community.
At the forefront of conversations around racial justice have been discussions of how to address the underrepresentation of men of color in social work education and social services leadership positions. JACSW leadership have made these topics a focus, as well as how the College can substantively contribute to the strengthening of community-based social services and community development. The College has, therefore, prioritized the establishment of new initiatives that further strengthen and diversify the MSW program, advance the College’s mission, and enhance workforce development and capacity building in marginalized communities.
Promoting Racial Equity in Social Work Leadership: The We Are Men Program
Now in its second year, the college’s We Are Men (WAM) program recruits Black men with a demonstrated dedication to addressing the needs of impoverished communities, and provides financial assistance and other forms of support to aid them in completing their graduate degree in social work. Upon graduation, they are prepared to provide leadership for health and human services agencies and organizations.
The Need for Black Leadership in the Community
“Looking back on my childhood, I didn’t see examples of African American men in leadership. I didn’t even see Black quarterbacks in football. But when I went to the Boys Club on the West Side of Chicago, I saw Black men in leadership and that was what I looked to. That was important for me,” says alumnus Marvin Lindsey, MSW ’06. “There’s a myth that Black people are not good leaders, or don’t have the capacity to lead, when we know the reason is that Black people usually don’t have the opportunity to lead.”
Lindsey facilitates the WAM program, working in partnership with the program participants and acting as a guide and mentor during their time in the MSW program. Based on his own experiences growing up in Chicago, the program has great personal significance. “This program is really important to me, and I want to devote the rest of my professional career to this effort of recruiting African American men into leadership positions,” Lindsey says. “These men might even run for office, run a political campaign. That’s a very strong possibility. And it has great impact for the community, for young guys who are in grammar school now, seeing Black men leading gives them a lot of hope for their own future.”
Why "We Are Men"?
Why “We Are Men”?
The program’s name echoes the 1968 rallying cry “I Am a Man” used by African American sanitation workers in Memphis, whose protest for racial equity and dignity was sparked by the deaths of two Black workers. Their calls for equity intensified after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and ended in a settlement which included union recognition and wage increases. The We Are Men program honors this legacy by advancing racial justice and dignity for men living and working in contemporary Black communities.
The Benefit to Communities and Social Service Provision
The Benefit to Communities and Social Service Provision
For Dean Creasie Finney Hairston, the positive impact of WAM begins in the classroom but extends far beyond. About the need to increase enrollment of Black men in the college’s MSW program, she says, “The absence of African American males in our classes was concerning, and not only from a perspective of representation. The silence of their voices in discussions about social conditions and programs was noticeable to both instructors and students. For a program that not only values, but depends on diversity and the inclusion of multiple perspectives, this needed to be addressed.”
That void has also been a concern for service agencies providing social services in communities with poor and marginalized populations. In their 2007 report Institutional Racism and the Social Work Profession: A Call to Action, the National Association of Social Workers noted that executive leadership and management positions are occupied predominantly by white people, even in organizations that serve predominantly populations of color. And the situation now is little improved. “Many agency leaders have expressed a desire to have more Black men in positions of leadership, which can bring many benefits to both agencies and the communities they serve,” Hairston says.
Marvin Lindsey is in whole-hearted agreement and thinks that having Black men not only as leaders but as practitioners can make a difference, especially for younger males whose experiences have led them to a position of mistrust. “If a young African-American male is seeking support, it could be beneficial to have a Black person as an option for them,” he says. “It is likely that an African-American practitioner could be more genuinely empathetic to their experiences than a non-Black person would be.”
He also thinks that having more Black people in leadership positions will help guide the provision of social services with greater basis in cultural and historical context, and more authentically reflect the needs of the community. “Cultural insensitivity and implicit bias on the part of practitioners in the past led to misdiagnosis with, for example, Black children receiving a more severe mental health diagnosis,” he says. “Trained practitioners who are from the community can help lead to much greater health equity. In the current environment people are talking a lot about equity, and I think WAM will bring more equity into social work and the realm of leadership for Black men.”
Although WAM and it’s sister program BAM (see below) are new to the college, they are already showing success and year-over-year growth, with a total of 19 African American men enrolled in the college’s MSW program, 15 of whom were enrolled in fall 2020.
Spotlights on the WAM and BAM programs
Spotlight on WAM Participant David Banks
David was always looking for ways to improve the Cleveland community where he grew up, volunteering his time to plant gardens or serve on neighborhood clean-up projects. “I saw so much dysfunction in my environment growing up, of people stuck in a loophole, feeling hopeless and not knowing how to better themselves,” says Banks. “I wanted to break the cycle, make a difference, accept responsibility and be a resource. On college tours in ninth grade I saw examples of what other Black leaders have done and it gave me a sense of what I could do.”In the WAM program, David is already manifesting his skills as a leader and serves as co-president of the program. “There’s no telling where I’d be without We Are Men,” Banks says. “It’s prepared me to do the work needed to ensure vulnerable populations, especially Black men, have the resources needed to grow and create change. It is fighting for social justice in making sure there is opportunity for everyone to have an equal chance and be treated fairly.”
BAM: A Community Partnership
In fall of 2020 the College partnered with the community organization Youth Guidance and their Becoming a Man® (BAM) program to support men of color in obtaining an MSW degree, as they continue their employment as counselors at Youth Guidance, providing crucial social services in the community. Below, JACSW alumnus Michelle Morrison, MSW ’90 and CEO of Youth Guidance, talks about how effective the partnership has been.“When I first met with Dean Hairston, it was crystal clear we were completely aligned on the common goal to have diverse voices informing and leading the field of social work. It was also clear that we wanted to take immediate action, and that is what we’ve done. We currently have six BAM counselors finishing-up their first year of JACSW’s MSW program and the impact has already been tremendous.
We’ve got this amazing staff, rich with experience. They have youth development and clinical expertise, and they have the lived experiences that make them credible messengers, able reach young people in ways that are transformative. What they don’t have, however, is the benefit of a graduate education and a network of social workers.
Greater equity in educational access to opportunity will ultimately help disrupt systems that aren’t working and will help inform policy to remove barriers for the next generation, resulting in increased Black representation and leadership in social work.”
Michelle Morrison, MSW ’90
Chief Executive Officer, Youth Guidance
Addressing the Racial Injustice of Mass Incarceration: Academic Resource Program
For people returning to their community after having been incarcerated, the odds are stacked against successful reentry. They may experience barriers to nearly everything they need to successfully make that transition, including basic needs such as housing, health care, and transportation. They are also effectively barred from social and economic advancement because of barriers to accessing education and employment. And given our nation’s unjust policies in policing, arrests, convictions and sentencing, these barriers are disproportionately experienced by people from poor Black and Latinx communities. For many returning citizens of color, the lack of opportunity, healthy support networks, and dignity and self-worth leaves them disconnected from their community and vulnerable to recidivism.
A Path to Independence and Social Impact
In January of 2021, the Jane Addams Center for Social Policy and Research (Policy Center) launched the first cohort of its Academic Resource Program (ARP). The program addresses the injustice of mass incarceration and its disproportionate impact in communities of color by supporting individuals with justice system involvement in the attainment of a college degree. Leveraging a network of community-based services and partnerships, ARP provides holistic support to help returning citizens bridge the gap between incarceration and higher education, providing access to socioeconomic opportunity and reducing recidivism. The program has received funding from the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) to help achieve these goals.
Joseph Strickland, PhD ’08, Senior Researcher at the Policy Center, says the intent of the program is to support people who have actually served time in jail or prison. He says, “We often use the phrase ‘justice system involvement,’ but for ARP we’re really talking about people who have spent at least a couple years in jail or prison.” Strickland goes on to explain that for many people, lack of education is a prime reason they found themselves incarcerated to begin with. “They may have attended schools with poor educational methods, or somehow they didn’t connect and dropped out, or they performed so poorly in school that they didn’t want to continue their education,” he says. “ARP is here to help people in that situation, people who are returning to their community and need a network to support them in attaining a college degree.”
Strickland notes the critical need to connect returning citizens to a healthy support network that can help translate into socioeconomic autonomy and success. “If you come from a community and a social network where most members are living unhealthy lifestyles, then your chances of recidivating are higher when you return to that environment,” he observes. “By connecting people to a more positive and healthy social network, they’re provided with social capital that helps them learn more about what opportunities exist in college, as well as after college on the job market.”
The ARP cohort, dubbed Urban Scholars to reflect the impact the program will have for individuals and urban communities, consists of nine people who are pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees at UIC and other Chicago area institutions. “The impact of our Urban Scholars will extend beyond their own individual achievement and into their communities. Some are getting degrees in law, social work, and inner city studies,” says Strickland. “The education they receive will help them provide leadership and become a resource for their community.”
College education is not always an immediate goal for returning citizens, some of whom are motivated to obtain employment and achieve financial independence as soon as possible. For these people, ARP is working with community partners to help them get their GED or access vocational training. “With our community partners we’re able to help people through workforce development services, job and career readiness services, and assistance with their resume or interviewing skills,” Strickland says, adding that the Policy Center is planning virtual events to help connect people to these services, and inform them about the workforce development and educational opportunities available to them. “Some people may not want a college degree now, but it could be an option for them in the future. We want ARP to be a full-spectrum and long-term solution not only for returning citizens, but for their communities,” he says.
Beyond Ban-the-Box: Understanding and Reforming College Admissions Practices
Beyond Ban-the-Box: Understanding and Reforming College Admissions Practices
Terrell Campbell serves as director of the ARP program, and he is also undertaking a survey of policies at many institutions of higher education in the Chicago metropolitan area, as they relate to people with a criminal background. He is examining admissions policies, practices and procedures, both formal and informal, and is gathering relevant information from institutional offices of admissions, housing and diversity.
Campbell says initial findings of the survey reveal considerable variation from institution to institution. Many have a checkbox on their application, some do not, and some lack a checkbox but ask about criminal background during the admissions process. In making enrollment decisions, an institution might consider the kind and severity of the offense, and whether or not there are multiple offenses. Returning citizens may also face barriers with financial aid, or be excluded because of certain drug crimes. And at some institutions, failure to disclose a criminal background may result in dismissal.
“We want to be able to provide practical guidance to returning citizens on how best to navigate the college admissions process,” Campbell says. “When it comes to being asked about their background, a returning citizen can experience some trauma simply by being asked that question, having to think about and relive the experience. We don’t want someone to see the checkbox on one application and just assume that every school does that.” Strickland agrees, adding, “One of the main points of ARP is to provide situational capital to guide people through these processes, while applying, while enrolled and through graduation. There is a saying: If you know more you can do more.”
A longer-term goal of this research is to facilitate policy reform around issues of access to education for returning citizens. “Much of the work we do at the Policy Center is focused on policy reform to achieve justice and equity,” Strickland says. “It’s important for elected officials and university administrators to understand the impact of their policies and the ways in which they can function as barriers to success for this population. These people already face so many barriers, why make it any harder for them to achieve success?”
This article was printed in the UIC Jane Addams School of Social Work Spring 2021 Edition of “Affirmations”.
SOS Illinois Participates in Mental Illness Awareness Week 2020
During this time, we have learned our health is linked; and we have experienced a ripple effect. The health of one person, one neighborhood, one city, one state, one nation, has been tested. The same is true of our mental health. Our connectedness is forcing us to stay apart physically, but emotionally we need each other to get through this. By staying home we protect our world’s physical health, but by connecting through a phone call, zoom meeting, or social media we protect each other’s mental health. We are each other’s strength. Join SOS Illinois in support for Mental Illness Awareness Week – #MIAW.
SOS Children’s Villages Illinois is raising awareness for mental health October 4-10 in an effort to ensure children in foster care have the opportunity to lead healthy and fulfilling lives. We place great importance on the mental health of the children in our care. That’s why SOS Illinois has a dedicated team of clinicians that provide trauma-informed therapeutic services for each of the children and families we serve.
Children in Foster Care are 60% More Likely to Struggle with a Mental Health Condition
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, Healthy Foster Care American Initiative, mental and behavioral health is the “greatest unmet health need for children and teens in foster care.” The statistics for children in foster care in relation to mental health issues are alarming, especially considering the following statistics on youth mental health in the general population:
1 in 6 U.S. youth aged 6-17 experience a mental health disorder each year
Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among people aged 10-34
The average delay between onset of mental illness symptoms and treatment is 11 years
17.2% of the general population of high school students have “serious thoughts” of suicide, including 47.7% of lesbian, gay, and bisexual high school students
50% of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14
High school students with significant symptoms of depression are more than twice as likely to drop out compared to their peers
70.4% of youth in the juvenile justice system have a diagnosed mental illness
For youth in foster care, especially those within the LGBTQ+ community, these statistics are increased.
Psychotropic Medications Prescribed Present Alarming Concerns
Medications such as mood stabilizers, anti-anxiety prescriptions, antipsychotics and stimulants are being prescribed to youth in foster care as a method of treatment for behavioral and mental health issues in children as young as 3 years of age.
Research has identified alarming concerns in relation to the administration of these psychotropic medications, including the fact that oftentimes multiple medications are used simultaneously from the onset of treatment.
The SOS Illinois Village model of care presents daily, regular opportunities for youth in foster care to obtain guidance, counseling and support that offers a stable environment centered around the healing of traumatic events in their lives so that they may break free from the limitations set by their mental health conditions and eliminate their dependency on psychotropic medications.
The Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act Seeks to Closely Monitor Administration of Psychotropic Medications
This Act was brought into effect in 2011 and requires that State Child and Family Services Plans includes details of how emotional trauma associated with maltreatment for children in foster care is addressed, including details on how psychotropic medication usage is monitored.
You can read more about the Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act here.
In addition to the monitoring of psychotropic medication usage, the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoption Act of 2008 requires that each state consult with pediatricians and additional experts in order to develop a plan for the coordination and oversight of medical and mental health services for children in foster care.
SOS Illinois Provides Opportunities for Healing and Longevity
Each child that enters our Villages has a dedicated support system from the very start. From our full-time Foster Parents to our on-site clinicians, therapists, mentors, case managers, support staff and more, the youth in our care are able to find safety and security in knowing they’re surrounded by a community that only wants the best for them.
These children are offered a real chance at renewing their sense of trust and hope. They’re also able to heal from the traumas of their past while gaining footing on steady ground in an effort to provide them the confidence, skills and resources they need in order to become responsible and caring adults.
SOS Illinois Supports the #MIAW Campaign
You are not alone #MIAW
The theme of this year’s Mental Illness Awareness Week is, “What People with Mental Illness Want You to Know.” Throughout the week, we will be raising the voices of those with lived experience to talk about some of the conditions and symptoms that are most misunderstood.
Mental Illness Awareness Week runs from October 4 – 10 and coincides with additional related events:
Tuesday Oct. 6: National Day of Prayer for Mental Illness Recovery and Understanding
Thursday Oct. 8: National Depression Screening Day
Saturday Oct. 10: World Mental Health Day
Saturday Oct. 10: NAMI Walks National Day of Hope
You Are Not Alone
NAMI continues our year-long awareness campaign, You Are Not Alone, to feature the stories of people affected by mental illness to fight stigma, inspire others and educate the broader public. Now more than ever, the mental health community must come together and show that no one is ever really alone. No one should be without the information, support, connection and help they need.
How To Participate in #MIAW
There are many ways to get involved and remind people they are not alone by sharing stories about how connecting with someone during the health crisis has affected you, or what it means to have access to care by sharing through text, graphics, video or any other medium.
Follow SOS Illinois during the #MIAW Campaign
During Mental Illness Awareness Week, and the full month of October, SOS Illinois will be sharing resources, insights, and wisdom about caring for your own mental health, and supporting the mental health of others. You can find us on our social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. Additionally, we will be sharing information about the ways that our Village Model of Care helps to support the mental health of youth in foster care, and how you can get involved to help get our communities happy and healthy.
View the original post here.
Navigating Our Next Steps at SOS Illinois
As Illinois continues to navigate the state of the current health crisis, and as our nation works to heal the damages of racism, SOS Illinois continues to assess our changing course of action. Despite the many unknown factors still facing us, as a nonprofit serving communities hit hardest by current events, there is much assurance in the belief that we must first and foremost act upon the goodness that is ours. We will continue to heal, teach, and strengthen children, as well as guide them to move beyond fears and uncertainty. By leading each child to take the much-needed steps, we show them they can trust in the power of the human spirit and in authentic, unconditional, and powerful love. Out of such love for others, we will be implementing new protocols on our journey to provide more services in each of our Villages. During the next few months, we will have a strategic focus on safety, education, behavioral health, and diversity & inclusion for our Villages.
Addressing Safety at SOS Illinois
Gov. Pritzker signed an Executive Order called – Restoring Illinois – Protecting Our Communities – to safely and conscientiously resume activities that were paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While programming and services at SOS Illinois were deemed essential and work continued throughout the “stay at home” order, administrative offices were closed with staff access to offices on a need-only basis.
As we reopen administrative sites, we are taking precautionary measures by putting into place additional protocols. These actions will help us ensure good sanitation practices, social distancing, protective face coverings, and self-monitoring are in place. We are adding these steps in order to maximize the health and well-being of our children and families, Foster Parents and staff, as well as birth parents and visitors.
Each site will have limitations as to the number of staff that can be present at any given time. This applies to high traffic areas, as well as individual offices and cubicle areas. Furthermore, these protocols will extend into our homes, where Foster Parents have diligently and mindfully followed all social distancing precautions while providing ongoing support for the children in their care. The extra measures are meant to provide a standardized response to ensure all homes are protected as staff members and birth parents resume in-home visits.
Assessing Educational Needs at SOS Illinois
During the special circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, having accessible, educational resources for Foster Parents and children was and continues to be vital. As Foster Parents took on the additional roles of teachers due to online learning in the spring, it quickly became clear that certain factors, such as the age of the children and whether they could be self-directed, access to a decent computer or device, as well as having good internet were of paramount concern.
Across the nation, parents shared struggles with the new notion of e-learning, and continue to do so as the new academic year begins. Due to the suddenness with which states shut down, very few could adequately prepare for these circumstances, including our teachers and schools. Our Foster Parents, like so many other parents, dug in and did all they could to keep children on task and progressing through assignments. We’ve been fortunate to receive a donation of Chromebooks for each home to make e-learning more accessible. Additionally, we have equipped homes with higher speed internet and will address ongoing concerns. As the semester begins, we will continue to assess the types of support SOS Illinois can provide to Foster Parents as it relates to in-home schooling, supporting diverse learning, and more.
During the summer, we were extremely fortunate to have had this process started by Win Biernacki, a longtime SOS Illinois supporter and wife of SOS Illinois Board Member and Former Board President, Don Biernacki, who graciously offered video segments for Foster Parents in order to answer their questions on virtual learning, at-home education, and supporting our children’s academic needs during this health crisis. We built d upon this and hired a consultant, who focused on writing and implementing an educational plan that will support every age and level of learning at our Villages should e-learning continue. Additionally, we will be onboarding a new educational team that will support our children and staff so that they are able to truly thrive in this remote schooling environment. Look forward to us sharing an update on how our children and families are adjusting to a new semester of at home learning later this fall.
Providing Support for Behavioral Health
The level of uncertainty experienced by all of us was challenging and in many ways trauma, which is all too often part of what occurs for children entering the foster care system. Yet, uncertainty, fear, and brokenness can be a source of hope. On weekly calls between senior leadership and Foster Parents at each site, our discussions quickly moved beyond fear to our collective notion of hope in each other. We trusted that despite having to remain physically apart (out of love for others), we were united and most capable of conquering fears to reestablish the certitude of our hope in each other to create a better tomorrow.
From this experience we have come to understand that just as important as our safety and education are, so too is our mental health as well as that of the children in our care. We will be working with our parents and staff to take the next steps to dialogue with children in order to let them know that the brokenness in our society will not define us, but motivate us to be who we really are – a people on a common journey towards the good.
Already, staff at SOS Illinois have established outlets for different age groups in order to address some of these behavioral health needs. Group sessions via Zoom are taking place, and resources are being provided to help Foster Parents be able to begin conversations that deal with larger, complex issues related to events taking place in our city and around our country.
Chief Operating Officer, Delphine Rankin, shared this reflection in a recent team meeting that summarizes the efforts of the Village. “I am proud and grateful we have been able to react to so many challenges and faced incredible change without hesitation as a result of the health crisis. No one blamed anyone, and no one faltered. Our Villages pulled together, and with a team effort rallied through this unprecedented time.” Using that same approach, we will now face the next challenges, knowing that at the core of all things, the safety, well-being of the children in our care is of the utmost importance.
Embracing Diversity and Inclusion on our Villages
As our Villages and services continue to care for children and families of diverse racial and ethics backgrounds, SOS Illinois is making the commitment to do more to provide diversity and inclusion training, workshops, and education for our Foster Parents and staff. As Chicago continues to be a primary focal point in the fight to eradicate racism – especially racism that affects Black children and adults – we recognize that it is important now more than ever to unify as a force aligned with anti-racism efforts in our city and beyond.
In response to this growing need, SOS Illinois had gathered a specialized Racial Justice Committee. The goal of this committee, spearheaded by an outside consultant, is to “advance the core mission of SOS Children’s Villages Illinois by critically assessing and creating strategies with a focus on innovative methods to create on-going plans for continued areas for education, training, and advocacy in areas of promoting equality, addressing racism and bias, and advocating for social justice reforms both within the organization and surrounding communities.” This committee, made up of staff and Foster Parents, will continue to work together over the next year on identifying the areas of greatest need without our organization and surrounding communities to address racial bias an intolerance, as well as to create opportunities for culture-sharing and respectful conversation.
We’re looking forward to sharing the ways this new committee will help strengthen our community through a four-part blog series premiering on our blog in September.
Continuing to Move Forward
Like other communities around us, we understand that our collective future comes with some uncertainty. However at SOS Illinois, we are taking an active approach at navigating our next steps with care, tact, and compassion for one another. You can stay updated on each moment by subscribing to our e-newsletter and can support our efforts to keep our children and families safe by making an online gift today.
Please view the initial blog post here.
Seattle Adoption Agency Searches Files to Help Adoptees Uncover Family Secrets
A Seattle-based adoption agency is unearthing secrets thousands of people didn't even know existed.
Author: Michelle Li (KING5)
Originally Published: 11:39 AM PST February 22, 2020
SEATTLE — A Seattle-based adoption agency is unearthing secrets that potentially thousands of people didn't know existed.
The Amara adoption agency is searching through files from 1950 to 1999 to bring light to information that never reached adopted children who are now well into adulthood. The effort has been dubbed "Project Search and Reunion." It is an unprecedented move by any adoption agency.
“Within each of these files are sometimes baby photos of an adoptee that they've never seen before," explained Angela Tucker, Amara's post-adoption director and creator of the program. "We feel that is an injustice for it to just to be sitting here. We want to get it back to whom it belongs."
Amara has been conducting adoptions since the 1920s. It has around 6,000 files stored away in a water and fireproof room, which is required by Washington state law. The law makes adoption agencies keep the records for at least 99 years, never to be seen by an actual adoptee.
Adoptees often don't know rooms like these exist at every adoption agency in the country. So, they have no idea what information they could be missing. Laws like Washington’s are similar across the country. Even though Amara cannot disclose specific information, like the names of birth parents, Amara adoption specialists can share other information that may shed light on an adoptee's past.
“Adoption practices have changed over the decades," said Tucker. "Fifty years ago, we really believed that secrecy was best for kids that were being adopted. Today, we kind of believe the opposite."
For example, 50 years ago social workers would think it would be damaging for a child to know they had siblings. Today, the thought is that it would be in the best interest of the child to know they have siblings. Amara has thousands of files that include baby pictures, medical information, stories about birth families, and even gifts that never got to the adoptee.
Tucker believes this information is critical to an adoptee and their families, partly because she's experienced a reunion with her birth family.
"When I found my birth parents in the state of Tennessee, I learned my birth mother's hair was graying when she gave birth to me," said Tucker. “That little nugget of information helped me understand a lot about her. That's something that many people wouldn't think is that important for me to know, but for me to know it was crucial."
Tucker sports a noticeable gray patch in the front part of her hair.
In each file at the agency, there is the adoptive family's home study which includes information prior to them adopting a child and a social worker's notes making sure they were an appropriate family for adoption. Files may also contain medical documents about the birth parents, the newborn's hospital band, a picture of the birth parents or baby, and legal documents. Amara believes that information should be shared and owned by the adoptee, at least as much as the law dictates.
For example, Amara might not be able to share the name of a birth mother, but it could share that the woman loved horses. For most people, it would be a small detail, but when a woman named Patty learned that exact detail from her file, she said it was electrifying.
"Nobody else in my family was into horses," explained Patty. "Everything clicked. It is a definite connection. I couldn't understand how anyone could not love horses, you know? My [adoptive] mom was scared to death of them."
Patty also learned that her birth father had left her a ring for her 16th birthday. Social workers forgot about the ring and it sat in Amara's file room for 60 years, until recently. Patty now wears that ring on a necklace every day.
"It was amazing," said Patty. "Even though I had hoped over the years that they wanted to be in touch with me, too. I didn't know."
"For Patty to learn this information is simultaneously amazing, and great, and tragic," said Tucker. "That tells us that he cared about her, and what a loss for him to never know that she got [the ring] and that she treasures it."
Through Project Search and Reunion, Patty also learned her birth father was killed in the Korean War, her birth mother is still alive, and Patty has biological siblings.
"I suppose it's kind of like being born again," said Patty.
Patty recently turned 69, and at the time of the interview, she wanted to legally proceed with contacting her biological family.
Amara continues to look for volunteers to help with Project Search and Reunion. The agency is also educating other adoption agencies about its groundbreaking work.
"It's an injustice that we didn't know this before, and that we had to rely on an agency to create a project that values them, that sees them," said Tucker. "Loss of control is a common denominator for adopted people. We're always waiting for others to tell us about ourselves. Most people don't have to think about the fact that they know their birthdate; that they know which hospital they were born in; that they know their birth parents' names. Those things are often taken for granted and for adoptees, it's not a right."
Please click here to see the original post.
Welcoming All Families: SOS Illinois Supports Same-Sex Foster Parents
In February 2020, the United States Supreme Court agreed to decide if private foster care agencies in the U.S. can turn down LGBTQ foster parent applicants under religious objectification. Though a decision from SCOUTS has yet to be made, SOS Children’s Villages Illinois recognizes that at the heart of a healthy foster care family is dedication and compassionate support. It is our belief and practice that diverse single adults and couples provide loving, committed care to the children in our Villages, and offer an important perspective to our Village life. We are proud to welcome LGBTQ Foster Parents into the SOS Illinois family, and invite you to consider taking on this life-changing role.
History of LGBTQ Foster Parents in the U.S.
As SOS Illinois celebrates our 30th Anniversary, so too we celebrate the diverse Foster Parents who have joined our community, serving thousands of children across our three Villages in Chicago and Lockport, Illinois. The history of LGBTQ foster parents is, in some ways, parallel to our own, as we have openly welcomed LGBTQ candidates and staff for the last three decades.
Over the last ten years, many child welfare professionals and agencies alike have begun to welcome LGBTQ parents and families in the fold. As early as the 1960s and 1970s, coalitions and advocates began petitioning for state-wide and national recognition of not only same-sex marriages, but same-sex adoptions and foster care placements. Over a thirty-year span, a growing body of research on LGBTQ parents and their children clearly affirms the ability of LGBTQ individuals and same-sex couples to parent, alleviating myths and false narratives about the negative impact on children raised by LGBTQ parents.
In May 2013, the “Every Child Deserves a Family Act” was introduced to U.S. Congress, but was never enacted. This Act would have stipulated that any organization that facilitates the foster and adoptive care of children and has some form of funding from the federal government could not discriminate against prospective foster or adoptive parents based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status. This stipulation also protected children being fostered or adopted from discrimination based sexual orientation and gender identity. However, as this bill would have only applied to organizations and agencies receiving federal funding, private institutions would still have been able to refuse prospective same-sex adults and couples.
Such push-and-pull of policy has not stopped LGBTQ adults from growing their families through foster care and adoption. By 2020, LGBTQ adults are fostering and adopting at rates higher per capita than those outside of the LGBTQ community. In fact, according to Life Long Adoptions, same-sex parents in the United States are four times more likely than different-sex parents to be raising an adopted or fostered child. Among couples with children under the age of 18 in the home, 13% of same-sex parents have an adopted child, compared to just 3% of different-sex parents.
As we continue to move forward with our own mission, we are committed to supporting and encouraging LGBTQ adults and couples to become part of the SOS Illinois community.
Why Support LGBTQ Foster Parents?
Aside from supporting the civic rights of LGBTQ adults, especially in regards to becoming parents, there are unique advantages to including LGBTQ foster parents within foster care communities.
There are more than 450,000 children and youth currently in foster care in the United States, many with diverse backgrounds, identities, and needs. As such, child welfare and foster care agencies are tasked to recruit an equally diverse pool of families to provide crucial support. In particular, LGBTQ foster parents may provide specialized support for LGBTQ children and teens, who are often overrepresented in the foster care population compared to their peers.
According to recent census research, between 7-27% of all youth in foster care identify with a sexual orientation other than “heterosexual,” creating increased needs for empathetic support.
Additionally, according to AdoptUSKids, “LGBTQ families bring particular strengths to parenting children in foster care, including an ability to identify with difficult feelings of isolation or a sense of being ‘different.’” For those within the foster care system, having a parent that understands what it means to be misunderstood by your peers, targeted for harassment, or under-supported by policy is a major benefit.
Becoming a Foster Parent at SOS Illinois
Joining the diverse Foster Parent community at SOS Illinois offers unique opportunities not available within a traditional foster care model.
One of the things that sets SOS Illinois apart from traditional foster care is full-time, professional Foster Parents. The SOS Illinois model places Foster Parents in single-family homes in one of its Villages, where up to six children ranging in age from infants to young adults call home.
For our Foster Parents, daily life involves taking care of each child’s diverse needs and schedules. During the COVID-19 health crisis, the dedication of our Foster Parents is even more remarkable, as they have taken on new roles as at-home teachers and tutors, coaches, and more. Applying to join our community today means that you can join this league of extraordinary single adults and couples committed to providing hope and healing to siblings in Illinois foster care. Learn more today on our Foster Parenting page to see if our inclusive community is right for you.
Please see the original post on SOS Illinois’ website.
COVID-19: The Disproportionate Impact on Marginalized Populations
AFFIRMATIONS Spring 2020
A publication of the Jane Addams College of Social Work, University of Illinois at Chicago
Under orders to shelter at home, there has been a well-intentioned impulse to describe the pandemic as a “great equalizer.” However, the impact of this public health crisis is anything but equal, and disproportionately affects communities of color and other vulnerable populations.
In the early days of America’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals from pop stars to politicians labeled the disease a great equalizer. There is a superficial truth to that statement: both rich and poor are asked to shelter at home, liberals and conservatives all may acquire the virus. But that commonality is a veneer, masking underlying social and economic inequities that make some populations more vulnerable to the disease than others. Such vulnerable populations are typically those who have experienced a history of discrimination and marginalization.
“The most vulnerable populations are those with less access to resources, which makes life more complicated for them,” says Clinical Associate Professor Annette Johnson. “Even before the pandemic, lack of access to resources and opportunity, and lack of access to health care made those individuals and families more vulnerable. During a health crisis such as this, the situation becomes exacerbated in many marginalized communities.”
Black and African-American Communities
More recently, the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus for Chicago’s Black community has received some coverage and discussion, but the magnitude of disproportionality is stunning: as of April 7, 2020, Black Chicagoans comprised 30.1% of the city’s population, yet made up 52.1% of COVID-19 infections and 68.6% of deaths.
People in communities of color often suffer from the kinds of chronic health conditions that during this pandemic have been described as “underlying.” Assistant Professor Kalen Flynn, who has worked with urban youth of color, says that health inequity often has roots in structural social violence that increases rates of trauma among this population. “The traumas experienced by the youth I’ve worked with leads them to be more likely to have obesity, diabetes or heart disease as adults; health conditions that are more prevalent in communities of color and which make people more vulnerable to the virus,” she says. “And then on top of that, many under-resourced communities have limited access to quality health care. The coronavirus pandemic augments all of these preexisting health inequities.”
“People who are low income and people of color are also statistically less likely to have health coverage, and this is especially problematic in a state like Illinois where the Affordable Care Act marketplace is run by the federal government,” adds Assistant Professor Aaron Gottlieb. “Illinois needs permission from the federal level to reopen enrollment for ACA, and they have not agreed to do that. So that creates another limitation on health coverage in poor communities, and lack of coverage can prevent people from getting tested or treated because they fear what the financial implications may be.”
Additionally, there are factors that make Black Americans more at risk for exposure to the virus. Limited educational attainment means many Black people work in jobs that are deemed essential, ensuring that they remain more exposed. Gottlieb, whose work focuses on criminal justice reform, fears that further exposure could also arise from the increased police activity experienced in Black neighborhoods. “A number of police officers have tested positive for the virus, and people in communities of color are more likely to be stopped by police, so they are more likely to be put at risk,” says Gottlieb. “Police are expected to be proactive in stopping crime, not waiting until something has actually happened, which means stopping people and being in close contact. The way we ask police do their jobs in this country is not conducive to stopping COVID-19.”
Undocumented Latinx Communities
Restricted access to healthcare is also a fact of life for undocumented immigrants, who are not eligible for ACA coverage and tend to be employed in jobs that are deemed essential and do not provide health coverage. “People in these communities tend to use community clinics and emergency rooms for their health needs,” says Assistant Professor Daysi Diaz-Strong, “and right now emergency rooms are overwhelmed with coronavirus cases, which impacts their ability to address other more routine problems. Combined with fear to go to a hospital where you might risk getting infected, access to health care is further limited for undocumented families.”
Another complication is the Public Charge Rule, which went into effect in February of this year, and creates the potential for denial of legal permanent residency for individuals who are deemed likely to become a public charge due to lack of economic resources. “This is actually impacting people’s access to health care at this crucial time,” says Diaz-Strong. “If you are an immigrant who is planning to apply for legal status, the government will look to see if you have used public benefits. If you have, you might be considered a public charge and therefore inadmissible to the U.S. The rule applies to a small number of immigrants, but it’s very confusing and makes immigrants afraid to access services.” She adds that the government has said it will not count services used during the pandemic, but that the policy change creates additional confusion, and people may be unaware of the change. “Additionally, many undocumented immigrants simply don’t trust that use of services won’t count against them,” she says.
An additional stressor in the immigrant community is that a Supreme Court decision on DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) is expected in the near future, and there is a lot of anxiety about the potential end of DACA. “Many nonprofits that work with immigrants are preparing for this potential. If immigrants lose DACA, they lose their ability to work,” she says. “And the fact that this is happening during the pandemic creates further complication, stress and anxiety for these families.”
People in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems
“Prisons are places where health and health care are particularly poor to begin with, let alone with an infectious disease like this, and incarcerated people are particularly at risk of getting and spreading the disease because social distance is nearly impossible in prison,” says Aaron Gottlieb. “Also, prisoners tend to have chronic health issues, making COVID-19 potentially more deadly for them. Add to that the aging of the prison population; about 20% of people in Illinois prisons are over 50, and older people are more susceptible to the disease. All of these factors make prisons an especially bad place to be with a disease such as this.”
Gottlieb also points to jails as sites where the virus may easily be spread. “In jails you have many people going in and out all the time, including guards. Someone who is detained in a jail gets exposed to so many people, and detainees aren’t being tested unless they exhibit severe symptoms. And then they’re sent home to their community,” he says. “It seems like a perfect recipe for spreading the disease.”
Associate Professor Henrika McCoy adds, “We know a lot of people are in jail because they don’t have $200 to pay bail, so now because they are poor their lives are being put at risk. Some cities have responded to the pandemic with decarceration, and some have decided to stop incarcerating people who have committed low-level crimes, but certainly not all, and not enough,” she says. “These are places that are already overcrowded, and we know that people of color are overrepresented in the criminal justice system, so they are put at greater risk for getting this virus.”
Gottlieb agrees, adding, “We live in a country where you are more than five times as likely to be incarcerated if you’re Black than if you’re white, and 1.5 times as likely if you’re Latinx. So COVID-19 in prisons and jails is likely to have a disproportionately large impact on people of color.”
McCoy, whose recent research has focused on young men of color, brings the conversation around to the juvenile justice system. “I think we are likely to see increased negative impact on mental health for some young people in the system. Because of social distancing, I know that attorneys are using Zoom to represent their juvenile clients. Based on my experiences as a social worker who worked both sides of the court, both child welfare and juvenile justice, I know how scared young people are when they walk into that courtroom,” she says. “I can’t imagine what it’s like to not have your attorney there with you, to give some level of comfort or support, and help you understand what’s happening when a judge is about to make a decision that could impact the rest of your life. And apparently this is happening across the country.”
She is also concerned about the possibility of increased rates of incarceration resulting from the pandemic’s negative economic impact. “We know crime rates across the country have generally been down, but I am worried about how the recession could raise crime rates. A lot of businesses won’t bounce back from the recession, and there will be job loss and delays in education,” McCoy says. “Historically, we know these factors lead to increased crime rates, which will bring more people into the criminal and juvenile justice systems. We need to be prepared for that aftermath from the pandemic.”
Youth in the Public School System
“There are so many ways that school age children will be impacted by this pandemic,” says Clinical Associate Professor Annette Johnson, chair of the college’s MSW specialization in school social work. “No one was able to really plan for the shutdown of schools, but the ability to adapt to and recover from the shutdown will be a matter of resources, and there are so many inequities in our educational system, so many disparities between schools.”
Johnson particularly worries about students in underserved communities. “In general, most children will not receive the same quality of education virtually. We’re relying on the parents and on technology,” she says. “For those families who don’t have access to technology, who are unable to provide the necessary level of support or don’t have the skillset to provide that support, the pandemic exacerbates the digital divide. Educational outcomes for those children are likely to be especially impacted.”
Another factor is the loss of school programs and after school programs that support at-risk students. “I think of schools as being almost a parent for six hours a day, and for some young people that can be a great stabilizer,” she observes. “Think about the loss of that support system, and what’s happening in those families now. We simply don’t know how the students are faring throughout the shutdown.”
Johnson is also thinking about the longer-term implications for students and for the system’s response when students return to school. “It’s going to be a new normal in the schools, and we don’t know what that new normal is going to be,” she says. “What will be the social emotional health of these young people and their families, what will we see around issues of domestic violence, child abuse or neglect? That is going to manifest in ways we can’t really anticipate, but that we need to start thinking about.”
Also requiring more attention and care will be students’ mental health coming out of the pandemic and the shelter at home and Johnson indicates that students will have experienced some level of trauma. “This has been traumatic for all of us, in ways we may not even be aware of, but I think young people will be especially impacted. We are going to see students with issues around trauma, and loss and separation, because there will be some losses here, especially in the African American community,” she says. “I think we may need to look at research that has been done in war-torn countries where families have experienced significant crisis for long periods of time. Whatever trauma these children experience, the schools will have to own a lot of that, and be responsible for addressing it, because that’s where youth spend such a large portion of their day.”
Children and Families in the Child Welfare System
The impact on families involved in the child welfare system will be variable and may depend on where the family is on the continuum of services. At one end of the continuum, social distancing may have the effect of obscuring incidents that typically bring a family into the system. “With social distancing and orders to stay at home, especially for children and families who are more at risk, there is now a lack of what we call sentinels, individuals outside the family who can observe and report cases of abuse or neglect,” says Assistant Professor Christina Myers, whose work focuses on child welfare policy and practice. “The system relies on school social workers, school counselors, therapists and other individuals to report such incidents. For families not already in the system and with children now staying home from school, there could be an increase in cases that go unreported.”
She also worries about an increase in stressors that tend to amplify negative parent-child interactions. “At-risk families are already dealing with a variety of stressors. During the pandemic, if they’re worried about health, or the parents are going through financial challenges, all those kinds of things carry through to parenting and that can heighten tensions,” she says. “And children are home all day and require more care from the parents, so the parents are more stressed, and the children may experience greater levels anxiety. All of this can increase negative parent-child interactions, with mental health implications for the children.”
Myers notes that Illinois DCFS has responded to the pandemic by adapting the way it delivers services. For cases of abuse or neglect, it seems that in-person investigations are still being conducted, but caseworker visits for families receiving ongoing or foster care services are being conducted virtually or by phone. “Because case worker visits are being done virtually, they are now happening weekly instead of monthly,” she says. “Interestingly, that could have a beneficial effect of strengthening the relationship between the case worker and the family, and making families feel more supported. It might also help the caseworkers achieve a fuller understanding of what that family is going through and what their concerns are. That’s speculation, but it will be interesting to see how this plays out.”
The Impact on Service Delivery in the Community
The pandemic has forced many social service agencies to change how they deliver services and conduct their business. Private sector companies and other organizations with access to resources have responded with the rapid implementation of and reliance on new technologies. For many community-based non-profit organizations, which are often under-resourced and operate on shoestring budgets, the shift to operating virtually has been much more difficult.
Henrika McCoy observes that this is another example of the digital divide in America. “I know there are staff at agencies who are not familiar with the technologies needed to function virtually. These people provide crucial services in our communities, and they are not prepared for a disruption like the coronavirus, requiring social distance and staying at home,” she says. “Additionally, so many of their clients are not able to use the technology or may not have access to a computer. The requirement of technology to maintain public health may actually get in the way of people receiving services that they need.”
As an example, McCoy cites an agency she knows that has struggled to get paperwork signed by clients, paperwork needed for the agency to be reimbursed for the services they provide. “The agency has no experience using PDFs or working with ZIP files. Until now, they had done everything on paper and that was working for them,” she says. “But that’s doesn’t work now. How can an organization like that adapt to the new reality of the pandemic, to get services to the people who need it, but also to meet their own financial needs? Again, we see that a crisis such as the coronavirus tends to magnify existing social and economic disparities.”
Amidst the pandemic’s starkly disproportionate impact in the Black community, Joseph Strickland, PhD, Associate Director of the Jane Addams Center for Social Policy and Research, sees a potential positive outcome that could arise from the crisis. “One result of the disproportionate impact on poor communities of color is that officials at the state, county and local levels have come to understand the need to have boots on the ground in the community, in order to properly respond to such a health crisis. A community-centered approach is something that the Center has long advocated for,” he says. “In the past, resources and investment tended to go to larger organizations outside the community. Maybe now we can start to see investment in the community, and see grassroots organizations getting the resources they need to respond in a situation like this. It’s just good public policy and good public health.”
This article was printed in the UIC Jane Addams School of Social Work Spring 2020 Edition of “Affirmations”.
SOS Children's Villages Illinois: The Connection Between Public Health Crises & Child Abuse
Please visit the original post on the SOS Children’s Villages of Illinois website.
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Over the last several month, our world has been facing a health crisis, with the United States not immune to the toll of COVID-19. While this is a significant concern for national and global health and economics, there is another epidemic that affects our communities; one that is exasterbated by the COVID-19 pandemic: child abuse. As April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, SOS Children’s Villages Illinois is working to point out the connection between crisis moments like COVID-19 and an increased rate of child abuse in vulnerable communities. By creating important education around this issue, we are committed to keeping children safe through continued reporting, intervention, and healing services.
What is Child Abuse?
Child abuse presents itself in many forms including physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, as well as neglect. There are several mportant statistics of child abuse to consider to understand the severity of this issue, including:
There are nearly 3 million reports of child abuse in the United States every year.
Reports show that approximately 5 children die every day from abuse and most of these children are under the age of 3.
It’s estimated that 1 in 4 girls are sexually abused before the age of 18 usually by a family member.
90% of child victims know the perpetrator in some way, and 68% are abused by a family member.
In many cases, children are too fearful to tell someone about the abuse they endure, so many cases of abuse and neglect are only reported because someone noticed a sign of abuse. This is why it is so important for communities to learn what the signs of abuse are so that we can prevent it together. Learn more about the signs of child abuse and how you can prevent it here.
How Does COVID-19 Impact Abuse Statistics?
There are a number of factors present during the current health crisis that can contribute to an increase in child abuse.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries and specific states have been asked to maintain social distancing ordinances and remain at home as much as possible. While this is important so that the virus might not spread further, it is affecting other areas of life.
Many parents are experiencing heightened stress due to lack of work, food, resources, and more. By not being able to go to work, unemployment rates have increased, causing these types of financial insecurity. Further, as most schools are currently closed, many parents are required to help educate their children through virutal classes and e-assignments. This comes with increased concern for parents who are working from home full-time, have limited education or language skills, or other barriers. All of these element can cause significant amounts of stress. As stress is a main factor contributing to child abuse, we can draw a correlation between rising instances of both.
As children are remaining in the home with parents who have significantly increased stress levels, there is additional risk of stress being taken out on children through verbal or phyiscal abuse. Additionally, as child are spending most, if not all, of their time at home, reports of child abuse are declining. As educators, coaches, church officials, and community members are often the most common reporters of suspected abuse, those who typically file a report are not in contact with the children. This means that instances of abuse may be going unreported, not allowing for proper intervention to take place.
What You Can Do to Prevent Child Abuse During This Time
It’s a little difficult to report child abuse if you are not in contact with a child during this time of social distancing. However, we can all do our part to diminish the factors that contribute to child abuse. This includes helping a family that you know might be under more stress than usual, whether financially, physically, or mentally. There are practical actions that can make a major difference in helping to decrease stressors in the home of a loved one, peer, student, or community member. Some examples include:
Buying necessary groceries, cleaning supplies, toiletries, and resources for a neighbor with minimal income and dropping it off at their door
Checking in with neighbors, friends, and coworkers on the phone to see if they need any support
Connecting with students and families that you know are of increased risk during this time, such as those who with parents that are unemployed
Sending parents helpful tools for online learning, working from home, and indoor activities
Following up on any reported but unresolved suspected instances of abuse or neglect in the home
Seeking a wellness check on a neighbor, student, or community member who has been absent from virtual gatherings (such as online classroom sessions, virtual church services, and more)
For educators, making sure to follow all professional procedures is important to ensure that privacy and confidentialy is maintained.
Supporting the Children Abuse Prevention Efforts of SOS Children’s Villages Illinois
You can help to spread awareness of Child Abuse Prevention Month in support of SOS Illinois by sharing our blogs, social media posts, and resources on your own social platforms and webpages. By doing so, you not only help to strengthen the awareness of SOS Illinois in the community, but can provide life-saving tools that decrease instances of abuse and neglect.
Feeling extra empowered to make a difference during Child Abuse Prevention Month and the current health crisis? Make a gift to SOS Illinois today to help sustain the programs and services offered to children in foster care and at-risk families, and join our digital connection efforts to get others involved.