The aim of this study was to create a tool capable of measuring parents’ experiences of discrimination when obtaining healthcare for their children, capturing their parental identities and perceptions of discrimination in the healthcare setting. Discrimination experiences, including racial, ethnic, and healthcare discrimination, have negative health effects across the lifespan. Parents have an essential role in pediatric healthcare, which is distinct from the role of other caregivers in pediatric and non-pediatric healthcare settings. Though measures of discrimination in healthcare settings exist, few psychometrically valid tools evaluating parents’ experiences of healthcare discrimination are readily available. A measure of parental racial/ethnic discrimination in healthcare was developed. Items were generated with theoretical and empirical literature followed by expert panel review. Items were tested among a population of US-based adult parents via online survey using exploratory factor analysis. Reliability, construct, and criterion validity were assessed. Item generation resulted in an acceptable pool of test items based on relevance and clarity (mean CVI = 0.94 and 0.70, respectively). Exploratory factor analysis resulted in a two-factor solution, one of which was related to discrimination experiences and demonstrated reliability ( α α = 0.90) and construct and criterion validity (r = 0.52–0.74) with existing scales. The final six-item scale measuring parental discrimination experiences offers a way to better understand discrimination experiences unique to parents in the pediatric healthcare setting. Further validation with larger samples utilizing more traditional recruitment practices is recommended.

Social work researchers must intentionally and explicitly be anti-racist in commitments and actions if we are to disrupt, rather than simply acknowledge, racist systems and practices. This article, written by members of several research teams (including research staff, graduate research assistants, and principal investigators), describes an anti-racist team practice, which germinated in one research team and pollinated to others within a school of social work. We share our learnings and barriers, collected via an online, synchronous, anonymous platform, based on engagement in and implementation of the anti-racist research team practice. Learnings regarding the anti-racist research team practice clustered around three areas: professional individual experiences, takeaways, and ways the practice shaped our thinking about research teams. Identified takeaways included the importance of developing an anti-racist lens; a critical understanding of the role of academia in oppressive systems; transferring anti-racist content to other (non-research) areas; and augmenting our sense of responsibility to take action to combat racism. Anti-racist research team practices are one mechanism to disrupt “white logic, white methods” of normative research that is embedded in and perpetuates oppressive systems. Furthermore, sprouting anti-racist practices at the research team level can create a stronger culture of anti-racism within the social work discipline.

Social work is a discipline guided by ideologies and aspirations for equity and racial justice; yet, a review of documented history on its founding and founders reveals a narrative that is confoundingly different than its ideas. Social work programs share a ubiquitous narrative that white founders were the cornerstone images of the discipline, describing these individuals as revolutionaries who were ahead of their time. White founders Jane Addams and Mary Richmond have been lauded countless awards and recognition for their progressive works of service, and nearly deified postmortem. Schools of social work and initiatives have been named after them and hosts of scholarly materials and documentaries are created to herald their works. Yet, scholars are now challenging such notions and questioning why they were deemed historical heroes and the current day effect their images have on the discipline moving forward. Such revolutionary thinking questions why social work has only embraced white founders and suggests that BIPOC contributions to social justice are as remarkable and noteworthy in helping establish the discipline. As social work begins to revisit and reconcile with its past, refining how the discipline tells its history is needed to build a future that truly embraces and activates equity and social justice.

Child welfare workers experience increased risk of secondary traumatic stress (STS) and burnout. Despite encouragement to bolster self-care, little remains known about self-care and well-being outcomes. This study explored frequency of self-care and its relationship with STS, burnout, and compassion satisfaction by surveying 305 child welfare direct service and supervisor professionals. Participants completed the ProQol and reported frequency and types of self-care. Findings indicated frequency of self-care was associated with decreased STS and burnout, and increased compassion satisfaction. Given the prevalence of STS in child welfare, further exploration of self-care and its potential for strengthening well-being is necessary.

Child welfare agencies often experience challenges in meeting the unique needs of immigrant families. In this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with child welfare agency representatives to examine models used to effectively serve this population. Findings show that child welfare agencies utilize: 1) specialization of immigrant-related knowledge and skill sets; 2) formal and informal relationships with consulates and external stakeholders; and 3) innovative approaches to engage immigrant families. Implications highlight the importance of child welfare staff developing expertise on immigration policy, navigating international borders and systems, and training caseworkers in implementing culturally and linguistically sensitive transnational engagement strategies.

This study sought to understand structural factors impacting lower and slower reunification among Black families involved in the child welfare system. Using Institutional Analysis framework, we present findings from case record reviews (n = 15) and qualitative interviews with 58 child welfare stakeholders. Results show seven critical themes that demonstrate how the system was organized to the detriment of Black families. This article voices the lived experiences of Black parents; identifies actionable changes to policies, procedures, and practices; and outlines strategies for holding institutions accountable for restructuring the child welfare system toward racial equity.

Social work educators prepare students to respond to crises across system levels. A global pandemic or large-scale disasters, however, present challenges educators are ill prepared for. This study explored the experiences of BSW and MSW students during the COVID-19 pandemic. With a trauma-informed pedagogy framework, a team of faculty and students conducted in-depth interviews with social work students at a Midwestern school of social work. Thematic analyses revealed two categories. First, broad lessons learned included clear guidelines for educators across higher education. Second, three themes revealed tensions in student reactions to their experiences during COVID-19: (a) loss versus safety, (b) flexibility versus structure, and (c) affective responses versus competing responsibilities. Findings are discussed and implications for social work are identified.

As social work educators and students, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted our teaching and learning in challenging ways. We embarked on a qualitative research study to better understand the ways in which the pandemic was affecting the social work students in our program. Three faculty mentors worked collaboratively with five social work students across BSW, MSW, and PhD programs to interview 66 BSW and MSW students about their experiences, challenges, and hopes during the early months of the pandemic. BSW and MSW students led the analysis and early dissemination for the project. This essay describes the unique experiences of social work students by using a research poem to capture the emotional and experiential aspects of the students we interviewed.

Severe racial inequity has characterized the incorporation of ethnic minorities’ contributions to U.S. history and advancements (Sandoval et al., 2016). These disparities are inextricably connected to White Supremacist ideologies and practices, and are perpetuated in higher education through textbooks, pedagogy, and research. Social work, like many disciplines, teaches about its early roots with a whitewashed historical lens. Indeed, review of the social work literature reveals the scarcity of attributions to Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC). Without a more racially diverse perspective on social work’s history, social work scholars promote and sustain White Supremacy. The implications of this are crucial since social work education is predominantly populated by privileged White students who adopt this mentality, unaware of Black, Brown, Latino, Asian, Native or Other ethnic “Jane Addams” who have massively promoted the social welfare of communities for decades without historical recognition or the privileged positions of Addams and Richmond. Historical distortions also potentially discourage BIPOC social work students’ self-efficacy and future efforts to contribute and excel in the discipline. To properly address this issue, social work history must be refaced with a more equitable and just lens. This review seeks to address the gap in the literature pertaining to the need for a greater integration and infusion of racially diverse social work historical contributions in several ways. Recommendations will be made for future research in this area to dismantle racist perspectives in social work history, and strategies will be offered to help social work educators and researchers address this critical issue.