Student Advocacy in Action

In their Specialist year (2nd year), MSW students research, write and disseminate policy advocacy briefs on issues of importance to social workers, their clients, and communities in SOWK 655: Social Work Policy Practice. For information about the course or any of the advocacy briefs contact Nancy Fitzsimons, PhD, MSW, LISW at nancy.fitzsimons@mnsu.edu.

For briefs from prior to 2022, please visit Cornerstone.

MSW Program Policy Advocacy Briefs - 2022

• Broadband Internet Access: Equal Access and Opportunity for All - Erin Kotten, Emily Louks, Matt Frank, and Marissa Mammenga

• Collaborating with Parents with Disabilities to Create Accountability in the Special Education System - Brooke Crosby, Julia Lutz-Lawlor, Kelsy Farley, and Khadra Geelle

• Cultural Healing Practices: Incorporating Cultural Healers into Minnesota’s Mental Health Care System -  Raymond Shoup, Allyson Endersbe, Nayeli Hernandez Moctezuma, and Patty Balderas-Johnson

• Gender Responsive Reentry: Supporting Mothers and Their Children - Michaela Bruder, Ally Malueg, Neve Patterson, and Courtney Schallock

• Investing in the Social Work Profession Benefits the Health and Well-Being of Us All - Jill Craig, Kayla Jacobsen, Mackenzie Erickson, and Madison Lanning

• Payday Lending: Reforming this Predatory Practice in Minnesota -  Courtney Colton, Karmy Luker, Addy Haarstad-Mead, and Sarah Turpen

• Parent-Centered Planning: One Approach to Ending Ableism in the Child Welfare System - Gabrielle Heille, Bailey McNulty, Jessica Schisel, Bla Yang,  and Lauren Zappitello

• Restore the Vote: Ending Parole, Probationary, and Supervised Release Disenfranchisement - Patrick Johnson, Lucy Rodriguez, Katelyn Sticha, and Stephanie Trejo