Program Summary:  This is a thought-provoking course on transracial adoption and parenting and includes two readings:  Transracial Adoption as Oppression:  Modern Practice in Context and Parenting in Racially, Culturally, and Ethnically Diverse Adoptive Families.

The first reading explores transracial adoption in the context of its oppressive history.  The reading highlights the cycles of harm and trauma experienced by children of color from past to present, offering examples that include the Orphan Train Movement, Indian Boarding Schools, slavery, the foster care system, and private adoption.  The coercion of biological mothers, the commodification of children, and the lack of culturally competent services are critiqued.  Recommendations for practice are offered and include culturally competent services, the recruitment of racially diverse prospective parents, the promotion of bi-culturalism, and listening to the voices of adoptees.

The second reading examines parenting in racially, culturally, and ethnically diverse adoptive families.  The reading offers considerations for starting a multicultural family, strategies for embracing life as a racially, culturally, and ethnically diverse family, and how to prepare children for racism.

This course is recommended for social workers and counselors and is appropriate for beginning and intermediate levels of practice.   Read the complete description of this course…..

Program Summary:  This course explores the issue of homelessness from the perspective of a hospital emergency department social worker.  The course examines the prevalence and demographics of homelessness, in addition to structural factors and contributing causes.  The complex relationship between homelessness, substance use disorders, and mental health problems is discussed.  The role of social work in providing supportive, respectful, and collaborative care is highlighted.

This course is recommended for social workers and is appropriate for beginning and intermediate levels of practice.   Read the complete description of this course…..

Program Summary:  This course explores advocacy for Black women survivors of intimate partner violence and offers strategies that are survivor-centered, culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and strengths-based.  Using an intersectional approach, the course highlights the multiple forms of oppression experienced by Black survivors and details the overrepresentation of Black women among survivors of reproductive coercion, non-fatal strangulation, and intimate partner homicide.  The impact of trauma on the lives and experiences of Black survivors is examined.

This course is recommended for social workers and counselors and is appropriate for beginning and intermediate levels of practice.   Read the complete description of this course…..