Programs & Initiatives

• Restorative Practices in Action (RPA) Pilot Initiative.
• Phase 1 focused on increasing awareness, took place in Fall 2020. Please visit our website in the upcoming months for additional information about phase 2.

These social work affinity spaces provide an opportunity for people to connect with others who share aspects of their identity. The spaces are meant to be a hybrid of “doing” and “being”. By focusing on “being” together, the goal is to prompt reflection rather than structuring it to respond to all of the needs of the School of Social Work. We hope these spaces can foster connection, cultivate a sense of community, and ensure that members of the SSW community experience a belonging. Spaces are opened to all members of the SSW community and will be facilitated by social work faculty and staff. Come as you are, when you can. No registration required.

Current Affinity Spaces

A Space People of Color (SPOC)
This space aims to create a supportive community of learning, advocacy and radical self-care for people of color.

White Accountability Space
This space is geared toward white people who want to take an anti-racist stance in learning about race and who are willing to face their discomfort, uncertainty, or anger in the process.

A Space for People Interested in Disability Advocacy and Justice
This space is aimed at creating a supportive community of support and advocacy for four SSW community members with disabilities where they can share their experiences and build community with each other. 

These spaces are just the beginning, we and recognize that may be a need for additional spaces. If you are interested in working with the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to create additional affinity spaces, please contact the Assistant Dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at contact us here

Our anti-racism teach-in is held every Fall. For centuries, teach-ins have transformed social work schools and colleges into fora in which students, faculty, staff, and community members take collective responsibility on matters of community, national, and global importance. SSW’s anti-racism teach-ins are an active space for the deconstruction and unlearning of thoughts, actions, beliefs/ideologies, emotions, and values rooted in institutional and structural oppression.

Fall 2020’s anti-racism teach-in was held on October 7^th. The topic was “Dismantling Racism and White Supremacy in Academia.” Panelists included  SSW faculty, staff, alumni and community members.

The School of Social Work is honored to be a Ceasefire school! The Baltimore Ceasefire movement is committed to supporting peace in Baltimore. The School of Social Work has committed to establishing peaceful programming four times a year to support Ceasefire weekends (four weekends per year).

L.E.A.D Institute: Leading For Equity, Anti-Racism and Diversity is an e-Convening training and coaching series through the University of Maryland, School of Social Work focused on cultivating an anti-racist mindset, promoting equity and dismantling structural racism and oppression. L.E.A.D. is designed to increase individual knowledge and capacity, moving from personal reckonings through institutional frameworks, and concrete action steps. Participants go through the training as a cohort and participate in practice support groups afterwards. L.E.A.D. was piloted in Spring 2021.

Intergroup dialogue engages the SSW community, from one or more social/cultural identity groups, in facilitated dialogue grounded in social justice education around the power dynamics, tensions, similarities, and differences of experience that exist within a group and/or between and across groups. The goal of intergroup dialogue is for participants to develop comfort with and skills in discourse on difficult topics in order to foster thoughtful, meaningful, and sustained cross-group relationships. In intergroup dialogue participants learn to listen to gain understanding of those with different experiences than themselves. In doing so, participants develop an increased ability to communicate across differences, a heightened intergroup and intragroup awareness and sensitivity, and a greater commitment to civic engagement. Ultimately, intergroup dialogue is about sharing diverse perspectives, learning how to ask others about their experiences, and developing the ability to understand how our identities impact how we experience the world. Over the course of five weeks, participants During the course of five weeks, focus on exploring their human capacity and need to connect with each other. IGD launches in June 2021. For more information email sswdeioffice@ssw.umaryland.edu

Fall registration begins on August 8, 2022. See below for more information on how to sign up to receive textbooks for your Fall 2022 courses.

What is the Book Lending Program?

The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion will be piloting a book lending program in Fall 2022 which provides free, easily accessible textbooks and other materials to students.

Through this book lending program, we hope to…

• Remove potential barriers for students that may impact student success
• Cultivate an environment of equity and inclusion by making textbooks more accessible
• Allow students to focus on other aspects of their life and education, ultimately improving retention

How do I sign for the Book Lending Program?

Registration for the Book Lending Program Fall semester will begin on August 8, 2022. Books will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis to students who fill out and submit the form accessible with the link below.

https://umaryland.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eFnXPgfp5RGBFVc

Students will be contacted by the first day of classes to know whether they have been selected to receive at least one textbook. Books will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis until the limited supply is gone.

If students are not selected, they will receive an email from the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion indicating this.

How can I donate to the Book Lending Program?

If you are a student or alumni who has previously taken a course and would like to donate a textbook from our current list of offered courses, feel free to stop by the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to donate to the program. The office is located on the 5^th floor of the SSW building in 5E07 and 5E09, feel free to email the office, sswdeioffice@ssw.umaryland.edu, to coordinate with the ODEI staff before dropping your books off.

The Book Lending Program is also accepting financial donations. To make a financial donation, contact sswdeioffice@ssw.umaryland.edu.

What texts will be available to borrow? 

• SOWK 630 Practice with Individuals
• Cournoyer, B. (2017). The social work skills workbook. (8th Ed.) Cengage Publishers.
• SOWK 645 Human Behavior & Social Environment
• Hutchison, E. (2017). Essentials of human behavior: Integrating person, environment, and the life course, 2nd Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• SOWK 670 SW Research
• Rubin, A., & Babbie, E. (2014). Essential research methods for social work, 4th Ed. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
• SWCL 700—Advanced Clinical Interventions 

• Walsh, J. (2013). Theories for direct social work practice, 3^rd Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.
• SWCL 744—Psychopathology

• Zide, M., & Gray, S. (2017). Psychopathology: a competency-based assessment model for social workers (4 ed.): Wadsworth Pub Co.
• SWOA 703—Program Development
• Kettner, P.M., Moroney, R.M., & Martin, L.L. (5^th) (2017). Designing and Managing Programs:  An Effectiveness-Based Approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
• Chambers, D. Social Policy and Social Programs: A Method for the Practical Public Policy Analyst. Allyn & Bacon
• SWOA 707—Social Policy and Social Change

How can I share information about this program to others?

Book Lending Announcement