Under the second Trump administration, the social work profession is facing unprecedented challenges—new executive orders have upended traditional methods of social work practice, cutting communities off from vital resources and leaving practitioners to scramble.
But during this time, the Adelphi University School of Social Work (SSW) remains committed to the profession’s core values and to the University’s goal of an inclusive, connected community.
On the Front Lines—in the Library
Practicums are the signature pedagogy of social work education, typically completed at a social services agency. Several years ago, the School of Social Work began to build out a new branch of practicum placements: libraries.
“Libraries are embedded in their communities and are therefore an organic fit for practicums,” said Livia Polise, director of field education at the School. She and her colleagues have successfully implemented partnerships with libraries throughout the tristate area, from Nassau County to the Hudson Valley.
Now these partnerships are becoming a “lifeline” for communities, Polise said. “Libraries continue to provide social work services in places when other models of service provision have been disrupted.” As agencies downsize and shutter in response to executive orders, patrons can turn to library social workers for free, no-questions-asked help with housing, domestic violence, food security, healthcare, employment and mental health.
Micah Schneider, a faculty practicum liaison for the School, said the experience of a library placement has changed overnight. “Last fall, my students were doing very typical work: filling out SNAP applications for patrons, facilitating staff trainings, sitting in on support groups.” When the new executive orders began to take effect, however, library patrons began to panic, and social work students had to step up fast. Now, they’re working on the front lines, right alongside their clients. “Students have been the first line of contact for people who are having mental health crises or can’t get a passport,” Schneider said.
In libraries and other practicum placements, Adelphi students are undertaking work that’s central to one of the University’s strategic goals: fostering stronger community ties while maximizing a shared purpose. “Our interns have to walk around the library, talk to people, let people know they’re there and how they can help,” Polise said. “In essence, they have to build community.”
Providing Personalized Support in Tough Times
“We meet people where they are.” It’s a common phrase in the social work profession, one that honors a client’s background, choices, and strengths and limitations alike. As students complete what Schneider calls “incredibly difficult” placements, SSW faculty are granting them the same treatment.
For Schneider, whose students are holding “very heavy stories,” a temperature check is always necessary. “I make sure the student is grounded and feels safe where they are. Sometimes the weight of what they’re seeing in the field right now is overwhelming. There’s so much fear, anxiety, loss.”
Many Adelphi students are dealing with the personal consequences that have come with the recent change of administrations, both out loud and in private. The University is meeting them there, too. “We don’t know the life experiences or circumstances that our community members carry with them each day,” Polise said. “But Adelphi has to be a loud ally anyway. When we’re not explicit about inclusion, the implicit message is one of exclusion.”
Equipping and Empowering Students
On campus, School of Social Work faculty and staff are creating spaces to empower student action. This is also part of the School’s learning approach: teaching students how to make an impact outside of one-to-one client work. As Polise said, “Social work isn’t always about sitting with a client. Sometimes it’s about ‘macro’ work, which is about engaging with systems and structures, being a good citizen and advocating for policy reform.
The School sponsors an annual, schoolwide social action activity that trains students to become advocates for social change. Practicum courses include professional development activities emphasizing antiracism, diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, which have been expanded to include regular community engagement and action spaces. In these sessions, students learn more about recent political developments and how to effectively contact their legislative representatives. “We want to make sure students know what to expect and especially how they can incorporate their own stories,” Polise said. “We don’t coach them to say anything in particular. We tell them, ‘Find something that’s important to you and make a call.’”
Polise’s team is also hosting a series of professional development workshops that spotlight diverse communities. At a time when divisive rhetoric is on the rise, these workshops enable students to process lived experiences that differ from their own. But reflection is not the end goal, even if students are revisiting problematic assumptions or gaining cultural competency. “The point is to act,” Polise said. “They should be thinking about how to better support people and communities in their work.”
Staying Committed to the Road Ahead
With so many methods, practices and systems in flux, SSW students are building a new foundation, digging deep into the roots of their profession. “It’s innately political,” Schneider said. “Our role is to protect the marginalized. But my students know that. That’s why they’re still doing this, even when it’s difficult.”
Professor Elizabeth Palley, JD, PhD, director of the School of Social Work PhD program, who has taught at Adelphi for more than 20 years, said students today are far more politically engaged than they once were—a product of the University’s efforts to diversify its student body. “There are fewer students coming in because they want to be private therapists,” Dr. Palley said. “They’ve felt the impact of policy on their communities firsthand.”
Even as the current federal administration seeks to eliminate programs aimed at diversity and inclusion, Dr. Palley notes that the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), the national accrediting body for social work schools, has shown no signs of giving in. “In order to reapply for accreditation, we still have to demonstrate how we’re addressing DEI and antiracism,” she said. “We’re working to comply with the CSWE’s requirements.”
While the future of social work is unclear under the current federal administration, School of Social Work students and faculty remain committed to the school’s mission: living out social justice in everything they do. In fact, Schneider, who formerly served as the School’s assistant director of practicum education, elected to leave their full-time role at Adelphi last year and join a nonprofit organization. “I was so moved by the stories I was hearing daily from students in the trenches with their clients,” they said. “I found myself longing to be there with them, side by side.”