The Jordan Institute for Families
The UNC School of Social Work
We’ve been hearing a lot about how “we are all in this together” in facing the global pandemic that is COVID-19. We are all experiencing the need to physical distance, not being able to see and be with loved ones, working remotely for those of us who aren’t considered essential workers, making limited trips for groceries, the pharmacy, and to exercise, and for […]
Pregnant people in North Carolina are routinely held in jails and prisons when they are too poor to pay for their freedom when arrested. These individuals have NOT been convicted of a crime, but are often incarcerated far away from their families and children because they do not have the financial resources to pay their […]
The Jordan Institute for Families team is growing. In the process, we wanted to explore ways to create roles and positions that model what we hope to create – mutual support, shared decision-making, collaboration, and respect. Interested in exploring new approaches to community engagement and leadership, we searched for alternative structures that would align with […]
Implementation Practice During a Time of Crisis How do we provide implementation support to public systems and communities during a pandemic? This guest post and resharing of a podcast provides some good ideas for managing during this time. Special thanks to our colleagues for sharing this helpful work! The National Implementation Research Institute promotes and […]
I want you to know that I have been doing therapy with some of the bravest, most resilient people on the planet. I want them to know it, too. Celebrating their cultures and strengths is the inspiration for my summer generalist placement project through the UNC School of Social Work. I spent more than three […]
Language as a Financial Barrier: Language Inequity Restricts Refugees’ Access to Mental Health Care North Carolina’s Triangle is replete with different languages, each a rich, beautiful thread connecting communities and cultures. As a Master of Social Work Intern at UNC Refugee Wellness, it is a pleasure to hear Dari, Pashto, Swahili, Kinyarwanda, Arabic, and Spanish […]
The Trump Administration might effectively halt a program allowing displaced people from to enter the United States as refugees, according to a recent report by Politico. The U.S. has permitted the legal resettlement of people fleeing violence and persecution since Jewish refugees fled Germany during World War II. Refugees are designated by governments and international […]
Camps and Cages: Volatile Immigration Policies Threaten New Americans’ Mental Health More people around the world have been displaced from their homes than ever before, and the consequences are causing ripple effects in our communities. A record 70.8 million people have been forced from their homes, but fewer than half have been granted legal status […]
Governments collect a lot of data — program participation, event attendance, advisory board applicants, satisfaction with public services, hiring and promotions, contractors and vendors, and more. How these data are collected and used can determine whether the jurisdiction is advancing racial equity or perpetuating the white supremacist status quo. We know that many public […]
Using a racial equity toolkit to inform program, service, and policy-making We often talk about using a racial equity lens when planning programs and services or setting policy. But what does this actually mean? How do we operationalize this lens? Experts in advancing racial equity in government from the Government Alliance for Race and Equity […]
On July 29, 2017 the Herald-Sun posted an article by Allison De Marco titled – Another Aspect of Equity: Our Town and County Advisory Boards. In this article, Allison highlights the importance of advisory boards and the invaluable contributions these volunteers make towards the promotion of public awareness of contemporary issues facing Orange County and […]
Some families in our communities don’t know if they will have a meal today. Others will be unable to retain adequate housing. Still, others will experience crushing financial pressures with insufficient income to meet them. For these and so many other reasons, poverty is a troubling social problem—a problem that touches every state in our […]
When Barbara Leach’s phone rings, she never knows what the need will be on the other end. Barbara manages the toll-free Information and Referral line at Access Family Support (800.852.0042), responding to parents and service providers calling with all kinds of questions related to families with children who have special needs. A grandmother wonders if […]
Humanity has, collectively, a budget of about twenty more years of carbon emissions at current rates before we pass the threshold of 2oC of global warming, which scientists believe will lead to runaway destabilization of the climate. Should that be a concern of social workers? A child of color in the United States is significantly […]
The Jordan Institute for Families has decided to start a blog. We know, what’s the point? We get it. When large institutions run blogs, they tend to be self-conscious and can come off like a series of press releases that no one follows. So, what’s our motivation for starting one? Well, to be perfectly honest, […]
Fathers in North Carolina, and across the United States, are experiencing a slow, but revolutionary upgrade in roles, expectations, and opportunities as parents and partners. The father version that was most common in the family market of the 20th century was designed for a different time, with functional emphasis on family protection and wage earning. […]
The Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SIE) Lab, part of the Jordan Institute for families, is excited to announce two new members of the innovation team! The SIE Lab will soon be welcoming its first Entrepreneur-In-Residence, Veronica Creech. Veronica, a Tar Heel alum, is the Chief Programs Officer at EveryoneOn, a national nonprofit that creates social […]
The Jordan Institute for Families was launched in 1996 by Michael Jordan and the Jordan family in honor of their mother, Mrs. Delores Jordan. Mrs. Jordan not only raised 5 very successful children, she has been and remains a very committed change agent – driving towards impact and using her influence and talent to help […]
