Description
Roe v. Wade never fully protected the rights of historically marginalized communities’ access to equitable reproductive health care. The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade further exacerbated the structural determinants of women actualizing reproductive autonomy. This population frequently experienced traumatic, harmful, and unjust medical treatment, which has led to inequities in reproductive and pregnancy outcomes. Racialized politics, social, and economic factors are often the drivers of these disparate outcomes. To guarantee that women and pregnant individuals maintain their right to bodily autonomy, receive respectful reproductive healthcare, and achieve optimal health and well-being, social workers must develop a liberatory consciousness, a framework of awareness, analysis, action, and accountable allyship as developed by Barbara Love and presented in this workshop. Awareness includes educating ourselves on SisterSong’s and Black Mammas Matter Alliance’s definitions and frameworks of reproductive health, rights, and justice. This workshop will explore the underpinnings of reproductive injustice including the historical and current practices of obstetric racism, reproductive violence, and the dehumanization of Black bodies to gain insight into how to change the delivery of reproductive healthcare.
Maryland: This workshop meets the requirement for Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice for Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners' COMAR 10.42.06.03.A.(1)(d) with a focus on social justice.
Instructor
Stacey Stephens, LCSW-C: is the Director of the B’more for Healthy Babies Upton/Druid Heights at the UMSSW Center for Restorative Change. Ms. Stephens is a visionary leader with 28 years of experience in assisting women and children to access equitable health and mental health services throughout Baltimore and D.C. Metropolitan areas. Ms. Stephens is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work and an Adjunct Professor at the Morgan State University School of Social Work, where she teaches and inspires future healthcare professionals. She was a governor-appointed member of the Maryland task force to study perinatal mental health. She is also a Certified Diversity Practitioner, enabling her to help individuals, groups, organizations, and communities effectively manage cultural differences, influence system change, and create equity in healthcare and educational sectors.
Ms. Stephens and her team were awarded the University of Maryland School of Social Work’s JEDI 2022 inaugural Shirley Chisholm Community Award for making significant strides in building a sense of unity and purpose in Baltimore City by seeking to advance equity and inclusion in the community. She was recently recognized by the Maryland Chapter of the National Association of Social Worker as Social Worker of the Year in 2022. With meaningful partnerships with residents and community partners, she also led the B’more for Healthy Babies team which has accomplished a 75% reduction in the infant mortality rate over the past eleven years, resulting in the elimination of the disparity between Black and White infants in this community. Ms. Stephens is a strong advocate of reproductive and sexual health and justice.
UMSSW
Michele Beaulieu, LCSW-C, is a clinical assistant professor at the UMSSW, where until recently she managed four integrated behavioral health workforce development grants and projects. Work on these programs included developing and facilitating monthly seminars for competitively selected fellows in culturally and linguistically evidence-supported social work practices, as well as mentoring fellows in their final year of graduate work and as they launched careers in behavioral health.
Ms. Beaulieu’s teaching experience includes a semester course on Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and a one-credit course in Interprofessional Healthcare Delivery. Additionally, she co-developed and coordinated a one-credit interprofessional course on IPV across UMB’s professional schools and a one-credit interprofessional special topics course with Law and Public Health faculty.
Ms. Beaulieu has over twenty years of experience providing direct clinical service in the fields of intimate partner violence and women’s health as a licensed clinical social worker. As an OB/GYN ambulatory social worker, she advocated for and provided brief interventions to women across the lifespan related to reproductive health issues.
Agenda & Learning Objectives
AGENDA:
11:50-12:00 Log on
12:00-12:10 Introductions
12:10-12:25 Small groups – introductions and personally defining reproductive justice
12:25-12:45 report out - working toward a consensus of an inclusive, and intersectional definition of reproductive justice
12:45-1:00 Current landscape of maternal/reproductive health in the US
1:00-1:30 Frameworks for social work practice in relation to reproductive justice
1:30-1:45 Break
1:45-2:15 Frameworks for social work practice in relation to reproductive justice – continued
2:15-2:30 Small group exercise – “Taking Action”
2:30-2:55 Report out and discussion
2:55-3:15 Questions
3:15 Adjournment
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Upon the completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:
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Work toward an inclusive definition of reproductive rights - this is not just about abortion
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Understand the intersections with other social justice issues and root causes of reproductive injustice
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Explore the current landscape of maternal health in the US
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Adopting a liberatory consciousness/abolitionist framework to guide social work reproductive health practice
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Understand how working for reproductive justice aligns with social work core values and informs our advocacy for reproductive justice
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Adopting a reproductive justice framework for action.
Bibliography & References
BIBLIOGRAPHY & REFERENCES
Green CL, Perez SL, Walker A, Estriplet T, Ogunwole SM, Auguste TC, Crear-Perry JA. The Cycle to Respectful Care: A Qualitative Approach to the Creation of an Actionable Framework to Address Maternal Outcome Disparities. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 May 6;18(9):4933. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18094933. PMID: 34066381; PMCID: PMC8141109.
Thaddeus S, Maine D. Too far to walk: maternal mortality in context. Soc Sci Med. 1994 Apr;38(8):1091-110. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(94)90226-7. PMID: 8042057.
Hunter, Daniel, Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow: an organizing guide; ISBN #978-0-9885508-1-0, Published by the Veterans of Hope Project 2015.
Love, B. J.: Developing a liberatory consciousness. In M. Adams, W. J. Blumenfeld, C. R. Casteneda, H. W. Hackman, M. L. Peters, & X. Zuniga (Eds.), Readings for diversity and social justice (pp. 533-540). Routledge;2010.
Kim ME, Rasmussen C, Washington DM, Kaba M. Abolition and Social Work : Possibilities, Paradoxes, and the Practice of Community Care. 1st ed. Haymarket Books; 2024.
Target Audience
Social Workers, LCPCs, and Psychologists
We welcome anyone interested in the topic!
Late Fees and Refunds
The base price is $70, which includes CE credit.
Late Fee: On September 27, 2024, a non-refundable late fee of $20 is added to the base price. Late fees cannot be refunded or applied to account credit.
Cancellations: **ALL cancellations will be subjected to a $35.00 administration fee.** Cancellations must be received 24 hours in advance prior to the workshop to receive a refund or an account credit.
ADA Accommodations
If you are requesting ADA accommodations, please contact our office via email at least two weeks prior to the workshop date. Requests after that date may not be fulfilled.
Our email address is cpe@ssw.umaryland.edu.
