COVID-19 Resources

We send our heartfelt best wishes to those of you who are working on the front lines to address the COVID-19 epidemic or who have been sick or had loved ones ill from the virus. There has never been a time when the Grand Challenges’ commitment to “social progress powered by science” was truer. Similarly, the message of the Grand Challenges that the “social is fundamental” is clearly paramount as we need to address this crisis at the societal level. We hope to not allow our “social distancing” to counteract the importance of our profession’s commitment to social integration, social science, and social justice as we pursue many of the fault lines in our society that this virus is cracking open.

GCSW has created this page to collect resources related to COVID-19 that may be of help to social workers during this time. We will add new information as we get it. We also encourage you to follow us on Twitter for the most up-to-date news and resources.

Coronavirus (COVID-19): 8 Ethical Considerations for Social Workers – NASW has released ethical guidance for Social Workers during the Covid-19 Crisis: The COVID-19 (coronavirus) is rapidly transforming the way we go about day-to-day living. Other NASW Covid-19 Resources

Safety and COVID-19 in Our Professional Social Work Roles: Rights, Responsibilities, and Resources

Webinar: Social Service Workforce Safety and Wellbeing during the COVID-19 Response

COVID-19 Resources for Social Workers and Therapists

Ensure healthy development for all youth

• Juvenile Justice Priorities During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Recommendations from County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors

Close the health gap

• COVID-19 Racial and Ethnic Disparities Task Force Act of 2020
• Addressing Racial Health Disparities In The COVID-19 Pandemic: Immediate And Long-Term Policy Solutions
• Widening Social and Health Inequalities During the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Ethics and Racial Equity in Social Welfare Policy: Social Work’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Addressing Patients’ Social Needs Can Help Reduce Health Inequity During COVID-19

Build healthy relationships to end violence

• Child Abuse Prevention Month in the Context of COVID-19
• Implications of COVID-19 for Protecting Children and Supporting Families: Current Realities and Future Impacts, by network co-lead Melissa Jonson-Reid, PhD.
• Children’s Bureau Virtual Visitation Resources (in child welfare and other fields)
• New Guidance on Caseworker Visits via Videoconferencing: policy changes to allow videoconferencing for monthly caseworker visits, in addition to changes related to program improvement plans, title IV-E reviews, and more.
• Conducting Effective Remote Hearings in Child Welfare Cases
• I Went For An Intake and Never Went Back: Evidence-Based Family Engagement in Real World Settings

Advance long and productive lives

• COVID-19 and Age: Risks and Opportunities, by network co-lead Nancy Morrow-Howell, PhD.
• Applying Gerontological Social Work Perspectives to the Coronavirus Pandemic, network co-lead Nancy Morrow-Howell, PhD is a co-author.

Eradicate social isolation

• Tools to Help Advocates Reduce Social Isolation During the Coronavirus Pandemic
• Social distancing prevents infections, but it can have unintended consequences

End homelessness

• Recommended Strategic Approaches for COVID-19 Response for Individuals Experiencing Homelessness
• Using Medicaid Waivers to Improve Access to Care for People Experiencing Homelessness During COVID-19
• Homelessness & COVID-19: Considerations and Action Steps
• Estimated Emergency and Observational/Quarantine Bed Need for the US Homeless Population Related to COVID-19 Exposure by County; Projected Hospitalizations, Intensive Care Units and Mortality
• Coronavirus Planning for HUD Continuum of Care Areas
• Other Covid-19 resources from National Alliance to End Homelessness

Create social responses to a changing environment

• Environmental effects of COVID-19 pandemic and potential strategies of sustainability
• Could COVID-19 change our environmental behaviors?
• Even During COVID-19, ‘Nature is a Necessity’

Harness technology for social good

• Special webinar by the Grand Challenge for Social Work’s Harness Technology for Social Good network provides leaders in social work education information about resources they can give to educators, field faculty, and service providers who are using technology.
• Telemental Health: What digitally curious social workers need to know  (Lauri Goldkind, Lea Wolf, Nickolas Davis, Caroline Artley (part of our Harness Technology webinar series)).
• Using Digital Mapping Technologies to Inform About COVID-19  (Tom Felke (part of our Harness Technology and Covid-19 webinar series)).
• Harnessing Thanatechnology to Cope with Illness, Death, and Grief (Carla Sofka (part of our Harness Technology and Covid-19 webinar series)).
• Responding to COVID-19: New Trends in Social Workers’ Use of Information and Communication Technology

Eliminate racism

• Racism: Resources for Learning and Action (UNC School of Social Work)
• Racial Disparities in COVID-19: Implications for Policy, Practice, Research and Teaching

Promote smart decarceration

• COVID-19, Incarceration, and Reentry: Early Findings from a Multi-State Trial (Carrie Pettus-Davis, Stephanie Kennedy, Faye Miller, Florida State University)
• COVID-19 Behind Bars: How Illinois is Protecting the Incarcerated

Build financial capability for all

The impact of COVID-19 on household finances highlights the importance of policy, program, and practice actions that reach more people:

• Basic Income, COVID-19, and Economic Security  (Michael Anthony Lewis, Hunter College)
• Financial Inclusion to Help Mitigate the Economic Consequences of COVID-19  (Mat Despard, University of North Carolina at Greensboro)
• Staying Afloat Through Financial Interdependence (Jeffrey Anvari-Clark, University of Maryland)
• Financial Apps in the Era of Coronavirus  (Jodi Jacobson Frey, Jeffrey Anvari-Clark, and Sara Johnson, University of Maryland)
• In this Crisis, Give Everyone Basic Financial Tools (Jin Huang, Margaret Sherraden, Michael Sherraden, Washington University in St. Louis)
• Child Development Accounts in the COVID-19 Crisis: Lessons from the Great Recession (Michael Sherraden, Margaret Clancy, Jin Huang, and Sondra Beverly, Washington University in St. Louis)
• A new day: Financial Security and the Role of Nonprofits
• Pandemic Money Management: Simple, Yet Not Easy
• “Parasite,” COVID-19, and U.S. Wealth Inequality
• Retirement Savings: The SECURE Act Helps; Can More Be Done?
• Perspective from a Montana resident

Reduce extreme economic inequality

The Grand Challenge to Reduce extreme economic inequality has initiated a webinar series in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Watch the recorded webinars via the links below.

• Covid-19: Learning from history about disasters and economic inequality  (Trina Shanks, Laura Lein, Michael Sherraden, moderated by Jennie Romich)
• Stay home? Housing inequities, Covid-19, and social welfare policy responses (Ben Henwood, Maria Rodriguez, Andrew Aurand, moderated by Jennie Romich)

Achieve equal opportunity and justice

• Under the Blacklight: The Intersectional Failures that Covid Lays Bare – Part 1