School of Social Work Introduces Congressional Policy Internship

Participants are helping migrant children who have been separated from their families

Eight Sacred Heart University students in the School of Social Work are gaining first-hand knowledge of project management and policy practice at the federal level through a new congressional policy practice (CPP) internship.

This internship was co-founded by Jason Ostrander, assistant professor at SHU; Angelique Day, associate professor at the University of Washington; and Mary Hylton, associate professor and social work graduate program chair at the University of Salisbury in Maryland. Through the CPP, undergraduate and graduate students work hands-on with congressional office staff to learn about policy-making processes, develop professional relationships and work with students and researchers from social work education programs across the country.

“Through our relationships on the Hill, students receive firsthand experience supporting the legislative processes of congressional offices,” said Ostrander. “These members of Congress all serve on the powerful Ways and Means Committee and are afforded the platform to implement more ethical and justice-focused policies for our nation.”

The student interns from SHU have been working recently on policy briefs that challenge the Trump administration’s controversial immigration policy. These briefs, outlining more effective policies regarding child immigration and welfare, will be delivered to the legislative offices of Reps. Karen Bass (D-CA) and Judy Chu (D-TX) and then will be returned to SHU for revision. Afterward, the interns will be invited to join congressional staffers in a collaborative editing process. 

The briefs support two existing legislative initiatives in which Bass and Chu are involved: the Flores Settlement Agreement of 1997 and the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) classification. The Flores agreement is the result of a lawsuit over “standards for the detention and release of unaccompanied minors taken into the custody of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, now handled by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services,” according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The SIJS initiative relates to undocumented immigrants under the age of 21 who have been abused, abandoned or neglected by a parent. Under the SIJS, these immigrants can apply for permanent residence in the United States.

Once these bills are finalized, the interns will conduct stakeholder interviews to gauge Congress members’ opinion of the legislation.

While helping to settle the futures of young immigrants in the U.S., the interns are gaining valuable experience. “This placement has allowed me to advocate for the immigrant population while developing my own research skills. I have found a new passion for policy work through this internship, and it has been a great experience,” said Nicole Goldman ’21, who is working on her master’s degree in social work.

Due to the pandemic, the CPP interns have been conducting their work virtually. Though this method can be difficult because of the constant communication among interns that some of work requires, it does allow for the integration of guest speakers from across the nation, including delegates from Kids in Need of Defense, The Young Center and Casey Family Services.

After hearing about the CPP interns’ work, Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA) reached out for further support on child welfare issues. She has asked the interns to draft policy briefs in support of emergency COVID-19 relief for the national childcare system, relating to the Multiethnic Placement Act and other child welfare initiatives.

“The CPP Internship is a unique project not implemented in any other school of social work across the country,” said Ostrander. “Social work accreditation standards require all students to be competent in policy practice, and many schools of social work struggle to meet this requirement.”

Update:

This good work earned School of Social Work students and faculty awards through Influencing Social Policy (ISP). Professors Kate Kelly and Ostrander won ISP’s 2021 Faculty Research on Teaching Effectiveness in Policy contest and the students involved in the internship won the 2021 ISP’s Bruce S. Jansson MSW Contest.