Supporting the Needs of the AAPI Community During the COVID-19 Era

Recorded Webinar 
Moderator: Marianne Yoshioka, M.S.W., M.B.A., Ph.D., LCSW   
CEs: 1.5 CEs 
Level: Intermediate  
Target Audience: Social workers and other social service providers.
Course Delivery Method and Format: Recorded webinar, self study. All courses are hosted on SmithOnline. Login information will be emailed immediately after registration to the email address entered during registration.
System Requirements: Attendees will need access to a computer with internet and the capability to play recorded videos.

Date of original webinar: November 10, 2021, noon - 1:30 p.m. ET

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rates of violence towards Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) individuals has increased drastically. Join Dean Marianne Yoshioka, M.S.W., MBA, Ph.D., LICSW, and our panelists Hye-Kyung Kang, M.A., M.S.W., Ph.D., Rani Varghese, M.S.W., Ed.D.  and Phuongloan Vo M.S.W, LISW-S to discuss the current challenges facing the AAPI community and the roots of AAPI racism in the United States. The panelists will also explore the effects that this increased racism is having on the AAPI community and the role of social work to intervene. Panelists will identify programmatic and services needed as well as actions that can be taken at the micro, mezzo and macro levels. Finally, the panel will discuss the vicarious traumatization, especially on AAPI providers, and the important steps to support AAPI social workers in radical self-healing.

Registration Fees and Deadlines:

$35 (one time registration fee of $5) | Ongoing  

Learning Objectives:

1. Explain the history of racism towards AAPI communities in the United States
2. Describe the increased rate of violence towards AAPI communities since COVID-19
3. List two common barriers to treatment for AAPI individuals
4. Identify at least two actions that can be done to support AAPI communities at a micro or mezzo level

Outline:

• Current community challenges
• Roots of AAPI racism
• Effects of recent challenges
• Programmatic and service responses and barriers
• Developing a response (micro, mezzo, macro)
• Effects on AAPI practitioners
• Q and A

About the Moderator:

Dean Marianne Yoshioka arrived at the Smith College School for Social Work in 2014. Prior to Smith College, Yoshioka spent 18 years on the faculty of the New York City’s Columbia School of Social Work and also served as the school’s associate dean of academic affairs. Originally trained as a clinical social worker, Yoshioka focused her research on the areas of addiction, family therapy, HIV/AIDS, family violence in Asian communities and the design and development of culturally tailored intervention. She has received related research funding from the National Institute of Mental Health, as well as private foundations, and has published her findings extensively in an effort to advance knowledge of, and services for, underrepresented communities. 

Yoshioka has held board positions with National Association of Deans and Directors of Social Work, the NASW, social service organizations and has participated in numerous working groups and think tanks. Yoshioka has taught in the areas of clinical practice, advanced research methods, the developmental life course and practice with battered women.  

About the Panelists:

Rani Varghese, M.S.W., Ed.D., associate professor at the School of Social Work at Adelphi University, received her M.S.W. at Smith College School for Social Work and her doctorate in social justice education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her research is grounded in qualitative methods and interdisciplinary and practical knowledge and focuses on bringing a social justice framework into pedagogy and clinical practice. She has published on the role of dialogic practices across professional contexts, the impact of Intergroup Dialogue facilitator training and the application of social justice in clinical practice. Her clinical work has focused on supporting survivors of gender-based violence in college campuses; and her identities include social justice educator, feminist and mother-academic.   

Hye-Kyung Kang, M.A., M.S.W., Ph.D., is an associate professor at Seattle University where she serves as Chair of the Social Work Department and the MSW Program Director. She is a first-generation immigrant Korean American social worker and received her MSW and Ph.D. at University of Washington. Dr. Kang’s scholarship addresses cultural citizenship, Asian American immigrant communities, immigrant and refugee mental and social health, and social justice focused social work. She is a co-author of an upcoming book, Racism in the United States, 3^rd ed. (Springer).  

Phuongloan Vo, M.S.W., LISW-S, is a Ph.D. candidate at Smith College School for Social Work. She is an adjunct instructor at University of Cincinnati, School of Social Work and Smith College School for Social Work. She has a private practice, focusing on mental health, trauma treatment and needs related to life transitions and multicultural concerns for women, immigrants and people with experiences of marginalization and oppression.