Policy Scenario #3 – Immigration and Social Justice

Some Think Tanks and Other Web Resources for Understanding Policies and Policy Issues

· National Association of Social Workers (NASW): https://www.socialworkers.org/ click on Advocacy tab

· #macrosw : https://macrosw.com/ click on chats AND also see archived chats: https://macrosw.com/chat-archives/

· National Association of Black Social Workers (NABSW): https://www.nabsw.org

· The North American Association of Christians in Social Work (NACSW): https://www.nacsw.org/

· Social Work Policy Institute: http://www.socialworkpolicy.org/

· Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Social Policy (CRISP)/Congressional Social Work Caucus: https://crispinc.org/congressional-social-work-caucus-2/

· Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP): “a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization advancing policy solutions for low-income people”; “We develop practical yet visionary strategies for reducing poverty, promoting economic opportunity, and addressing barriers faced by people of color.”  http://www.socialworkpolicy.org/

· The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank created in 1986 to include the needs of low- and middle-income workers in economic policy discussions. https://www.epi.org

· Pew Research Center: Non-partisan, non-advocacy fact tank http://www.pewresearch.org/

· http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ - find your congressional district and representatives

· http ://www.govtrack.us/ - track the activities of the United States Congress

Think Tanks by general political orientation

Centrist: Brookings institute: http://www.brookings.edu /

Right:

· Heritage Foundation: http://www.heritage.org

· American Enterprise Institute: http://www.aei.org

· Cato Institute (libertarian) : http://www.cato.org

· The Hoover Institution https://www.hoover.org

Left:

· Center for American Progress: http://www.americanprogress.org

· Progressive Policy Institute: http://www.progressivepolicy.org/

· Urban Institute: https://www.urban.org

· Institute for Policy Studies: https://ips-dc.org/

· Categorized think tanks: http ://ideas.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/think-tanks/

Resources Addressing Specific Policy Areas

· Health Care: Kaiser Family Foundation https://www.kff.org/

· Aging and Care: American Association of Retired Persons (AARP): https://www.aarp.org/politics-society/?intcmp=GLBNAV-PL-POL-POL

· Criminal Justice / Mass Incarceration - The Sentencing Project - “Founded in 1986, The Sentencing Project works for a fair and effective U.S. criminal justice system by promoting reforms in sentencing policy, addressing unjust racial disparities and practices, and advocating for alternatives to incarceration.” https://www.sentencingproject.org/

· https://www.brennancenter.org/issues - The Brennan Center for Justice – various social justice issues, especially voting rights

· Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: https://www.samhsa.gov/

· National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): https://www.samhsa.gov/ click on “Learn More” and then Public Policy tab.

· Institute for Research on Poverty: http://www.irp.wisc.edu/index.htm

· Center for Immigration Studies: http://www.cis.org/

· MDRC – issues covering young people and education, work and income security, families with children: http://www.mdrc.org/

· Southern Poverty Law Center - https://www.splcenter.org/

· http://.votesmart.org – Information on federal, state, and local candidates and elected officials. Learn who your state and local officials are and obtain information on their positions on issues of interest to you. Find information on voting records, issue positions, interest group ratings, and public statements.

· http://www.mytimetovote.com/default.html - search your home state to learn about your elected officials, learn about upcoming elections

· For PA: http://elections.mytimetovote.com/elected_officials/pennsylvania.html

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