Society for Social Work and Research

These noted panelists illustrate how they bring a social work voice into the discourse on poverty and what policy possibilities result from their research. Susan Lambert will discuss her collaboration with research colleagues and national policy organizations toward improving public policy and employer practices for low-income workers and their families. She will highlight a collaborative research project on scheduling issues in hourly jobs that is identifying options for improving job conditions that matter for both worker wellbeing and family economic security. Yolanda Padilla will outline a framework to actively incorporate a Latino-based perspective on how to better connect research and policy on Latino poverty. Drawing from participation in the Latino Research and Policy Alliance, Padilla will share insights on the concerns that Latino researchers voice about the connection between research and policy and how we can better address Latino poverty in the context of social and economic disparities affecting this population. Daniel Meyer will spotlight a collaborative process in which researchers and state government policy-makers together identified needed research and describe two resulting projects focusing on the needs of economically vulnerable single-parent families. Meyer will elaborate similarities and differences in policy influence. Research, policy lessons and future directions stemming from the presentations will be discussed by the panel and audience.