Navigating the Intersection of Disability Justice and Professional Competence in Social Work Education

Moderator(s)

Brittany Lynch, DSW, LCSW

Assistant Professor, MSSW Program Director
Iona University

Panelist(s)

Britney Carter, PhD, LCSW (she/her/hers)

Assistant Teaching Professor
Syracuse University
JM

Jeanne Matich-Maroney, PhD, LCSW-R

Professor/Chair, Social Work department
Iona University

This panel examines tensions between accommodating social work students with disabilities and ensuring competency attainment for ethical practice. Drawing on research and diverse lived experience, three social work educators explore how well-intentioned university sanctioned accommodations may hinder critical professional competencies and discuss strategies to ethically reconcile disability justice with gatekeeping.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, attendees should be able to:

Understand the potential impact of university-sanctioned accommodations on the development of interpersonal skills and their influence on the professional readiness of social work students.
Explore the challenges between balancing disability justice and the gatekeeping role of social work educators.
Examine possible university-scale policy changes to align services offered by accessibility services offices with the expectations of professional degree programs.