2025 Policy Awardees
Thank you to everyone who submitted a nomination for ISP’s Policy Scholarship Awards. Congratulations to our 2025 awardees for their important and impactful contributions to the field of policy practice:
Bruce S. Jansson MSW Awardee
Beverly Hill, DePaul University Social Welfare Policy Student for their paper which aims to examine systemic barriers to reentry with a focus on Clean Slate legislation, which legally seals records after a period of law-abiding behavior. “This policy analysis understands Clean Slate legislation within the social work context of a commitment to social justice and equity, especially for communities of color disproportionately harmed by the criminal legal system. The analysis considers collateral consequences in depth and illustrates that petition-based systems for expungement do not adequately address reentry needs and can further reinforce the racial inequities perpetuated by the criminal legal system…the analysis sets the goals, measures and evaluation standards; engages in policy comparative analysis; and ultimately gives policy recommendations that an automated Clean Slate or sealing system in Illinois would align with social work ethical principles and the importance of evidence-based practice.” Click here to learn more.
Research on Teaching Effectiveness in Policy Awardee
Dr. Marshelia D. Harris, Indiana University School of Social Work Assistant Professor for their article focused on “teaching social welfare policy to undergraduate students...[discussing] the use of Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory (1984) to teach social welfare policy. Students gain the ability to share real world experiences with each other and to identify common areas of interest. Robust classroom discussions afford students an opportunity to understand concepts and ideas while good debates provide an option to showcase knowledge and demonstrate critical thinking skills. These teaching methods take into consideration the needs of the diverse learners and allow the instructor the flexibility to incorporate different teaching methods to address the learning styles of all students.” Click here to learn more.
Bruce S. Jansson MSW Awardee
Beverly Hill, DePaul University Social Welfare Policy Student for their paper which aims to examine systemic barriers to reentry with a focus on Clean Slate legislation, which legally seals records after a period of law-abiding behavior. “This policy analysis understands Clean Slate legislation within the social work context of a commitment to social justice and equity, especially for communities of color disproportionately harmed by the criminal legal system. The analysis considers collateral consequences in depth and illustrates that petition-based systems for expungement do not adequately address reentry needs and can further reinforce the racial inequities perpetuated by the criminal legal system…the analysis sets the goals, measures and evaluation standards; engages in policy comparative analysis; and ultimately gives policy recommendations that an automated Clean Slate or sealing system in Illinois would align with social work ethical principles and the importance of evidence-based practice.” Click here to learn more.
Research on Teaching Effectiveness in Policy Awardee
Dr. Marshelia D. Harris, Indiana University School of Social Work Assistant Professor for their article focused on “teaching social welfare policy to undergraduate students...[discussing] the use of Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory (1984) to teach social welfare policy. Students gain the ability to share real world experiences with each other and to identify common areas of interest. Robust classroom discussions afford students an opportunity to understand concepts and ideas while good debates provide an option to showcase knowledge and demonstrate critical thinking skills. These teaching methods take into consideration the needs of the diverse learners and allow the instructor the flexibility to incorporate different teaching methods to address the learning styles of all students.” Click here to learn more.
Check back here in the summer of 2026 for our next round of scholarship nominations and award opportunities!
Katherine V. Byers BSW Award
Katherine V. Byers was recognized as a Social Work Pioneer by the National Association of Social Workers Foundation for her work as a founding member of Influencing Social Policy (ISP). Byers, now retired, has had a long career as both a social worker and an educator. In 1997, she helped create ISP, which holds annual contests for students to propose policy ideas and hosts an annual conference and teaching institute. She served as its national chair for seven years, during which time she connected ISP with the University of Connecticut and the Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy to launch a voter empowerment campaign partnering schools of social work with local social service agencies.
Full - or part-time BSW students (as individuals or collaborative groups) are eligible to apply, along with their faculty mentors. This is a chance to be recognized for your efforts to influence or advocate for a local, state, or national social policy or a piece of state or federal legislation in the United States.
A $500 cash award will be given to the awarded individual(s). Group winners will share the award.
Full - or part-time BSW students (as individuals or collaborative groups) are eligible to apply, along with their faculty mentors. This is a chance to be recognized for your efforts to influence or advocate for a local, state, or national social policy or a piece of state or federal legislation in the United States.
A $500 cash award will be given to the awarded individual(s). Group winners will share the award.
Bruce S. Jansson MSW Award
Bruce S. Jansson is the Driscoll/Clevenger professor of social policy in the School of Social Work at the University of Southern California (USC). He joined the USC faculty in 1973 after working in Michigan as a community organizer and planner for tenant rights. He also has served as the Moses distinguished research professor at the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center. His scholarly interests focus on advancing case advocacy and policy advocacy in social work, as well as examining the history and practice of social welfare policy. He invented the term “policy practice” in the 1984 release of The Theory and Practice of Social Policy, which was succeeded by other titles, including Becoming an Effective Policy Advocate (1999, 2003, 2008, 2011, and 2014). Policy practice has since emerged as a recognized intervention, with the Council on Social Work Education now requiring social work schools to teach policy practice.
Full - or part-time MSW students (as individuals or collaborative groups) are eligible to apply, along with their faculty mentors. This is a chance to be recognized for your efforts to influence or advocate for a local, state, or national social policy or a piece of state or federal legislation in the United States.
A $500 cash award will be given to the awarded individual(s). Group winners will share the award.
Full - or part-time MSW students (as individuals or collaborative groups) are eligible to apply, along with their faculty mentors. This is a chance to be recognized for your efforts to influence or advocate for a local, state, or national social policy or a piece of state or federal legislation in the United States.
A $500 cash award will be given to the awarded individual(s). Group winners will share the award.
Robert L. Schneider Dissertation Award
For much of his life, Robert L. Schneider, Ph.D., the big picture was macro social work. Colleagues remember Schneider, who retired in 2008 and passed away in 2020, for his role in the school’s social work administration, planning and policy practice concentration and the subsequent SWAPPP Scholarship. At a national level, he founded Influencing State Policy – now Influencing Social Policy – in 1997 as an organization devoted to connecting social work students and faculty to legislative policy and advocacy.
Any student currently enrolled in a social work Ph.D. program in the United States is eligible to apply. All doctoral coursework and all comprehensive/oral/qualifying exams must be successfully completed by the application deadline. The dissertation must be in progress and not yet completed at the time of application. The application materials will be scored based on relevance to social work practice; use of an appropriate methodology; clarity and organization; and potential to influence state policy.
A $1,500 cash award will be given to the awarded individual.
Any student currently enrolled in a social work Ph.D. program in the United States is eligible to apply. All doctoral coursework and all comprehensive/oral/qualifying exams must be successfully completed by the application deadline. The dissertation must be in progress and not yet completed at the time of application. The application materials will be scored based on relevance to social work practice; use of an appropriate methodology; clarity and organization; and potential to influence state policy.
A $1,500 cash award will be given to the awarded individual.
Research on Teaching Effectiveness in Policy
Influencing Social Policy (ISP) is now accepting nominations for its award recognizing outstanding research on Teaching Effectiveness in Policy. This award, made possible by the Fund for Social Policy Education & Practice, recognizes significant social work contributions to the scholarship of teaching and learning in the social policy sequence. Examples of pertinent research questions include: What teaching strategies and assignments produce optimal learning outcomes for students? After students graduate, what is their sense of efficacy in influencing social policy and what do they actually do? What assignments, readings, and activities do students identify as pivotal to their learning about social policy and policy practice?
Self- nominations are accepted and encouraged. The author of the winning article will receive a cash award of $500 and a plaque from ISP. Co-authors will share the cash award and will receive certificates of recognition.
Self- nominations are accepted and encouraged. The author of the winning article will receive a cash award of $500 and a plaque from ISP. Co-authors will share the cash award and will receive certificates of recognition.