Kirsten Grady

A two-panel meme. On the left is an Uno wild card edited to say “Work late on Friday OR draw 25.” On the right, a man sits at a table holding a massive fan of Uno cards, clearly choosing to draw 25 rather than work late. He looks calm and unbothered, with a can of soda next to him.

Happy Friday to all the caffeine-fueled, compassionate, and determined souls out there!

Here's to a restful evening, an untouched inbox, and a weekend that begins right on schedule.

Rest is part of the work.

Public health social worker appointed as regional representative to United Nations social work commission With this appointment, Evelyn Tomaszewski will help elevate the global voice of social workers in advancing human rights, social justice, and promoting sustainable development through the UN and UN agencies.

Big congrats to Evelyn Tomaszewski!

Recently appointed as a regional representative to the UN social work commission, she'll be advocating for public health and human rights on a global scale. Having social workers shaping global policy is a huge win!

publichealth.gmu.edu...

#WayToFightFriday

What you can do right now:

1. Follow orgs like ASPPH, ANA, CSWE, APTA, AOTA, and PA groups. They’re tracking this.
2.When the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the “professional degree” definition is posted, submit a public comment.
3. Share this with those in affected fields.

Zoom out: which fields are favored?

Historically high-status, high-income, male-dominated doctor/law tracks ✅

Lower-paid, women dominated care work ❌

Also affected are the clients that need these services. Without new workers, wait times increase while level of care decreases.

So chiropractors, a field with a very mixed evidence base and aggressive lobbying get the “professional” stamp. Meanwhile the people running ICUs, psych units, rehab programs, disability services, and public health departments are told they don’t qualify.

That’s a value statement.

The federal government is saying:

We’ll fund doctor-style, high-status professions at double the loan cap…
but for nursing, social work, public health, etc? You’re “just” graduate students. Figure out the rest or don’t enroll.

This is happening during workforce shortages in all of those fields.

Who gets left in the lower “graduate” bucket?

Most programs in:

Nursing (including MSN, DNP)
Public health (MPH, DrPH)
Social work (MSW)
Physical therapy (DPT)
Occupational therapy (OTD)
Physician assistant/associate (PA), and others

They still get some federal loans but only at the lower caps.

Who makes the “professional” list for higher caps?

Pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, chiropractic, law, medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatry, theology, and clinical psychology.

Yes, chiropractic and theology are in.

Under the new rules being written now:

- “Graduate” students: max $20,500/yr, $100,000 lifetime
- “Professional” students: max $50,000/yr, $200,000 lifetime

Many programs can easily cost >$100k.That gap is the difference between federal loans and high-interest private debt.

The Dept of Education just decided that under Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” chiropractic counts as a “professional” program for higher loan caps…

but nursing, social work, public health, PT/OT, and PA do not.

Let’s talk about what that says about our priorities.

Alt text: Black-and-white portrait of Grace Abbott seated at a desk. She wears a light-colored dress or smock with sleeves rolled up and looks directly at the camera with a serious, focused expression. One hand rests on a sheet of paper in front of her against a plain background.

Before “child welfare” was a buzzword, Grace Abbott was out here building it. As head of the U.S. Children’s Bureau, she fought child labor, pushed for immigrant families and children, and treated data as a justice tool instead of just a spreadsheet.

#VoicesFromHistory #SocialWorkHistory

Before intersectionality had a name, Pauli Murray was living it... a Black, gender-nonconforming legal mind whose arguments helped topple Jim Crow and reshape gender-equality law. They changed doctrine so more people could actually live.

#VoicesFromHistory #LGBTQHistory

www.paulimurraycente...

Tamara Grigsby was a social worker, professor, and Wisconsin state rep who carried kids, families, and public health straight into the legislative chamber. She proved a treatment plan can be written into law, not just into a chart.

#VoicesFromHistory #SocialWorkInPolitics

equity.danecounty.go...

Truth Details 1.06k Replies • • Donald J. Trump @realDonald Trump SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH! 1.24k ReTruths 3.62k Likes 贝 11/20/25, 7:21 AM 山

Trump has doubled down on his call to kill the opposition, it is time for congress to start the impeachment process and arrest this bubba sucking traitor.

Alt text: Painted portrait of Robert Owen from the chest up, wearing a dark coat, white shirt, and black cravat. He has light skin, thinning brown hair, and a calm, direct expression against a dark background.

In the 1800s, industrialist Robert Owen looked at child labor, 14-hour days, and factory misery and said, “Absolutely not.” At his New Lanark mills he cut hours, opened schools and childcare, and experimented with co-ops and workers’ rights.

#VoicesFromHistory #LaborHistory

Glenn, Mary Wilcox Mrs. Glenn’s move to New York coincided with the growing awareness for the need for professional training for charity workers and the importance of trained caseworkers. It was also a time when soci…

Mary W Glenn helped shape the early family-welfare system, long before most women could even get a credit card in their own name. In 1936, social workers from across the US gathered in NYC to honor her decades of leadership. Quiet name, huge impact.

#VoicesFromHistory

Wtaf?!?

I'm appalled and disturbed. Every American should be. A sitting US president threatening the other party with executions should not be allowed to lead.

www.detroitnews.com/story/news/p...

#StopAuthorizationism #HeyHeyHoHoDonaldTrumpHasGotToGo

Breaking: Trump’s team has discovered a bold new way to hide bad job numbers: cancel the jobs report. No data, no problem, right? We’re not buying it. Suppressing information is an admission. We see you. We remember. We vote.

A little bit of everything, I suspect.

Survivors deserve real transparency, not a selective release that shields power & offers up a few convenient villains. Watch the redactions, who gets investigated, & whose names are still protected. The story isn’t just what’s in the files. It’s who our govt still thinks is too important to name.

Let’s be honest about what’s coming:
-Heavy redactions
-“Active investigation” stamped on anything inconvenient
-Privacy and classification stretched as far as they can get away with
-Lots of focus on Dem names, very little on Trump’s circle

While all this is happening, House Republicans tried to censure Del. Stacey Plaskett and kick her off Intel over texts with Epstein from 2019. The move failed, but the message was clear.

One set of rules for a Democrat who texted him. Another for a president who partied with him.

Right on cue, Trump orders a new DOJ investigation into Democrats’ ties to Epstein. Bondi announces a probe aimed at Clinton, Summers, Hoffman, and others on the left. No matching, broad sweep of Trump allies or GOP donors. But now DOJ can say, “Sorry, active investigation, can’t release that yet.”

The bill is filled with loopholes.

DOJ can withhold/redact info that:
- Could jeopardize ongoing fed investigations
- Includes sensitive victim details
- Involves child exploitation material
- Displays graphic images of harm
- Remains classified for national security reasons

Then Congress moved: 427–1 in the House, unanimous consent in the Senate on the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Translation: veto-proof, bipartisan freight train.

Magically, Trump flips from “Epstein hoax” to “nothing to hide, vote yes.”

That timing is not subtle.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes:
- Sen. Durbin says FBI agents were told to flag any records that mention Trump.
- Reporting shows FOIA officers redacted Trump’s name from earlier releases “for privacy reasons,” even while other names slipped through.

So yes, there has been special handling already.

The excuses we’ve heard:
- “It’s a Democrat hoax.”
- “We need to move on and focus on the economy.”
- “There is no client list, stop asking.”
- “Victim privacy means we can’t release more.”
- “It was just a procedural vote, not really about the files.”

Pick a day, get a different excuse.

A DOJ/FBI memo this summer said there was no secret “client list,” no evidence of a blackmail ring, and that Epstein died of suicide. Trump treated that like case closed. Democrats kept pushing for a full release anyway. Now suddenly it’s transparency o’clock.

Buckle up because this is gonna be a long one.

The Epstein files didn’t magically become “ready.” The politics did. For years: delay, deny, distract. Then overnight: “We have nothing to hide, release the files.” Sure. Let’s talk about the excuses, the loopholes, and who’s being invesigated.

Behind the Desk question of the day:

What corner of social work are you in, and what’s one thing people don’t realize about it?

(Students, adjacent roles, and “I left but I still care” peeps are welcome here too.)