Prof. Daniel Pollack

Prof. Daniel Pollack is a professor at Wurzweiler School of Social Work, and Susan Radcliffe ’98W LCSW-C is a mental health therapist with rural roots and a clinical social worker at the Dorchester County Health Department in Cambridge, Maryland. In their article “Rural child social workers offer pandemic perspective,” published in Rural Health Voices, put out by the National Rural Health Association, they examine what is happening with social workers “during a first-in-our-lifetime pandemic in communities already lacking in resources.”

Susan Radcliffe

They outline the challenges facing rural children and the social workers who serve them and what preparations social workers need to make if COVID-19 continues or another pandemic strikes, which touch upon regional planning and coordination, food, the law, technology and medical supplies (both PPE and Naloxone for treating opioids), to name just a few of the areas. “Like never before,” they conclude, “COVID-19 has forced rural child welfare social workers to be versatile and multifaceted. We adapt and improvise, often running on the fuel of commitment to our communities and the families we serve.”