In addition to instructing students at the Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work, Jenny Braunginn, MSSW ‘82, supports and advocates for school social workers in a myriad of other ways. One way in which she supports school social workers is in advocating for them to be union leaders and activists in the schools in which they work. Braunginn pointed out that school social workers are uniquely positioned within schools to bring representation of the values of the social work profession to the table in union negotiations and to push school unions to be forces for social justice. Despite this unique position, however, she stated that social workers are often left out of school unions. As she described, “When you think about union work, like, let’s say a setting like for county social workers, they’re part of the county, they’re part of the union, it’s like a whole set thing. But in schools it’s seen as a teacher’s union.” Braunginn will share strategies for school social workers to get involved in their schools’ unions and achieve these goals through a presentation at the Wisconsin School Social Workers Association Annual Conference this November in Wisconsin Dells. The presentation is similar to the panel she coordinated at last year’s Confronting Racial Injustice Conference.

Braunginn, who was a school social worker and has taught in the School of Social Work for many years, including the school social work field unit, was the president of her local union for a time.

Braunginn further described that union inclusion faces challenges because teachers often don’t fully understand what school social workers do. This is not limited to school unions, as she described many challenges with schools, communities, and families struggling to understand the role of school social workers. In response to this, she is also working on defining and clarifying the roles of school social workers in schools. As Braunginn explained, of the many roles and responsibilities that school social workers hold, “it’s a cross-section of working direct practice with the students … with the families … with the teachers. You also work at the larger systemic things … issues with discrimination and access. You’re in a lot of teams, a lot of collaborating, case management, as well as individual … counseling therapy, coordinating with community agencies, crisis intervention.”Braunginn seeks to help practitioners, schools, and communities clarify these roles. As part of this work, she has coauthored a chapter written for university educators in a book called Implementation Guide: The National School Social Work Practice Model 2.0: “Engaging with Key School Personnel and Collaborators,” which discusses roles and responsibilities of school social workers. She has also coauthored books about issues related to technology and education including improving access to technology for marginalized and rural students. 

Braunginn also works with the School Social Work Association of America (SSWAA) to address the issue of licensure for school social workers. She explained that licensure for school social work is currently not standard from state to state or for university preparation programs. This leads to challenges for school social workers studying for and obtaining their licensure as well as in transferring licensure from state to state. Braunginn and SSWAA’s goal is to present a clear model for both school social work practitioners and preparation programs and to seek a “state compact” which would allow practitioners to transfer their licensure between states. 

Not all of Braunginn’s work focuses solely on school social workers as she has also long supported social workers in becoming social justice advocates through her work within the school. In addition to teaching, she was the advisor to the Social Work Radical Student Union and she helped coordinate and chair the school’s first Social Workers Confronting Racial Injustice Conference and has been on the committee from the beginning. The conference challenges social workers to engage in racial and social justice action.Now in its 13th year, the conference has become an important date on the calendar for many social workers around Wisconsin and the country.