Introduction to Social Justice Lenses for Family Well-Being

This course explores a social justice lens through which family service providers can view prohibitive barriers that negatively impact family well-being. Learners are encouraged to reflect on their own experiences, and begin to envision equitable pathways to well-being for the families they serve by blending theory into practice.

Family service providers will engage the concepts of social justice, intersectionality, and well-being as opportunities to support social justice action culminating in family well-being. An understanding of intersectional self-identification, in addition to intersectional marginalization, will provide service providers with frameworks to help families from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds navigate paths to well-being. 

Upon completion of the course, participants should be able to:

• Define and appreciate the nuances of social justice, intersectionality, and well-being

• Understand the cultural significance of families unlike your own.

• Examine the racialized, gendered, and sexual histories of the United States

• Create applicable solutions of well-being for family and community

The 2022 Military Family Readiness Academy series focused on individuals’ understanding of social justice and equity, including their own understanding of privilege and oppression.

Shawn Trenell O’Neal

Shawn Trennell O’Neal is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Colorado Boulder in the Ethnic Studies Department. He has served as a Teaching Assistant, Instructor, and Lecturer in a range of courses including Introduction to Africana Studies, Introduction To Critical Hip Hop Studies, and Violence Against Women and Girls. His research experience includes archival and primary source work for North American Indigenous Peoples, Indian gaming, identity formation, Indian mascots, and media representation.

This course is approved for 1.5 CEs from the following organizations:

• Board Certified Patient Advocates: This program has been pre-approved by the Patient Advocate Certification Board (PACB) to provide continuing education credit to Board Certified Patient Advocates (BCPA). The program has been approved for a total of 1.5 CE contact hours, of which 0.0 are in the area of Ethics.
• Accredited Financial Counselors (AFC): This program has been approved for 1.5 CEUs from the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education (AFCPE) for AFCs.
• Social Work, LPC, LMFT: This program has been approved for 1.5 CEs from the University of Texas at Austin, Steve Hicks School of Social Work.
• Certified Family Life Educators (CFLE): This program has been approved for 1.5 CEs from National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) for CFLEs.
• Certified Personal Finance Counselors (CPFC): This program has been approved for 1.5 CEs from FinCert for CPFCs.
• Case Manager: This program has been approved by the Commission for Case Manager Certification for board-certified case managers with 1.5 clock hours.

Participants interested in documenting their training activities may also receive a Certificate of Attendance.