VCU School of Social Work

Finding your place

“Before getting into social work I was a kindergarten teacher working with children with special needs. Through this work I developed a parents’ support group to help parents better understand their children’s needs as related to their appropriateness for school. From that experience I realized that many of the parents whose children were in special education didn’t understand how and why the IEP [Individual Education Plans] process worked.

“As I began working with parents in the support group, I realized that my role as a teacher was a lot larger than just teaching in the classroom. I really needed to be an advocate for families in the community, and that spring-boarded me into doing volunteer work at a local child advocacy organization. Through this volunteer work I was offered a job with the local social services organization as a foster care worker, and from there I decided to go back to school and get my master’s degree in social work.

“I’ve always had a passion for issues specific to social and economic justice. I think that everyone should be afforded the opportunity and the support needed to achieve their goals; and family well-being — and well-being in general — is an important concern that all social workers should have. I believe this to be a direct correlation to equity. Policies and programs that are designed to promote well-being should be made available to everyone. Issues of equity, fairness and inclusion are very important to me.”

Education

• Ph.D. – Clark Atlanta University, Whitney M. Young, Jr. School of Social Work, Atlanta, Ga.
• M.S.W. – California State University at Long Beach, Long Beach, Calif.
• B.A. – Valdosta State University, Valdosta, Ga.

Research interests

• Child welfare practice and policy development (impact of supervision on worker practice and policy)
• Intersections of child welfare practice and families affected by HIV/AIDS
• Leadership in social work education
• Evaluation practice

Courses taught

• Child and Family Policy
• Strategies for Social Work Planning and Administration
• Social Work Practice in Child Welfare
• Policy, Community and Organizational Practice I

Selected publications

• Jones, J.L., MacMaster, S.A., Rasch, R.F.A. & Cooper, R.L. (2009). The Experiences of African American Male Commercial Sex Workers At-Risk for HIV: Accessing Outreach Services. Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services, 21(1-2).

• Jones, J. (2008). The prevalence of HIV-infection among African American substance abusing women: A qualitative investigation. In Bride, B. & MacMaster, S. (Eds). Stress, trauma, and crisis: An international focus (pp. 53-64). Routeledge Press: PA.

• MacMaster, S.A., Jones, J.L., Rasch, R., Crawford, S.L., & Thompson, S., Sanders, E.M. (2007). Evaluation of a faith based culturally relevant services for African American substance users at risk for HIV in the Southern United States. Research on Social Work Practice, 17(2), 229-238.

• MacMaster, S., Crawford, S., Jones, J.L., Thompson, S. (2007). Metropolitan community AIDS network: faith based culturally relevant services for African American substance users at risk for HIV. Journal of Health and Social Work.

• Bride, B., Jones, J.L. (2006). Secondary Traumatic Stress in Child Workers: Exploring the role of supervisory culture. International Journal of Continuing Social Work Education, (9)2/3.

• Jones, J.L., Cho, S. (2006). The Impact of Organizational Culture on Intention to Remain in Public Child Welfare: A Case Study in Tennessee. International Journal of Continuing Social Work Education, (9)2/3.

• Washington, G., Johnson, T., Jones, J.L., Langs, S. (2006). African American boys in relative care and a culturally-centered group mentoring approach. Social Work and Groups, 30(1), 45-70.

Professional affiliations

• Director, CSWE-Minority Fellowship Programs (2007-09)
• National Association of Black Social Workers
• Society of Social Work Research
• Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)
• National Association of Social Workers