Volume 1, Issue 1 (2025)

JISWPR Editor's Note

Dear Readers, Colleagues, and Partners in Justice,

It is with deep gratitude and great humility that we introduce the inaugural issue of the Journal of Justice-Informed Social Work Practice and Research, from the Social Work Department at Bethel University. This first issue has been a long time in the making - longer than we initially imagined. The process required patience, reflection, collaboration, and care. Thanks to our authors, reviewers, editorial board, and readers for joining us in this important endeavor.

This journal is launched in the shadow of the murder of George Floyd, whose death on a Minneapolis street ignited local grief and global demands for racial justice. The uprising that followed laid bare longstanding inequities embedded in policing, housing, health care, education, and economic opportunity. In the winter of 2026, the shadow of federal enforcement fell heavily across our communities. Yet, in the face of overwhelming systemic pressure, the people of this city chose a different narrative - one defined not by terror, but by fierce solidarity. Neighbors organized mutual aid networks overnight. Faith communities opened their doors in sanctuary. Grassroots efforts materialized through creative resistance. Community members gathered to mourn, to rebuild, and to reimagine what justice might look like for the collective well-being of the neighborhood. It has been both sobering and inspiring to bear witness to history unfolding in our streets and institutions.

This landscape has also compelled many of us to examine our own faith perspectives. Regardless of political alignment or ideological affiliation, we are called to consider justice as a core principle of what it means to be human. Justice is not a partisan issue; it is a moral imperative. It calls us to affirm the inherent dignity and worth of every person and to confront systems that diminish that dignity.

As social work scholars and practitioners, we are reminded that research informs practice, and practice informs research. This relationship is embodied in the work represented in these pages. Our inaugural authors demonstrate a commitment to advancing human rights and justice across multiple contexts: clinical practice, community organizing, policy advocacy, education, and interdisciplinary research. Their scholarship reflects a deep engagement with the realities of systemic oppression while offering evidence-informed pathways toward equity and restoration. And for the faculty, staff and students at Bethel University’s Department of Social Work, it is an opportunity for us to reflect deeply on how our faith informs our practice, and our practice informs our faith.

We envision this journal as a space where rigorous inquiry strengthens practice; where lived experience informs theory; where scholars, practitioners, and communities learn from each other; and where justice-informed social work evolves in response to the needs of our time. It is our privilege to share this first issue with you. May it inform your work and strengthen our commitment to advancing justice.

With gratitude and resolve,

Editorial Board Journal of Justice-Informed Social Work Practice and Research Bethel University St. Paul, Minnesota