Meet NASW-Michigan’s Newest Team Member, Jordan Freeman!

Hi everyone! I am Jordan Freeman. I use she/her/hers pronouns and I am thrilled to have started as the new Social Work Workforce Program Manager. I started at NASW-Michigan only a couple weeks ago and am honored to be able to serve you all in this role. As a licensed clinical social worker myself I am eager to bring important workforce issues to the spotlight to help us all be more informed and empowered to support positive change for our profession.

Why did you choose social work?

I completed my Master’s in Social Work with a clinical concentration in Child and Youth in Families and Society from the University of Michigan in 2014. Before graduate school I received my BSW from Eastern Michigan University. Throughout my career I have had the opportunity to work in a range of roles and on a variety of projects; including hospice social work with McLaren Hospice, medical social work in oncology at St. Joseph Mercy Health System/Trinity Health, grant funded work that involved coalition work with SRSLY Chelsea, volunteer management at St. Joe’s, and tobacco treatment counseling at St. Joe’s. Currently, I also work as a mental health therapist for my own private practice, www.cusumanolmsw.com.

Before choosing to study social work, I considered a few different career paths, including law, business, and journalism. Ultimately, I landed on social work after a college counselor helped me hone in on what it was exactly about those other fields that was appealing and what also drew me away from them. This counselor helped me realize that I had a deep desire to help people, but that I wanted to do so by helping individuals find their own solutions and make change for themselves - much like this counselor (who happened to be an MSW herself) did for me. As soon as I started taking courses for this path forward I was overwhelmed with interest and excitement about the material and all the ways and all the places that a social worker could make a difference. The ethical principles of individual autonomy and empowerment feel deeply rooted in my own sense of self and values that I continue to ‘choose social work’ everyday, even 15 years after I made that first choice! 

What workforce issues are you most excited to work on?

Over the years working in medical social work and then starting my own private practice I know how isolated we can become - not just from each other but also from our profession as a whole. As I’m getting up to speed myself with the initiatives NASW-Michigan as well as the National office have been working on, I am grateful that they’ve been working on our behalf and excited to support these efforts as well as keep you informed on any actionables and ways for you to get involved. 

Our major focuses, currently, are shaping up to be around three categories: 

Licensure: I am taking a deep dive into the problems with the ASWB exam and exploring the most equitable solutions to bring Michigan’s licensure process up to social work’s ethical standards for equity and competence. As the state with the 3rd most licensed MSWs, 3rd most Black social workers and the most licensed BSWs, we can be one of the leaders in how to respond to the ASWB’s report. 

Supervision: I’m incredibly passionate about the importance of this for every stage of our career. Good supervision is the best remedy for that experience of isolation I mentioned earlier that I suspect many of us can relate to. For social workers on both sides of supervision there are challenges to good quality supervision - whether you’re looking for it or looking to provide it. I am going to work on providing supervisors with support and resources to help them with this role while I work on making it easier for social workers needing supervision to find it. Whether you are a social work student intern, a limited licensed social worker, or someone who’s been in the field we all need the support and connection that social work supervision provides.

And finally, Reimbursement Rates: Most of us know that reimbursement rates, especially for government funded insurance, are of top concern for many social workers. When Medicaid trails far behind commercial insurance plans or what clients paying cash are paying for services, it negatively impacts access to care for some of our most vulnerable clients. I am going to work to demystify reimbursement rates and private practice work so that, hopefully, more therapists can provide their services to more clients, with a particular focus on bringing medicaid rates up to more comparable numbers. 

While these seem to be the issues rising to the top as I am onboarding and getting myself acquainted with the team here at NASW Michigan I am always available and eager to hear from you!

What other passions/hobbies do you have?

I am a very passionate animal person. I have two Morgan horses, Lovey and Beckham, who I ride and care for daily. We also have two cats, Dexter and Reid, who provide a lot of comedic relief working from home with me. I also have a 12 year old Doberman, Ginny, who has been my running partner for many years. When I have the opportunity to get away, my husband and I enjoy camping and exploring the National Parks. 

How can social workers support your efforts or share their experiences?

As I am serving NASW-Michigan as the Program Manager for Workforce Issues I am looking forward to connecting and collaborating with you all! My email is jfreeman.naswmi@socialworkers.org and would love to hear from you! 

I also invite you to join in our work together through the Chapter’s Workforce and Working Conditions Committee, which meets on the 4th Thursday of each month from 12-1pm. Sign up for that committee at https://forms.gle/wP7eNyHQrXGt91fG6.