Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
University of Connecticut West Hartford, CT

Master of Science – Social Work (M.S.W.)
Concentration: Policy Practice
University of Connecticut West Hartford, CT

Bachelor of Science – Social Work (B.S.W.)
Magna Cum Laude, Phi Alpha Social Work Honors Society
Elms College Chicopee, MA

Associate of Science – Human Services
Berkshire Community College Pittsfield, MA


Bio
Jason Ostrander, Ph.D., M.S.W., is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at Anna Maria College. He has conducted several studies utilizing quantitative and qualitative methods. He has published over 20 peer-reviewed articles and more than 50 presentations on social workers’ political participation, civic engagement, and child welfare. Jason is a frequent presenter at major professional conferences. While a doctoral student, he was also a research assistant for the Performance Improvement Center (PIC) at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work and worked with and was funded by the Connecticut State Department of Children and Families (DCF) to assist Community Partner Agencies (CPAs) to enhance the quality of and evaluate their work, and to make recommendations to the CPAs and DCF. Dr. Ostrander brings extensive experience working in the local, state, and federal political spheres. This experience includes serving as a congressional aide to a former U.S. Congressman. Dr. Ostrander is working with federal lawmakers on the Ways and Means Committee to create and pass evidence-informed child welfare policies through policy development with social work students. He brings extensive experience in research, policy development, child welfare practice, and personal experiences—living in an impoverished single-parent household and being exposed to drug addiction, alcoholism, and inter-partner violence throughout his childhood. He currently serves on the Research Committee and Advisory Board for the Nancy A. Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work, the Board of Directors for the Social Work Democracy Project, the Board of Directors of Influencing Social Policy, and the Director of Research for the Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy. Dr. Ostrander and a colleague were awarded a $2.5 million federal grant in 2021 with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina to implement and evaluate interventions to overcome barriers to kinship care and improve native children's outcomes.

Courses Taught:
SWK 242- Introduction to Social Welfare
SWK 348- Growth and Behavior in the Social Environment I
SWK 401- Social Work Research
SWK 449- Practice with Communities
SWK 454- Senior Capstone
SWK 503 Social Welfare Policy
SWK 508 Practice with Communities
SWK 601 Policy and Practice
SWK 604- Integrated Seminar I
SWK 609 Integrated Seminar II

Research Interests:
Political Social Work
Civic and Political Participation
Policy Practice
Community Engagement
Child Welfare
Social Work Education
Integrated Social Work Practice
Program Evaluation


PEER REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
1.Ostrander, J., Berkowitz, A., Meehan, P., & Tallon, C. (2022). Gender dynamics and the political recruitment of social workers. [Research note]. Journal of Policy Practice and Research, 4, 41-56. 10.1007/s42972-022-00066-1

2.Meehan, P., Ostrander, J., & Lane, S. (2022). Who is a social worker? Lessons from research on political participation. [Research note]. Advances in Social Work, 22(1), 1-13. DOI: 10.18060/25650

3.Kindler, T. & Ostrander, J. (2022). Factors influencing the political participation of social workers in the United States and Switzerland—differences and similarities. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 49(1), 148-173. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol49/iss1/8

4.Hylton, M., Lane, S., Smith, T., Ostrander, J. & Powers, J. (2021). Voter Engagement Model: Engaging social work students in civic engagement through social work education. Journal of Social Work Education, 59(2), 423-437. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2021.2009945

5.Ostrander, J., Kindler, T., & Bryan, J. (2020). Using the Civic Voluntarism Model to compare the political participation of US and Swiss social workers. Journal of Policy Practice and Research, 2, 4–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42972-020-00020-z

6.Sandler, A., Hylton, M., Ostrander, J., & Smith, T. (2020). The three-legged stool of voter engagement: Social work’s role in mobilizing the vote among marginalized communities. Critical Social Work, 21(2), 41-56. https://doi.org/10.22329/csw.v21i2.6463

7.Ostrander, J. & Kelly, K. (2020). Fulfilling the ethical obligation to political participation: Clinical social workers, professional socialization, and professional identity. Journal of Social Work Education, 56(4), 1-16. DOI: 10.1080/10437797.2020.1817824
*Winner of the 2021 Faculty Research on Teaching Effectiveness in Policy Award from Influencing Social Policy

8.McClendon, J., Lane, S., Ostrander, J., & Smith, T. (2020). Training social workers for political engagement: Exploring regional differences in the United States. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 40(2), 147-168. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841233.2020.1724240

9.Ostrander, J., Bryan, J., & Lane, S. (2019). Clinical social workers, gender, and perceptions of political participation. Special issue on “Promoting social change: Policy advocacy, research, and innovation in social work.” Advances in Social Work, 19(1), 256-275. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18060/22609

10.Lane, S., Hill, K., Ostrander, J., Smith, T., Powers, J., & Hylton, M. (2019). Creating a culture of voting in direct and generalist practice. Special issue on “Promoting social change: Policy advocacy, research, and innovation in social work.” Advances in Social Work, 19(1), 86-105. DOI: 10.18060/22614

11.Hylton, M., Smith, T., Powers, J., Ostrander, J., & Lane, S. (2018). The Power of Three: Infusing voter engagement in lower level BSW courses. Journal of Baccalaureate Social Work, 23(1), 213-229. https://doi.org/10.18084/1084-7219.23.1.213

12.Berthold, S. M., Kong, S., Ostrander, J., & Fukuda, S. (2018). Socially isolated Cambodians in the U.S.: Recommendations for health promotion. Advances in Social Work, 18(3), 808-832. doi: 10.18060/22318

13.Ostrander, J., Bryan, J., Sandler, A., Nieman, P., Clark, M., Loveland, E., & Smith, T. (2018). The political participation of first year social work students: Does practice specialization matter? Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 41(3), 39-59. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol45/iss3/4

1 14.Werkmeister Rozas, L., Ostrander, J. & Feely, M. (2018). Inequalities in US child protection: The case of sex trafficked youth. Social Science Review, 7(8), 135. https://doi-org/10.3390/socsci7080135

15.Lane, S., Ostrander, J., & Smith, T. (2018). "Politics is social work with power": Training social workers for elected office. Social Work Education, 37(1), 1-16. https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.uconn.edu/10.1080/02615479.2017.1366975

16.Ostrander, J., Melville, A., Bryan, J., & Letendre, J. (2017). Proposed modification of a school-wide bully prevention program to support all children. Journal of School Violence, 17(3), 367-380. doi: 10.1080/15388220.2017.1379909

17.Ostrander, J., Melville, A., & Berthold, S. M. (2017). Working with refugees in the United States: Trauma-informed and structurally competent social work approaches. Advances in Social Work, 18(1), 66-79. doi: 10.18060/21282

18.Ostrander, J., Lane, S., McClendon, J., Hayes, C., & Smith, T. (2017). Collective power to create political change: Increasing the political efficacy and engagement of social workers. Journal of Policy Practice, 16(3), 261-275. https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.uconn.edu/10.1080/15588742.2016.1266296

19.Letendre, J., Ostrander, J., & Mickens, A. (2016) Teacher and staff voices: Implementation of a PBIS bully prevention program in an urban school. Children and Schools, 38(4), 235-243. https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.uconn.edu/10.1093/cs/cdw032


BOOK CHAPTER, PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
1.Ostrander, J., Kelly, K., & Carl-Stannard, P. (2021). Integrating macro-micro practice. In Encyclopedia of Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.1447

2.Letendre, J., Ostrander, J., & Mickens, A. (2019) Teacher and staff voices: Implementation of a PBIS bully prevention program in an urban school. In T. Bent-Goodley, J.H. Williams, M. Teasley, & S. Gorin (Eds.), Grand challenges for society: Evidence-based social work practice. NASW Press.

3.Werkmeister Rozas, L., Feely, M., & Ostrander, J. (2019). Social Work and policy change in the USA: The case of sex trafficked youth. In U. K. Lammer, S. Leiber, & S. Leitner (Eds.), Social Work and The Making of Social Policy. Policy Press.


NON-PEER REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
1.Ostrander, J., Sandler, A. & Hylton, M. (2018). New automatic voter registration law lifts up marginalized populations. Social Work Voices, 1(6), 10-11.

2.Ostrander, J., Hayes, C., & Hinds, A. (2018). Race, incarceration, and voting: The ugly truth. Empowering voices through removal of felony voter bans. Social Work Voices, 1(4), 7.

3.Ostrander, J., Koubiadia, R., Franklin, K., Rubin, J., Bishop, M., Salinas, N., & Barron, L. (2015). Voter Participation. In Social Work Speaks. (10th ed., pp. 311-315). NASW Press.