{"id":82610,"date":"2026-06-10T17:25:45","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T21:25:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/?p=82610"},"modified":"2026-06-10T17:28:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T21:28:46","slug":"two-bussw-students-named-2026-rappaport-public-policy-fellows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/two-bussw-students-named-2026-rappaport-public-policy-fellows\/","title":{"rendered":"Two BUSSW Students Named 2026 Rappaport Public Policy Fellows"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">From group homes to reentry programs,\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/degree-program\/msw\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">two\u00a0students\u00a0from\u00a0Boston University School of Social Work (BUSSW)<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0are digging into some of Massachusetts&#8217; most pressing child welfare and criminal justice challenges.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/profile\/rachel-dooley\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Rachel Dooley, PhD\u00a0student<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,\u00a0and Anthony Mejia (SSW \u201827)\u00a0have\u00a0been selected for the\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hks.harvard.edu\/centers\/taubman\/programs-research\/rappaport\/student-opportunities\/public-policy-summer-fellowship\/current-pp-fellows\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">2026 Public Policy Summer Fellowship<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0through the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston at Harvard Kennedy School. The competitive 10-week program pairs graduate students from universities across the region with public sector agencies to lead independent civic research projects.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The fellowship&#8217;s goal is to improve the governance of Greater Boston by developing\u00a0emerging\u00a0leaders and generating practical policy ideas. Each fellow receives a stipend to support their placement, and all fellows\u00a0participate\u00a0in weekly seminars and meet regularly with peers across the Rappaport program.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Dooley will be placed with the Massachusetts Office of the Child Advocate, where she will examine the educational experiences of youth living in group homes across the state. Her research will center on interviews with staff about the barriers young people face in staying on track academically while in out-of-home placement.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Mejia will work with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, focusing on reentry coordination for individuals leaving\u00a0state\u00a0Department of Correction facilities under parole supervision.\u00a0His project will examine how\u00a0oftenpeople leaving incarceration are connected to reentry supports like housing, behavioral health treatment, and employment\u00a0assistance, and where gaps in that coordination persist.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">To see the full list of 2026 Rappaport Public Policy Fellows and their placements, visit the\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hks.harvard.edu\/centers\/taubman\/programs-research\/rappaport\/student-opportunities\/public-policy-summer-fellowship\/current-pp-fellows\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Rappaport Institute&#8217;s Current Fellows page<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a class=\"cta-button\" a=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/degree-program\/msw\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Learn more about\u00a0our top MSW programs<\/span><\/a><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From group homes to reentry programs,\u00a0two\u00a0BUSSW students\u00a0are digging into some of Massachusetts&#8217; most pressing child welfare and criminal justice challenges.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26066,"featured_media":82611,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7547,7451,7511,4057,7429],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82610"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26066"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82610"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82610\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82612,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82610\/revisions\/82612"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}