Please take a moment to view an important joint video message from the
Clinical Social Work Association and the National Association of Social Workers.

Send a letter to your Senators in support of the Social Work Reinvestment Act!
http://capwiz.com/socialworkers/issues/bills/?bill=11274081

Send a letter to your Representative in support of the Social Work Reinvestment Act!
http://capwiz.com/socialworkers/issues/bills/?bill=11030061

Learn more about the Social Work Reinvestment Initiative:
www.socialworkreinvestment.org

Visit the Clinical Social Work Association:
www.clinicalsocialworkassociation.org

Visit the National Association of Social Workers:
www.socialworkers.org

Take Action!

On September 17, 2008, the House of Representatives unanimously passed H.R. 6893, the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act (H.R. 6893), by voice vote. This legislation targets specific deficiencies in the child welfare system and addresses some of the most important needs affecting foster children in America today, including extending federal foster care payments up to 21 years old, providing federal support for relatives caring for foster children, increasing access to foster care and adoption services to Native American tribes, and improving the oversight of the health and education needs of children in foster care. Major provisions of the bill include:

1. Helping Relatives Care For Foster Children – Continues federal assistance (at state option) to relatives assuming legal guardianship of eligible children for whom they have cared for as foster parents. Authorizes Family Connection Grants to increase involvement of relatives as caregivers and help them navigate public programs. Requires notification of close relatives when children are placed in foster care.

2. Extending Assistance to Foster Youth Up to the Age of 21 – Extends federal foster care payments up to the age of 19, 20 or 21 (at state option) for children living in supervised settings. Require youth receiving such assistance to be in school, work, or related activity. Extends adoption assistance and guardianship payments up to age 19, 20, or 21 (at state option) for children adopted or entering guardianship after attaining the age of 16.

3. Expanding Training Funds – Expands coverage of federal funds for the training of child welfare workers to include private agencies approved by the state.

4. Improving Oversight of Health Care – Includes overseeing plans for the health care needs of foster children, accounting for the assessment and treatment of health conditions and ensuring the continuity of care, medical records, and prescription drugs.

5. Promoting Educational Stability – Requires plan for ensuring the educational stability of children in foster care and mandate assurance of school attendance.

6. Increasing Aid for Tribal Foster Care – Provides direct federal foster care and adoption funding to tribal governments for children in their care. (more…)

Take Action!

Background
Last year the House passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act (H.R. 2381/S. 1843). Sen. Kennedy introduced S. 1843 on July 20, 2007. It currently has 45 cosponsors. The Senate may bring this bill to a vote in the next couple of weeks.

Lilly Ledbetter is a woman who was denied her fair pay claim because the Supreme Court held that the discrimination began too long before she filed a complaint. Ms. Ledbetter did not file a claim sooner because she was unaware of the discrimination. As soon as she discovered the discrimination, she filed a law suit. This bill would allow individuals to sue for long term unfair pay because it considers each time a person is paid as a new violation of rights.

The bill amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to declare that an unlawful employment practice occurs when an unequal pay decision is adopted, when an individual becomes subject to the decision or practice, or when an individual is affected by application of the decision or practice, including each time compensation is paid. The bill accrues liability and allows an aggrieved person to obtain relief including recovery of back pay for up to two years preceding the filing of the charge, where the unlawful employment practice that has occurred during the charge filing period is similar or related to a practice that occurred outside the charge filing period.

Action Needed
A vote could occur any day now. Please call your Senators and urge them to vote yes on S. 1843, The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act. Let your Senators know that you are a constituent and a social worker requesting their support for better laws protecting women and minorities who are discriminated on the job for pay. Click on Take Action and the CapWiz system will provide you with the phone numbers of your Senators and a script to use when making the calls.

Take Action!

Senator Blanche Lincoln recently introduced, “Increased Student Achievement Through Increased Student Support Act (S. 3364),” a bill that will have a tremendous impact on the lives of children by creating a better trained and prepared school social work workforce to address the psychosocial and emotional issues that can impede educational performance. Our nation currently faces a serious shortage of qualified school-employed professionals, putting students with issues that interfere with learning at greater risk for school failure.

Its companion bill, H.R. 6654, introduced by Representative Towns, has over 40 co-sponsors. We need your help to get both of these bills passed. The “Increased Student Achievement through Increased Student Support Act” seeks to address this shortage. It creates a federal grant program designed to increase the number of school social workers, school counselors, and school psychologists serving low-income local educational agencies (LEAs) by creating a pipeline between institutions of higher education and low-income school districts. Institutions of higher education with graduate training programs in school social work, school counseling, and school psychology that develop collaborative training and placement partnerships with LEA’s will be eligible to apply for federal grant funds to hire and pay participating graduates to work in those schools. Program participants who remain employed in a low-income school setting for a minimum of five years will be eligible for loan forgiveness. By expanding the number of school social workers in low-income, high-need schools, we can improve the school and life success for students throughout the country.

Action Needed: Please contact your Senator and urge them to join their colleagues, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY), Thad Cochran (MS) and Robert Menendez (NJ) as co-sponsors of the “Increased Student Achievement through Increased Student Support Act”. Let them know that you are a social worker who is committed to improving the lives of our nation’s children and you look forward to passage of this important legislation. Thanks for your advocacy. Nancy McFall Jean, MSW NASW Lobbyist

Take Action!

On August 21, the Bush Administration released a draft regulation that would limit the rights of patients to receive complete reproductive health information. There is a 30 day comment period. It ends on September 20.

Action Requested
Send your comments to Secretary Mike Leavitt at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Background
The new rule expands the universe of providers that can refuse contraception and other health services, including abortion based on their conscience. This means that women may be denied access to birth control options if their provider is morally opposed to that option.

The rule leaves open the possibility that — based on religious beliefs — institutions and individuals can deny women access to birth control. It also permits individuals to refuse to provide information and counseling about basic heath care services. Additionally, it expands existing laws by permitting a wider range of health care professionals to refuse to provide even referral information for abortions.

The regulation puts other federal and state laws and policies that protect women’s access to birth control in serious jeopardy, including state laws that require hospitals to provide sexual-assault survivors with access to emergency contraception.

Currently, there are “crisis pregnancy centers” that look like health centers, but offer woefully limited services and only provide the reproductive healthcare options that fit their agenda: NO birth control, NO abortion, and NO choice for women and families who need it.

At a time when 17 million women are in need of publicly-supported reproductive health care services, this regulation has a disparate impact on the low-income, uninsured and under-insured women who rely on these programs for their health information and services.