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

New York Representative Edolphus Towns recently introduced, “Increased Student Achievement Through Increased Student Support Act (H.R.6654),” 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.

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 Representative and urge them to co-sponsor the “Increased Student Achievement Through Increased Student Support Act.” Click on the Take Action button to be directed to a page where you enter your zip code to get the phone number of your Representative. 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 - Ask Your Senators to Vote for S. 3335 on the Floor

The U.S. Senate may consider legislation to improve insurance coverage for mental health and addiction treatment as early as tomorrow, Tuesday, July 29. Please phone your Senators with the quick message below urging them to support this critical mental health and addictions treatment legislation.

Background:
The Senate leadership has added the mental health parity bill for private insurance negotiated between the House and the Senate to another bill, S. 3335, an unrelated tax extenders package. Please contact your Senators and ask them to vote yes on S. 3335 when it comes to the floor of the Senate.

Action Requested:
NASW members should telephone both of their Senators to urge they pass S. 3335, including the Mental Health Parity Act of 2008 (S. 558). Click on take action above. You will be directed to a page where you can enter your zip code into a box  to be directed to the phone numbers for your Senators. We are targeting all members of the Senate with the following message:
“I am a constituent, professional social worker and member of the National Association of Social Workers. The Mental Health Parity Act of 2008 (S. 558) will provide critical health care protection for 113 million Americans. Please vote for S. 3335, the tax extenders package, which includes this vital mental health legislation.  The Senate must pass lifesaving mental health and addiction parity legislation included in the bill before the August recess.”

Thank you for supporting this critical piece of NASW’s legislative agenda.