Political Climate

Although it may feel like November’s election is off in the distance, there are actually very few legislative days left for Members of Congress.  For one thing, the House and Senate will go into recess around holidays, such as the Fourth of July.  Secondly, Congress will leave for good well in advance of the election in order to focus on campaigning back home.  This means that most (but not all) legislative business is either taken care of or will simply have to wait until after November 2.

At present, most political analysts are forecasting extremely close margins in both the House and Senate.  The Democrats will either barely hang on to majorities in one or both houses, or the Republicans will narrowly take over one or both chambers, with the House being their likeliest chance at a small majority.  As a result, both parties are shifting their focus slightly away from policy and legislation and toward voters and electoral strategies.

DC Voting Rights Act and Party Politics

NASW, in collaboration with other social justice advocates, continues to seek enactment of the D.C. Voting Rights Act.  However, the seven-year effort to secure a vote in the House of Representatives has stalled due to several events, most notably a gun amendment as well as mid-term election year politics.  Coalition partners, along with NASW, are considering viable alternatives to counteract its opponents.

Representative Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) has strongly indicated to NASW and the civil rights community that without the gun language, the D.C. Voting Rights Act would be difficult to move prior to the mid-term elections.  The optimism of the previous 18 months is now restricted by political reality and compromise politics.  Despite such, NASW will persist in its pursuit of fairness and equality for the disenfranchised residents of the District of Columbia.

President Obama Reveals the Patient’s Bill of Rights

On June 22, President Obama unveiled new regulations, called the Patient’s Bill of Rights, to help build support and further educate the American people about the new health care law, the Affordable Health care Act.  The Affordable Health Care Act was signed into law on March 23, 2010.

The interim final regulations issued by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury would apply to most health plans renewing on or after Sept. 23.  The new rules apply to most health plans, except in cases where they are “grandfathered” under the law.

The five rules include the following:

• Guaranteed coverage for children with pre-existing health problems.
• A ban on lifetime coverage limits.
• Phasing out annual coverage limits.
• Prohibiting insurers from canceling the policies of people who get sick.
• Guaranteed choice of primary care doctors and pediatricians from a plan’s network.

For more information, click on the Patient’s Bill of Rights fact sheet.

Advocacy Blog Roundup

Secretary Sebelius Talks about Women’s Health

DOL Clarifies Meaning of “in loco parentis” in the FMLA

Congressional Hearing on Cyber bullying

Learn more about the Federal strategy to address homelessness

Congressional Hearing on Corporal Punishment in Schools

As Congress Struggles, CMS Resumes Processing Medicare Claims

Support Essential Extenders Legislation, H.R. 4213

Alert and Update Roundup

Congress Restores Medicare Rates, CMS Resumes Processing Claims

As Congress Struggles, CMS Resumes Processing Medicare Claims

Ask Congress to Stop Child Abuse Deaths

Consistent with First Lady Michelle Obama’s campaign to confront the issue of childhood obesity, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions heard testimony on March 4, 2010, about the prevalence of obesity among America’s youth. Panelists included Dr. Regina Benjamin, U.S. Surgeon General; Dr. Joseph Thompson, Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity; Dr. Sandra Hassink, Chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Obesity Leadership Workgroup; and Pittsburgh Steelers Running Back Rashard Mendenhall.

NASW recognizes childhood obesity as an major public health concern, with significant implications for future U.S. health care costs. Obese children are being diagnosed with health problems previously considered to be “adult” illnesses, such as Type II diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, and fatty liver disease. Overweight and obese children are at risk for a host of serious future illnesses, including heart disease, stroke, and certain types of cancer. Obesity and related complications disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minority children and children living in poverty.

NASW applauds Congress’ acknowledgment of this multi-dimensional issue and its efforts to address it. To view the hearing’s video and for more information, go to http://help.senate.gov/hearings/hearing/?id=059b63ce-5056-9502-5d89-33fed050a9f3.

Last week Congress halted the so-called Medicare “physician fee cut” that set Part B payment rates for clinical social workers and all independent Medicare outpatient providers with passage of an extension of Medicare physician payments at last year’s level through March 31.  On Wednesday, March 10, the Senate passed a critical extension of these  provisions (H.R. 4213).  Eight Republicans voted with Democrats to defeat a GOP filibuster of this measure. Similar legislation passed the House in December and a conference to reconcile their differences  is now required to enact this legislation.

H.R. 4213 extends the SGR component of the physician fee only through September 30. More importantly for CSWs, the bill retroactively restores a separate five-percent cut that hit Medicare psychotherapy rates on the first of this year. The proposed restoration of Medicare psychotherapy rates would apply to services delivered from January 1, through December 31. Since many private insurance plans pay social workers based on Medicare psychotherapy rates, this will benefit many clinical social workers in private practice.

The new Senate bill also includes a host of provisions unrelated to Medicare, including tax cut extenders and unemployment measures. Federal fiscal relief to help states with their escalating Medicaid expenditures is also included. This provision, called Medicaid FMAP extension, provides $25 billion in emergency Medicaid funds sought by President Obama and supported by NASW.

NASW expects to begin work on new legislation making a long-term correction of Medicare psychotherapy rates as soon as H.R. 4213 is signed into law.

For background on the complex issues involving clinical social fees, see NASW’s advocacy blog posts here.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius is scheduled to testify before the Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee on Wednesday, March 10 at 2 p.m. in Room 124 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The hearing can be viewed live via webcast from the Senate Appropriations page.  Additional information is available at: http://appropriations.senate.gov/news.cfm?method=news.view&id=16c07802-c2f8-4485-9315-640f25ea7a81

Take Action Now! – Social Work Reinvestment

On February 3, Ed Towns (NY-10) introduced H.R. 795, the Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act. To date there are 38 cosponsors. The act establishes a Social Work Reinvestment Commission to address the future of the profession. It also establishes demonstration programs that address the current state of the social work profession. You can contact your member of Congress and ask them to become a cosponsor of the legislation.

Pay discrimination denounced

The first 6 weeks of the 111^th Congress have been exciting. Congress passed and the President signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (Public Law No. 111-2). The law reverses a Supreme Court decision that acutely limits women workers’ capacity to sue for wage discrimination. It changes the law to declare that an unlawful practice occurs when a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice is adopted, when a person becomes subject to the decision or other practice, or when a person is affected by the decision or practice, including each time wages, benefits, or other compensation is paid. Therefore, a person can file a complaint about wage discrimination after any pay check that includes the pay discrimination. NASW Executive Director, Betsy Clark, was invited to the bill signing ceremony at the White House. You can view the video of the signing on our Web site.

Children’s Health Care passed

Another big win was passage of SCHIP legislation (Public Law No. 111-3). This legislation includes a mandate that mental health treatment be on par with medical health services. More specifically, the new law prohibits SCHIP plans from setting lower treatment limitations or higher financial requirements on coverage of mental health or substance use services than they set for other health services. It will cover around 4 million additional uninsured children. It is paid for, primarily with a 62-cent increase in the federal tobacco tax. It will extend federal support of CHIP through 2013. It encourages states to enroll children who are already eligible but not yet covered, and gives states new tools to reach uninsured children. It removes the five-year waiting period for legal immigrant children and pregnant women who enroll in Medicaid or CHIP. See the final vote. (more…)

On Tuesday, Feb. 2, the Senate Armed Services Committee, chaired by Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), held a hearing on the status of the U.S. military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy. The two witnesses invited to the hearing were Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense.

Sen. Levin opened the hearing by calling the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy “discriminatory”, then cited the popularity of repealing the DADT rule according to polling data. He noted that other countries have repealed similar rules without major problems, and expressed concern at the number of significant military figures, including linguists with skills in Middle Eastern languages, who have been lost due to the DADT policy.

Click here to watch the hearing in its entirety.

Adm. Mullen’s testimony was surprisingly personal. Rather than simply speak from the Joint Chiefs of Staff perspective, he expressed concern about the notion that people who wish to serve in the military have to lie about who they are in order to do so. Adm. Mullen also acknowledged that some disruption in the military’s overall lifestyle would be inevitable, but that thoughtful and thorough studies would be conducted to limit any problems.

After that, all Members of the Committee were permitted to ask questions, most of which broke down on party lines. Democrats universally expressed support for the idea of repealing DADT, with just a few asking Sec. Gates and Adm. Mullen about proper implementation of the potential new policy. The Republicans either opposed repeal of DADT outright, or expressed such strong concerns about the change that they effectively support retaining DADT, even if they did not explicitly say so.

As always, we will closely monitor any further hearings, bills, and other relevant updates on the DADT issue.

In November, groups hoping for the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy were disappointed when the Senate Armed Services indefinitely postponed a long awaited hearing on the matter.

However, the issue was moved to the forefront during the State of the Union speech, when President Obama uttered the words, “This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are.”  (The full text of the speech is available here.)

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” may be on the agenda for the Senate Budget Committee hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 2 at 10:00.  NASW will continue to keep you updated as this issue moves through Congress.

Democrats Regroup on Strategy for Health Care Reform

Democratic congressional leaders are currently developing a new strategy to pass health care reform after the stunning loss of a Senate seat in Massachusetts. Although their new strategy will be finalized after some days have elapsed and is not yet final, several conclusions are apparent from their public comments. First, Democrats fear that failing to enact the health care bill now could increase voter anger later in this election year. Second, many legislative strategists prefer what is described as a two-bill strategy, one immediately following the next.

Under the two-bill strategy, the first step would require House passage of the Senate health bill (HR. 3590). Getting to majority House support for this bill (at least 218 votes) is extremely difficult because many Democrats have important differences with provisions in the Senate bill. Democratic House leaders say they do not now have the necessary votes to pass the Senate measure. The second bill would be necessary to secure the necessary votes in the House for the first bill. The second bill would be considered under procedures known as budget reconciliation.  This bill would include many compromises and changes to the Senate bill. The reconciliation measure would also include any provisions negotiated with the White House and Senate leaders. The two-bill option has important legislative advantages. Most importantly, any bill taken up under reconciliation procedures may move under fast-track floor procedures in the House and Senate, and passage requires 51 votes in the Senate, instead of a filibuster-proof 60 votes.

Another strategy would involve going back to the drawing board and breaking the bill into smaller components, passing those where there is more agreement. Given this highly fluid political environment, NASW will continue to press for its legislative priorities as Congress debates a new approach. Our current Action Alert is here, and we urge members to track our actions here.

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Parity Update

The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) became effective for most private health plans on January 1, 2010, but federal agency regulations defining how it will be interpreted have not been cleared by the Administration. Thus health insurance carriers, which must have their 2010 plan benefits in compliance in the absence of any regulations, may be uncertain or confused about exactly what mental health and substance abuse benefits are required to be equivalent to medical and surgical benefits they offer.

According to a HHS/CMS website here, the now current federal law applies to two different types of coverage:

• 1) Large group self-funded group health plans (CMS has jurisdiction over self-funded public sector (non-federal governmental) plans, while the Department of Labor has jurisdiction over private sector self-funded group health plans.

• 2) Large group fully insured group health plans.

Some state’s insurance regulations may also contain additional coverage protections for fully insured group health plans or individual coverage. MHPAEA is designed to prevent large group health plans from imposing financial requirements and treatment limitations on mental health and substance use disorder (MH/SUD) benefits that are more restrictive than financial requirements and treatment limitations on medical/surgical benefits.  MHPAEA also prevents large group health plans from placing annual or lifetime dollar limits on mental health and substance abuse benefits that are lower than annual or lifetime dollar limits for medical/surgical benefits offered under the plan.

The law does not apply to small group health plans or health insurance coverage in the individual (non-employment based) market, but individual state law may require mental health parity in such cases. MHPAEA defines large group health plans as those with more than 50 workers and does not apply to group health plans sponsored by employers with fewer than 51 workers. Federal summary information about the law is available here and NASW has prepared its own summary, posted here and shown under January 2009.

Social Work Reinvestment

The Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act continues to be a major focus of NASW. The bill currently has 80 House cosponsors and 11 Senate cosponsors and we need your help to secure more! Contact your Senators and Representative today in support of this important bill. NASW is working with the House Committee on Education and Labor to promote support with all members for the legislation.

NASW continues to support social work reinvestment provisions within health care reform and is seeking inclusion of the language in the final health care reform bill.

NASW recently sent a letter to President Obama’s staff asking for his support of a Social Work Reinvestment Commission. The letter cites a workforce shortage in the profession, along with an increasing demand for social work services. It further states, “the President has outlined a commitment to the values that drive the social work profession including service to others in need and the pursuit of social justice. For these reasons, we encourage the President to support the Social Work Reinvestment Commission which will help ensure that social workers can continue to provide services in numerous settings throughout the nation.”

Political Climate

Democrats were chastened by Massachusetts voters on January 19 when Republican Scott Brown defeated Democrat Martha Coakley for the Massachusetts Senate seat left vacant by the death of Sen. Ted Kennedy.  Voters have loudly expressed their concern by defeating a highly favored Democrat in a state widely regarded as the most Democratic of all.  The outcome of this race has already resonated throughout Washington, and could result in Democrats taking smaller, more measured steps in their proposed legislative agenda throughout the year.  The number of Senators has dropped from 60 to 59, although not every bill will be so threatened by filibuster that 60 votes will be necessary on each occasion.  Still, the political landscape has changed decisively now that Republicans hold a large enough minority to sustain leverage against the White House and Congressional Democrats.

From January 20 forward, legislative outcomes are bound to have a more bipartisan hue for the rest of the year and possibly beyond.

Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Reauthorization

TANF is set to expire September 30, 2010. As such, NASW is working in coalition with other organizations to influence the reauthorization of TANF. It is believed that the House will introduce a bill to reauthorize TANF in February. During the last reauthorization, Congress extended TANF for short periods of time before reauthorizing it. We expect this may be the case again. Advocates are looking to add a number of items to the TANF reauthorization. One change is to suspend, at least until economic recovery has been achieved, the five year time limit imposed by Congress on receipt of TANF benefits. Another change would be to raise benefit levels at least to the official federal poverty guideline. Also, advocates would like to see countable work activities defined more broadly. Advocates encourage full family sanctions to be prohibited. TANF reauthorization should eliminate the mandatory cooperation requirement for child support and make the family violence option a requirement. Advocates call for the elimination of all restrictions on legally present immigrants. Advocates are also calling for a return to the matching funding system rather than the current block grant system. (more…)

Employment Non-Discrimination Act

NASW continues to work diligently on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (H.R.3017/S.1584).  With 194 sponsors in the House of Representatives and 44 in the Senate, E.N.D.A. has begun to attract enormous attention.  The Employment Non-Discrimination Act is dedicated to the principle that every worker should be judged solely on his or her merits.  Further, hardworking Americans should not be kept from supporting their families and making a positive contribution to the economic life of our nation due characteristics that have no bearing whatsoever on their acumen to do a job.  The Association remains allied with traditional civil rights groups who affirm that inequality and discrimination subvert the principles of Democracy.

Political Climate
Despite the many twists and turns health care reform has taken in the past several months, we are not necessarily closer to a solution in mid-December than we were in mid-September.  The Senate still has not completed its own bill, and is trying to write legislation that can earn 60 votes.  Once they do so, a conference between House and Senate negotiators will have to occur in order to send a single bill to President Obama.  At this point, no one can guarantee when such a conference will take place.  The cause of this delay is simple: for all the attention rightfully placed on abortion-related aspects of the discussion, there is still no agreement on the fundamental way in which more Americans would receive health care coverage.  Many reasonable approaches have been mentioned in the Senate, including expansion of Medicare and a public option.  But one week before Christmas Day, there is still no single plan that has garnered the support of 60 Senators.  Until that happens, there can be no conference with the House and thus no bill for President Obama to sign into law.NASW has called on its members to contact their Senators to support the bill (H.R. 3590), and a link to our most recent action alert is here. NASW has written to Majority Leader Reid supporting the Senate reform bill, and a copy may be viewed on the NASW Web site.

Reinvestment for Educators
NASW President Jim Kelly, Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors President Freddie Avant, and Action Network for Social Work Education and Research Chair Jeane Anastas, recently filmed a video regarding “Reinvestment for Educators” to discuss why the Social Work Reinvestment Initiative is important for social work educators. The bill will support recruitment of new social work students, retain experienced social workers, and fund social work education and research. To view the full legislation, please click here. After viewing the video, please send a letter of support to your Representative and Senators.

Social Work Medicare Equity Act in Health Care Reform
Section 1307 of the House health care reform bill (H.R. 3200) authorizes clinical social workers eligible to participate under Medicare Part B to bill independently for services to Medicare Part A covered residents of Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs). The provision removes Part B-eligible clinical social work services from the Medicare SNF per diem rate and alternatively authorizes them to bill for them separately. This is a long-sought change by NASW that will expand the availability of clinical social work services to SNF residents covered by Medicare Part A and provide parity recognition for the profession in a SNF setting. The Senate version of health care reform legislation (H.R. 3590) does not contain a similar provision, and this difference must be ironed out in conference committee on the legislation. NASW is working with House and Senate offices to support the provision when conference committee consideration begins.

SWRA Provisions Advance on Health Care Reform
There are several provisions within Health care reform legislation, H.R. 3590, which advance the Social Work Reinvestment Act (SWRA).  Related provisions are contained in the House-passed measure, H.R. 3200. The Senate bill includes the following key provisions addressing social work professional education and training needs:

• Sec. 3508 – Establishes a demonstration program to integrate quality improvement and patient safety training into clinical education of health professionals. Schools of social work are among the eligible grantees.

• Sec. 5101 – Creates a National health care workforce commission tasked with reviewing health care workforce and projected workforce needs. The needs of the social work profession are among those that would be considered by the Commission and schools of social work also have representation.

• Sec. 5102 – Creates state health care workforce development competitive grants to s. enabling State partnerships to complete comprehensive planning and to carry out activities leading to coherent and comprehensive health care workforce development strategies at the State and local levels. All health professions are eligible for state planning attention, including social work.

• Sec. 5203 – Establishes health and behavioral health workforce loan repayment programs for pediatric subspecialists and providers of mental and behavioral health services to children and adolescents who are or will be working in a Health Professional Shortage Area, Medically Underserved Area, or with a medically underserved population.

• Sec. 5305 – Authorizes funding for geriatric education and training; career awards; comprehensive geriatric education to advanced practice nurses, clinical social workers, pharmacists, and psychologists.

• Sec. 5306 – Awards to mental and behavioral health education and training grants to schools for the development, expansion, or enhancement of training programs in social work, graduate psychology, professional training in child and adolescent mental health, and pre-service or in-service training to paraprofessionals in child and adolescent mental health.

• Section 756 of the Public Health Services Act is amended to include language regarding the qualifications of institutions eligible for these training grants and that at least four will go to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) or Minority Serving Institutions (MSI).  Authorization for up to $8 million in funds is provided for social work.

Medicare MD & MSW Fee Schedule Update
Clinical social workers that participate in Medicare Part B will have their payment rates temporarily protected against large cuts scheduled for 2010 because Congress acted on a short-term bill to delay the cut required by the flawed sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula, which determines outpatient payment rates in Medicare and TRICARE. The SGR formula is frequently inappropriately described as the Medicare “physician fee” formula, but it actually sets the rate of increase or decrease for all Medicare Part B independent practitioners, including clinical social workers. NASW supports legislation that would halt scheduled cuts in Medicare payments to clinical social workers and other health professionals and has urged Congress to adopt legislation to recalibrate how these payments are set each year. See NASW’s letter to Congress here.

Correcting the problem before the rate cuts go into effect on Jan. 1, each year is politically difficult due to the multi-billion dollar costs of correcting the formula. Current law requires large annual reductions in Medicare SGR determined fees, which include rates paid to clinical social workers. Congress rejected several earlier SGR bills this fall, but then passed an eight week extension into February, enabling it to address the payment problem once it finishes work on health care reform. NASW is continuing to work with coalition partners in support of an SGR remedy.

Appropriations Bill Funds Study on Mental Workforce Issues
During the week of December 9, Congress finished the annual appropriations bill for the federal FY 2010, Labor-HHS-Education spending bill, which is available on the House Appropriations website. One item of special interest to the social work profession is the inclusion of $900,000 for the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to study mental health workforce needs focused on (1) a systematic analysis of the current and projected mental and behavioral healthcare needs of the American people, particularly for aging and growing ethnic populations; and (2) developing policy recommendations for achieving a competent and well-trained mental health workforce to address those needs.  Congressional authors justified the study as necessary in light of the projected doubling of the aged population by 2030, new evidence of the importance of addressing mental health needs as part of effective chronic disease management, increased numbers of veterans with post traumatic stress disorder, improved diagnostic techniques, and implementation of the new federal mental health parity law. The study expands on IOM’s 2008 broader study on the geriatric workforce, which did not explore mental health workforce needs in depth. NASW worked with other mental health professional groups to support this funding in the new law, and will advocate vigorously for the representation of the social work profession in the work of the IOM.

Health Legislation Prospects for 2010
At the start of the new year, Congress is not expected to consider major new health legislation, but congressional committees will consider routine health legislation, particularly those bills that were set aside last year to make time for health reform legislation. These include the 21st Century Cancer ALERT Act, reauthorization of HHS/Public Health Service programs under the jurisdiction of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Furthermore, congressional oversight of new federal programs to promote the use of health information technology (HIT) and to protect confidential patient information is expected to be a priority. NASW will represent clinical social worker interests to ensure the profession is included for all Medicare HIT incentive payments and that psychotherapy notes are protected in federal privacy regulations.
Congress also faces a variety of funding challenges to implement health care reform, particularly programs that support the education and training of the health professions. NASW will aggressively pursue expanded federal support for the social work profession in these federal initiatives. As in past years, Congress has not settled on a long-term solution to the Medicare physician payment formula, which also determines the payment rate for clinical social workers and all the health professions that directly bill Medicare Part B.  NASW will continue to advocate for adequate payment rates for the profession during this protracted debate. NASW members who wish to stay informed about health and behavioral health developments in the new Congress should follow NASW’s webpage.

NIH Approves New Stem Cell Lines
On December 2, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) approved 13 new human embryonic stem cell lines for use by NIH funded researchers. Another 96 embryonic stem cell lines are undergoing NIH review. In March, President Obama expanded the number of such cell lines beyond those available under a policy set by President George W. Bush, which permitted research to begin only with lines already available on Aug. 9, 2001. To read more, go to the NIH press release.

Needle and Syringe Exchanges Ban Lifted
On December 13, the Senate passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of FY2010 by a vote of 57 – 35.  The President is expected to sign the bill before the continuing resolution expires.  Among many other important provisions, the bill removes the federal funding ban on syringe exchange. The provision allows the distribution of syringes through syringe exchange as long as local public health or local law enforcement authorities do not object to a specific location as being inappropriate for distribution.

NASW Supports Child Welfare Workforce Improvement Act
On November 30, NASW sent a letter to Senator Blanche Lincoln (AR) thanking her for introducing S. 2837 the Child Welfare Workforce Improvement Act. The bill will help ensure a workforce that can accurately assess the strengths and needs of children and families, connect children and their families to services, monitor their progress, and improve outcomes for children. NASW sent an alert to the Advocacy Listserv looking for cosponsors.

Immigration Bill Introduced in House
Representative Luis Gutierrez (IL-4) introduced immigration legislation, Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity (H.R. 4321), in the House on December 15. Congress is beginning to shape the immigration debate with the introduction of this bill and NASW is developing our strategy. You can view the bill here. Immigration will be an important issue tackled in 2010.

Veteran’s Affairs
Recently, we heard from a member of NASW who is an MSW student and a veteran who recently returned from Afghanistan.  He hoped to find a mental health counselor who was both a veteran and a social worker.  While he strongly supports the work of all social workers, he wanted to find one who could directly relate to his experience in war.  The Veterans Administration in his area was unable to locate such a person for him, and other non-VA efforts came up empty as well.

This is a clear connection between member needs and NASW advocacy.  Veterans represent a constituency who may choose to enter social work to benefit both their peers and other members of society, but only if there is a distinct path for them to do so.  Thus, NASW has intensified its focus on veteran’s issues.  This improvement is meant to benefit not just veterans, but the field of social work as well.