Tag Archives: President Obama

Recent, highly publicized cases of police using deadly force against people of color, including the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 9,  underscore the need for the social work profession to call for reforms in the nation’s law enforcement systems. This issue is important for the profession, which has a long history of working to end all ... Read More »

President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have begun to make good on their promise to reform criminal justice sentencing reform and encourage sensible drug policies. A first step toward sentencing reform began with Holder’s March 13, 2014 announcement of a new policy intended to shorten sentences for certain federal drug offenders. Just weeks later on April 20 Holder announced ... Read More »

President Obama declared November 2010 as National Hospice Month.  Here is more information from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. For Immediate Release: November 1, 2010President Obama Signs National Hospice Month Proclamation as the Hospice Community Works to Better Serve Veterans at Life’s End (Alexandria, Va) – In a proclamation issued from the White House, President Obama declared November ... Read More »

President Obama signed an Executive Order to enhance the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics so that it better serves communities across the country by engaging them in the process of improving the education of Latino Students. Among the changes, the new Executive Order provides a better structure for the Initiative to take action and forge partnerships between ... Read More »

Not long after Barack Obama was elected President, he worked closely with Eric Shinseki, Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), on eliminating homelessness among people who are veterans.  The issue became so important that Sec. Shinseki publicly stated that he wanted to completely end veteran homelessness by 2015. The VA is taking some immediate steps to aid homeless ... Read More »

Within four weeks of taking office, Congress presented a “stimulus package” to President Obama, who signed it.  The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is now one year old.  About half of the money has been distributed, mostly to states, as well as to extend unemployment benefits, expand eligibility for Food Stamps, support Medicaid for states.  Independent economic analyses of ... Read More »

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 ... Read More »

Take Action Today! President Obama has selected his nominee for Supreme Court Justice to replace retiring Justice David Souter, Judge Sonia Sotomayor. We asked you earlier this month to contact President Obama and encourage him to nominate a candidate who reflects the diversity of this country. You responded and he listened. If confirmed, Judge Sotomayor will be the first Latina ... Read More »

March 11, 2009 – NASW and IASWR executive directors Betsy Clark and Joan Zlotnik stood behind Dr. Dorothy I. Height (blue hat, bottom center) at a White House event where President Obama signed an executive order establishing a White House Council on Women and Girls. The Council will be chaired by Valerie Jarrett and staffed by Tina Tchen. The President ... Read More »