Advocacy

Federal Initiatives on Environmental Health, Justice, and Climate

Federal Initiatives on Environmental Health, Justice, and Climate

By NASW Senior Practice Associate Carrie Dorn, MPA, LMSW Increasingly, social workers are recognizing the impact of environmental health and climate change on the individuals and communities they serve. Recent federal initiatives can inform practice by helping social...

House Farm Bill Does Not Include SNAP Benefits

On July 11, we summarized the status of the House version of the Farm Bill.  Many Democrats opposed that version because the SNAP cuts were too severe in their view, while some Republicans objected because they believed the cuts were not severe enough.  Recently,...

Supplemental Nutrition Food Assistance Update

On June 20, in a surprise to most observers, the U.S. House of Representatives rejected a sweeping Farm Bill that was widely expected to pass.  The Farm Bill is the government’s most comprehensive tool for regulating agriculture nationwide, and has always included...

Social Security Administration Issues New Rules on Gender Designation

In late June, the Social Security Administration (SSA) published new rules that make it easier for the estimated 700,000 transgender Americans to update their Social Security records to reflect their gender designation. Under the new rules, a transgender person can...

Supreme Court Decision: Impact on LGBT Rights

June is Pride Month and two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions are creating a positive response in support of LGBT equity.  On June 26, 2013, the  Court struck down a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as unconstitutional (U.S. v. Windsor) and made a...