Advocacy

A Voting Rights Victory from the Supreme Court | NASW Member Voices

A Voting Rights Victory from the Supreme Court | NASW Member Voices

By Mel Wilson, LCSW, MBA The United States Supreme Court on June 8 made an important and unexpected decision by rejecting Alabama’s gerrymandered redistricting map that grossly diluted the Black vote. The vote was a narrow 5–4 decision that held Alabama violated the...

House Veterans Affairs Committee Hearing Addresses Wide Range of Issues

On Tuesday, May 21, the Health Subcommittee of the House Veterans Affairs Committee held a hearing on a wide range of issues.  One area covered was The Veterans Integrated Mental Health Care Act of 2013.  This bill would offer more coordinated care, particularly for...

MSW students lobby to stop practice of juvenile solitary confinement

By Rena Malai, News staff North Koreans used solitary confinement as a way to break down U.S. prisoners of war during the Korean War, broadcast journalist Ted Koppel said recently on “Rock Center with Brian Williams.” Koppel’s report highlighted 17-year-old James...

NASW staff, members join marriage equality rally

By Paul R. Pace, News staff NASW student member Walter “Allen” Pittinger-Dunham and his husband, Phillip R. Pittinger-Dunham, participated in a rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court on March 26 to show their support for marriage equality. They joined an enthusiastic...

Social workers urging lawmakers to support Medicaid expansion

By Paul R. Pace, News staff The good news: The Affordable Care Act calls for expanding Medicaid eligibility in 2014 for nearly all U.S. citizens under 65 whose incomes are up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level. The not so good news: The U.S. Supreme Court’s...

The Equal Rights Amendment: Still a Possibility

Some of you may think of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) as being from a bygone age. But in fact, potential realization of the ERA is very much alive. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) plan to introduce a resolution on Thursday, May 9 that would...