NASW-NC
Advocacy Boot Camp 2010
Anne Loy submitted this report on her
experience at "Boot Camp" (pdf file)
For more information about North
Carolina Legislation, visit the website for the General Assembly of North
Carolina at
http://www.ncleg.net/
2009 NCSSWA Annual
Legislative Report
Several hundred school
social work positions were threatened this year with budget cuts. “Thanks” goes
to the members of NCSSWA and NASW, Jack Register in particular, for their
efforts to preserve school social work positions across the state. These
efforts included letters, phone calls, face to face meetings, and NASW’s
Advocacy Day in March 2009. Positions continue to be threatened so please
contact your elected officials about the importance of the work you do every day
for children and families!
Action on Bills affecting School Social Work during the 2009 Legislative Session:
Title Protection for Social Workers
“An Act to establish Title Protection for
social workers and to authorize any governmental employee whose position is
derived from the Office of State Personnel Social Work Series, has been
certified to be substantially equivalent, or was created by a county in a Human
Services Agency to use the title “Social Worker.”
Study Raising Compulsory Attendance Age
“An Act to direct the Board of
Governors of the University of North Carolina, in conjunction with DPI and the
North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities, to direct the appropriate
entity to study the impacts of raising the compulsory attendance age for public
school attendance prior to completion of a high school diploma from sixteen to
seventeen or eighteen, as recommended by the Joint Legislative Commission on
Dropout Prevention and High School Graduation
Compulsory Attendance
Law
G.S. 115C-378
A few minor
changes in the language; the most significant change is the language of “school
social worker” to “attendance counselor”
School Social Work Study Bill
“An Act directing the Joint Legislative
Education Oversight Committee to study all aspects of the practice of School
Social Work in North Carolina.”
Will consider:
-
The ratio of students to social work staff
members
-
DPIs licensure requirements for School Social
Workers
-
How counties and LEAs make decisions about
hiring social work staff
-
The role of regional licensing bodies in
comparison to that of DPI
-
The need to create consistency in licensure
with regard to education to ensure that only degreed social workers become
licensed
-
The role of School Social Work in DPI and the
need for a dedicated staff member within DPI to oversee the practice
School Violence Prevention Act
(AKA Bullying Bill) G.S. 115C-407.5—115C-407.8
“An Act to enact
the School Violence Prevention Act and to define bullying or harassing behavior
as used in the Act as any pattern of gestures or written, electronic, or verbal
communications, or any physical act or any threatening communication, that takes
place on school property, at any school-sponsored function, or on a school bus,
and that places a student or school employee in actual and reasonable fear of
harm to his or her person or damage to his or her property; or creates or is
certain to create a hostile environment by substantially interfering with or
impairing a student’s educational performance, opportunities, or benefits; to
define hostile environment as used in the Act as meaning the victim subjectively
views the conduct as bullying or harassing behavior and the conduct is
objectively severe or pervasive enough that a reasonable person would agree that
it is bullying or harassing behavior; to provide that bullying or harassing
behavior includes, but is not limited to, acts reasonably perceived as being
motivated by any actual or perceived differentiating characteristic, such as
race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, socioeconomic status,
academic status, gender identity, physical appearance, sexual orientation, or
mental, physical, developmental, or sensory disability, or by association with a
person who has or is perceived to have one or more of these characteristics; and
to require all local administrative units to adopt a policy prohibiting bullying
and harassing behavior as required by the Act.”
Legislative Committee Co-Chairs
Melinda
Willingham
Melinda_Wilingham@abss.k12.nc.us
Carol Cobb
ccobb@ecps.us
Advocacy Skills for School Social Workers - Jack
Register
Jack is the Director of Advocacy &
Legislation for NASW-NC. He is an advocate, lobbyist,
coalition member, organizer, and policy analyst for the
association. Jack is a licensed clinical social worker
with practice experience in mental health, medical,
nonprofit, and private practice settings.
Many school social workers spend their
days solving problems for their clients. Many social
workers know to advocate for others. What we will
address here are the skills we need in order to advocate
for ourselves. Remember, without caring for our
profession we cannot care for our clients.
Key skills to remember are that we have
to start locally. Advocacy efforts are about
relationships. Begin with local school board
officials. Let them know who you are and what you do
every day. Then branch out to county commissioners,
city council, the mayor, state general assembly, and
congress.
Here is an easy plan:
-
Decide on a day every month and mark it
on the calendar as contact day.
-
Gather all the contact information for
elected officials who represent you and put it in a
file.
-
One Day Every Month Send the Following
Message to an Elected Official:
My name is Jane Doe and I am a licensed
school social worker in (name that county), NC. I hold
a degree in social work from (almamater). I am writing
today to introduce myself to you and to offer my
professional knowledge and insight regarding the
well-being of children and families. I would appreciate
the opportunity to share with you the ways we are
helping our students and their families overcome
challenges and experience success.
My training encompasses all aspects of a
child and family’s life. As a licensed school social
worker, I provide services ranging from parent
education, positive behavior support, supportive
counseling, and referrals to community resources.
Additionally, I provide an essential link to the
community for our students and their families. If I can
be of service, please call on me. I can be reached at
jane.doe@gmail.com or (xxx) xxx-xxxx.
In Service
Jane Doe, School Social Worker
If you are asked by any policymaker to
speak to an issue make sure that you are doing it using
your own resources —meaning, you use your personal
computer or cell. It is illegal for public employees to
lobby or advocate using public resources. It is also
confusing. You do not speak for your school, only your
profession.
These simple skills allow you to connect
to policymakers and make your voice heard. You can send
any communication regarding a particular issue at any
time. Remember...relationship, relationship,
relationship!
-Jack
Register, Director of Advocacy & Legislation, NASW-NC
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