Grassroots Toolkit

ACT NOW!
Make A Difference in the Lives of the People Social Workers Serve!

To make a difference this year in reauthorization of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996, (P.L. 104-193) social workers need to communicate NASW’s position to members of Congress. NASW needs you to be the talking piece on this issue!

It is important to build a relationship with your members of Congress through consistent communication. Members of Congress take seriously what their constituents have to say. Several advocacy methods are effective in getting your legislator’s attention.

The most effective advocacy is personal. Setting up a meeting, making a phone call, or sending a personal letter to your legislators describing how welfare reauthorization will affect members of your community should get their attention quickly. Do you know that it takes on average only SEVEN letters or phone calls for members of Congress to start tracking their constituents’ positions on issues?

Equally important is media coverage on NASW’s recommendations for improving PRWORA of 1996. Media can shape the public’s opinion on an issue and therefore shape public policy. Social workers can publicize their experiences working in settings that help people move from welfare to self-sufficiency. Social workers must discuss how the 1996 law affected people dealing with mental illness, substance abuse, domestic violence, poverty, insufficient child support, little education and training, and poor communication with the welfare agencies that link them with other resources to which they are entitled. Letters to the editor or op-eds published in local newspapers can educate communities on the importance of improving welfare legislation and notify your legislator that social workers are advocating strongly for improved welfare legislation.

If you don’t have time to meet with your legislators or write an editorial or op-ed piece, you can send an e-mail through Congress Web. NASW has posted a letter with NASW’s recommendations for welfare reauthorization. Although e-mail advocacy is not the most effective method, it does allow the association’s voice to be heard in great numbers on Capitol Hill.

Become a NASW Welfare Reform Advocate. Take action now using the links, advocacy options, and tips that follow to help advance NASW recommendations (PDF) for welfare reauthorization.

Please fill out the Activity Form and let us know about your activities to improve services for women and families who are moving toward self-sufficiency!

• Meeting with A Member of Congress
• Calling Your Member of Congress
• Writing a Letter to Your Member of Congress
• Writing an Op-Ed
• Writing a Letter to the Editor