Social Workers Back Kerry

The NASW Political Action for Candidate Election (PACE) Board of Trustees Voted Unanimously to Endorse Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) for President

WASHINGTON— The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and its Political Action for Candidate Election (PACE) Board of Trustees voted unanimously to endorse Sen. John Kerry's (D-MA) candidacy for president.

According to PACE Board of Trustees Chair Alicia Smalley, director of field instruction at University of Nevada at Reno , “Kerry has a record of being a good friend to social work. He is someone that we can trust and he's philosophically in tune with what social workers need.”

Kerry advocated for expanding health and mental health services; protecting a woman's reproductive rights; preventing child abuse and neglect; and eliminating discrimination based in race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation.

NASW plans to work closely with the Kerry campaign to identify ways in which social workers can help support his candidacy.

“It's extremely important,” Smalley notes, “that social workers get involved in the election.”

For a summary of Kerry's positions, please visit the NASW Web site at: http://www.socialworkers.org/pace/2004candidates/nominees.asp?idCamp=6

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW), in Washington , D.C. , is the largest membership organization of professional social workers, with 150,000 members. It promotes, develops, and protects the practice of social work and social workers. Through its advocacy, NASW also seeks to enhance the well-being of individuals, families, and communities.