From November 2001 NASW NEWS
Copyright Š2001, National Association of Social Workers, Inc.

Forum Stresses Policy, Practice Juncture

NASW's Elizabeth Clark says policy and practice are connected.

Public policy affects who social workers can see and how much they get paid.

By Corinna Vallianatos, NEWS Staff

Elizabeth Clark, NASW's executive director, in October welcomed a crowd of social work students and educators to the second Biennial Social Work Policy Practice Forum, a gathering in Washington, D.C., of social workers interested in learning more about how to become involved in public policy.

After a moment of silence held in remembrance of the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, Clark said that she has been proud of the response of social workers to that event, noting that of the hundreds of Red Cross mental health volunteers deployed, over 40 percent are social workers.

She added that social workers are also out fighting the discrimination against Arab Americans and immigrants that has subsequently reared its head.

Students at forum

Clark stressed that social workers have power in numbers, and that there are almost half a million professional social workers in the country. She said they also have power when they're heard and that lobbying Congress and becoming familiar with the political process are key ways to achieve that.

"Policy and practice are inextricably connected," Clark said. "As practitioners, you may think public policy has nothing to do with you, yet it affects who you can see and how much you get paid."

Former Republican Rep. Asa Hutchinson, now administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency, and Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-Tex.), a social worker and champion of social work priorities in Congress, also made remarks at the forum.

Hutchinson, who cosponsored legislation to create a national center for social work research with Rodriguez, urged forum participants to work tirelessly in promoting legislation they believe in, noting that good legislation often takes years to become law. "Be willing to come back [to lobby Congress] and educate people again and again," he said.

Rodriguez said he was asked if the forum should take place after the events of Sept. 11, to which he responded that it was even more important to ensure that it does. "We, as social workers, understand the deep impact that what happened will have," he said. "Just as individuals get depressed, a whole community gets depressed."

The keynote speaker, social worker Wendy Sherman, gave an impassioned speech about social workers' ability to effect change, and the accompanying responsibility.

Sherman has held a variety of high-level public policy positions, including campaign manager for Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), also a social worker, and counselor to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in the Clinton administration.

"I have always believed the personal is the political," she said.

Among other forum speakers were Diann Dawson, principal deputy assistant secretary for Children and Families in the Department of Health and Human Services, and Kimberly Barnes-O'Connor, former children's policy director for the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

Forum participants also attended a workshop on lobbying, led by NASW Field Organizer Lakitia Mayo. Charged with educating members of Congress about what social workers really do, they then met with their congressional representatives.

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