1 Advocacy at NASW/Texas Susan P. Milam, Ph.D., LMSW Director of Government Relations National Association of Social Workers/Texas Chapter July 14, 2012

2 National Association of Social Workers/Texas Chapter Board NASW/Texas will advocate for actions that will enable professional social workers to provide high quality, effective services to strengthen Texas communities.

Advocacy at NASW/Texas Board of Directors - Adopts legislative agenda - Allocates resources Texas Political Action for Candidate Election (TPACE) - Evaluates and endorses candidates - Determine level of support Social Work Advocacy Day (SWAD) Committee - Organize Social Work Advocacy Day at the Capitol - Encourage local advocacy activities Government Relations Office - Lobbying for legislative action - Developing advocacy materials - Interacting with advocacy groups and public agencies - Staff support for advocacy groups Branches/Members/ Committees - Local advocacy - Vote/campaign for candidates - Contact with elected officials: phone calls, letters, visits, petitions 3

NASW/Texas Advocacy Groups  Texas Political Action for Candidate Election (TPACE) Evaluate and endorse candidate Determine level of support  Social Work Advocacy Day Committee Organize annual advocacy day at the legislature Encourage local advocacy efforts 4

Social Work Advocacy Day (SWAD) Committee  Chair: Janet Tuohy  Members: Virginia ManuelApril Young Joan HollandLois McDonald Lucia Leo-DiazKelsee Jones Mike GianottiMari Lynn Garcia Bert BeaumanElizabeth Gonzalez 5

Government Relations Office  Legislative and regulatory action  Collaborating with partners Research Advocacy for clients and issues  Working with public and private employers  Pursuing opportunities in new fields of practice  Educating ourselves and others  Grassroots advocacy training 6

Branch and Member Advocacy  The power of a constituent!  Knowledge of community needs  Impacted by legislative decisions 7

Texas Government 8

9 General Facts about the Texas Legislature  There are 150 Texas Representatives  There are 31 Texas Senators  Both houses are in session for 5 months (January thru May) every odd year  In 2011, 5,796 bills were filed; 1,387 passed Nearly 80% of all House bills died About 70% of all Senate bills died 26% of Republican bills (797) and 19% of Democratic bills (585) were sent to the governor Governor Rick Perry vetoed 24

10 Texas 82 nd Legislature Demographics House Senate  Male11825  Female 32 6  Democratic  Republican  Incumbent  Freshman 26 2  Caucasian  African-American 17 2  Hispanic 28 7  Asian-American 2 0

11 Social Workers in the Texas Legislature Elliott Naishtat, Texas Representative o He has served District 49 in Austin since 1990 o Holds social work and law degrees o Worked as VISTA volunteer for LBJ’s War on Poverty

NASW/Texas Legislative Agenda  2013 Legislative Agenda  3 Top Issues Loan Repayment Higher Pay S.W. Center for Workforce Studies  Messaging 12

Loan Repayment… 13

14 Social Work  Our discipline’s unique ethics of social justice and political advocacy  Our mission to our most vulnerable populations  Promotion of social justice and social change  Our core values: service social justice dignity and worth of the person importance of human relationships integrity competence  Political action, lobbying, and advocacy: unique and essential component to social work

15 Social Workers in Politics Necessary to: reassert our role in social welfare policy represent populations who are marginalized and hold little power stabilize authority, rights, and power for the social work profession

16 Social Workers and the Democratic Process “In a democracy, where every vote and voice count, doing nothing is a political act.” Nancy Amidei

17 How to Do Grassroots Advocacy: Advocate: to speak or write in favor of; support or urge by argument; recommend publicly

Branch and Member Advocacy NASW/TX can provide:  Individual legislator information  Issue summaries  Letter templates  Petition templates  Phone call scripts  Postcards  Action plan  Suggestions for advocacy 18

Letter/Postcard Advocacy  U. S. Officials  Sen. Cornyn  Sen. Hutchison  Your Member in Congress  State Officials  Governor Perry  Your Representative  Your Senator 19

Calling Your Legislator 20

21 As a social worker, what have you done to assist a Texan to obtain, retain, or regain their independence and self- sufficiency?

 What kind of social work do you do?  How does your work contribute to the overall strength/quality of life for Texas?  Does your work save an expense in another area of the economy?  Do you have a statistic that confirms the value of what you do? 22

23 What Can I Do…  Vote  Write letters, make phone calls, sign petitions to include on line, , and visit my representative and senator  Join/Invite others to join NASW.  Join NASW/TX “Take Action Now” Listserv  Get involved in a candidate’s race  Run for public office!  Join a NASW Critical Issue Advisory

What Does a Texas Social Work Advocate Look Like? Lara Hulin, School Social Worker, Houston ISD Katharine Ligon, TPACE Trustee, CPPP 24

It looks like YOU!! 25