In January 2009, I had the privilege of attending this year’s PACE Annual Retreat and want to share with you some thoughts about what PACE does for us as members of the National Association of Social Workers – New York City Chapter (NASW-NYC).  The Political Action for Candidate Election (PACE) Committee has an important impact on member interests like loan forgiveness and also promotes legislative initiatives that support clients that our members serve.

The overarching purpose of PACE is to promote policies and programs that address the needs of our membership and the people they serve.  PACE is an integral part of the Chapter, but is legally separate.  This gives the PACE Committee the freedom to think independently on how to interact with local and state government elected officials and candidates for elected office.

How can you get involved with PACE?  The PACE Committee is now recruiting members and all NASW-NYC members are encouraged to attend the meetings that are posted on the NASW-NYC website and meetings calendar.  Another method of involvement is to check off a contribution for PACE when you pay your annual membership dues to the National Association of Social Workers.  Part of your contribution goes to support PACE in New York City.

What are some of the activities coming up with PACE?  One of the most exciting is the opportunity to participate in interviews of candidates who will be running for Mayor, Comptroller, Public Advocate, Borough President, and City Council positions.  PACE members will develop questionnaires incorporating issues that are critical to members including ensuring the continuation of social work services for children, families and the elderly, preventing homelessness and promoting housing programs, improving health and education, expanding mental health and substance abuse services, maintaining programs for people with HIV and AIDS, and funding scholarships for social work students. These questionnaires guide the interview process and inform the decisions that PACE makes about which candidates to endorse.  Through the interview process, candidates also become educated about NASW-NYC members’ positions on state issues, such as social work licensing.  The voice of social work in the political arena is more important than ever in these times of financial distress, when our clients, our members, and the services we provide can be marginalized.

Volunteers from all sectors of our membership are invited to get involved in PACE to assist with candidate interviewing and subsequent election work for the endorsed candidates.  Members engaged in clinical practice are especially valued for their insight into the needs of individual clients, families, and communities.  Macro practitioners bring organizing skills to the work of the PACE candidate election process. Students and retired social workers offer a breadth of perspective and often have the added benefit of time flexibility that can allow them to attend interviews which are booked to accommodate candidates’ busy schedules.

Getting active in PACE is a wonderful way to get involved with the political process, meet new colleagues and friends, develop new networks, and help get candidates elected who support the NASW-NYC agenda.  Because PACE is a non-partisan professional organization, NASW-NYC members can be engaged regardless of their paid organizational affiliation and regardless of whether they work in the non-profit, public, or for-profit sector.  As a former Chair of the PACE Committee, I know the power of PACE in promoting the issues and values of our profession in the political arena.

Our Executive Director, Dr. Robert Schachter, reflected on the election of Barack Obama in the last issue of Currents.  He identified this election as an inspiration for us in the midst of extraordinary change.  As I write this President’s Message, I know that when it is published, Barack Obama will be our new President.  The National Association of Social Workers PACE endorsed President Obama when he was a candidate, and now we celebrate him as the first President who is a community organizer and “one of our own”.

The New York City Chapter builds on the relationships with elected officials developed through PACE after the Committee endorses them and supports their election campaigns.  The power of social work contributed to the election of the first African American President and community organizer!  Now NASW has a historic opportunity to build on the relationship developed with the Obama Administration through the candidate endorsement and election process.  How can NASW use the relationship forged by the work of PACE at the national policymaking level that will have an impact on state and local policies, programs and services related to social work practice and client well-being? 

NASW can work with Congress and the new Administration to promote the Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act, which would establish a Social Work Reinvestment Commission to provide a comprehensive analysis of current trends within the academic and professional social work communities.  It can sign on to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report that promotes interdisciplinary practice among medicine, nursing, social work, and allied health professionals.  Importantly, the social work profession can work with the Obama Administration to make universal health care a reality and to secure a key role for social work within this visionary program.  Some of our NASW-NYC colleagues including Dr. Lou Levitt, Past President of the Chapter, Dr. Aaron Beckerman, and Dr. Terry Mizrahi, Past President of the National Association of Social Workers, have been tireless advocates of universal health care, through Rekindling Reform and other organizations with which NASW-NYC is a partner.  Through organizing and working within the political process, social workers can not only make this a reality but ensure that the profession of social work is an integral part of any universal health care program that emerges from our National government. 

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