(February 1999)
Leaders of the New York City and New York State Chapters of NASW, who have been working together for several years as members of the New York State Social Work Licensing Coalition, have jointly hired two lobbyists to further the organization's social action agenda on the State level.
Cynthia Dames, MSW, of Cynthia Dames Associates in New York City, is working with the Chapters on health and human service issues, including health, welfare, and child welfare. Ms. Dames is one of the most highly regarded lobbyists in health and human services in the State. Lois Phillips, who is an attorney with the Albany firm of Helm, Shapiro, Anito and McCale, will lobby on licensing.
Included on the list of social action priorities are:
- Health and managed care, including assuring the social work role in Medicaid managed care; fighting fee reductions for social work services in mental health; publicizing the Chapter's Critical Incident Report Project; promoting the funding of public hospitals; opposing Medicaid cuts; and supporting funding for New York State's uninsured;
- Welfare, including lobbying for a grant increase, promoting education and training in lieu of WEP (workfare), and supporting job creation and benefits; and
- Child welfare, including advocating for the reinstatement of State funds for the Professional Development Program scholarships for public child protective workers to earn their MSW degrees; and exploring the authorization for this program to be extended to child welfare workers into the voluntary sector.
In New York City, the agenda was crafted by specific Chapter committees, in consultation with the Chapter's Social Action Planning Council ( made up of the chairs of a number of priority committees, including the Health Care Policy and Practice Network, the Committee on Families and Children's Services, and the Welfare Reform Task Force) and Ms. Dames. The Board voiced its approval for lobbying priorities at its January meeting.
Leaders of both Chapters will be meeting with State legislators in the next several weeks and hope to influence them to vote against some of the more draconian measures in Governor Pataki's 1999 budget.