With the aid of GWSCSW members, DC Legislation & Advocacy has been working to promote adoption of the Compact legislation in DC. Since the Board of Social Work is hostile to the idea, our strategy is to bypass the Board and encourage City Council members to support the legislation, beginning with the members on the Committee on Health. Members of DC L&A met with Christina Henderson (At-Large), Chair of the Committee on Health, and with Charles Allen. Others are planning to meet with Brianne Nadeau (Ward 1) and staff from Matt Frumin’s office (Ward 3).

In addition, Council members have regular meetings with their constituents. For example, this is from Matt Frumin’s office: Save the Date: My next monthly Workday in the Ward will be from 8 am to 5 pm on Thursday, March 28, at Compass Coffee, 4850 Massachusetts Avenue NW.

We are very appreciative of the many of you who responded to our letter writing campaign by sending emails to your representatives and City Council members. Lobbying means educating: about the Compact, about who social workers are and what we do, and about the needs of our clients. Keep those letters coming! Do you have colleagues who work in clinics, hospitals, schools, or agencies? How would a social work compact affect them? We want to hear from you about these colleagues to expand our contacts in the community. You do not need to join the committee in order to make a contribution! Everyone can do a little something. Together we can do a lot. Send me an email: TellAdelelicsw@gmail.com.

The next BOSW meeting will be Monday, March 25, 10:00 am, virtually. The link is on the Board of Social Work website, under “Meeting agendas”. I hope many of you can make it and make our voices heard.