Several Wilmington College students majoring in social work joined more than 500 other college students and social work professionals at the National Association of Social Workers Advocacy /Lobby Day. The group was trained on current issues in Ohio that the social work profession is struggling with before advocating before elected officials from both the Ohio Senate and House of Representatives
Wendy Grab, assistant professor of social work, highlighted the three bills on which the students expressed their concerns.
House Bill 8 (Parents’ Bill of Rights)
HB8 is a piece of legislation that would require all school personnel (social workers, teachers, nurses, etc.) to report any changes in student services or well-being as well as gender identity. This bill also requires staff to “out” students to their parents if they are identifying as another gender in school, which violates client trust and confidentiality and places the student in a potential path of harm if their parents are not supportive, according to the National Assn. of Social Workers (NASW).
Senate Bill 83 (Ohio Higher Education Enhancement Act)
The NASW believes this bill would create a massive shift in what “they know to be true about how DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) programs and education, cultural competency.” Through the restrictions of “intellectual diversity” in classrooms and policies on “controversial beliefs and policies” shared in classroom settings, along with the abolishment of funding for DEI programs and training, SB 83 will not “foster honest and factual conversations that social work education requires.”
Senate Bill 90 (Social Work Compact)
The Council of State Governments (CSG) has partnered with the Department of Defense (DoD), the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) to support the mobility of licensed social workers through the development of a new interstate compact. This additional licensing pathway will facilitate multistate practice among member states and reduce the barriers to license portability.
Grab noted that Ohio is in the midst of a behavioral health workforce crisis.
“Demand for behavioral health and human services is at an all-time high in the state; surpassing the current available workforce,” she said. According to 2021 reports from the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, demand for these services increased by 353% between 2013-2019, while the available workforce only increased by 174% in the same period.
“This issue has been worsened by substance abuse crises and the COVID-19 pandemic,” Grab added. “Social workers provide the vast majority of behavioral health and human services in the state of Ohio. In 2019, social workers made up the largest percentage of behavioral health practitioners in the state at 28%. Social workers need to be prioritized to the same degree as other helping professions to best address this crisis.”
PHOTO: Meeting with Ohio House District 71 State Representative Bill Dean are, from the left, are Halaae Hensley, a student at Ohio University; Hanna Anderson, Wilmington College; Madalynn Skelton, University of Dayton; and Alexis Griffith, Wilmington College.