Oakland University’s Social Work Department sent six students to Lansing on March 19 to participate in Capitol Action Day, an annual advocacy event hosted by Michigan’s National Association of Social Workers (NASW) chapter.
James Nickel, Aaeshah Siddiqui, Chelsea Campbell, Riley Boomgaard, Isabella Levitt and Kayleigh Sheehan were selected as the OU student representatives for Capitol Action Day.
The event began with an overview of the Social Work Licensure Modernization Act. This act, outlined in House Bills 5184 and 5185, was initiated by social workers across the state in collaboration with NASW-MI. The act calls for the removal of the examination requirement for aspiring social workers and the restructuring of the Michigan social work licensure tiers.
The Social Work Licensure Modernization Act was designed to eliminate the racial, age and socioeconomic disparities allowed by the exam. NASW-MI believes that, without the exam requirements, more competent social workers will enter the workforce. This would mitigate the mental health professional shortage in Michigan.
Capitol Action Day attendees were taught how to lobby following the legislation information session. Lobbyists who work in Lansing on behalf of NASW-MI discussed the ‘dos and don’ts’ of lobbying state legislators.
Aaeshah Siddiqui, an OU student studying both political science and social work, was excited to find that Capitol Action Day combined her love for social issues and policy.
“It was an immersive experience for me, as a student who is passionate about social work and politics,” Siddiqui said.
After the attendees were taught how to lobby, it was time to put their knowledge into practice. Each school was assigned a different state legislator to discuss the Social Work Licensure Modernization Act with.
Riley Boomgaard, an OU student in the MSW program, was able to speak to State Representative Sharon MacDonnell about the act.
“My favorite part about today was learning advocacy skills and lobbying skills and being able to utilize those skills by talking to actual legislators about an issue about social work,” Boomgaard said.
Throughout the day, the Capitol Action Day attendees had time to network with social work students from across the state of Michigan.
“I enjoyed coming together with my fellow social workers from different schools and advocating for legislation that may mitigate issues within our profession,” Campbell said.
For some social work students, Capitol Action Day was the first time they had been able to bring key social work issues into the realm of politics.
“It was my first time in Lansing, I had a great time,” Nickel said. “I got to network with social work students and social workers.”
Capitol Action Day ended in Senator Stephanie Chang’s office. Senator Chang invited a group of social work students to meet with her to discuss the Social Work Licensure Modernization Act. Chang was supportive of the legislation and encouraged the students to speak with her about other problems they saw in the field of social work.
“I enjoyed being able to speak to Senator Chang. She was very kind and she seems like a very knowledgeable individual who does a lot of great work in the Senate,” Siddiqui said.
To learn more about the aims and advocacy initiatives of Michigan’s NASW chapter, visit the organization’s website or Instagram page, @naswmi.
