INFLUENCING STATE POLICY has produced and distributed 1,000 copies of its third video in the Policy Affects Practice Series. This 20-minute video is intended to educate and inspire social work students, faculty and practitioners to participate in state legislative processes and decision-making. Aimee Perron, one of the students featured in the video, a previous winner of the ISP national contest for MSW students, and a past member of the ISP Board of Advisors, wrote the opening quotation: “I never thought that social workers were the ones who made changes in the law. Someone else bigger and more important must be taking care of that. We were there to help people, not draft legislation. But I was wrong. If social workers don't make the changes, or at least start making noise about what needs to be changed, nothing will ever change.”
The video's main themes are:
- Policy affects practice and students/practitioners affect policy.
- Actual experience in policy activity leads to feelings of efficacy.
- Fear is real, but not a sufficient reason to stay on the sidelines.
- The NASW Code of Ethics requires advocacy. It is not an option.
BSW, MSW, and Ph.D. students describe in the video how they learned from experience how policies affected their clients. With this knowledge, students began to overcome their fears and actually initiated advocacy to influence legislators and policy change. Students then issue a “call to action” that includes a list of activities that social work students, faculty and practitioners could initiate in order to influence state policy.
- Get out of your comfort zone.
- Identify an issue or problem you want to change.
- Form a group at work or school to help you advocate.
- Contact your legislators and ask them to help you introduce a bill.
- Develop fact sheets and policy briefs.
- Join a coalition dedicated to your issue.
- Testify at a hearing or committee meeting.
- Persevere and be very determined.
- Log onto to www.statepolicy.org
- Professors should give students advocacy and policy assignments.
Discussion guidelines provide leaders with the purpose of the video, an outline of its basic themes, discussion questions, and describe the underlying structure of the script.
Student comments:
“As a Freshman BSW student, this video added a new dimension to my expectations of the social work program.”—Jessica
“Seeing and hearing personal experiences of actual students was empowering and helped me get out of my comfort zone.”—Rick
“The video made me feel less intimidated about becoming involved in policy.”—Shaline
“It made me feel capable of making real changes in the legislature and elsewhere.” —Kim
“The video made me more willing to try new things, to take more initiative, and to trust my own perceptions, ideas, and experience.” —Mike
“The video reminds me that I am just as capable as the students in the video.” —Tanika