On April 3rd, Seton Hall undergraduate social work students who will be graduating this Spring joined hundreds of other students and
practitioners in Trenton at the Legislative Education and Advocacy Day (LEAD) sponsored
by the National Association of Social Workers- New Jersey Chapter. The goal of this
event was to further social workers' knowledge about policy issues in substantive
areas of social work practice and teach participants about legislative advocacy. This
annual event was a great opportunity to experience legislative advocacy, as well as
the law-making process. Throughout the day, social workers heard about civic engagement
at the local and county levels, as well as state-level action and advocacy. In addition,
a subject matter expert on gun violence spoke about tools for social workers such
as educational resources on safe storage of guns in the home and Extreme Risk Protection
Orders (ERPOs).
One of the primary factors distinguishing social work from psychology, psychiatry,
and the other mental health professions is its commitment to social justice. Social
workers must act to prevent and eliminate domination of, exploitation of, and discrimination
against any person, group, or class on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin,
sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, political
belief, religion, immigration status, or mental or physical disability.
As a result of their participation in LEAD, social work students gained competency
in political action to promote social, economic, environmental, and justice, as well
as human rights.
