NASW Virginia Chapter Announces 2025 Policy Priorities, Calls for Advocacy Volunteers

NASW had already been working to educate legislators and to advance policy priorities even before the General Assembly convenes Jan. 13, 2025 (rescheduled from the 8th due to no water in the building).  

Below is a brief overview of the professional and social justice issues on which staff and our lobbyist will focus. We have taken guidance from the Behavioral Health Coalition of Virginia (co-founder), our Legislative and Social Justice Committee, member survey results, coalition partners, and the new edition of the NASW Social Works Speaks policy guidebook.

• Enforced parity (equal reimbursement) for clinicians 

• Extended telehealth protections

• Internship funding

• Human rights, including rights of LGBTQIAS2+ people such as transgender students

• Anti-discrimination protections, including those of immigrants 

• Gun violence prevention

• Mental health programs and funding

• Reproductive justice

• Behavioral health workforce development through Gov. Youngkin’s Right Help, Right Now Behavioral Health Strategy (I serve on the Workforce Development Working Group of this six-pillar plan, which now enters the Year-Three Phase.)

• Marcus Alert expansion to prevent the criminalization of people experiencing mental crises when police are called (This includes advocating for the hiring of more social workers by law enforcement agencies to serve as first responders in such emergency situations.) 

• Homelessness and affordable housing 

• Tightening accountability and usage of solitary confinement

• Social Work Compact execution when guidance is completed by the multi-state Social Work Compact Commission

• Voting rights

  
  

The chapter also will meet soon with Richmond Mayor Danny Avula to determine his behavioral health priorities, to voice NASW stances, and to offer expertise on issues such as the mental health impacts of gun violence, school-based behavioral health initiatives, and more. 

In addition, the chapter will continue its activism in what media are calling “blockbuster” state elections this fall. Join our efforts to expand voter education outreach, endorse candidates, and fight for voter rights such as prevention of purging voter records and codifying automatic return of voting rights to felons who have served their time. 

NASWVA has already endorsed Legislator of the Year Sen. Ghazala Hashmi for lieutenant governor and former Rep. Abigail Spanberger for governor, but Executive Director Debra Riggs welcome other suggested candidates who would champion social work priorities.

Thank you to the social workers who voted January 7 in special elections for state Senate Districts 10 and 32 (Loudoun County), and state House District 26. The Democrats won two of the three elections, retaining control of both houses by slim margins.

For all Virginians, January 1 marked the launch of several new laws that our chapter supported, including an increased minimum wage from $12 to $12.41 and the expansion of the Virginia Human Rights Act to ban discrimination, harassment, or retaliation based on an employee's ethnic origin (e.g., the ancestry of a particular ethnic group). You can skim all of Virginia’s new laws here. 

Looking ahead, the General Assembly runs until February 22 (except for budget consideration) with Crossover (last day for the House of Delegates and Senate to act on their own bills and then transfer them to the other for committee review, amendments, and votes) on February 7. 

That means speed around advocacy is vital. The chapter’s robust advocacy agenda for 2025 advances your needs and interests as a social worker, but your help is needed to achieve it. Please consider volunteering for our Policy and Social Justice Committee—email driggs.naswva@socialworkers.org, if interested. 

This is such a powerful way to give back to the profession and to meaningfully leverage your expertise, leadership, and passion to fight against poor policy proposals, educate decision makers about possible solutions and policy impacts, and rally our allies to co-create positive change.

The chapter looks forward to an active year of advocacy for Virginia social workers and social justice!