(7/16) Update: This Call for Participation has been updated to include Communications, Outreach, Membership, and Marketing (COMM) Committee and Chapter Ethics Committee (CEC)

Each year, the NASW-NYS President appoints members to committee vacancies. Together with staff, this growing number of leaders form a healthy partnership to fulfill the Chapter’s mission of serving our members. NASW-NYS is currently seeking members to join the following committees:

• Advocacy and Government Relations (AGR) Committee
  The AGR Committee is tasked with developing an Advocacy Agenda for NASW-NYS, to be presented to the Board at the September Board meeting for adoption, in addition to the following:
  • Acting as a resource in the development of position papers;
  • Assisting in the mobilization of members regarding pertinent legislative issues;
  • Assisting with the organization and/or education of members as needed;
  • Alerting Chapter staff of any pertinent legislative issues;
  • Represent the Chapter at coalition and other related meetings, as needed;
  • Assist with the organization of NASW-NYS legislative education events; and
  • Participate in the NASW-NYS annual Legislative Education Advocacy Day (LEAD) event in Albany, NY. 

• Program Committee
  The Program Committee is responsible for the development of state-wide program planning, and for the review, monitoring, and evaluation of all programs of the Chapter. The Committee has also been charged with identifying and making recommendations to the Board regarding local and statewide programming goals and objectives.

• Communications, Outreach, Membership, and Marketing (COMM)
  The COMM Committee works to improve member recruitment and retention; aid in marketing, branding, and strategic partnership initiatives; and promote the value of social work both internally and externally.

• Chapter Ethics Committee (CEC)
  The Chapter Ethics Committee (CEC) proposes complaints of alleged violations of the NASW Code of Ethics, by Chapter members. It is responsible for providing education and training to NASW members in coordination with the National Ethics Committee (NEC) and the Office of Ethics and Professional Review (OEPR). The CEC also aids in providing appropriate ethics programming and in clarifying ethical dilemmas raised by the Board and its committees.

Appointments are for one year (July 1, 2018 – June 30, 2019) and will involve (at least) monthly calls. If you would like to apply for a committee position, please submit a résumé and letter of interest to NASW-NYS Executive Director Samantha Howell at showell.naswnys@socialworkers.org

Deadline for application is July 27, 2018.

Members, you may recall that earlier this year the NYS Legislature passed legislation that calls for full implementation of the 2002 social work and other licensed mental health provider licensing laws – effectively ending the 14-year licensure exemption.

The licensure exemption was set to expire on July 1, 2018, but current license exemptions in the social work, mental health, and psychology professions have been extended beyond July 1, 2018, until NYSED develops formal guidance for service providers. Guidance and regulations are expected to be completed by September 30, 2018, whereby exemptions will then continue until one year after NYSED issues such regulations. Please stay tuned for more updates.

In the meantime, please see the following notice on summary of the affected licensed professionals and employment settings provided by NYSED. More information along with a summary of the affected licensed professionals and employment settings can be found on our their website.

Extension of Exemptions from Licensure for Social Workers, Mental Health Practitioners, and Psychologists

Current license exemptions are extended beyond July 1, 2018

The 2018-19 State Budget includes amendments to Education Law that extend current exemptions in the licensed social work, mental health, and psychology professions. Here is a summary of the affected licensed professionals and employment settings:

¹Per Article 41 of the Mental Hygiene Law
²Per section 61 of the Social Services Law

These exemptions will continue until one year after the Board of Regents adopts regulations to implement the amended law. The amendments also expand the list of activities that do not require licensure and make provisions for current employees in the exempt settings. To view the details of the amendments, please see Chapter 57 (Part Y) of the Laws of 2018 at public.leginfo.state.ny.us/navigate.cgi (see “Budget,” then “Article VI,” then “Health and Mental Hygiene”). Please note that the permanent exemption for psychologists in Section 7605(1) of Article 153 employed in salaried positions operated by the Department of Mental Hygiene agencies, as well as other specified settings, is not affected by this amendment.

Several steps lie ahead. First, the law requires the Department to develop formal guidance for service providers by September 30, 2018. This guidance will identify tasks and services that do (and do not) require licensure. This will be followed by the adoption of regulations and then by reports required by the legislation.

Source: New York State Education Department (last updated July 2, 2018)
http://www.op.nysed.gov/surveys/mhpsw/exempt-agencies-overview.htm

Members,

We did it!

On Wednesday, June 20, 2018, at 11:38 p.m., the NYS Senate voted to pass S.1156-C which establishes the Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Parity Report Act.

In the final hours of the legislative session, we received increased opposition from insurers and health plans who worked overtime to defeat this important accountability measure. But you did not let that happen.

Your demonstration of strong grassroots support and advocacy were crucial to advancing this bill. Thank you for taking the time to call and email your representatives and letting them know that New Yorkers deserve to know how insurers and health plans are complying with federal and state parity laws, which is critical in maintaining and enhancing access to care. Passage of this legislation will require insurers to submit certain key data to the Department of Financial Services in order to evaluate and report on their compliance with already mandated parity coverage for MH/SUD.

Please stay tuned for updates on implementation of this legislation. In the meantime, we encourage you call and thank your legislators who helped ensure passage of this very important piece of legislation.

Action Steps Needed

Call and write to thank:

• Your Senator and Assemblymember – Call the main Senate and Assembly switchboards and asked to be connected to your local legislator:

NYS Legislature Switchboard:

Senate: 518-455-2800

Assembly: 518-455-4100

Find your NYS Senator: 
https://www.nysenate.gov/find-my-senator

Find your NYS Assemblymember: 
http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/search/

• Senator James L. Seward (R-C-I-Ref,-Oneonta), Chair of the Senate Committee on Insurance – (518) 455-3131; Email: seward@nysenate.gov

• Senate Majority Leader John J. Flanagan (R-East Northport) – (518) 455-2071; Email: flanagan@nysenate.gov

• Senator Robert G. Ortt (R,C,I-North Tonawanda), sponsor of bill S.1156-C – (518) 455-2020; Email: Ortt@nysenate.gov

• Assemblymember Aileen Gunther (D,W,I-Forestburgh), sponsor of bill A.3694-C – (518) 455-5355; Email: GuntheA@nyassembly.gov

• Senator George A. Amedore, Jr. (R,C,I-Rotterdam) – (518) 455-2350; Email: amedore@nysenate.gov

• Senator Fred Akshar (R,C,I) – (518) 455-2677; Email: akshar@nysenate.gov

• Senator Chris Jacobs (R,C,I-Buffalo) – (518) 455-3240; Email: jacobs@nysenate.gov

Sample Script

Hi, my name is ___________________. I am a constituent and/or treat constituents of [Legislator’s Name]’s district. I am calling to thank [Legislator’s Name] for supporting S.1156-C/A.3694-C, that requires insurers and health plans to annually disclose information and data necessary to evaluate their compliance with federal and state mental health and substance use disorder (MH/SUD) parity laws. This legislation is an important mechanism to reduce industry patterns of disparity between coverage criteria imposed on mental health and/or substance use disorder care as compared to other services, and I thank the [Senator/Assemblymember] for his/her support on this bill. Thank you for your time and attention.