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NASW-IL Staff

From the Pen of the Executive Director: November 2024

Joel L. Rubin, MSW, LSW, ACSW, CAE

NASW-Illinois Chapter Executive Director


NASW-IL Executive Director Joel L. Rubin
NASW-Illinois Chapter Executive Director, Joel L. Rubin, LSW, ACSW, CAE

It is always daunting to write my “From the Pen of the Executive Director” article on the eve of a national presidential election. For years, I have written about the importance of reinforcing Standard 6.04 of our Code of Ethics for social workers to be involved in political action. With the social work community and the country on edge, it is important to reinforce this call. Our national NASW Political Action for Candidate Election (NASW-PACE) has endorsed vice-president Kamala Harris for president as well as congressional candidates in Illinois. The NASW-Illinois Chapter Political Action Committee (NASW-IL PAC) endorsements can be found here. We thank all our members who have taken time to canvas for all of our endorsed candidates. I had the opportunity to canvass for NASW-IL PAC–endorsed candidate Marti Deuter, MSW, who is running for state representative in the 45th District. We hope she wins, adding to our growing group of MSWs in the Illinois General Assembly; I’ll be out on Election Day canvassing for other NASW-IL PAC candidates.


2024 NASW Chapters Virtual conference: November 7-8, 2024

My pen this month is being posted shortly before our 2024 NASW Chapters Virtual Conference: Empowering Social Workers.


NASW-IL’s New Proposal and Legislative Guide to Support School Social Workers Across Illinois

Continuing with the chapter’s important work around the social work workforce in the state of Illinois, I am happy to announce the publication of "Policy Proposal for Enhancing School Social Work Staffing Ratios." We were able to utilize some of the remaining grant funds from the Telligen Community Initiative to make this possible and to address the pressing mental health needs of students across our state. https://www.naswil.org/post/announcing-new-proposal-and-legislative-guide-to-support-school-social-workers-across-illinois

Many thanks to the school social work members that lent their expertise and time to the development of this important guide:  Stephanie Steele, MSW, LCSW; Madeline Herms, MSW; Mary Abbott, MSW, LCSW; Rachel Kovacic, MSW, LSW; Alyssa Rodriguez, MSW; and Sean Prediville, MSW. I also want to thank the chapter’s legislative director Kyle Hillman who provided staff support to the group. We welcome the membership’s feedback on this important publication.


Some other notes…..

We have many dedicated members involved with our NASW-Illinois Chapter Board of Directors, committees, and shared interest groups. We also have members that represent NASW in national forums. I wanted to acknowledge NASW-IL member Heather Fraser, LCSW, who serves as liaison for NASW to the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health (COPACFH). Heather is also a member of our Chapter’s DEIB committee. Her clinical and child welfare expertise and social work perspective is an asset for their national committee. Many thanks, Heather!


A big NASW-IL welcome to Candace Gingrich (they/them) who is the NASW-Illinois Chapter’s new community engagement manager. From 1998 to 2019, Candace served multiple diverse roles for the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ political and educational organization. In this role, they will utilize their experience in program development, volunteer management, and advocacy. Welcome, Candace!


The coming weeks will be very uneasy and uncertain. We wish the entire social work community and the nation strength. NASW will continue to stand by our values, justice, equity, and compassion—and we will keep advocating for the communities we serve, no matter who sits in the Oval Office. What matters most right now is that we stay engaged, organized, and focused on what we can do together.

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