If you are aware of any upcoming Disability Pride Month festivities in Michigan, please email the details to klewis.naswmi@socialworkers.org and we will be happy to amplify these on our social media.

POLICY STATEMENT

NASW supports

• a national policy that ensures the inherent right of people with disabilities to participate fully and equitably in society. This participation includes the freedom, to the fullest extent possible, to live independently, to exercise self-determination, to make decisions about their living conditions and treatment plans, to obtain an education, to be employed, and to participate as citizens.

• local, state, and federal funding to allow people with disabilities to participate fully and equitably in society with appropriate supports to meet individual needs.

• the right of people with disabilities to have public access to goods and services available to others, including transportation and reasonable accommodations to provide physical access to buildings throughout the community. Physical access includes internal and external building access (for example, ramps, doors, restrooms, drinking fountains, and elevators), telecommunications, and alternate means of communication (for example, Braille, sign-language interpreters).

• the right of people with disabilities to a basic level of income that allows all people with disabilities to have the necessities of life and to participate in the community.

• the right of people with disabilities to obtain and maintain affordable and accessible housing.

• the right of people with disabilities to pursue vocational and occupational opportunities that pay competitive wages in accessible environments with reasonable accommodations, in accordance with laws that ensure nondiscriminatory access to employment.

• the right of individuals with disabilities to affordable, accessible, and comprehensive health care.

• the right of individuals with disabilities to have early and continued access to individualized appropriate educational opportunities that are accessible in the least restrictive environment possible.

• the right of individuals with disabilities to fully participate in family life, including reproductive justice, the right to be parents, and the right to adopt.

• the development of social workers’ expertise in partnering with people with disabilities, by incorporating the study of disability history, culture, research, best practices, and civil rights in the curricula of schools of social work and in continuing education opportunities.

• the inclusion of social workers as well as other people with disabilities in all areas of professional organizations, including policy-making boards, staff and administrative positions, and boards of directors.

• the inclusion of people with disabilities in policymaking, design and delivery of services, and the evaluation of services.

• advocacy in collaboration with people with disabilities and their families to reduce discrimination, stigma, and restriction of rights based on inaccurate perceptions of individuals with disabilities in their communities and in society.

• social work promotion of collaborative, inclusive engagement of people with disabilities resulting in enhanced self-determination, allowing achievement of highest level of inclusion and participation in society.

*Text taken from Social Work Speaks,12th Edition: National Association of Social Workers Policy Statements 2021-2023

Resources, Organizations to Know, & How to Get Involved:

• Click here to learn more about Disability Pride Month
• Join us in participating in a 21-Day Disability Equity Habit-Building Challenge
• NASW Social Work Speaks Issue & Policy Statements on People with Disabilities
• NASW-NJ: The ADA at 32: What Social Workers Need to Know About the Americans with Disabilities Act Community Conversation Recording
• Disability Justice Resources
• Sins Invalid - 10 Principles of Disability Justice
• Wayne State University School of Social Work CE workshop: Ableism in Social Work: Making your practice more accessible
• University of Michigan School of Social Work Online Certificate in Disability Inclusion and Accessible Design
• Graduate Certificate Program in Disabilities
• Wayne State University School of Social Work Disability Justice Series
• Book: Disability Visibility: First-person Stories from the Twenty-First Century by Alice Wong

• Disability Visibility Project
• Detroit Disability Power
• Disability Rights Michigan
• Michigan Disability Rights Coalition
• The Collective for Disability Justice