Social Work On The Issues: Advocacy Learning Center
Social Work On The Issues - Learning Center
What issues and legislation are important to Michigan social workers?
Social workers support many different issues outside of legislation that directly affect our profession. Discover key topics below, or visit the National NASW website to learn more about how we influence policy priorities in Michigan and nationwide.
In Michigan, reproductive rights include the right to access abortion and other reproductive health services. For many years, a 1931 state law made abortion illegal except to save the life of the mother. This law became unenforceable after Roe
v. Wade in 1973, but with the overturn of Roe in 2022, there were concerns that the 1931 ban could go back into effect.
However, in 2022, Michigan voters passed Proposal 3, which amended the state constitution to protect the right to abortion. This means individuals have the right to make personal decisions about their pregnancies, including the option to continue
or end a pregnancy, without the risk of the old law being enforced.
Key points:
Abortion is now legally protected in Michigan, and the state constitution ensures the right to choose.
These protections also cover access to contraception, prenatal care, and the right to carry a pregnancy to term.
Proposal 3 ensures that future legislation cannot take away these reproductive rights.
The Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act is a Michigan law passed in 1976 to protect people from discrimination. It ensures that no one can be treated unfairly because of their race, religion, sex, age, height, weight, marital status, or disability
in areas like employment, housing, education, and public services.
In 2023, a significant amendment was made to extend protections to the LGBTQ+ community. This update officially prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, marking a major step forward for LGBTQ+ rights in Michigan.
Over the years, the law has been updated multiple times to ensure everyone in Michigan has equal rights, creating a more fair and inclusive society by holding people and organizations accountable for discriminatory actions.
Senate Bill 27 (2024) requires equal insurance coverage for mental health and substance use disorder treatments, addressing previous loopholes and placing responsibility for parity compliance on insurers. Mental health parity means that insurance
coverage for mental health services must be equal to coverage for physical health services, ensuring that individuals have access to necessary treatment without additional financial burdens.
This bill is a significant step toward ensuring that people in Michigan can access quality mental health care without discrimination in their insurance coverage.
Public Acts 51-53 of 2024 established payment parity for telehealth services. These laws ensure that telehealth services, including mental health care, are reimbursed at the same rate as in-person visits through Medicaid and private insurance.
By ensuring payment parity, these acts encourage greater adoption of telehealth, which can expand access to care, especially in underserved and rural areas where in-person healthcare services may be limited.
The legislation also includes protections for telemedicine access, ensuring that people can continue to utilize telehealth services even as the pandemic fades.
The SMART (Student Mental Health and Retention Training) Bill, Senate Bill 1012, focuses on funding mental health services in schools. This bill directs $50 million annually toward expanding mental health services for students, including those
in underserved districts. By allocating these funds, the state aims to improve access to mental health resources in schools and train more professionals to meet student needs. Funding from the SMART bill will also be used to provide stipends
and support for mental health professionals who commit to working in Michigan schools, ensuring long-term retention in these critical roles.
Michigan continues to face workforce shortages in behavioral health, which contributes to high caseloads for current mental health professionals. Caseload standards are being reviewed in legislative discussions to address these burdens. This includes
ensuring that mental health professionals can manage their workloads effectively while providing quality care to their patients.
Michigan's Medicaid program has expanded access to services in recent years, particularly through efforts aimed at reducing barriers to healthcare for low-income individuals. For example, recent reforms such as eliminating the asset test for SNAP
have lowered barriers for families to access services like Medicaid.
These reforms are part of a broader strategy to ensure that more Michiganders can access necessary healthcare services, particularly in emergencies.
In 2024, Michigan passed several new firearms safety laws to help reduce gun violence and keep communities safer. These laws focus on preventive measures and increasing accountability for gun owners.
Key points:
Safe Storage: The laws now require gun owners to securely store firearms in homes where minors may be present. This is to prevent accidental shootings and keep firearms out of the hands of children and teens.
Background Checks: Universal background checks are now required for all gun sales in Michigan, including private sales. This helps ensure that individuals with criminal backgrounds or certain mental health conditions cannot
legally purchase a gun.
Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO): The new laws also establish a process for issuing Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs). This allows law enforcement to temporarily remove firearms from individuals who pose a risk to
themselves or others.
Support has grown for crisis response teams and alternatives to traditional policing models in Michigan. These programs integrate mental health services with law enforcement to better serve individuals experiencing mental health crises. One example
is the development of mobile crisis response teams, which include social workers and mental health professionals to respond to situations where mental health intervention is needed rather than law enforcement alone.
Efforts to allow virtual meetings at the state level continue to be a discussion point in Michigan post-pandemic. Virtual public meetings have been used to maintain accessibility for community members who may not be able to attend in-person meetings.
The state's Open Meetings Act was amended to allow virtual meetings during the pandemic, and discussions continue regarding whether this option will remain in place permanently to increase public participation in government.
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