Fall 2026 SOWK 430 Week 07 - NASW Social Justice Priorities

In week seven, we continue our review of the social worker’s ethical standards with Standard 2, our ethical responsibilities to colleagues, and look at the value of social justice. During my lecture video we will look at what the NASW means by social justice and the social justice priorities it has set for 2026. The agenda of that session includes:

Tasks for week seven
My experience with social justice
What the NASW means by social justice
NASW’s 2026 social justice priorities
Where social workers can get involved

Week 7 Objectives:

Explain how the ethical principle of social justice and Standard 6.04, Social and Political Action, call social workers to advocacy.
Identify the four 2026 NASW social justice priorities and the foundational issues that sit underneath them.
Describe how immigration enforcement and cuts to the social safety net affect the clients and communities social workers serve.
Identify an advocacy organization or NASW resource you could use to act on a social justice issue you care about.
Discuss the meaning of the NASW value of Social Justice in your life.
Understand and apply Ethical Standard 2: Responsibilities to Colleagues.

I have had some involvement in social justice work, but it is an area where I want to keep growing my own practice. These are a few of the things I have been part of over the years.

Have a Heart for Kids Day: The Children’s Alliance advocacy day in Olympia. I have gone four or five times over the years
A candlelight vigil: At John Dam Plaza with my daughter after the 2016 election
Protests in Peru: While I was in Peru, students at the university I was at barricaded the campus, and I saw a number of protests
No Kings Protests: In recent years, I have participated in the protests happening in our communities and around the country.
Frequently respond to calls to action from advocacy organizations
Upcoming talk with peers about immigration enforcement

Social justice is one of the six core values in the Code. The principle is short: “Social workers challenge social injustice.” The rest of the Code tells us what that looks like in practice.

The ethical principle: “Social workers pursue social change, particularly with and on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups of people. Social workers’ social change efforts are focused primarily on issues of poverty, unemployment, discrimination, and other forms of social injustice” (National Association of Social Workers [NASW], 2021).

Standard 6.04, Social and Political Action: “Social workers should be aware of the impact of the political arena on practice and should advocate for changes in policy and legislation to improve social conditions to meet basic human needs and promote social justice” (NASW, 2021, 6.04[a]). The standard also names immigration status among the grounds on which social workers should act to prevent discrimination (6.04[d]).

Two principles NASW uses to frame its social justice work (NASW, n.d.):

Intersectionality: Inequities based on gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, class, and other identities overlap, and those overlaps create their own harms for marginalized groups
Equity: The demand for equal and fair treatment of all populations, especially those who have faced injustice and human rights violations

NASW’s social justice priorities “serve as guiding principles for NASW’s national office and Chapters” (NASW, n.d.). They are how the professional association turns this principle into advocacy.

From Five Priorities to Four

When I taught this class in 2022, NASW listed five social justice priorities. Those five are still there, but NASW now calls them the foundations of its social justice work, and it has set four priorities for 2026 on top of them.

2022 priorities (now “Foundations”)	2026 priorities
Voting rights	Promoting fair and just immigration policies
Immigrant rights	Protecting the social safety net
Economic justice	Protecting democracy
Criminal and juvenile justice	Responding to emergent social justice issues
Environmental justice

Criminal justice: Reform of the criminal justice system that eliminates racial disparities
Economic justice: Federal funding assistance and removing barriers to employment
Environmental justice: The connection between environmental justice, social change, and health disparities
Immigration: A vocal role in advocating for systemic change and humane enforcement that protects children and families
Voting rights: A national leadership presence against threats to fair and accessible voting

(NASW, n.d.)

2026 NASW Priorities

Fair and Just Immigration Policies

This is the priority closest to home for many of us in the Yakima Valley, and it is one I care about a great deal. NASW’s briefs this year focus on detention.

Detention is growing quickly: “As of Sept. 7, there were 58,766 people in ICE detention, compared with the 37,395 being held at the same time last year” (Wilson, n.d.-a)
More is planned: DHS is expanding detention capacity by 92,000 beds, with an estimated price tag of $38.4 billion (Wilson, n.d.-a)
Children are affected: Brookings estimates “more than 100,000 U.S. citizen children have had a parent detained,” and about 22,000 have been left without a parent in the home (Wilson, n.d.-a)
Family detention: Nearly 600 children have been held at the Dilley, Texas, family facility, “many far beyond the 2 day legal limit established under the Flores settlement” (Wilson, n.d.-a)

What NASW and its partners are calling for: an end to the detention of children and families as a practice, DHS/ICE transparency and accountability, and systemic reforms to prevent similar abuses (Wilson, n.d.-a).

Other briefs under this priority: Haitian TPS, refugee resettlement, mass deportation. Add a local example if you want one.

The 2025 congressional budget reconciliation package cut Medicaid and SNAP. These are programs many of our clients rely on every day.

Children: “nearly 45% of America’s children—a total of 34 million—rely on Medicaid for health insurance and SNAP for food” (Wilson, n.d.-b)
Coverage loss: The American Hospital Association projected the bill “would lead to 10.9 million people becoming uninsured in 2034” (as cited in Wilson, n.d.-b)
Work requirements: KFF found that 92% of adults under 65 on Medicaid are already working, unable to work because of a disability, in school, or caregiving (as cited in Wilson, n.d.-b)
Rural communities: “More than 300 rural hospitals are currently at imminent risk of closing due to financial strain” (Wilson, n.d.-b)

For social workers, these are not abstract budget numbers. They show up as a client who loses coverage in the middle of treatment, or a family that has to choose between food and rent.

Protecting Democracy and Emergent Issues

The last two priorities are broader.

Protecting democracy brings together voting rights, gerrymandering, voter intimidation, election interference ahead of the 2026 midterms, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. NASW connects these to clients because weaker democratic protections make it harder for marginalized people to advocate for their rights and access services (NASW, n.d.).

Responding to emergent social justice issues includes reproductive health after the Dobbs decision, climate change and environmental health inequities, intimate partner violence, and gun violence (NASW, n.d.).

NASW’s briefs are written as advocacy, and they take clear positions. Standard 6.04 asks us to be active in the political arena on behalf of social justice. It does not tell us how to vote. Our job is to know how policy affects our clients and to advocate for their basic human needs.

Social justice work happens at every level, from a conversation with one client to a coalition to a national campaign.

NASW resources (NASW, n.d.)

NASW Action Center: Current legislation and how to contact your representatives
Stronger Together Resource and Action Center and the Mobilizing Against Hate Action Center
Safeguarding Free and Fair Elections: Voting resources for social workers
Social and Economic Justice & Peace Specialty Practice Section (for NASW members)
Chase Chats: Short videos with NASW President Yvonne Chase, including Supporting Immigrant Communities
Social Work Talks podcast: Episodes on juvenile justice and youth transfer (EP16) and child immigration (EP31)

Examples of advocacy organizations

Children’s Alliance: Washington advocacy for children, including Have a Heart for Kids Day
CADCA (Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America): Supports local prevention coalitions like Community of HOPE
OneAmerica: Washington immigrant and refugee advocacy

In the Ethical Principle: Social Justice forum this week, tell us about a time you or someone you know promoted social justice or challenged injustice. It doesn’t have to be a big moment, and it doesn’t have to come from social work.

(National Association of Social Workers, 2021, n.d.; Wilson, n.d.-a, n.d.-b)

Reference

National Association of Social Workers. (2021). NASW code of ethics. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English

National Association of Social Workers. (n.d.). Social justice. Retrieved October 9, 2026, from https://www.socialworkers.org/Advocacy/Social-Justice

Wilson, M. (n.d.-a). Emerging immigrant detention crisis [Social justice brief]. National Association of Social Workers. Retrieved October 9, 2026, from https://www.socialworkers.org/Advocacy/Social-Justice/Social-Justice-Briefs/Emerging-Immigrant-Detention-Crisis

Wilson, M. (n.d.-b). Harmful impact of 2025 congressional reconciliation budget package [Social justice brief]. National Association of Social Workers. Retrieved October 9, 2026, from https://www.socialworkers.org/Advocacy/Social-Justice/Social-Justice-Briefs/Harmful-Impact-of-2025-Congressional-Reconciliation-Budget-Package