In this week's update:
- Social Work Compact passes NC House
- NC Supreme Court temporarily blocks court order to toss 65K ballots
- NCDHHS Seeks Feedback on Medicaid Managed Care Plans
- Total abortion ban won't be heard in NC House
- NC Budget and Tax Center Advocacy Day -This Tuesday 4/15!
- Moms Demand Action 2025 Advocacy Day-This Wednesday 4/16!
- NCGA Bills to Watch
- NASW-NC Clinical Institute
Social Work Compact passes NC House
The Social Work Interstate Licensure Compact Bill (HB231) was heard on the House Floor on Tuesday, April 1, for its final vote in the House, and it passed unanimously with a floor vote of 116-0. The week prior, NASW-NC staff had been at the General Assembly ensuring that HB 231 passed favorably in both the House Finance Committee and the House Rules Committee.
The North Carolina legislation (SB155 and HB231) would allow licensed clinical social workers to apply to provide their services across multiple states. A comprehensive data system would also be created so the public could be kept safe and informed regarding a social worker’s current license status and any adverse actions associated with a licensed clinical social worker.
NASW-NC's top priority for the 2025 legislative session is the passage of the Social Work Interstate Licensure Compact. NASW-NC has been the driving force behind this bill, and was the only organization in North Carolina to work to introduce the bill in both chambers of the NC General Assembly.
NASW-NC has worked tirelessly for the last two years to secure the 40 primary and co-sponsors in both the Senate and House of Representatives for the Social Work Licensure Compact. NASW-NC would like to thank all of HB 231's sponsors and co-sponsors for their leadership and support in getting this bill passed.
HB 231 has been referred to the NC Senate. NASW-NC will continue to monitor and advocate for the bill’s passage. NASW-NC will also continue to advocate for SB 155 - the companion bill of HB 231 to be heard in Senate Finance Committee and eventually in a floor vote in the NC Senate.
NASW-NC is also working to advance HB 523 – School Social Workers/Master’s Pay. This is the second 2025 NASW-NC Legislative Agenda priority item that has been introduced as a bill in the House. This bill will most likely be voted through House Education and referred to Appropriations, where it will be included in the House Budget. We are working on getting support in the Senate.
NASW-NC is the ONLY organization lobbying and advocating for the entire Social Work Profession at the North Carolina Legislature. The NASW-NC lobbying team would not exist without the incredible support of NASW-NC membership. If you are already a member of NASW-NC, THANK YOU. Our members are the only reason that we have been able to do this work!
NASW-NC is not federally funded; we are not state funded. We are funded by the members of NASW and will not exist to advocate for you and the social work profession without YOU! We are able to do more if we have a large voice and robust membership. If you are not yet a member, please join NASW and join us in our advocacy efforts.
Follow updates on the Social Work Compact in the NC General Assembly here.
NC Supreme Court temporarily blocks court order to throw out 65K ballots in Riggs-Griffin race
Voters being challenged as illegitimate by a Republican candidate for the state Supreme Court won a temporary reprieve Monday, when the high court blocked a lower court's ruling Friday from going into effect.
Jefferson Griffin, a Republican judge on the state Court of Appeals, challenged Democratic Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs for her seat in the 2024 elections. Riggs received 734 more votes than Griffin, multiple recounts have shown. But Griffin is seeking to reverse the outcome by having more than 60,000 ballots thrown out. He alleges that the board of elections shouldn't have let the voters cast ballots largely due to voter registration inconsistencies.
Griffin's challenge was thrown out by the State Board of Elections in December. After he appealed that decision in court, he lost at trial. But on Friday, he won at the state Court of Appeals, with two GOP colleagues on that court ruling in his favor. The appellate court's 2-1 ruling said several hundred voters should have their ballots thrown out no matter what, based on a new interpretation of the state constitution. And the other 60,000-plus voters, the appeals court wrote, should have their ballots thrown out unless they take steps within 15 days to prove their identity to the state elections board.
Monday's order from the Supreme Court doesn't rule on who is right in the dispute. But it does block that Court of Appeals order, and its 15-day clock, from going into effect — at least for now, while Riggs and the Board of Elections appeal.
(Source: WRAL.com)
NCDHHS Seeks Feedback on Medicaid Managed Care Plans
NCDHHS is asking for feedback on how to improve services for beneficiaries, providers, health systems and plans under the Managed Care System. Since the 2023 Medicaid launch in North Carolina, NCDHHS has gathered valuable insights from stakeholders and has shared that information in a paper called
The paper and a summary are available on the NC Medicaid Policy Papers webpage.
NCDHHS seeks public feedback on this paper by Wednesday, May 7, 2025, by one of three methods:
- Email: Medicaid.NCEngagement@dhhs.nc.gov with the subject line “Managed Care Program Enhancements Feedback”
- U.S. Mail: Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Health Benefits, 1950 Mail Service Center, Raleigh NC 27699-1950
- Drop-off: Department of Health and Human Services, Dorothea Dix Campus, Adams Building, 101 Blair Dr., Raleigh NC
Total abortion ban won't be heard in NC House
A Republican bill filed this week that proposes making abortion illegal in North Carolina at any stage of pregnancy won’t move forward, House Speaker Destin Hall said Tuesday. “I don’t think there’s any real desire in our caucus to hear that particular bill, and so, it’s not going to be heard in committee,” Hall told reporters after the House’s voting session Tuesday afternoon.
The bill, introduced on Monday by Rep. Keith Kidwell with the support of two other House Republicans, would ban abortion after conception and allow no exceptions other than to “preserve the life of the mother.” Violations of the ban would be punished as felonies, and by a civil penalty of $100,000. Democrats were quick to raise concerns about the bill after it was filed, and vowed to fight it “as hard as we can.”
Named the “Human Life Protection Act of 2025,” the bill mirrors similar legislation Kidwell, the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus,filed two years ago during the 2023 legislative session that was never taken up.
At the time, Republicans in the House and Senate were working within their caucuses to come up with a consensus bill to further restrict abortion in the state that all GOP lawmakers could agree on and get behind.
When Kidwell filed the similar bill in March 2023, a spokeswoman for then-House Speaker Tim Moore clarified that it didn’t reflect “the work of the working group or the consensus product we expect to emerge from those discussions.”
(Source: Newsobserver.com)
NC Budget and Tax Center Advocacy Day - This Tuesday 4/15!
Our state budget matters for almost every aspect of our daily lives — from the air we breathe and water we drink, to the quality of our kids' education — and yet some powerful lawmakers are intentionally leaving you out of the process.
Join the North Carolina Budget & Tax Center on April 15 in Raleigh for a day of advocacy to take the budget back to the people. We will be requesting meetings with legislative leadership to demand a more transparent and equitable budget process, and joining together to discuss how we can organize to ensure future budgets fund the services and programs our state needs so every North Carolinian — from Boone to Wilmington and all parts between — has what they need to thrive.
Please RSVP here, and we'll be in touch with more details as the date approaches.
When: Tuesday, April 15, 2025 9:30 AM - 2:30 PM
Where: Halifax Mall, 300 N Salisbury St, Raleigh, NC 27603
Moms Demand Action 2025 Advocacy Day-This Wednesday 4/16!
Join Moms and Student Demand action volunteers and other gun safety advocates from across the state to urge lawmakers to pass legislation that keeps our communities safe, and to oppose bills that do not. We'll hear from great speakers, review our priorities, and meet with lawmakers.
Date: Wednesday, April 16, 2025
Time: 9am–3pm
Location: Raleigh, NC
Click HERE to RSVP.
NCGA Bills to Watch
SB 155 (HB 231): The Social Work Interstate Licensure Compact works to increase access to social workers and this bill would add North Carolina into a compact where social workers from other states who meet requirements within the bill can serve North Carolinians. Click Here for how you can support passage of the Social Work Compact.
HB523: School Social Workers/Master's Pay. This bill will restore master's level pay for school social workers.
HB171: Equality on State Agencies/Prohibition on DEI. This bill will eliminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives and prohibit public funding for DEI initiatives in state and local government.
SB558: Eliminating "DEI" in Public Education Higher Ed. This bill will ban Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (“DEI”) content and programs in public colleges, universities and community colleges.
HB318:The Criminal Illegal Alien Enforcement Acts strengthens House Bill 10—enacted during the 2023-24 legislative session—which requires state, county, and local law enforcement agencies to cooperate with ICE before releasing illegal migrants arrested for violent offenses.
HB 979: Update Volunteer System/LTC Ombudsman Program. An act updating and strengthening the systems of volunteers supporting the State of NC Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program.
HB939: School Chaplains. This will allow public schools to hire chaplains.
Voter Voice Bill Tracker
NASW-NC has created a page to keep members up to date with legislative developments regarding the Social Work Interstate Licensure Compact, restoring master’s level pay for school social workers, and other bills related to the social work profession.
NASW-NC is currently keeping an eye on more than 100 bills that, if passed, may impact the social work profession and the populations we serve. You can view all of the bills NASW-NC is tracking at the NC General Assembly HERE.
2025 NASW-NC Clinical Institute
The Clinical Social Work Institute is one of NASW-NC's flagship conferences, offering 1.5-hour workshops for both advanced and beginning clinical social workers. Past attendees have shared that the workshops offered are an enhancement to their practice and areas of specialization. The conference welcomes Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs) from across North Carolina, with others joining in from other states and a few from other countries.
May 12,-13, 2025
Virtual
Up to 31 hours of CE Live and Recorded
Registration Fees:
Members $125
Not yet a member? $250
REGISTER HERE TODAY
Thank you to the members of NASW-NC for supporting the advocacy work we do. We would not be able to advocate for the social work profession or social justice issues in North Carolina without a robust and engaged NASW membership. If you are a social worker and not a member, we ask that you join NASW today. Our voice is louder with your membership.
Learn more about NASW-NC membership here.
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