Women’s Council Law and Ethics Workshop

By Marilyn Montenegro

The sixth Bi-Annual Law and Ethics workshop, “Is Legal Always Ethical? Drug Policy and Social Work” was held at the California Endowment Center for Healthy Communities in Los Angeles, on February 27, 2014.

Left to right: Marilyn Montenegro, Kate Nagy, Monica Stel, Carrie Mounier, Brenda Wiewel, Debbie Murad

The day began with the documentary, The House I Live In, examining the ways in which policies established as part of the War on Drugs perpetuate dysfunctional systems which have become a war on the poor and marginalized ethnic communities.

Speaker, Tara Reed, PsyD, Program Manager, Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, provided a foundation for understanding the concept of intersectionality and its relevance to service providers, clients and communities.

Marianne Diaz, Director of Outreach Services, Southern California Counseling Center, used both personal experience and theoretical constructs to enrich the understanding of audience members of the impact of the war on drugs on individuals, families and whole communities.

Lynne Lyman, California State Director Drug Policy Alliance, offered both information about drug laws and their implementation and provided practical strategies for making change on the personal, community and policy levels.

During the lunch break Natalia Salinas, CA representative to the delegate assembly and chair of the Social Action/Social Justice Council, joined conference attendees to discuss efforts to convince the CA Chapter of the NASW to move its funds out of Wells Fargo to a smaller (not “too big to fail’) more less culpable financial institution. A petition opposing the proposed disbanding of the Delegate Assembly was circulated.

The audience of approximately 130 social workers and other social service professionals was actively engaged by the documentary and the presentations. Their enthusiastic comments included “loved it !!!”, “I enjoyed this training” and “Superb workshop — excellent speakers, good balance. Great food, Really Inspired.”

This was the sixth Law and Ethics workshop that the Women’s Council has presented for social work practitioners designed to examine the intersection of law and ethics in social work practice.

The Women’s Council discusses a variety of ethical, practice and advocacy issues at its bi-monthly meetings held in the greater LA area. The April 12, 2014 meeting will be in Redondo Beach. For location or additional information contact (800) 538-2565 ext. 57, womenscouncil@sbcglobal.net or mujerista@All2Easy.net.