More than 50 School of Social Welfare, BSW & MSW students along with Profesor Stephen Rabeno, joined with social workers and social work students from across New York State gathered in Albany on March 28 to rally in support of raising the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 18 years old and to demand that state legislators include this bill in the final budget.
Sponsored by the National Association of Social Workers – New York State Chapter (NASW-NYS), the New York State Association of Deans of Schools of Social Work, and the New York State Social Work Education Association (NYSSWEA), the Raise the Age rally kicked off the organizations’ annual Legislative Education Advocacy Day (LEAD), an event that brings hundreds of social workers and social work students to the state capitol to advocate on behalf of the profession and important client issues. The SSW students that participated in the rally, described the experience of being with more than 850 social workers and social work students from across the state, as one of the most energizing experiences to be a part of. Legislative Advocacy Day is grounded in a strong social work tradition of advocacy for change and we applaud our students and faculty who were a part of this movement for social change.
