Background: In June 2020, Governor Cooper appointed a new Task Force called the Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice. The Task Force focused on addressing existing policies and
procedures that disproportionately affect communities of color and
worked to develop solutions to ensure racial equity in North Carolina’s
criminal justice system.
NASW-NC provided public comments advocating for school social workers. View these comments here.
The Task Force recently released a comprehensive final plan and social workers are heavily involved, including NASW-NC's request for more school social workers.
Specifically, the report includes social workers in the following areas:
Reimagine public safety: Law enforcement officers today are called upon to address a vast array of social issues. Some of these calls may involve criminal behavior, but often the root is crisis, not criminality. People call 911 when a loved one is experiencing a mental health crisis, when they see a person on the street who appears to be impaired by drugs or alcohol, and when they see someone in need asking for money or going through trash cans. Responding to individuals in crisis is not the core purpose of law enforcement, and others, such as social workers, receive extensive training on how to respond to these situations. (Page 22)
Emergency response strategies should emphasize that law enforcement is not the best fit for every type of call for services and instead focus on providing needed services and support. Communities should consider approaches that include: Co-responder units pairing crisis-trained officers with social workers or other professionals, which the town of Chapel Hill has done since 1973. (Page 23)
Schools should devote resources to hiring a sufficient number of nurses, counselors, psychologists, and social workers to meet the needs of students with behavioral difficulties. If additional resources are needed, they should be provided. Funding sources that should be considered include at a minimum: local funding, state funding, State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) funding, and Medicaid funding. (Page 38)
Revising the role of School Resource Officers (SRO): Before a school-based petition initiated by an SRO can be accepted for filing in juvenile court, a school administrator or school social worker must also sign the petition. (Page 81)
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