NM Social Work [Workforce] Consortium
Meeting called to order at 9:05am
Minutes: approved with a correction to a misspelled word
Agenda: approved without amendments
New attendees: Logan introduced himself as the Policy Director for Families and Youth Innovations Plus, outlining his organization’s services and his role in policy and program design.
Treasurer’s Report – Jerry Harrison on behalf of Mary Nienow: Jerry confirms that the consortium has no remaining budget and NM Health Resources will support ongoing activities if/when necessary. Over past years, Consortium has received $50,000 annually from the Health and Human Services Committee, which this year was used for website development and high-profile meetings. Jerry shared that future funding may be institutionalized into NMHR’s base contract for up to four years. The group discussed the importance of maintaining clarity on the fiscal agency role versus the consortium’s frontline role, particularly regarding lobbying activities
Committees:
Capacity Building: Capacity Building Committee met w/Cabinet Secretary Nair to discuss Consortium collaboration on social work workforce. Meeting focused on work toward pre-professional pipelines into social work, including community health worker roles. Secretary Nair discussed the opportunity to participate in Behavioral Health Sector Strategy. Anna presented a new workforce blueprint document, which was developed with community input and funding from the Department of Labor. The document maps program, sector, and policy-level strategies for growing the social work and behavioral health workforce.
Professional Isolation & Advocacy: Group identified need to reassess the Professional Isolation and Advocacy Subcommittee’s relevance due to lack of activity and discussed the original reasons for its creation, inviting input on its future direction.
Licensing: Jen reported on the licensing committee’s activities, including monitoring the compact’s progress and preparing an informational sheet for distribution before the next meeting. Main focus in on legislative session, tracking bills that impact workforce.
Executive: Reported that the executive committee’s recent meeting focused mostly on agenda organization for the larger meeting. The executive committee welcomed Ali to her first meeting. There was a brief discussion about website improvements, with Jamii and Patti inviting feedback from members.
Legislative Updates and Professional Advocacy: Discussed proposed constitutional amendment for a new CYFD commission and a bill regarding social work practice. Representative Chavez is introducing legislation for a new commission to provide expert leadership and transparency, with funding for clinical social work supervision. Concerns were raised about a proposed social work compact bill, which may weaken protections for the profession and limit data collection on practitioners. Upcoming events for student advocacy and action were announced, including trainings and SANA Day at the Legislature on February 6th.
Practice Community Input:
The meeting focused on several key topics, including the need to protect the professional identity of social workers and address challenges in clinical supervision. Anna emphasized the importance of cultural competence in New Mexico and highlighted ongoing efforts to release data from listening sessions. Patti and Claire discussed the allocation of funds for supervision, noting that some providers had not been able to use the funding due to vague deliverables. The group agreed to review the deliverables to ensure alignment with legislative intent. Additionally, Ali provided context on a separate appropriation for building behavioral health capacity, which included funding for internships and professional development.