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Dion Aroner Address “The union needs to take the leadership in providing best practices for taking care of kids and families.” Assemblywoman Dion Aroner Assemblywoman Dion Aroner, chair of the California Assembly
Human Services Committee, addressed the Local 535 executive board and
sat in on several committee meetings. A former president of Local 535
and former eligibility/social worker in Alameda County, Aroner is holding
hearings on the state of social work in California. She discussed strategies
for dealing with the crisis in social work with the Local 535 Children’s
Services Committee. “The union needs to take the leadership in providing best practices for taking care of kids and families,” Aroner stated. “We know what it takes, and it is time to make a difference and do good things for children and families. If we don’t, then who will? We need to take leadership and tell legislators it is not just about caseload reduction,” she said. Too often the union comes across to legislators as self-serving, caring only about creating more jobs or complaining that social workers are overworked, Aroner warned. Instead, she suggested that Local 535 needs to partner with groups like California Youth Connection, letting them testify about the effect the system has had on them and what needs to change. Social workers need to go to the legislature with the consumers of the system, so the legislators can see that what workers are asking for is in the best interests of the consumers. Otherwise the lawmakers “legislate by anecdote,” Aroner explained. The media usually runs articles about children and child abuse, focusing on some high profile cases, leading to mediocre legislation that is politically motivated to gain publicity and has nothing to do with solving the deeper systemic problems. She also suggested that the union help sponsor a “Foster Care Bill of Rights.” |
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