National Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity

Charge

Authorization and Accountability

The National Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity is mandated by the NASW Bylaws (1994), Article XII, Section A. The Committee reports on a regular basis to the NASW Board of Directors on matters of policy and shall coordinate with the Program Coordinating Committee on activities related to program.

Purpose

The National Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity (NCORED) promotes conditions which encourage respect for the diversity of cultures including equality of opportunity in all activities of the association. A particular focus is on those groups that have historically been subject to racism.

Time Frame

The National Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity is an on-going Bylaws mandated committee.

Members, Terms, and Criteria

The Committee shall be comprised of up to 7 members. The Board of Directors established the principle of representation of diverse racial and ethnic groups in accordance with the specification of groups identified under the Association’s Affirmative Action Program. Representation from each of these groups on NCORED is desirable.

The Chair of NCORED will be a person, from one of the diverse racial and/or ethnic groups, and who is the Board Secretary or another member of the NASW Board of Directors. The Chair shall be appointed for a two-year term. The membership of the Committee is not included in the affirmative action statistics to avoid distorting the data.

Specific Responsibilities

• Given that issues of ethnic and racial diversity are core to all association work, this committee shall develop, promote and/or collaborate on methods of insuring inclusion of racial and diversity issues on NASW policies and programs.
• To promote the development of knowledge, theory and practice as related to racial/ethnic diversity.
• To review proposed Delegate Assembly public social policies for their impact on people of color, and make recommendations for their acceptance or modification.
• To monitor policy changes, and data affecting policy changes, with regard to racial and ethnic groups both native-born and immigrant.
• To identify ways to eliminate racist and ethno-centric social work practices and policies and make recommendations to appropriate organizational units for action.

History

The National Committee on Minority Affairs (NCOMA) was established following five years of study and recommendations by the Task Force on Minority Concerns formed by the 1969 Delegate Assembly. NCOMA was mandated as a standing committee by the 1975 Delegate Assembly. In 1996, the Committee’s name was changed to the National Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity with approval from the Delegate Assembly.

Board of Directors
Approved January 1999