1.5 CEUs Webinar: Reproductive Freedom in Rhode Island: Local Challenges in a Post-Roe World, with Nicole Jellinek, LICSW

Thursday, September 8 (12:00 - 1:30pm EST)

In late June, the Supreme Court overturned the Roe decision which had codified the right to abortion. Here in RI, this didn’t have immediate impact, as the State had already affirmed the right to abortion in 2019 with the Reproductive Privacy Act; however 1/3 (more than 330,000 people) of Rhode Islanders have health insurance that does not cover the full range of reproductive services including abortion—and these include people on Medicaid and state employees. Our most vulnerable Rhode Islanders are most affected by this, especially people of color, lower wage earners, and LGBTQ folks. In this webinar we will review the current state of affairs both nationally and in RI, and focus on ways that social workers can advocate for change to address the systemic inequalities of the current reproductive health care delivery system and support individual clients.

The current reproductive freedom situation puts the burden on more vulnerable folks, including people of color and LGBTQ individuals; we will address the systemic barriers to receiving equitable reproductive health care and ways social workers can advocate best for their clients as well as ways to work to make systemic change.

• Participants will understand the current state of affairs both nationally and in RI regarding reproductive care and abortion bans.

• Participants will identify ways to support individual clients.

• Participants will identify ways to be an effective advocate for change in RI to improve access to the full range reproductive healthcare for all Rhode Islanders.

Speaker bio: Nicole Jellinek MTS, LICSW is the current chair of the Rhode Island Coalition for Reproductive Freedom, a group of 20+ organizations that work together to share resources, build strategies and coordinate efforts to connect reproductive freedom with social and economic justice. She has practiced for more than 20 years in a variety of settings--private practice, hospital inpatient unit, outpatient mental health and family service center, and community outreach program. She has particular interest in positive psychology (the science of flourishing) and active ways to live a meaningful life. She currently has a private practice and works as the Wellness Coordinator for a local non-profit.

Registration fees: $15 for members and $35 for non-members. 

Online registrations are closing on September 6. 

Hosted by the NASW-RI Chapter (CEUs approved NASW-MA). 

This webinar will be recorded and uploaded to the NASW CE Online Institute. 

Details and Zoom link will be shared a few days before the webinar.