Advocacy Alerts, Reports & News
NCDA has made public policy an important cornerstone of its work, as described in NCDA's Philosophy on Public Policy: Advocating for Career Development.
The NCDA Government Relations Committee operates in conjunction with NCDA's Washington D.C.-based firm LobbyIt to support the advocacy efforts of NCDA members working in the field of career development.
NCDA Federal Advocacy 2023-2024
NOTE: Policy Areas are not in order of priority. Priority of these areas will be ever-evolving to mirror prominent issues within the legislature.
Policy Areas (click here to download this list)
- Employment Opportunities and Job Market Adaptability
- Focus 1: Advocating for federal policies that foster a dynamic and inclusive job market, ensuring opportunities for all skill levels and backgrounds.
- Focus 2: Pushing for legislation that supports job transition programs, particularly for workers in declining industries or those impacted by automation and digital transformation.
- Focus 3: Collaboration with federal agencies to develop and promote initiatives that match job seekers with opportunities based on current and forecasted labor market trends.
- Student Career Services
- Focus 1: Educate policymakers and advocate for the continuum of career services from early education through the end of life, with particular emphasis on meaning and purpose derived from work.
- Focus 2: Advocating for and supporting funding for high-quality career services in K-12 settings.
- Focus 3: Advocating for and supporting funding for high-quality career services in higher education institutions at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional (e.g. law and medical school) levels.
- Focus 4: Advocating for and supporting funding for high-quality career services in vocational programs, community programs, and additional services for minors and adults.
- Professional Accreditation and Certification Standards
- Focus: Lobbying for federal standards and support for the accreditation and certification of career development professionals to ensure quality and uniformity across the field, with particular emphasis on NCDA’s professional and ethical standards, including credentials approved by the NCDA Credentialing Commission.
- Access to Professional Development
- Focus: Advocacy for federal grants or subsidies aimed at promoting ongoing professional development among practitioners and educators in the career development field.
- Workforce Development and Education
- Focus: Collaboration with federal agencies, including the Department of Education and the Department of Labor, to integrate career development into national education policies and workforce development programs.
- Equal Opportunity and Inclusion
- Focus: Promoting legislation that ensures all individuals, especially those from underrepresented and marginalized groups, have equitable access to career development resources and opportunities.
- Focus: Advocating for legislation to protect workers from discrimination, especially those from underrepresented and marginalized groups.
- Special Populations
- Focus: Advocating for legislation and programs that support special populations, including military veterans, individuals with disabilities, reentering formerly incarcerated individuals, immigrants, and other groups with barriers to workforce participation.
- Mental Health and Career Development
- Focus: Pushing for policies that integrate career development as part of broader mental health and well-being initiatives at the federal level.
- Funding for Research and Innovation
- Focus: Advocating for federal funding to facilitate research in career development trends, technologies, and best practices.
- Small Business Development
- Focus: Support funding and programs supporting small businesses, including tax structures to support small businesses and their owners.
- Data Privacy and Ethical Compliance
- Focus: Advocacy for ethical standards and data protection laws relevant to the gathering and storage of client information in the career development sector.
Resources on Supreme Court Decisions Regarding Race-based Admissions and Student Loan Forgiveness
The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) would like to bring attention to additional information and resources regarding recent decisions by the United States Supreme Court that will impact institutions of higher education.
- ACE Issue Brief Explores Implications of Supreme Court Race in Admissions Ruling
- CollegeBoard U.S. Supreme Court Ruling on Race in Admissions
- Fact Sheet: President Biden Announces Actions to Promote Educational Opportunity and Diversity in Colleges and Universities
- Remarks by President Biden on the Supreme Court’s Decision on Affirmative Action
- Secretary Cardona Statement on Supreme Court Ruling on College Affirmative Action Programs
- Statement by Vice President Harris on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina
- Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. V. President and Fellows of Harvard College
- The Supreme Court Speaks: Understanding the Implications of Race-Conscious Admission Decision
- "What to Know About Race-Conscious Admissions"
- "What the Supreme Court Rejection of Affirmative Action Means"
- Biden’s Loan Forgiveness Program Fails Supreme Court Test. What Now?
- Biden, President of The United States, Et Al. V. Nebraska Et Al.
- Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
- Prepare for Student Loan Payments To Restart FAQ
- Student Loan Repayment Toolkit
Call to Action!
NCDA MEMBERS: Tell Your Story!
At a time when our nation is facing unprecedented challenges, the wide range of services that NCDA members provide will be important factors in helping individuals across the age span.
Congress is often considering proposals that would significantly increase annual funding by billions of dollars for a number of programs, including:
- Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Programs (Adult, Dislocated Worker, State Formula Grants, Youth)
- Employment Services Grants
- Apprenticeship Grants
- Native American Programs
- Ex-Offender Activities
- Youth Build
- JobCorps
- Career and Technical Education State Grants
- Adult Education and Family Literacy State Grants
- K-12 Education
- Higher Education
Telling your story of the clients you serve and the services you provide will likely be the best way of letting potential clients, your community, and elected leaders know of the services you and other NCDA members provide and at the same time make clear the need for legislation and budgets to fund them. It is very important that you share information about the clients or populations you serve, the services you provide, techniques you use, and successes you have achieved with professional colleagues and your representatives at the state and federal levels.
Contact your members of Congress and let them know how important it is that your efforts are properly resourced as they look to pass legislation to help the workforce. Use the information on these NCDA Advocacy pages to respond to the call to action!
Monthly Advocacy Reports, provided by LobbyIt
Advocacy News
- [February 2024] The AREA Act, which would reauthorize the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, the Educational Technical Assistance Act of 2002, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress Authorization Act, has been sent from the Committee for full Senate consideration, and it has a good chance to pass. View S.3392:AREA Act
- 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 873 Expressing support for designating November 2023 as ‘‘National Career Development Month’’
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[October 25, 2023] The National Career Development Association (NCDA), the largest organization serving career practitioners and educators globally, affirms our alignment with the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) in their #UnpaidisUnfair campaign calling for federal action to ensure all internships are paid. As highlighted in the NACE position statement, “students who take part in paid internships receive more job offers and garner higher starting salaries than those who participate in unpaid internships,” which is an equity issue given that “women, Black, Hispanic, and first-generation students were underrepresented in paid internships” (NACE Position Statement 2023). This issue not only impacts the career development of the students and clients NCDA career professionals serve, but many such professionals also engage in internships themselves. Thus, NCDA reaffirms our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and advocacy (DEIBA) through our alignment and solidarity with NACE on this issue. The NCDA Government Relations Committee will bring attention to tracking and supporting the Federal Intern Protection Act. Further, NCDA as a whole, through our Board of Directors and Diversity Initiatives and Cultural Inclusion Committee, will continue to advocate for equity in our profession and for the students and clients we serve.
- NCDA Executive Director Deneen Pennington, President Sharon Givens, and Public Policy (Government Relations) Committee Chair Diana Bailey met with LobbyIt on the Hill for several key meetings in September 2022. The first meeting was with the new labor staffer for Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a key voice on career development issues, to discuss NCDA’s policy priorities. They then met directly next with Congressman GT Thompson, to discuss shared efforts on the Counseling for Career Choice Act, COTA Act, and National Career Development Month Resolution, as well as his goals to elevate career development next Congress (especially focusing on retired people and those re-entering from the criminal justice system). The group also spoke with staff for Rep. Marionnette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), the Ranking Member of the House Education and Labor Committee’s Higher Education and Workforce Investment Subcommittee. Her staff confirmed that they are focused in on a WIOA deal early next Congress. Overall, this was a great opportunity for NCDA to continue to raise their profile on the Hill and build support for initiatives.
- NCDA hosted a virtual briefing in April 2021 on the Need to Invest in Career Development along with the NCDA 2020 Legislative Award Winners, Representative Langevin (D-RI) and Thompson (R-PA). This was the association’s chance to highlight its work with the Representatives who authored the Counseling for Career Choice Act! Watch the recorded event here.
- LobbyIt staff continue to arrange and facilitate meetings with Members of Congress.These meetings often result from communications with the Members of Congress by NCDA members or GR committee members. They are very helpful, because they give us the opportunity to explain NCDA’s diverse membership and its mission and services, and to ask for the legislative and funding support needed to continue those services. These meetings are the result of grassroots advocacy at work!