BSW Students Caroline Wood and Melody Higgins, along with Dr. Laurel Hitchcock, attended the University of Alabama's School of Social Work DC Fly-In, a unique crash course in policy research, strategy, and advocacy. In addition to meeting with Congressional members, students learn from approximately 15 speakers, including experts from policy and advocacy agencies, and train intensively for the presentations they will make. There were 70 participants this year from the University of Alabama, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the University of Alabama at Huntsville, and the Ohio State University. Wood and Higgins advocated for the following bills:

• HR 1865: Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act
• HR 2938: The Road to Recovery Act (opioid abuse)

Says Higgins, "This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me to watch the Senate vote to pass HR 1865. Not only is this bill dear to my heart, as I have worked with children who have been trafficked, but I am also impressed with the strides this bill to prosecute those who market victims of online sex trafficking." Along with being a senior social work student, Higgins is a volunteer Foster Care Development Education Coordinator at Blanket Fort Hope, a non-profit agency in Alabama that serves children who have been trafficked.

“It was an honor to attend this event and to advocate for The Road to Recovery Bill along with other social work students on Capitol Hill”, says Wood. “Not only was the experience educational about how policy works, but I now feel confident in my abilities to advocate for policy change at federal level. I would absolutely recommend this for other social work students who may have the opportunity to attend the DC-Fly In.”