Join the NASW-MA in its Annual Virtual Conference focusing on older adults & people with disabilities. This conference will examine the growing challenges facing adults who age or live with disabilities without strong support systems. In our Keynote Presentation “Liberty, Justice & The Aging or Disabled Adult” speakers Wynn Gerhard, Esq. and Dr. Heather Connors, will explore the complexities of guardianship in Massachusetts, when it is necessary, how it is regulated, and how professionals can ensure least-restrictive, person-centered decision-making. 

The conference will also feature workshops addressing critical areas of advocacy, with topics ranging from Medicare and Medicaid/MassHealth protections to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and nutrition for healthy aging. Together, these sessions provide practical tools, policy insight, and ethical guidance to help professionals strengthen protections and improve outcomes for vulnerable adults.

• Participants will understand guardianship and least-restrictive decision-making practices.
• Participants will identify key public benefit programs (Medicare, Medicaid/MassHealth, and SNAP).
• Participants will apply advocacy strategies to support autonomy and well-being

• MassHealth: Recent And Planned Changes, with speaker Kate Symmonds. The so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (also known as OB3, or HR1), signed last July, enacted the largest cuts to Medicaid in history. At the same time, MassHealth is facing significant budgetary constraints, brought on by a rapid rise in healthcare spending and a decrease in federal revenue. In response to these challenges, MassHealth is making significant changes that will negatively impact many MassHealth members. This workshop will review these changes and how social workers can help their clients navigate them. 
• Optimal Nutrition for Older Adults, with speaker Leigh Hartwell MS, RDN, LDN. Join registered dietitian, Leigh Hartwell, from AgeSpan for a discussion on optimal nutrition for older adults. We will outline the importance of nutrition related to Nutrition & Aging, Specific Dietary Needs, Hydration, Skin Integrity, and Food Safety.
• Empowering the Disability Vote: A Guide for Social Workers, with speaker Brianna Zimmerman. Americans widely think of voting as a hallmark of good citizenship. Despite being equally interested in voting, people with disabilities are less likely to vote and more likely to encounter barriers to voting than their nondisabled peers. This interactive workshop will equip participants with an overview of the rights of voters with disabilities; strategies for empowering disabled clients to exercise the right to vote; and tools to overcome potential challenges. (All are welcome to join, whether you are a seasoned professional or new to getting out the vote!)

• What to Know About Medicare in 2026, with Alice Bers, Director, Massachusetts Medicare Advocacy Project, Community Legal Aid. This presentation will provide a practical overview of Medicare in 2026, including recent policy and coverage developments that affect older adults and people with disabilities. It will cover program eligibility and benefits, and will provide information relevant to those who help Medicare beneficiaries understand their coverage, navigate their options, and appeal denials, when necessary, whether in inpatient or community settings.
• Scaling the Elephant: Strategies to Protect Older Adults from Losing SNAP Nutrition Benefits due to Harmful Federal Cuts, with Patricia Baker, Senior Economic Justice  Advocate, Mass Law Reform Institute. This workshop will include an overview of the harmful cuts to SNAP included in the July 2025 Big Ugly Bill (H.R.1) including restrictions impacting legal immigrants, expanded work rules and increased verification barriers. Participants will learn strategies to help older adults and persons with disabilities protect access to SNAP and minimize the harmful H.R. 1 provisions. The workshop will also include information on pending federal and state legislation to protect and defend SNAP. 
• Social Workers as Narrative Leaders: Addressing Ableism in Literature and Pop Culture, with Dr. Kate Benson, EdD. How do novels, comic books, films, and media portray disability, and how do these portrayals influence the assumptions clients and professionals bring into social workspaces? This workshop examines common ableist tropes in literature and popular culture and explores how social workers can critically engage and reshape disability narratives in practice. Participants will leave with practical strategies for identifying bias, facilitating informed discussions, and advancing disability-affirming approaches in their work.