During Social Work Month, NASW Celebrates an Essential Profession

by NASW CEO Angelo McClain, PhD, LICSW

     This year’s Social Work Month theme is “Social Workers are Essential.” I do not think a more apt theme could have been chosen, considering the events of the past year.

     Social workers are on the front lines, assisting patients and their families directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of you are helping people struggling to make ends meet during these troubling economic times to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. Others are enabling millions of Americans, many of whom are isolated from family and friends, to overcome crippling depression and anxiety.

     Social workers are proving every day how they help keep the fabric of our society from fraying. Our nation’s 750,000 social workers are courageous and committed. You care for a wide range of people in every community, and we are a better nation because of your essential contributions.

     The National Association of Social Workers exists to celebrate and support you.  And Social Work Month reminds the media and public who you are and what you do to make life better for others.

     NASW recently released its 2021 Blueprint of Federal Social Policy Priorities, which outlines what the Association will be doing to support the social work profession in the days, weeks, and months ahead. Here are a few actions NASW will be pressing the Biden-Harris administration, Congress, and other policymakers to take:

• Provide student loan debt relief for social workers, including the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), federal loan cancellation, and others.
• Facilitate and fund interstate licensure portability for clinical social workers.
• Help improve social work salaries by passing legislation such as the Improving Access to Mental Health Act and the Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act.
• Increase the number of licensed social workers in school-based settings and public child welfare agencies.
• Pass the Employer Participation in Repayment Act (S. 460/H.R. 1043 in the 116th Congress), which allows employers to make nontaxable payments up to $5,250 toward employees’ student loans.
• Increase funding to Schools of Social Work at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and other minority-serving institutions to further diversify the social work workforce.

     Getting social workers such support is critical. More than 60 percent of full-time social workers in the United States earn less than $60,000 each year, and many are struggling with heavy student loan debt. In addition, there are often safety risks on the job. You need to be paid fairly and not worry about crushing debt as you work to improve lives in your community.

     Many social workers recognize NASW is a strong advocate for them on these issues at the local, state, and national levels. Our membership is growing as we join forces to make the social work profession even stronger. If you are already part of the NASW community, thank you. If you are not yet involved, we invite you to join us as we work to bring the social work profession the resources it needs to thrive.               

     Happy Social Work Month!

Angelo McClain, PhD, LICSW, is CEO of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).