Special Report for Social Work Month 2023: New Survey Shows Strong Support for Social Workers

by Anthony Estreet, PhD, MBA, LCSW-C

CEO, National Association of Social Workers

     Social Work Month in March is one of my favorite times of the year. It is a time when we get to celebrate the significant contributions our profession has made to this nation over the past century and continues to make today.

     This year’s theme, “Social Work Breaks Barriers,” cannot be more relevant. Our country is tackling an array of social issues that social workers have the education, skill, training, and expertise to address.

     We are advocating for the rights of our LGBTQIA+ communities, who are facing a new rash of discriminatory legislation in several states. And we are pressing this nation to address its entrenched, systemic racism while some politicians attempt to bar schools from teaching our nation’s true history.

     Social workers are also on the forefront of helping communities tackle an opioid addiction crisis, provide better care for our aging population, and improve health care outcomes for all, just to name a few.

     We know social workers are doing heroic things every day, and often without acclaim. But this year, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the NASW Foundation wanted to learn how aware the public is about the contributions of social work. We reached out to Ipsos, a well-respected global public opinion and research firm, to survey more than 1,000 adults across the United States about their perception of social work.

     You will be glad to know that 80 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of social workers. And one out of six Americans say they, a parent, sibling, or child has been helped by a social worker. Of those who have interacted with a social worker, 81 percent reported the social worker improved the situation for them or a family member.

     So social workers are positively touching the lives of millions of Americans each year. It is encouraging to know people really do appreciate the sometimes difficult, complex, yet life-affirming work we do.

     The survey also pointed out work NASW and our profession must do to raise awareness about social work. Slightly more than half of respondents say social workers deserve higher pay, while 34 percent neither agreed nor disagreed. Higher pay for social workers is an issue I want to address as the new CEO of NASW.

     Social workers provide valuable services and are specialized professionals who need to be compensated accordingly. NASW is working on this issue by pressing Congress to raise Medicare reimbursement rates for clinical social workers. We must also push employers to ensure their social workers earn the professional wage they deserve. We will need better data on what social workers are earning on a state-by-state basis to better focus our workforce advocacy.

     The majority of the public also supports legislation that would improve the safety of social workers in the workplace. And NASW is pushing for passage of the bipartisan Protecting Social Workers and Health Professionals from Workplace Violence Act, which would provide grants for employers to improve workplace safety.

     NASW and the NASW Foundation will also continue our work to educate the public about the breadth and depth of the social work profession. Most of the survey respondents knew social workers work in social services and child welfare, mental health/private practice, and substance use (behavioral health settings).

     But fewer know social workers play a big role in advocacy and community organizing, hospice care, or financial benefits and support. Or that social workers played a pivotal role in creating our nation’s social safety net—including establishing a minimum wage, Social Security, and Medicare.

     My social work career demonstrates just how varied our profession is and how social work reaches into many facets of our society.

     After earning my MSW at Virginia Commonwealth University, I started doing work in adolescent substance use treatment at Mountain Manor in West Baltimore. I learned a lot during my stint there, including how social justice issues such as poverty and access to mental health care play into substance use disorders.

     I then went on to become professor and chair of the Master of Social Work program at Morgan State University since 2013. It has been an honor to help shape and mentor the next generation of social workers, who continue to inspire me, as well.

     Throughout my career, I have been active as an NASW member, serving as president of the NASW Maryland Chapter and vice president of the NASW Board of Directors. The professional development, networking, and leadership skills I have acquired at NASW have proved invaluable. At the start of my career, I would not have dreamed that I would have the honor of one day leading NASW, one of the world’s largest professional social work organizations.

     I would like to thank many of you who are members of NASW. Without your support, we would not be able to advocate so strongly for the profession at the state and national levels. I also invite you to join or volunteer with NASW. There is strength in numbers, and NASW cannot do the work we do, including pushing for better support for social workers, without your involvement.

     My tenure as CEO of NASW began a month before the start of Social Work Month, and I am excited about leading a great association that continues to uplift the social work profession. Yes, there are challenges to the profession ahead and there are barriers we must continue to break to empower the millions of people who social workers serve. But know the American public supports and appreciates the work you do, and NASW will never stop being a strong advocate for you.

Happy Social Work Month.

Anthony Estreet, PhD, MBA, LCSW-C, is the Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).