National Association of Social Workers

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is a professional organization of social workers in the United States. NASW has about 120,000 members.[1] The NASW provides guidance, research, up to date information, advocacy, and other resources for its members and for social workers in general. Members of the NASW are also able to obtain malpractice insurance, members-only publications, discounts on other products and services, and continuing education.

National Association of Social Workers
Formation1955
TypeProfessional association
HeadquartersWashington, DC, US
Location
  • United States
Membership
120,000
Official language
English
Board President
Mildred “Mit” C. Joyner, DPS, MSW, BSW, LCSW
Key people
Angelo McClain, PhD, LICSW, Chief Executive Officer
Websitewww.socialworkers.org

History

In 1955, the National Association of Social Workers was established through the consolidation of the following seven organizations:[2]

  • American Association of Social Workers
  • American Association of Psychiatric Social Workers
  • American Association of Group Workers
  • Association for the Study of Community Organization
  • American Association of Medical Social Workers
  • National Association of School Social Workers
  • Social Work Research Group

Chapters

NASW has 55 chapters, with chapters in each of the 50 states, New York City, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, and Guam.[3] Each chapter has a board of directors that develops programs to serve its members and to facilitate participation by its members.[4]

Code of ethics

The 1996 NASW Delegate Assembly (revised by the 2017 NASW Delegate Assembly) approved the NASW Code of Ethics (available in English and Spanish), which is intended to serve as a guide to the everyday professional conduct of social workers. This Code includes four sections. The first Section, "Preamble", summarizes the social work profession's mission and core values. The second section, "Purpose of the NASW Code of Ethics", provides an overview of the Code's main functions and a brief guide for dealing with ethical issues or dilemmas in social work practice. The third section, "Ethical Principles", presents broad ethical principles, based on social work's core values, that inform social work practice. The final section, "Ethical Standards", includes specific ethical standards to guide social workers' conduct and to provide a basis for adjudication.[5] Since 2012, the Code of Ethics includes an LGBT non-discrimination policy.[6] The 2018 revision of the Code of Ethics includes 19 changes that address ethical responsibilities when using technology.[7]

National Professional Social Work Month

NASW introduced National Professional Social Work Month for the first time in March 1963. The original purpose was to encourage public support and interest in social work as a profession. NASW was able to create a buzz around Social Work Month by engaging the public through various television ad campaigns that aired throughout the sixties. This tactic was successful in the early years, generating more than 35,000 letters of support from the public and attracting media coverage of notable social workers in local newspapers.

It was not until 1984 that the White House officially recognized March as National Professional Social Work Month. A joint resolution was introduced by Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y) declaring March 1984 as National Social Work Month. This was followed by a lobbying push from NASW chapters and the cosponsorship of Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C). The resolution was passed by the Senate and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan.

NASW Press

NASW Press is the division of the National Association of Social Workers that publishes books and journals for the social work profession. The NASW Press was formally established in 1990 to advance social work scholarship through the publication of books, journals, and other resources.[8] The NASW Press portfolio includes a monthly newspaper, academic journals, scholarly texts, practice manuals, reference works, pamphlets, brochures, and videos.

In 2010, NASW Press published over 100 scholarly textbooks, peer-reviewed journals, practice manuals, reference works, pamphlets, videos, and brochures in the United States and abroad.[9]

Publications
  • Social Work Advocates Magazine and NASW News:Beginning August 2018 Social Work Advocates magazine became NASW's primary means of communicating with membership about association activities and developments in professional practice and social policy. It carries statements of opinion by a variety of spokespersons and, as space permits, letters to the editor. The views expressed do not necessarily represent positions of NASW. The magazine is published bimonthly. It replaced NASW News, which began publishing in 1956 and was the official newspaper of the National Association of Social Workers. Many issues of NASW News are available on an online archives.
  • Journals: Since NASW began publishing its flagship journal, Social Work, in 1955, its portfolio has grown to five journals—including the specialty journals Children & Schools, Health & Social Work, Social Work Research—and Social Work Abstracts.
  • Social Work Abstracts is a resource for literature searches in social work and social welfare. The president of NASW appoints members to the journal’s advisory group, which establishes policy for the journal.
  • Reference Works: Among NASW Press' reference works, the Encyclopedia of Social Work and The Social Work Dictionary are the most widely distributed titles. In 2010, the encyclopedia and dictionary are respectively in their 20th and 5th editions. NASW policy statements are revised and published every three years in Social Work Speaks, which is now in its 11th edition.[10]
  • Books: The NASW Press catalog includes scholarly books/ebooks, practice manuals, brochures for education and training, videos, DVDs, and posters.[11][12]

See also

References
  1. "About NASW". National Association of Social Workers (NASW). Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  2. "The History of NASW". National Association of Social Workers (NASW). Archived from the original on 2008-11-28. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  3. "NASW Chapters". National Association of Social Workers (NASW). Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  4. "National Association of Social Workers (NASW)". NASW - National Association of Social Workers. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  5. "Code of Ethics". National Association of Social Workers (NASW). Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  6. Delavega, Elena; Lennon-Dearing, Robin (2015). "Policies Discriminatory of the LGBT Community: Do Social Workers Endorse Respect for the NASW Code of Ethics?". Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services. 27 (4): 412–435. doi:10.1080/10538720.2015.1087266. S2CID 146394516.
  7. "Highlighted Revisions to the Code of Ethics". National Association of Social Workers (NASW). Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  8. Beebe, L. (1993). Preface. In L. Beebe (Ed.), Professional Writing for the Human Services (pp. vi–x). Washington, DC: NASW Press
  9. National Association of Social Workers. (2009). NASW Annual Report 2009–2010. Available at http://www.naswdc.org/nasw/annual_report/default.asp
  10. NASW Press. (2020). “Reference Works”.
  11. NASW Press. (2020). All titles.
  12. NASW Press eBooks (2020). All titles.
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