News

WASHINGTON, D.C. - As a member of the broad national community of advocates for economic justice and equity for low and moderate income Americans, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is opposed to the Tax Cut and Jobs Act.  This bill, as written, would produce a windfall for the “super rich” while decimating safety-net programs that serve low-income elderly, children and families. The tax cut bill was recently passed by the House of Representatives and it is now in the hands of the Senate. The Senate’s version of the tax bill, which retains the massive tax cuts for businesses and the wealthy, ...

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - The theme for World Aids Day 2017 on December 1 will be “Increasing Impact through Transparency, Accountability, and Partnerships.”   In elaborating on the theme Ambassador Deborah L. Birx, the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and U.S. Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State, said, "We now have the unprecedented opportunity to change the course of the pandemic. This brings with it the obligation to ensure that our resources are being used in the most efficient and effective ways and are having the greatest possible impact. Accountability and tran...

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - The National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) welcomes Melvin H. Wilson, MBA, LCSW, to its board of directors as the liaison of the National Association of Social Workers. The appointment took effect November 5 during the NCCHC board meeting. Wilson has worked for NASW since 2006 and for the past five years has served as senior manager in the department of social justice and human rights. In that role, he is in charge of developing and implementing activities related to criminal justice, juvenile justice, immigration reform, economic justice and voting rights. He has extensive experience working with nat...

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Association urges Congress to quickly pass legislation to empower women, girls, communities and nations to end violence   WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has joined other members of the Coalition to End Violence Against Women and Girls Globally to welcome the introduction of the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) in the Senate. The legislation was introduced by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N-H), Susan Collins (R-ME), Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA). IVAWA makes ending violence against women and girls a top diplomatic, development, and foreign assistance priority by...

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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The nation once again is grieving over the deaths of innocent people in a mass shooting. Last Sunday 26 churchgoers from the small Texas town of Sutherland Springs were massacred and several others still cling to life.  The youngest victim at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs was just 18 months old. The latest mass shooting is even more incomprehensible when we realize that just a month ago a shooter gunned down more than 50 people in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Again, similar to nearly all the mass shootings in this country, the weapon of choice was a semi-automatic assault rifle.   As the Natio...

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - During National Family Caregivers Month in November the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is joining the nation's leading researchers on aging, work and family issues to send a first-of-its-kind letter to Congress urging lawmakers to address the rapidly growing demand for care. These experts are calling on Congress to quickly pass a comprehensive, inclusive national policy like the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, legislation that would create a national paid family and medical leave insurance program.  Unless such legislation is passed, the financial and emotional strains on family ca...

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Trump on Oct. 26 officially declared that the opioid crisis engulfing the United States to be a public health crisis. This act followed a recommendation from the June 2017 interim report from President's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, which strongly recommended that the opioid crisis be declared an emergency. Given that opioid-related deaths (64,000) in this country exceed gun violence and automobile deaths combined, NASW feels the declaration is warranted. NASW and many other drug policy advocates have long held that-both nationally and internationally-there nee...

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  Dear Social Work Colleagues,   First, I want to thank you for your interest in yesterday’s webinar on the 2017 updates to the NASW Code of Ethics.   Second, as the Director of the NASW Office of Ethics and Professional review and host of the webinar,   I want to personally offer my deepest apology to you.  In an effort to serve the social work community, the National Association of Social Workers’ Office of Ethics and Professional Review offered a free training on the 2017 updates to the NASW Code of Ethics via webinar.  We worked to publicize this training, and over 7,000 of...

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - The United States over the past few weeks has been engaged in a national discussion stemming from accusations about sexual harassment and sexual assault against women. Based on reports, these acts involved egregious disregard of the human rights and dignity of women. The national outcry spoke to the fact that sexual abuse—in all forms—is an affront to all Americans, not just the victims. NASW unambiguously states its support of those who call for policies, laws, and a national consensus to end the culture of sexual predatory behaviors. Many women and girls from all social, cultural, and income groups ...

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This message from the NASW Puerto Rico Chapter was sent to Mark Nichols, NASW manager of chapter services, in a series of cellphone text messages during the afternoon of Oct. 3. It has been slightly edited. We wish to share it with members and the wider social work community. NASW will convey this message to members of Congress who are social workers and soon give information on how we can assist social workers in Puerto Rico: Thank you for your support. Our main concern is there are no communications. There are no cellular phones that work well. All the island is without power --  there is no water and little produce.  Preside...

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