National Association of Social Workers
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The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is a professional organization of
social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...
ers in the United States. NASW has about 120,000 members. 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 Professional liability insurance (PLI), also called professional indemnity insurance (PII) but more commonly known as errors & omissions (E&O) in the US, is a form of liability insurance which helps protect professional advice-, consulting, and ser ...
, members-only publications, discounts on other products and services, and
continuing education Continuing education (similar to further education in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland) is an all-encompassing term within a broad list of post-secondary learning activities and programs. The term is used mainly in the United ...
.


History

In 1955, the National Association of Social Workers was established through the consolidation of the following seven organizations: * 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, which serve their members through the creation of units, branches, regions, or divisions. NASW has chapters in each of the 50 states: * Alabama * Alaska * Arizona * Arkansas * California * Colorado * Connecticut * Delaware * Florida * Georgia * Hawaii * Idaho * Illinois * Indiana * Iowa * Kansas * Kentucky * Louisiana * Maine * Maryland * Massachusetts * Michigan * Minnesota * Mississippi * Missouri * Montana * Nebraska * Nevada * New Hampshire * New Jersey * New Mexico * New York * North Carolina * North Dakota * Ohio * Oklahoma * Oregon * Pennsylvania * Rhode Island * South Carolina * South Dakota * Tennessee * Texas * Utah * Vermont * Virginia * Washington * West Virginia * Wisconsin * Wyoming NASW has additional chapters in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
,
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
,
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
, the
United States Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...
, and
Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
. Each chapter has a board of directors that develops unique programs to better serve its members and to facilitate participation by its members.


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. Since 2012, the Code of Ethics includes an LGBT non-discrimination policy. The 2018 revision of the Code of Ethics includes 19 changes that address ethical responsibilities when using technology.


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 The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
officially recognized March as National Professional Social Work Month. A joint resolution was introduced by Sen.
Daniel Inouye Daniel Ken Inouye ( ; September 7, 1924 – December 17, 2012) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012. Beginning in 1959, he was the first U.S. representative f ...
(D-Hawaii) and Rep.
Edolphus Towns Edolphus "Ed" Towns Jr. (born July 21, 1934) is an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 2013. A Democrat from New York, Towns was Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee ...
(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 James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902June 26, 2003) was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003. Prior to his 48 years as a senator, he served as the 103rd governor of South Caro ...
(R-S.C). The resolution was passed by the Senate and signed into law by President
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
.


NASW Press

NASW Press is the division of the National Association of Social Workers that
publishes Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
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.Beebe, L. (1993). Preface. In L. Beebe (Ed.), Professional Writing for the Human Services (pp. vi–x). Washington, DC: NASW Press The NASW Press portfolio includes a monthly newspaper,
academic journals An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and d ...
, 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.National Association of Social Workers. (2009). NASW Annual Report 2009–2010. Available at http://www.naswdc.org/nasw/annual_report/default.asp


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 Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...
'', in 1955, its portfolio has grown to five journals—including the specialty journals ''Children & Schools'', ''Health & Social Work'', ''
Social Work Research ''Social Work Research'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering social work. It was established in 1977 as ''Social Work Research and Abstracts'', and in 1995, this split into two separate journals: ''Social Work Research'' and ''S ...
''—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. ;Books: As of July 2020, NASW Press has 111 softcover and 56
ebooks An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...
in circulation. The NASW Press catalog includes scholarly books/ebooks, practice manuals, brochures for education and training, videos,
DVDs The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
, and posters.NASW Press eBooks (2020). All titles.
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See also

* Professional Social Workers' Association *
International Federation of Social Workers The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) is the worldwide body for professional social work. It comprises 141 professional social work associations representing over 3 million social workers. IFSW has formal consultative status with th ...


References


External links


National Association of Social Workers

National Association of Social Workers Foundation
* Finding aid for th
National Association of Social Workers records
in th
Social Welfare History Archives
University of Minnesota Libraries. {{Authority control Social work organizations in the United States Organizations established in 1955 1955 establishments in the United States Professional associations based in the United States