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Advancing the Profession

One of the many valuable benefits of NASW membership is its outreach to the public to advance social work practice and improve the well-being of people and communities. NASW accomplishes this through grassroots advocacy and advocacy on Capitol Hill, the NASW Foundation, the National Social Work Public Education Campaign, and NASW’s Center for Workforce Studies. Below is more information about how NASW membership supports the social work profession.

NASW Code of Ethics
By joining NASW, you agree to abide by the NASW Code of Ethics. The Code identifies core values on which social work’s mission is based, summarizes ethical principles that reflect the profession’s core values, establishes a set of specific ethical standards that guide social work practice, and provides the basis by which the public can hold a practitioner accountable.

Professional Review
NASW promotes the quality and effectiveness of social work practice. This mission encompasses the maintenance of ethical conduct and fair personnel practices. NASW has the responsibility of reviewing and resolving complaints of ethical violations or unfair practices that could be detrimental to this mission. In order to meet this responsibility, the Association has implemented the NASW Procedures for Professional Review.

NASW Sets and Maintains Professional Standards
Social work practice consists of the professional application of social work values, principles, and techniques. NASW promotes the quality and effectiveness of social work practice by establishing national standards for various practice settings.

NASW Gives You a Voice
NASW works to assure that the social work perspective is incorporated into federal and state legislation and regulations. The Social Work Reinvestment Initiative encourages federal and state governments to invest in the social work profession. Each NASW state Chapter has a reinvestment plan, and there are a number of other initiatives at the national level, including the Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act (H.R. 795/S. 686). Join NASW’s Legislative Advocacy listserv for updates and action alerts at SocialWorkers.org/advocacy.

NASW Political Action for Candidate Election (PACE)
PACE works to elect officials who best represent the social work mission. PACE has supported the election of several social workers to state and federal offices, as well as to the U.S. Congress.

NASW Foundation
The NASW Foundation is a charitable organization created to enhance the well-being of individuals, families, and communities through the advancement of social work practice. The Foundation conducts and supports research in a variety of policy and practice specialties, provides training and resources to social work professionals, and preserves the history of social work. It also offers scholarships and fellowships to NASW members and educates the public about social work through the National Social Work Public Education Campaign.

National Social Work Public Education Campaign
The National Social Work Public Education Campaign is a nationwide program spearheaded by NASW to increase awareness and enhance the image of social workers. HelpStartsHere.org, a component of the campaign.

NASW Center for Workforce Studies
The NASW Center for Workforce Studies conducts research studies and collects data on the social work labor force to determine employment trends, training needs, and barriers to quality service delivery, as well as to advance the role of the profession in multiple systems of care.

Social Work Speaks
Social Work Speaks is a user-friendly, comprehensive, and unabridged collection of policy statements adopted by the NASW Delegate Assembly that can assist social work policymakers, educators, students, and individuals in developing organizational responses to policy issues, conducting policy analysis and study, and working in political action coalitions.

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