From the Director

Profession Should Value BSWs

By Elizabeth J. Clark, Ph.D., ACSW

Recently, some baccalaureate social work (BSW) educators expressed concern about an article that appeared in the NASW News regarding the use of paraprofessionals to supplement shortages in the professional social work labor force. They interpreted the article as lacking in recognition of the value and utility of the BSW degree and as equating BSWs with paraprofessionals, although that was not our intent.

My undergraduate degree is in social work. I still can vividly remember the summer day when I received a phone call from the University of Pittsburgh telling me that I had been accepted into its first undergraduate class in social work.

I had been searching for a major and had tried English literature and sociology. One day I saw a notice on the student bulletin board that announced the beginning of Pitt's undergraduate program in social work. As I found more information, I became quite excited about the possibility and quickly completed the application process.

The phone call that day in August was a life-changing event. It set the path for my professional career. The journey from receiving my bachelor's degree in social work to becoming the executive director of NASW has spanned almost 30 years. I did not realize at the time that the journey was coincidental with the "bachelor social worker movement."

It has been only slightly more than 30 years since the NASW membership passed a referendum to recognize graduates of accredited baccalaureate programs as "fully professional social workers." Since that time, over 200,000 individuals have received BSW degrees. Currently, about 12,000 receive BSWs each year.

A major concern is whether holders of BSW degrees will identify with the profession of social work throughout their careers. Previous research has shown that five years after graduation, one-third of BSWs have left the field of social work.

Another potential measure of professional identity might be membership in professional social work organizations. If we use NASW as the test case, there is additional reason for concern. Only 6,038 NASW members (4 percent) list a BSW as their highest degree. In fact, the number of BSW members has decreased for each of the past two years, despite a one-third reduction in the full dues rate for BSWs that was instituted in 2000. NASW hoped that by making membership dues more consistent with BSW salary levels, we would be able to increase BSW representation in the activities, deliberations and leadership of NASW. Clearly, this has not occurred.

Neither the profession nor society can stand to lose such a valuable resource. BSWs work primarily in agency settings providing direct services. They are frequently found in the practice areas of child welfare and aging — two areas of exceptional need. Also, BSWs are more ethnically diverse than the MSW workforce, and they can help the profession become more culturally competent.

How can we guarantee that individuals with BSWs get connected, and stay connected, to the field of social work? While it is important that they self-identify as professional social workers, it is equally important that the rest of the profession also identify them as professional social workers. There are 45 national social work organizations. Each organization needs to look at its commitment to the BSW social worker. How can we make BSWs feel welcome and get them more involved?

At NASW, we are developing a section of our Web site that will be specific to BSWs. We are undertaking a national recruitment campaign that will target BSWs, and we plan to work more closely with the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors (BPD) to identify areas of mutual interest and concern. We would welcome other suggestions, both from educators in BSW programs and from the graduates of those programs.

My undergraduate degree set my life course, and I am always proud to say that I have a bachelor's degree in social work. I look forward to working with many of you so that we can be certain that future graduates of BSW programs feel the same way.

To comment to Elizabeth J. Clark: NewsColumn@naswdc.org