From the President
Looking Back, Moving Forward
By Gary Bailey, MSW
 As
NASW approaches its 50th anniversary, it is typical that one spend
time looking back as a way of preparing to move forward. As NASW
celebrates 50 years of extraordinary contributions to social work
and the broader community, I would like to reflect upon the five
decades our organization has worked to change public policy; improve
social services for individuals, families and communities; and
support professional social workers in the United States and beyond.
1950s
In October 1955, the National Association of Social Workers was
created through the merger of seven organizations — the American
Association of Social Workers, the American Association of Medical
Social Workers, the American Association of Psychiatric Social
Workers, the National Association of School Social Workers, the
American Association of Group Workers, the Association for the
Study of Community Organization, and the Social Work Research
Group.
That same year, Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of a public
bus in Montgomery, Ala., beginning the modern civil rights movement.
Also in the 1950s, two preeminent social work organizations —
the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and the International
Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) — were established.
1960s
In 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed into law the Community
Mental Health Centers Act, and thousands convened for the civil
rights "March on Washington" to hear Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., social worker and NASW President Whitney M. Young,
social worker Dorothy I. Height, and other luminaries.
Following President Kennedy's assassination, Lyndon B. Johnson
created a series of "Great Society" programs that were
led in part by the nation's social workers: Job Corps, Operation
Head Start, Volunteers in Service to America, Neighborhood Youth
Corps, Food Stamp Program, and Medicare and Medicaid.
The Civil Rights Act of 1965 made racial discrimination in public
places illegal.
The same year, social worker Wilbur Cohen was appointed secretary
of the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare to administer
most of the Great Society programs.
In this decade of widespread social activism, Whitney Young led
the nation's "War on Poverty," while substantial federal
funding was used to train thousands of new social workers.
The NASW Delegate Assembly adopted the first NASW Code of Ethics
in 1960 and launched the Academy of Certified Social Workers.
The Older Americans Act was passed in 1965 to ensure effective
care for the nation's older people. The Manpower Development and
Training Act became U.S. law to reduce unemployment.
1970s
The 1970s saw a shift in the way people viewed government, and
government viewed its relationship to social issues differently.
The first celebration of Earth Day, as well as activities concerning
the Watergate scandal, opened the new decade.
Social workers helped make both the Supplemental Security Income
program and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission a reality
in 1972.
In 1973, Roe v. Wade made state laws banning a woman's right
to choose unconstitutional.
New job training legislation was enacted to provide job opportunities
for disadvantaged people. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment
Act became law in 1974, establishing the National Center on Child
Abuse and Neglect. The Social Security Act was amended in 1975
to cover personal social services such as work training, housing
and community development.
NASW established PACE, Political Action for Candidate Election,
in 1976.
1980s
Interestingly enough, in 1984, President Ronald Reagan declared
the month of March National Professional Social Work Month.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department
of Education were established in 1980 when the former Health,
Education and Welfare Department was divided.
The first social work dictionary was published by NASW in 1987.
The same year, the McKinney Homeless Assistance Act was established
to coordinate national efforts to assist homeless people.
In response to the AIDS epidemic, groups such as ACT UP (AIDS
Coalition to Unleash Power) formed to advocate recognition of
this emerging health crisis.
1990s
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 made it illegal to
discriminate against disabled people in employment settings. In
1993, the Family and Medical Leave Act was enacted to allow employees
to take job-protected time off to care for family members. The
next year, the social work Person-in-Environment System was published
by NASW. In 1998, the social work profession celebrated the centennial
of social work education and practice in the United States.
The U.S. National Voter Registration Act went into effect in
1995, and in 1996 President Bill Clinton signed into law the Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, a reform
program to end "welfare as we know it." We also saw
the expansion of managed health care and its negative impact on
the delivery of social and mental health services.
2000s
We are still in the early part of the new millennium, and our
world has changed significantly in a very short time.
Following terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, social workers
helped our neighbors and our nation rebuild lives and regain hope.
Since then, we are serving the needs of countless men and women
— and their families — affected by the ongoing war in Iraq. NASW
has continued to work for peaceful resolutions to conflicts both
here and around the world.
We are actively supporting the massive tsunami recovery effort
led by our social work colleagues in South Asia and East Africa.
If the accomplishments of the last five decades are any indication
of what impact the social work profession can have on the world,
I am indeed hopeful about our country's future.
NASW has 50 years of proud service to the profession, to the
communities of this country and other parts of the world, and
we are prepared to continue the innovative, dynamic and creative
responses to social issues.
Happy 50th anniversary, NASW.
Compiled from Milestones in the Development of Social
Work and Social Welfare, by Robert L. Barker, NASW Press, www.naswpress.org/
To comment to Gary Bailey: president@naswdc.org
From February 2005 NASW News. © 2005 National
Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved. NASW News
articles may be copied for personal use, but proper notice of
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