News
A new Tips and Tools document, Starting a Private
Practice, Frequently Asked Questions by NASW Members,
has been revised to
help guide clinical social workers (CSWs) through the process of opening a
private practice. This document provides answers to common questions on
licensure, liability, insurance credentialing, and many other topics to help
CSWs get started.
Starting
a Private Practice: Frequently Asked Questions by NASW Members
An Hour With Private Practice: Questions
and Answers
No August Hour of Private Practice
The Social Work Interstate Compact: Preparing
for Launch in Early 2027
Friday,
September 18, 2026 (Noon – 1 pm ET)
Presenter:
Karen Goodenough, PhD, MSW, LGSW
Executive Director | National Association
of Social Workers, MN & ND Chapters NASW Licensure Taskforce Chair
& Social Work Interstate Compact Representative
Register in
advance for this meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/Uls-dWcKR2qpcHBFa7KJEA
After
registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about
joining the meeting.
For information purposes only, no CEs will be
issued
SPS Webinars
Tuesday, September 22, 2026 (1-2:30 pm ET)
Presenter: Connie Palmer, LCSW
Description: Since the tragedy of Columbine, social workers and other mental health professionals have desperately attempted to eliminate the problem of bullying through strategies of investigating and punishing bullies, encouraging upstanders and teaching social emotional learning skills. Even with all these efforts the problem of bullying is increasing. In this webinar you will learn the skills that social workers can teach students and clients to use in response to verbal aggression from others. You will also learn the psychological principles that make this method so effective. The Bullies to Buddies method, developed by psychologist Izzy Kalman, teaches a way to respond to a bully that immediately decreases the incidence of bullying and strengthens the victim's resilience because they have been empowered to solve the problem. Social workers will also learn how to help the bully decrease aggression and increase prosocial behavior.
Objectives:
- Summarize social, cultural & other factors that contribute to the escalation of bullying & cyberbullying
- Evaluate the pros and cons of prominent anti-bullying programs and strategies
- Apply the Bullies to Buddies strategies to help clients respond to verbal aggression
Cost: SPS Members: Free / Non-SPS NASW Members: $25 / Non-NASW Member: $35
Wednesday, October 7, 2026 (1 - 2:30 pm ET)
Presenter: Adam McCormick, PhD, MSSW
Youth in foster care face disproportionately high rates of trafficking vulnerability due to experiences of trauma, placement instability, homelessness, congregate care placement, and disrupted attachment. This workshop explores how systemic failures within child welfare can unintentionally create pathways into exploitation, with a particular focus on the heightened risks faced by LGBTQ+ youth. Drawing from qualitative research with foster care alumni and survivors of trafficking, participants will examine how rejection, disconnection, institutionalization, and unmet belonging needs increase vulnerability while identifying trauma-informed and affirming strategies that promote safety, permanency, and healing.
Objectives:
- Examine how trauma, placement instability, congregate care, and disrupted attachment contribute to trafficking vulnerability among youth in foster care, particularly LGBTQ+ youth.
- Apply trauma-informed and affirming social work practices that strengthen safety, belonging, permanency, and protective factors for youth involved in child welfare systems.
- Evaluate social work policy and practice strategies aimed at reducing reliance on congregate care and disrupting pathways from foster care to exploitation, homelessness, and criminalization.
Cost: SPS Members: Free / Non-SPS NASW Members: $25 / Non-NASW Member: $40
Monday, October 26, 2026 (1 – 3 pm ET)
Presenter: Jill E. Palmer, DSW, LCSW
CEs: 2 Social Work Contact Hours
The time is now to confront and support each other to move past our deep-rooted division and historical othering that the United States has lived in for centuries. As social workers we have the ethical duty to address inequality and support meaningful change. The trauma-informed care approach provides a framework to address the harm whiteness has inflicted on ourselves, our staff and our clients. Whiteness, as the unearned cultural, social, and structural privileges, will be explored in the context of supervision. Using a TIC approach for supervision increases the opportunity for supervisees to have supported vulnerable conversations about how whiteness shows up in social work, how it is addressed in supervision and the changes that are required. Addressing whiteness is activism as harmful political policies have a greater impact on non-white individuals, families and communities. Trauma-Informed Supervision allows for supervisors to address often ignored topics and better support white and non-white supervisees.
Objectives:
- Participants will learn how Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) is a framework for supervision.
- Participants will learn how the political landscape, workplace environments and cultural expressions impact supervisees and how these can be supported and/or challenged with a TIC supervision approach.
- Participants will explore the impacts of whiteness in America and how this impacts our peers and clients. TIC can support an evolution away from ignoring whiteness and empowering authentic connections.
Cost: SPS Members: Free / Non-SPS NASW Members: $25 / Non-NASW Member: $40
Tuesday, December 1, 2026 (1 – 2:30 pm ET)
Presenter: Stephanne Cline Thornton, LICSW
Forensic social work has deep roots in early 20th‑Century reform and now plays a vital role in courtroom and legal settings. This webinar introduces how social workers support individuals, families, and communities across legal and child-welfare systems, drawing on trauma‑informed assessment, life‑history investigation, and contextual storytelling grounded in a Just Practice Framework. Participants will evaluate the ethical framework of NASW’s 2025 death penalty policy in relation to social work’s core values of dignity and worth of the individual. Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of how social workers contribute to holistic defense and align with community‑based justice movements that advance dignity and human rights.
Objectives:
- Describe the evolution of forensic social work from early 20th‑Century reform movements to modern roles in legal and child welfare settings.
- Explain core social work functions in legal contexts drawing on social work’s core values and key practices such as trauma‑informed assessment, life‑history investigation, and contextual storytelling that support holistic defense and humanize clients in court‑involved systems.
- Evaluate the ethical implications of social work roles in legal settings including high-stakes legal environments by examining NASW’s 2025 position on the death penalty in relation to social work’s core values and ethical principles.
Cost: SPS Members: Free / Non-SPS NASW Members: $25 / Non-NASW Member: $40
SPS Panel Discussion
When Advocacy Gets Emotional: Building Trust Between Families and Helping Professionals
Monday, November 2, 2026 (11 am – 12 PM ET)
Sponsored by the Mental Health Specialty Practice Section
Exploring how past experiences with systems can shape emotional responses and family-professional relationships, and how social workers can recognize bias, strengthen communication, and build trust with families.
Register in advance for the LIVE meeting only: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/z0_tx25FSl-ezBJiaLOSDw
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Open to all NASW Members. For Information Purposes Only. No CEs will be issued.
Panel discussion will be recorded and made available here.
Meet Social Workers like you with MyNASW
If you are an SPS member, you are already a member of at least one of these MyNASW online communities and can participate now:
Children, Youth and Schools
For members of the Child Welfare; Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults; and School Social Work Specialty Practice Sections
Clinical Social Work, Aging, and Health
For members of the Aging; Mental Health; Private Practice, and Substance Use Disorders and Other Addictive Behaviors Specialty Practice Sections
Social Justice, Administration, and Courts
For members of the Administration/Supervision; Social and Economic Justice & Peace; and Social Work and the Courts Specialty Practice Sections