NASW’s Virtual Forum–“From Insight to Impact: Hard Conversations, Honest Dialogue, Collective Action”– promises to be a valuable learning experience and opportunity for connection for social workers across the profession and the country.
The two-day event takes place Nov. 4 and 5, and aims to “encourage those in the field to feel supported, encouraged and empowered to illuminate the gray, the unpopular to ‘talk about’ social issues that were for so long taboo or uncomfortable,” says Delicia Hurdle, JD, MBA, events strategy and innovation manager at NASW.
The forum kicks off with a keynote address from NASW CEO Anthony Estreet, PhD, MBA, LCSW-C, and concludes the next day with a closing plenary from Amanda Baranski, DSW, LCSW, NMCF. The first day closing plenary will be presented by Keita Franklin, and day two will open with NASW President Karen Bullock, PhD, LICSW, APHSW-C, FGSA.
Between opening and close are a host of breakout sessions that examine emerging ideas and issues, as well as evidence-based practices. For example, “Grief Sensitive Schools,” presented on Nov. 4, will explore how Perkiomen Valley School District in Montgomery County, Pa., worked to become a grief-sensitive district.
“One in 11 students in Pennsylvania will experience the loss of a sibling or parent before they graduate. Nationwide it’s one in 12,” says Dr. Patti Colucci, LSW, HSW, C-SSWS, a school social worker at Perkiomen Valley.
The foundation for her district becoming grief sensitive was set by Barb Kott, a school counselor who began a loss group at the district about 30 years ago. “She started it because when she was growing up, her father died and she had nobody to talk to about it. At the school they didn’t talk about it at all,” explains Jim Rude, LSW, a retired school social worker who will join Colucci and Erin McMonagle, MA, MS, NCC, a school counselor at Perkiomen Valley. The loss group involves weekly meetings, as well as an annual plant sale on Mother’s Day, the proceeds of which allow the children in the loss group to buy a book for the school library in honor of the parent or family member they lost.
The group is not the only aspect of becoming a grief-sensitive school, however. The session also will look at how the district “translated doctoral research into practical grief training for staff and the development of sustainable school-based practices,” says McMonagle.
In the best of all possible worlds, members of the public interact with elected officials and the city staff, Manalo said. When these parts work together, “then all of the policies and programs that come out of that government really serve the interest of the people because everyone is involved.”
Colucci emphasizes that the breakout session isn’t just for school social workers and counselors. “(It’s for) anyone. Death is a reality. ‘Grief Sensitive Schools’ is for everyone.”
Similarly, Johanna Creswell Báez, PhD, LCSW, associate professor of social work and director of the MSW program at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, says her session on day two, titled “AI and Social Work Practice: Hard Conversations, Practical Choices,” is not just for those already comfortable with artificial intelligence and conversations with clients about it.
“You do not need to feel confident with technology or be ready to use AI yourself to take part. Clients may be turning to it for support or information, and we need to be able to ask about those experiences with curiosity,” she said. “We will start with skills social workers already use: listening closely and making thoughtful judgments. I think people may be surprised to find that their questions and reservations are an important part of shaping how our profession responds.”
The session will explore not only how social workers can respond to clients who are turning to AI for support, but also how the NASW Code of Ethics offers guidance and what Cresswell Báez’s research says about AI use in organizations. “I hope members leave with practical questions they can use with clients and in their workplaces,” she said.
Additional sessions will focus on topics such as trauma-informed gender care, hip-hop therapy, using data to catch inequalities early, ending gender-based violence, emotional safety in caregiving, and nontraditional social work.
It is two days filled with something for everyone, and regardless of which breakout sessions are selected, the hope is that every attendee logs off “with many takeaways,” says Hurdle, “but minimally leaves the forum with a renewed ambition to remain impactful.”
Learn more about the forum and register.