NASW Launches New Resource and Action Center Amid Government Upheaval

By Paul R. Pace

NASW has launched a new resource, the Stronger Together Resource and Action Center, to provide social workers with accurate, up-to-date information about the Trump administration’s actions against federal agencies and their implications for individuals, families and social workers.

The continually updated site will offer resources to help social workers advocate for themselves and their clients. It includes action alerts, practice guidance, and other materials. Social workers who work in private practice, public policy, child welfare, aging services, health care, or another area will find these resources invaluable.

The center has been created amid government mandates and proposed cutbacks to federal agencies, particularly in the health and human services field. These include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, said NASW Chief of Programs Barbara Bedney, PhD, MSW.

“These agencies provide incredibly important services to our populations,” she said, including support for veterans, marginalized communities, and people living with mental health conditions and substance use disorders.

“These (cuts) are workforce issues, but they also impact social work values,” Bedney said. “In many ways, we’ve been leading these agencies and helping to build these agencies. It is part of social work history. The are being dismantled as we speak.”

Another purpose of the center is to raise awareness and explain where NASW stands on important issues.

“There is so much information out there, it is easy to get overloaded and not understand exactly what is happening,” Bedney said. Framing how cuts to these programs impact social workers and their clients is key.

Information is divided into categories: Agency Closures and Staffing Cuts; Cuts to Specific Programs; and Threats to Social Justice.

There is a section called “Letters to Leaders” that includes links to letters that NASW either drafted and sent or signed on to with other organizations. A recent example is a letter the association sent to the Veterans Administration as it experienced proposed cuts to the social work workforce at the VA. The letter states, “We respectfully urge the Department of Veterans Affairs to carefully evaluate the implications of these workforce reductions on service delivery, particularly concerning social work services.”

NASW recommended the VA:

• Suspend implementation of the return-to-office mandate
• Protect confidentiality in office accommodations
• Maintain staffing levels for essential veteran care
• Engage in strategic collaboration

“NASW remains dedicated to supporting the VA in its mission to deliver exceptional care to veterans,” the letter says.

Bedney said the time has never been more urgent to mobilize the power of the social work profession to prevent cuts to government agencies and stop the long-lasting damage they will cause.

The resource center is “to help people understand this is what is happening and this is what you can do about it,” she said.