Behavioral Health Practice Tools

More than half of children in the U.S. are exposed to alcohol before they’re born, according to a recent study. Unintended exposures, from alcohol use prior to pregnancy recognition, represented 80 percent of alcohol-exposed pregnancies (AEPs). Moreover, although the U.S. Surgeon General, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, along with other medical professional organizations, advise pregnant and lactating women to abstain from any substance use, nearly 1 in 7 pregnant women report drinking alcohol, and about 1 in 20 report binge drinking in the past 30 days. In addition, 40 percent of pregnant women who drink also use other substances, most frequently tobacco and cannabis.

In honor of FASD Awareness Month, social workers can help reduce the prevalence of FASDs by conducting alcohol screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment for all clients—including pregnant women—and clearly communicating the importance of avoiding any alcohol throughout pregnancy. The take-home message for clients is that there is no known safe amount, no safe time, and no safe type of alcohol use during pregnancy. 

Medicaid is an insurance plan that provided access to care to 78 million people to include those with limited income, children and families, pregnant women, people with disabilities and people in long term care facilities. Medicaid has not only provided access to medical care, but it has also played a significant role in access to substance use treatment. In March 2025, Congress recommended reducing the budget to $880 billion over the next 10 years which would impact the role Medicaid plays in providing critical services to individuals with mental health and substance use conditions. This behavioral health practice tool highlights the importance of Medicaid assistance for those who are dealing with substance use disorders and why cutting Medicaid would further harm the communities in which we serve as social workers.

Happy National Women’s Health Week! Social workers can participate by making sure clients know about alcohol’s unique health risks for women, including breast cancer and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Learn more about these risks and how to talk about alcohol use with clients in this new NASW Social Work Blog post.

This Alcohol Awareness Month, social workers can dispel common myths about drinking, including the belief that there is a safe time or amount of alcohol to drink while pregnant. For a healthy pregnancy, avoiding alcohol and other substances is the safest thing to do. And if a client is drinking while pregnant, everyday counts. The sooner the drinking stops, the better for the baby. Learn more in this new NASW Social Work Blog post.

NASW Task Force for Serious Illness: Palliative and End of Life Care is please to announce the attached draft practice standards for public comment, Serious Illness: Palliative and End of Life Care. The draft standards offer guidance to social workers in all settings where palliative and end of life services occur. They offer guidance to social workers and serve as benchmark for services social workers provide. We value your input and encourage you to review the document.