Health Practice Tools

Social workers play integral roles in helping clients understand, access, and navigate Social Security benefits. This Practice Alert provides updates on field office reopenings and other recent developments within the Social Security Administration. It concludes with NASW advocacy related to Social Security.

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is establishing a task force that will revise the NASW Standards for Social Work Practice in Palliative and End of Life Care. NASW is seeking individuals with substantive professional experience focused on palliative care, hospice, end-of-life planning and care, grief and bereavement and other relevant areas to join the task force. 

NASW is proud to be a 2021 partner of "I COVID Quit," a campaign created by the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Smoking Cessation Leadership Center. NASW is also a member of the National Partnership on Behavioral Health and Tobacco Use, a coalition of about 30 organizations committed to eliminating smoking among people with mental health and substance use disorders.

This year the Open Enrollment Period on HealthCare.gov has been extended and runs from November 1, 2021, to January 15, 2022. For coverage to begin on January 1, 2022, enrollment must be completed by December 15, 2021. Enrollment after December 15 will provide coverage beginning on February 1, 2022.

The Core Competencies for Frontline Complex Care Providers, created by the National Center for Complex Health & Social Needs, describe the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to provide quality care for people with complex health and social needs. Complex care is an emerging field of practice in which social workers have particular expertise.

The 21st Century Cures Act (Cures) is a bipartisan health care innovation law enacted by Congress in 2016 that includes provisions to promote the free flow of health information and interoperability.