News

The COVID-19 pandemic is a health and mental health crisis, to be sure. But it is also a crisis of social injustice, inequitably affecting vulnerable and marginalized populations. Social work practitioners, educators, and policy makers are working to address the needs of these populations despite the unpredictability of the virus's secondary impact on systems. Read more.

As we shared last week, federal agencies and states are recognizing the essential nature of social work during this coronavirus pandemic. Social workers have long played a crucial role in hospitals, community clinics, and other health-care settings by ensuring that these settings attend to the social needs of patients. Read more.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, social workers have been designated “essential workers” by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Read more. 

It is in the nature of social workers to work closely and in-person with people. But what to do when the best course of action for our country in order to address a pandemic is to practice social distancing? Read more.

The safety of students, educators, social workers, and their clients and communities are paramount to the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and its Council on Accreditation (COA). In response to the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are committed to supporting social work education programs. Read more here.

CSWE has approved an update to the number of field hours required to earn degrees in social work. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, students who have completed 85% of the required placement hours to a satisfactory level may, at program discretion, be evaluated as having met the field placement requirements.

The Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) is committed to communicating with the social work community to provide accurate, up-to-date information about testing for licensure. ASWB reports that Pearson VUE test centers are closed through April 15. Read more here.

The three largest social work organizations in the United States, ASWB, CSWE, and NASW, are calling social work practitioners, students, faculty, employers, regulators, policy makers, and all interested parties to action. 

CSWE staff members are committed to supporting and advancing the programs that educate tomorrow’s social workers. Social Work Month’s theme is Generations Strong, and social workers on staff at CSWE took time to think about how things have changed regarding social work education and what aspects of the profession and programs remain as true today as they were years ago. Read more here.