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44–395 PDF 2008

CARING FOR THE VULNERABLE: THE

STATE OF SOCIAL WORK IN AMERICA

HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTHY 

FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES 

COMMITTEE ON 

EDUCATION AND LABOR

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

HEARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC, JULY 29, 2008

Serial No. 110–105

Printed for the use of the Committee on Education and Labor

(

Available on the Internet: 

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/house/education/index.html 

(II)

COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR 

GEORGE MILLER, California, Chairman

Dale E. Kildee, Michigan, Vice Chairman 

Donald M. Payne, New Jersey 

Robert E. Andrews, New Jersey 

Robert C. ‘‘Bobby’’ Scott, Virginia 

Lynn C. Woolsey, California 

Rube ́n Hinojosa, Texas 

Carolyn McCarthy, New York 

John F. Tierney, Massachusetts 

Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio 

David Wu, Oregon 

Rush D. Holt, New Jersey 

Susan A. Davis, California 

Danny K. Davis, Illinois 

Rau ́l M. Grijalva, Arizona 

Timothy H. Bishop, New York 

Linda T. Sa ́nchez, California 

John P. Sarbanes, Maryland 

Joe Sestak, Pennsylvania 

David Loebsack, Iowa 

Mazie Hirono, Hawaii 

Jason Altmire, Pennsylvania 

John A. Yarmuth, Kentucky 

Phil Hare, Illinois 

Yvette D. Clarke, New York 

Joe Courtney, Connecticut 

Carol Shea-Porter, New Hampshire 

Howard P. ‘‘Buck’’ McKeon, California, 

Senior Republican Member 

Thomas E. Petri, Wisconsin 

Peter Hoekstra, Michigan 

Michael N. Castle, Delaware 

Mark E. Souder, Indiana 

Vernon J. Ehlers, Michigan 

Judy Biggert, Illinois 

Todd Russell Platts, Pennsylvania 

Ric Keller, Florida 

Joe Wilson, South Carolina 

John Kline, Minnesota 

Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Washington 

Kenny Marchant, Texas 

Tom Price, Georgia 

Luis G. Fortun ̃ o, Puerto Rico 

Charles W. Boustany, Jr., Louisiana 

Virginia Foxx, North Carolina 

John R. ‘‘Randy’’ Kuhl, Jr., New York 

Rob Bishop, Utah 

David Davis, Tennessee 

Timothy Walberg, Michigan 

[Vacancy]

Mark Zuckerman, Staff Director 

Vic Klatt, Minority Staff Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTHY FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES 

CAROLYN McCARTHY, New York, Chairwoman

Yvette D. Clarke, New York 

Carol Shea-Porter, New Hampshire 

Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio 

Rau ́l M. Grijalva, Arizona 

John P. Sarbanes, Maryland 

Jason Altmire, Pennsylvania 

John A. Yarmuth, Kentucky 

Todd Russell Platts, Pennsylvania, 

Ranking Minority Member 

Howard P. ‘‘Buck’’ McKeon, California 

Kenny Marchant, Texas 

Luis G. Fortun ̃ o, Puerto Rico 

David Davis, Tennessee 

[Vacancy] 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

Hearing held on July 29, 2008 ............................................................................... 1

Statement of Members: 

Altmire, Hon. Jason, a Representative in Congress from the State of 

Pennsylvania, prepared statement of .......................................................... 42

Davis, Hon. David, a Representative in Congress from the State of Tennessee ............................................................................................................. 3

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 3

McCarthy, Hon. Carolyn, Chairwoman, Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities, Committee on Education and Labor ..................... 1

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 2

Additional submissions for the record: 

Letter from the National Association of Social Workers, dated 

August 14, 2008 .............................................................................. 42

‘‘Cost Outcomes and Social Work Practice,’’ Sage Publications, 

2006 ................................................................................................. 44

‘‘Relationships Between Social Work Involvement and Hospice 

Outcomes: Results of the National Hospice Social Work Survey,’’ Social Work, July 2004 ......................................................... 49

‘‘Cost-Effectiveness of Case Management in Substance Abuse 

Treatment,’’ Sage Publications, 2006 ............................................ 57

‘‘The Impact of a Caregiver Health Education Program on Health 

Care Costs,’’ Sage Publications, 2006 ........................................... 68

Shea-Porter, Hon. Carole, a Representative in Congress from the State 

of New Hampshire, submissions for the record: 

Letter from the Clinical Social Work Association, dated July 28, 

2008 ......................................................................................................... 79

‘‘The NASW Code of Ethics and State Licensing Laws’’ ........................ 81

NASW slides: ‘‘Social Workers are the Largest Group of Clinically 

Trained Mental Health Providers’’ ....................................................... 85

Statement of Witnesses: 

Bailey, Gary, MSW, ACSW, associate professor, School of Social Work, 

clinical associate professor, School of Health Science, Simmons College . 6

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 7

Bergeron, L. Rene, Ph.D., associate professor of social work, University 

of New Hampshire ........................................................................................ 17

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 19

Bird, Michael, MSW, MPH, public health consultant ................................... 14

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 15

Fuller, Adina, MSW, licensed graduate social worker, Washington, DC, 

Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services ............................................ 24

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 25

Mama, Robin S., Ph.D., professor and dean, School of Social Work, Monmouth University .......................................................................................... 10

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 11

Wells, Rev. Sarah C., BSW, CSWM, Good Samaritan Ministries ................ 21

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 22

(1)

CARING FOR THE VULNERABLE:

THE STATE OF SOCIAL WORK IN AMERICA 

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

U.S. House of Representatives 

Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities 

Committee on Education and Labor 

Washington, DC

The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 3:00 p.m., in room 

2175, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Carolyn McCarthy 

[chairwoman of the subcommittee] presiding. 

Present: Representatives McCarthy, Shea-Porter, Yarmuth, and 

Davis of Tennessee. 

Staff Present: Tylease Alli, Hearing Clerk; Denise Forte, Director 

of Education Policy; David Hartzler, Systems Administrator; Jessica Kahanek, Press/Outreach Assistant; Deborah Koolbeck, Policy 

Advisor, Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities; 

Susan Ross, Director of Education and Human Services Policy; 

Margaret Young, Staff Assistant, Education; Stephanie Arras, Minority Legislative Assistant; James Bergeron, Minority Deputy Director of Education and Human Services Policy; Cameron Coursen, 

Minority Assistant Communications Director; Kirsten Duncan, Minority Professional Staff Member; and Linda Stevens, Minority 

Chief Clerk/Assistant to the General Counsel. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. A quorum is present, the hearing of the 

subcommittee will come to order. Pursuant to committee rule 12(a) 

any member may submit an opening statement in writing which 

will be made part of the permanent record. 

Before we begin I would like everyone to take a moment to ensure that your cell phones and BlackBerrys are on silent. We like 

it when everybody looks in their pocketbooks and purses to make 

sure it doesn’t go off. 

I now recognize myself, followed by the Congressman Davis from 

Tennessee, for an opening statement. I want to thank each and 

every one of you for being here today for this informational hearing 

on the state of social work in America. 

Social work is a profession involving the education, treatment, 

care, support, and often nurturing of vulnerable individuals and 

families, with the objective of assisting or guiding them on how to 

improve their lives. 

The average person’s image of a social worker is someone who is 

very passionate about what they do in the face of challenging, difficult, mean, horrific situations, and whose work results in lifeVerDate 0ct 09 2002 15:18 Sep 24, 2008 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 G:\DOCS\110TH\HFC\110-105\44395.TXT HBUD1 PsN: DICK
2

changing experiences, all while being underpaid and under appreciated. 

I am not sure if this is exactly the case for each social worker 

in America, and that is why we are having this hearing today, to 

educate the subcommittee on the work of social work. 

The year 2008 to 2009 edition of the Bureau of Labor Statistics 

Occupational Outlook states that social work employment is expected to grow faster than average and that a Master’s Degree in 

social work or related field has become standard for many positions. Further, it is expected that opportunities for employment in 

the social work profession should be good in rural areas, competitive in urban areas. 

In the year 2006, there were 595,000 social workers, and that 

number is projected to reach 727,000 by the year 2016. Each year 

social work is expected to experience a growth of projected employment, with some areas expecting a larger increase than others. For 

example, it is expected that as the Baby Boom generation ages that 

there will be a greater demand for health and related services. 

Clearly if you are a young person looking for job opportunities in 

the future, social work is a field to consider. 

However, that being said, most people don’t know what social 

work is and what social workers do on a given day. Social workers 

engage in many fields and in many locations, including working 

with children, families, the elderly, those who are incarcerated or 

at risk of incarceration, those facing serious or life-threatening illness, those with mental health or substance abuse challenges, and 

with public health organizations and agencies. 

Social workers also engage in public policy and government. We 

have six social workers in Congress, including my colleague, Congressman Shea-Porter, who is on the subcommittee here today. 

Welcome. 

I employ a licensed social worker on my staff in my district. It 

was actually one of the first things I did because I had a feeling 

that with the work that I was getting into it was going to need a 

lot of hand holding and somebody that knew the way to get around, 

giving the services to my constituents. I think that somehow nearly 

all of us are connected to or have interacted with a social worker 

in some capacity. 

Today we will learn about the various fields of social work, an 

overview of the profession, and perspectives on the state of the profession through the lens of educated, research diversity, and onthe-ground experience. 

Again, I want to thank each of you for attending the hearing, 

and I look forward to your testimony. 

Now I would like to introduce my colleague, Mr. Davis from Tennessee, for his opening statement. 

[The statement of Mrs. McCarthy follows:]

Prepared Statement of Hon. Carolyn McCarthy, Chairwoman, 

Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities 

I want to thank each of you for being here today for this informational hearing 

on the state of social work on America. 

Social work is a profession involving the education, treatment, care, support, and 

often nurturing of vulnerable individuals and families with the objective of assisting 

or guiding them on how to improve their lives. 

3

The average person’s image of a social worker is someone who is very passionate 

about what they do in the face of challenging, difficult, and even horrific situations 

and whose work results in life-changing experiences, all while being underpaid and 

underappreciated. I am not sure if this is exactly the case for each social worker 

in America, and that is why we are having this hearing today—to educate the Subcommittee on the state of social work. 

The 2008-2009 edition of the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook 

states that social work employment is expected to grow faster than average and that 

a master’s degree in social work or a related field has become standard for many 

positions. 

Furthermore, it is expected that opportunities for employment in the social work 

profession should be good in rural areas and competitive in urban areas. In 2006 

there were five hundred ninety-five thousand social workers and that number is 

projected to reach seven hundred twenty seven thousand by the year 2016. 

Each area of social work is expected to experience a growth in projected employment, with some areas expecting a larger increase than others. For example, it is 

expected that as the Baby Boom generation ages that there will be a greater demand for health and related social services. Clearly, if you are a young person looking at job opportunities in the future, social work is a field to consider. However, 

that being said, most people don’t know what social work is and what social workers 

do in a given day. 

Social workers engage in many fields and in many locations, including working 

with children, families, the elderly, those who are incarcerated or at risk of incarceration, those facing serious or life-threatening illness, those with mental health or 

substance abuse challenges, and with public health organizations and agencies. Social workers also engage in public policy and government. 

We have six social workers in Congress, including my colleague Congresswoman 

Shea-Porter who is on this Subcommittee and here today. I employ a licensed social 

worker on my staff in my district. I think that somehow nearly all of us are connected to or have interacted with a social worker in some capacity. 

Today we will learn about the various fields of social work, an overview of the 

profession, and perspectives on the state of the profession through the lenses of education, research, diversity, and on-the-ground experience. 

Again, I want to thank each of you for attending the hearing and I look forward 

to your testimony. 

Mr. DAVIS. Good afternoon. Thank you, Chairman McCarthy, for 

holding this important hearing. I would like to thank each of our 

witnesses who have taken the time to provide this subcommittee 

with their testimony. I would like to extend a special welcome to 

my fellow Tennesseean, Sarah Wells, who I will introduce later. 

The importance of social workers cannot be overstated. These 

professionals serve every age range, race, ethnic group and social 

background, and they do so selflessly. Social workers advocate for 

people who cannot do it themselves and help them navigate the 

sometimes confusing array of public services available to them. 

Whether it is ensuring that an abused child is placed in a safe foster home or helping a family cope with a terminal illness, social 

workers improve the lives of individuals and families and their 

communities on a daily basis. 

Chairwoman McCarthy, I look forward to working with you on 

this important issue. Again, I thank each of you for being here 

today and I am eager to hear your testimony. With that, I yield 

back. 

[The statement of Mr. Davis of Tennessee follows:]

Prepared Statement of Hon. David Davis, a Representative in Congress 

From the State of Tennessee 

Good afternoon. Thank you, Chairwoman McCarthy, for holding this important 

hearing. I’d like to thank each of our witnesses who have taken the time to provide 

this Subcommittee with their testimony. I’d like to extend a special welcome to fellow Tennessean, Sarah Wells, who I will introduce later. 

4

The importance of social workers cannot be overstated. These professionals serve 

every age range, race, ethnic group and social background, and they do so selflessly. 

Social workers advocate for people who cannot do so for themselves and help them 

navigate the sometimes confusing array of public services available to them. Whether it is ensuring that an abused child is placed in a safe foster home or helping a 

family to cope with a terminal illness, social workers improve the lives of individuals and families in their communities on a daily basis. 

Chairwoman McCarthy, I look forward to working with you on this important 

issue. Again, I thank each of you for being here today and am eager to hear your 

testimony. I yield back. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Thank you, Mr. Davis. Without objection, all members will have 14 days to submit additional materials 

or questions for the hearing record. 

Let me explain our lighting system. In front of you, you will see 

three boxes there, green, yellow and red. Red basically means we 

would like to you stop your testimony. If you are in the middle of 

a sentence, believe me, we will let you go on. But just try and keep 

your testimony into that, and that goes for the members also. 

So with that, if we have additional time, we will be asking additional questions. 

Today we will hear from a panel of witnesses. Your testimonies 

will proceed in the order that I introduce you. I would like to introduce our first witness, Mr. Gary Bailey. He is an Associate Professor of the Simmons College for Social Work in Massachusetts 

and Assistant Professor at the Boston University School of Public 

Health. He is immediately past President of the National Association of Social Workers and serves as Chair of the International 

Federation of Social Workers Commission on Policy, Advocacy and 

Representation. In 1998, he received the honor of Social Worker of 

the Year and has received numerous awards since. 

Today, Mr. Bailey will give us an overview of the social work profession, and we will look forward to learning what social work is 

and the success and challenges of the profession from him. 

Our next witness, Dr. Mama, comes to us from New Jersey. I 

know Congressman Rush Holt wanted to be here, but unfortunately he got tied up back in his district. He wanted to introduce 

you. Dr. Mama is the Dean of School of Social Work at Monmouth 

University. She also serves as the representative of the International Federation of Social Workers at the United Nations in 

New York City. 

Dr. Mama will speak to us about undergraduate and graduate 

education as well licensure requirements for the social work profession. 

Mr. Michael Bird comes to us from New Mexico. Welcome. Mr. 

Bird has over 25 years of public health experience in the areas of 

medical social work, substance abuse prevention, health promotion, 

and disease prevention, HIV/AIDS prevention, behavior health and 

health care administration. Of his many accomplishments from 

2000 to 2001, Mr. Bird was the first American Indian and the first 

social worker to serve as President of the American Public Health 

Association. He has also been involved in numerous health disparity projects and programs on a local, tribal, national, and international level. 

Most recently, he was named to serve on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Urban Indian Health Commission. Today Mr. Bird 

5

will discuss the impact and necessity of diversity in the social work 

profession, in which he is a living example. Welcome again. 

Our next witness, Dr. Bergeron——

Ms. BERGERON. Bergeron. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY [continuing]. Bergeron, will be introduced by our subcommittee social worker, Congresswoman SheaPorter. 

Ms. SHEA-PORTER. Thank you. It is my privilege today to introduce a constituent of mine. Dr. Rene Bergeron’s impressive resume 

includes over 30 years of experience and numerous publications 

that focus on various topics from elder abuse and neglect, to family 

poverty, to domestic violence, just to name a few. She is a monthly 

contributor to the New Hampshire Senior Times and on the Board 

of the Advising Editors for the Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect. 

Dr. Bergeron serves as an Associate Professor in the Social Work 

Department at my alma mater, University of New Hampshire. We 

are both so proud of it. And as if all that is not enough to keep 

anyone busy, she currently serves as the President of the New 

Hampshire chapter of National Association of Social Work. 

As a social worker and administrator myself, I would like to 

thank you, Dr. Bergeron, for your work in our field and for taking 

the time out today. You have a very busy schedule, as we know, 

and you are testifying and we appreciate it very much, and I look 

forward to your testimony. 

Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. You are quite welcome. 

Next I turn to my colleague from Tennessee, Mr. David Davis, 

to introduce the Reverend Sarah Wells. 

Mr. DAVIS. Thank you, Chairwoman McCarthy. I appreciate the 

opportunity to introduce our next witness. Reverend Sarah Wells 

has been an Executive Director of the Good Samaritan Ministries 

in Johnson City, Tennessee since 1998. Sarah graduated from East 

Tennessee State University from the Department of Social Work as 

a certified social work manager. Sarah served east Tennessee’s first 

homeless education liaison for the upper east Tennessee region and 

worked to expand this program to what it is today throughout the 

State of Tennessee. Today Sarah strives to work towards learning 

new ways to reach out to her community. 

Sarah is married to Dr. Vernon Wells and is the mother of four 

children and grandmother to 14. 

Sarah, welcome to Washington. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Our next witness is Ms. Fuller. Ms. 

Fuller is a licensed social worker at the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services in Washington, D.C.’s juvenile justice system. 

Her daily work involves a caseload of 27 young people who have 

been committed to the DYRS for acts of delinquency. Today she 

will share with us a view of her day-to-day work to help us gain 

an understanding of what social work is on a daily basis in the JJ 

system here in Washington. I want to thank you for being here 

today and joining you us. 

I have already explained to you the lighting system. I am fairly 

lenient on that, but if you go way over you will probably hear me 

tap a little bit first, and then hopefully you will finish up your tesVerDate 0ct 09 2002 15:18 Sep 24, 2008 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 G:\DOCS\110TH\HFC\110-105\44395.TXT HBUD1 PsN: DICK
6

timony. We are now going to hear from our first witness, Mr. Bailey. 

STATEMENT OF GARY BAILEY, MSW, ACSW, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK, CLINICAL ASSOCIATE 

PROFESSOR, SCHOOL OF HEALTH SCIENCE, SIMMONS COLLEGE 

Mr. BAILEY. Thank you, Madam Chair and Mr. Davis. It is an 

honor to have been invited here today to address you and to talk 

about the state of social work in the United States. 

My name is Gary Bailey, and I am proudly an Associate Professor of Social Work at Simmons College School of Social Work in 

Boston, Massachusetts. Simmons was established in 1904 and was 

the Nation’s first institute of higher learning to offer training for 

clinical social workers, and was begun in response to the need to 

professionalize charity. 

I feel very fortunate to have been a professional social worker for 

the past 30 years, having worked in direct services and administrative capacities in the field of child welfare, gerontology, social work 

education, and having volunteered in the area of HIV/AIDS early 

on in the epidemic at the AIDS Action Committee in Boston, one 

of the Nation’s foremost AIDS service organizations. 

As I speak before you today, the Nation faces many complex and 

converging challenges, from our military engagement abroad to rising food and commodity prices and untenable mortgages at home. 

While each of the challenges individually demand the comprehensive engagement of the Nation’s social workers, these trends taken 

together suggest a significantly increased need for professional social work services within vulnerable communities, both locally, nationally and internationally. 

While it is clear that the Nation’s social work community will be 

strained to meet this increased demand, a broader work community 

and an assessment of the true scope of these demands, along with 

the comprehensive plan to provide for adequate service to all in 

need is of vital importance. 

I have had the honor of serving as President of the National Association of Social Workers from 2003 to 2005, and currently I am 

the Chairman of the National Social Work Public Education Campaign. I join you today to discuss the important role that the profession of social work plays in our society. 

Social work is the helping profession. Across the Nation the profession of social work and social workers improve and enrich the 

lives of individuals and families and help build strong communities. Social workers provide critical services in rural, urban and 

suburban areas, and have long been society’s safety net for a broad 

range of issues, including child welfare, mental and behavioral 

health, aging, corrections, health, and military and veterans affairs. 

Much of society only encounters a social worker when dealing 

with a problem, such as moving a family member from a hospital 

to a nursing home, and there is limited public understanding of the 

role of social workers. However, we work to help individuals, families, and communities across the country, and the need for social 

work services will only grow with time. 

7

As Chair of the Social Work Public Education Campaign, I have 

traveled this country and met numbers of people who have a universal awareness of social work as a helping profession. Many people lack, however, an accurate knowledge related to the education 

and credentials needed to be a professional social worker. They did 

not appreciate the diversity of the work, they were confused by the 

use of the more general term of caseworker, which at times is used 

interchangeably with that of social worker. 

As the Baby Boomers continue to age, they will increasingly need 

social work services, ranging from mental health and family counseling to health, education, group programs and case management. 

Social workers, who provide the majority of the mental health services in the United States, will work with the 26 percent of the 

American population aged 18 and older that experience a 

diagnosable mental disorder. Professional social workers will counsel students to prevent high school dropout rates, work with formerly incarcerated individuals to ensure positive community reentry, and help patients diagnosed with serious illnesses such as 

cancer to make informed decisions about their care. 

While the need for social work services will only increase with 

time, we are not equipped to keep pace with this demand, and Dr. 

Mama will go into that in more detail. 

The social work profession has existed for over a century and has 

enriched many lives. Thirty years ago I made a decision to become 

a professional social worker, and I have never regretted that decision. While it is clear that the Nation’s social work community will 

be strained to meet these increased demands, a broader assessment 

of the true scope of these demands, along with a comprehensive 

plan to provide adequate service for all in need, is a vital necessity. 

So today I say to you again, my name is Gary Bailey and I am 

proud to be a professional social worker. 

[The statement of Mr. Bailey follows:]

Prepared Statement of Gary Bailey, MSW, ACSW, Associate Professor, 

School of Social Work, Clinical Associate Professor, School of Health 

Science, Simmons College 

Chairwoman McCarthy, Ranking member Platts, and honorable members of the 

Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities, I would like to thank you for 

inviting me here today to discuss the state of the profession of social work. My name 

is Gary Bailey and I am currently an associate professor at Simmons College of Social Work in Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1904, Simmons was the nation’s 

first institute of higher learning to offer training for clinical social workers. Simmons also was at the forefront of educating students for medical social work and 

managed care. 

I feel fortunate to have been a professional social worker for the past 30 years 

having worked in many capacities including the fields of child welfare, gerontology 

and social work education. I served as President of the National Association of Social Workers from 2003 to 2005 and am the current Chairman of the National Social 

Work Public Education Campaign. 

Background 

I join you today to discuss the important role that the profession of social work 

plays in our society. Social work is the helping profession. Across the nation the profession of social work and social workers improve and enrich lives every single day. 

Social workers provide critical services in rural, urban and suburban areas and have 

long been society’s safety net for a broad range of issues including child welfare, 

mental and behavioral health, aging, corrections, health and military and veterans’ 

affairs. 

8

As the baby boomers continue to age, they will increasingly need social work services ranging from mental health and family counseling to health education, group 

programs and case management. Social workers, who provide the majority of mental 

health services in the United States, will work with the 26 percent of the American 

population aged 18 and older that experience a diagnosable mental disorder. Professional social workers will counsel students to prevent high dropout rates, work with 

formerly incarcerated individuals to ensure positive community reentry, and help 

patients diagnosed with serious illness to make informed decisions about their care. 

Social work began in the late 19th century when concerns about increasing poverty led people to question how to prevent and protect people from ‘‘falling through 

the cracks’’ in society. Many credit Jane Addams for the emergence of the profession 

as she created the first settlement house in America, Chicago’s Hull House in 1889. 

Settlement workers were often women who settled in urban areas to address the 

various challenges facing immigrant communities. The settlements provided a vital 

service, Addams believed, both for the volunteer residents, who needed a purpose 

in life, and for the society at large, by building needed bridges between the classes 

in an increasingly stratified and fragmented society (Addams, 1893). Settlement 

house workers, charity organization societies, and child savers worked together 

throughout the end of the century to preserve healthy communities and ensure that 

biopsychosocial needs were being met. 

During the Great Depression, economic, mental, and social needs rose dramatically and the social work profession was recognized as necessary to solve the seemingly intractable challenges of the times. Social workers created programs for the 

Department of Labor and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to combat widespread hunger and unemployment. The profession was dedicated to restoring hope for the American people and continued to see significant growth during the 

Civil Rights Movement and the War on Poverty as many of the architects of these 

important social initiatives were social workers. Recent decades have produced competition for financial resources and less understanding of the role of the social worker in society; however these professionals continue to help individuals, families, and 

communities across the country. The need for social work services will only grow 

with time. 

Current Issues 

The profession of social work has grown with and reflected the changing needs 

of our society. As previously mentioned, social workers are the largest group of mental health providers in the country. There are 192,000 clinical social workers across 

the United States treating adults, adolescents, children, veterans, the incarcerated, 

the elderly, and those diagnosed with diseases such as HIV/AIDS for a variety of 

mental health concerns ranging from emotional disturbances to serious debilitating 

illnesses. Social workers’ most frequent specialty practice area is mental health 

whether it be in private practice, a mental health clinic , hospital, prison, or long 

term care facility. 

Social workers not only practice in a variety of settings including child welfare 

and foster care agencies, community action centers, hospitals, government offices, 

mental health centers, homeless shelters, and schools but also cater to a diverse clientele. Social workers help people and communities overcome some of life’s most difficult challenges including poverty, discrimination, abuse, addiction, physical illness, 

divorce, loss, unemployment, educational problems, disability, and mental illness. 

Professional social workers have advanced educational preparation and practice 

experience. A professional social worker must have a bachelor’s (BSW), master’s 

(MSW) or doctorate (PhD or DSW) degree in social work. A master’s degree in social 

work is the predominant degree for licensed social workers (79% for active practitioners) and we pride ourselves in being the profession trained to work with people 

in their environment, looking at all dimensions of the individual’s life. Social workers recognize that most clients face complex situations and often have co-occurring 

needs and work to address all of these needs. For instance, a social worker specializing in aging would not only support their client’s physiological, psychological, and 

social needs through mental health therapy, caregiver and family counseling, and 

health education but will also need to understand chronic illness as many elderly 

clients will be faced with these issues. 

Social workers undergo advanced training in accredited education programs and 

grow their expertise through standards, credentials, and state licensing requirements. Social workers have the right education, experience, and dedication to help 

people help themselves whenever and wherever they need it. They understand complex support systems and work to connect people to the resources they need. Social 

workers focus on a person’s strengths and help clients reach their full potential. It 

9

is this unique blend of training, education, and experience that equips professional 

social workers with the tools necessary to tackle society’s most pressing problems. 

Challenges 

Despite a century of service, the public is still not clear about what social workers 

do. The media often report on the profession only when a problem arises in the child 

welfare system and far too often these individuals are not professionally trained social workers as less than 35% of child welfare workers actually have any social work 

training. They may be performing in a social work capacity or hold a social work 

title without proper supervision or education. Despite some public perception, the 

vital services that social workers do provide in the child welfare system, as well as 

in numerous other areas, contribute to a healthy society. 

There is confusion among the public as there is not one typical social worker. Social workers may work in traditional child welfare agencies or may hold public office 

as a member of Congress. They may own their own private mental health practice 

or work in a long term care facility. Few are aware that the largest employer of 

social workers in the nation is the Department of Veterans Affairs with over 5,000 

professional social work employees. Uniformed social services play a critical role in 

our military efforts at home and abroad. It also often goes unnoticed that professional social workers are first responders to disasters such as Hurricane Katrina 

and the Virginia Tech shootings. They provide vital supports to victims and their 

families during times of crisis and for years beyond. 

Professional social workers hold positions in government, nonprofit, business and 

educational settings. Informing the public about the breadth and depth of the profession is important as it affects the public’s access to care, the ability of social 

workers to perform essential duties, and to impact important policy decisions. Many 

of the benefits U.S. citizens take for granted were implemented because social workers—working with families and institutions—spoke out against abuse and neglect. 

During my tenure as Chair of the Social Work Public Education Campaign I have 

traveled the United States and met numbers of people who have a universal awareness of social work as a ‘‘helping’’ profession but who lack accurate knowledge related to the education and credentials needed to be a professional social worker; 

they did not appreciate the diversity of the work; they were confused by the use of 

the more general term of ‘‘case worker’’ used interchangeably with that of social 

worker. Generally the public has had a strong respect for the difficulty of the job 

and believes that social workers are overworked and are under valued. They also 

believed that we worked with the underserved, handle a variety of problems and 

generally believe that they will never need a social worker. 

The need for social work services will only increase with time, however we are 

not equipped to keep pace with this demand. For example, there are currently 

30,000 licensed social workers working in the field of aging; however the National 

Institute on Aging projects that 60,000 to 70,000 social workers will be needed by 

2010. If schools of social work do not recruit young professionals and if we do not 

retain experienced social workers, the public will suffer from a lack of critical services. This is particularly true in the areas of aging and child welfare. 

A key component of recruitment and retention of professional social workers is 

their ability to earn comparable salaries. Increases in social work salaries have not 

kept pace with other professions such as teaching and nursing. A survey conducted 

by the John A. Hartford Foundation, Inc. found that between 1992 and 1999 the 

annual rate of wage growth for degree-holding social workers was less than one percent. In addition, high educational debt is a concern of every graduating social work 

student. According to one study, 68 percent of individuals surveyed with a Master’s 

Degree in Social Work (MSW) graduated with an average debt of $26,777. Many social workers will earn less than that upon graduation. Low salaries and high educational debt are making this profession an impossible choice for many. 

These challenges must be overcome in order to ensure that the profession grows 

and thrives in the future and so that clients can continue to be served for years to 

come. 

Conclusion 

The social work profession has existed for over a century and has enriched many 

lives. Social work skills are broad and applicable in a variety of settings and make 

this profession unique and important. Social workers are educated, experienced, and 

ethical and provide a diverse range of services across the life span. 

Thirty years ago I made a decision to become a professional social worker. I was 

introduced to the field of social work by a woman who was teaching a winter intercession course at my alma mater of Tufts University. Until that time I was preparing to pursue a career in medicine. In her class I was introduced to a field that 

10

resonated with my desire to be a catalyst in people’s lives for change; and to create 

opportunities where previously there had been none. 

I have never regretted that decision and I am delighted to say that my name is 

Gary Bailey and I am a proud professional social worker. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Thank you very much, right on the 

mark too. 

Dr. Mama. 

STATEMENT OF ROBIN S. MAMA, PH.D., PROFESSOR AND 

DEAN, SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK, MONMOUTH UNIVERSITY 

Dr. MAMA. Thank you, Chairwoman McCarthy and members of 

the committee, for allowing me to speak to you today about social 

work education. My name is Robin Mama, and I am the Dean of 

the School of Social Work at Monmouth University in West Long 

Branch, New Jersey. 

My oral comments will be targeted to undergraduate social work 

education; however, my written testimony provides you with some 

additional information on Master’s level education as well as social 

work licensure for practicing social workers. 

There are over 400 Bachelor of Social Work programs in the 

United States. Some BSW programs stand alone, in departments 

that are combined with sociology, anthropology and/or criminal justice. Some BSW programs, like ours at Monmouth, are in the 

School of Social Work or a department that also offers a Master of 

Social Work program. And then there are a few who are combined 

with Master of Social Work, Bachelor of Social Work and Ph.D. In 

social work programs. 

All undergraduate social work programs are generalist in their 

focus. Students in BSW programs do not concentrate in any area 

of practice or theoretical focus, as is the case with Master’s programs. BSW students are taught to work in many areas of practice, 

whether it is casework or case management, group work, community practice, research or policy, and they should be able to work 

in any field of practice, be it gerontology, mental health, aging, 

child welfare. 

Critical to the BSW curriculum is the field internship where students are placed in social service agencies to learn the day-to-day 

aspects of social service delivery. At Monmouth our BSW students 

complete a 30-hour volunteer experience in the sophomore year, a 

100-hour junior internship, and 450-hour senior internship. These 

internships are always supervised by a licensed social worker at 

the Master’s level and the agency supervisors often take a course 

in supervision that many social work programs offer. 

So for example, Monmouth runs a course called SIFI, Supervision in Field Instruction, for all our new internship supervisors. 

The field internship is the place where academia meets practice. It 

is the applied aspect of social work and as such the vehicle that 

allows students to grow professionally and personally. A baccalaureate student usually knows they made the right choice of profession when they begin their field internship. 

I was asked to address both the challenges of undergraduate social work education and their strengths, and I see these to be the 

following: 

11

In terms of strengths BSW graduates have generalist skills and 

knowledge which allow them to work in many facets of social work. 

Their skills are portable, they are not tied to a specific job or function, but can be taken wherever the graduate goes and are applicable to a number of fields of social work practice. 

BSW graduates are idealistic and enthusiastic. They want to 

change the world. This idealism often helps social services agencies 

because these interns allow agencies and their staffs to remember 

their own idealism, and many times they help the agencies to see 

the situations in a new light and help to renew their enthusiasm 

for social work. They also help to rejuvenate their faculty. 

BSW students are at an advantage in the workplace because 

they are taught systems theory and learn to see the whole picture. 

They work well with professionals from other disciplines because 

they see everyone’s role, they understand how roles fit together, 

and with their interpersonal skills they help to mediate difficult 

situations. 

In terms of challenges, recruitment is the biggest challenge facing undergraduate social work programs. Many people, especially 

parents, are under the impression that social workers only help the 

poor and take children away from families. They also have the impression that social workers do not make livable salaries. All academic social work programs work hard to negate these impressions, 

but until the society at large begins to change their opinion this 

will be difficult. Public education on what social work is and what 

we do as professionals is essential. 

Ensuring cultural awareness and sensitivity can also be a challenge, depending upon where the BSW program is located and who 

the students are. We need more bi- and trilingual social workers, 

and we need students to develop cultural awareness for all the clients and agencies that they come into contact with. 

Finally, ensuring that social work as a program stays vibrant 

and respected at the college or university level is also a challenge. 

This is an applied working discipline that does not often garner 

large research grants nor garners large donations, and there are 

times when its usefulness to the larger university can be questioned. 

Thank you again for this opportunity to speak to you. 

[The statement of Ms. Mama follows:]

Prepared Statement of Robin S. Mama, Ph.D., Professor and Dean, School 

of Social Work, Monmouth University 

Thank you for this opportunity to provide testimony for this important hearing. 

My remarks are focused on undergraduate social work education. I will generalize 

some of my comments to baccalaureate social work education, giving some specific 

examples from my experience at Monmouth University. I began teaching at Monmouth in social work in 1992, became the BSW Program Director in 1998 (when 

we added a master of social work program to our curriculum), became the Chair of 

the Department and MSW Program Director in 2004, and I am now the Dean of 

the School of Social Work which was just created on July 1, 2008. 

Monmouth University has had a Bachelor of Social Work program since 1977 and 

we added a Master of Social Work program to our curriculum in 1998. We are very 

typical of a small to medium size baccalaureate social work program. Currently, we 

average 100 to110 BSW students in our program. 

There are over 400 Bachelor of Social Work programs in the United States. Some 

BSW programs stand alone in a department that is often combined with sociology, 

anthropology and/or criminal justice. Some BSW programs (like ours at Monmouth) 

12

are in a School of Social Work or a Department of Social Work which also offers 

a Master of Social Work program. Fewer are in Schools of Social Work that offer 

the BSW, the MSW and the Ph.D. in Social Work. 

All undergraduate social work programs draw heavily from content in the liberal 

arts. Students are usually required to complete courses in Sociology, Anthropology, 

Psychology, Economics, Political Science, Biology, and Mathematics, along with History, English and Literature. 

All undergraduate social work programs are generalist in their focus. Students in 

BSW programs do not concentrate in any area of practice or theoretical focus, as 

is common in MSW programs. BSW students are taught to be able to work in many 

areas of practice, whether it is casework or case management, group work, community practice or even research and policy. And they should be able to work in any 

field of practice, be it gerontology, mental health, child welfare, criminal justice, etc. 

The undergraduate social work curriculum introduces students to human behavior 

(the life to death sequences of events and milestones that all individuals go 

through), they are taught to assess clients, how to interview them, and then how 

to form an intervention plan with the client for their treatment. Students then look 

to evaluate how well their interventions worked, engaging in both practice and program evaluations. Students learn to make these assessments at the individual level 

(micro), with families (mezzo) and with communities (macro). They use a variety of 

skills in making assessments and in planning for treatment or for an intervention. 

A key component to these assessments is learning systems theory which helps the 

students see all of the factors involved in a client’s situation. Another component 

is to take a strengths perspective to all assessments, looking specifically for 

strengths of the individual first, and deficiencies second. 

Critical to the BSW curriculum is the field internship, where students are placed 

in social service agencies to learn the day to day aspects of social service delivery. 

At Monmouth, our BSW students complete a 30 hour volunteer experience in the 

sophomore year, a 100 hour internship in the junior year, and a 450 hour internship 

in the senior year. These internships are always supervised by a licensed social 

worker at the master’s level, and these agency supervisors often take a course in 

supervision and field that many social work programs offer. For example, we run 

a SIFI course—Supervision in Field Instruction—for all our new internship supervisors. 

The field internship is the place where academia meets practice. It is the applied 

aspect of social work, and as such is the vehicle that allows students to grow personally and professionally. A baccalaureate student usually knows they made the right 

choice of profession when they begin their field internships. It is sometimes the case 

that students get hired by their field agencies upon graduation from their BSW program. For a social service agency that can hire their student intern, their investment into that student over the course of the academic year is very beneficial, as 

they know their new employee before they start work, and that person is already 

oriented to the agency and its culture. 

Not all BSW students go right to work however. Our experience at Monmouth is 

that about 80% of our students go right on to graduate education, usually the Master of Social Work. The other 20% go into employment. 

The advantage of going straight into an MSW program comes from the ability of 

a BSW graduate of an accredited program to apply for Advanced Standing in a number of MSW programs in the US. Advanced Standing programs allow accredited 

BSW graduates who meet admissions requirements to move into the 2nd year of 

graduate work. This means that the MSW degree is completed in one year, rather 

than the 2 years it normally takes for someone who enters an MSW program without a BSW degree (if the coursework is done on a full-time basis of 15 credits/semester). 

This is an important feature of BSW—MSW education, as it indicates that the 

senior year of the BSW program theoretically is equivalent to the first year of graduate education and that prepared BSW graduates have the knowledge base and the 

skills to skip one year of graduate school. From my experience, properly prepared 

BSW graduates can move into graduate level education without a problem, and can 

then spend their year in graduate school refining their skills and deepening their 

knowledge. 

The first year of most MSW programs contain ‘‘foundation’’ courses, like Social 

Welfare Policy, Research, Human Behavior and the Social Environment and usually 

several practice courses like Individuals and Families, Group work, etc. Students 

also complete first year internships. At Monmouth, our students in the MSW program take their classes concurrently with their field internship, and complete 500 

hours of field work in the first year of the program. Two days of the week are spent 

in class and three days are spent in the field. 

13

In the second year of the MSW curriculum students choose a concentration, where 

they focus their academic work and their internship in a more specific area of social 

work practice. Almost all MSW programs offer at least two concentrations; some 

offer more depending on the size of the School or University. At Monmouth, we have 

two concentrations: Clinical Practice with Families and Children and the other is 

International and Community Development. The latter concentration is the only one 

of its kind in the US in a social work program. The ICD concentration allows students to go overseas in the spring semester of their final year to complete an 8—

10 week internship in an NGO or government agency. We have internships currently in Ghana, Bangladesh, Southern India, Mexico, Chile, and Hong Kong. Both 

concentrations require another 500 hours of field internship. 

The Master of Social Work is the terminal degree in the social work profession, 

meaning that you do not need a Ph.D. to practice as a social worker and to receive 

third-party reimbursement for your clinical work. However, you do need a license. 

Licensure for social workers is required in all 50 states, and all 50 have varying 

requirements to obtain a license to practice social work. Each state differs on the 

naming of their licenses and not all states offer reciprocity to social workers who 

want to move their license from say New Jersey to Florida or to Wisconsin. Some 

states require a re-test, others require verification of clinical course work. 

In New Jersey, there are two social work licenses and one certification (the CSW, 

the LSW, and the LCSW). If you graduate with a BSW and go right to work, you 

apply for your CSW—or Certification in Social Work. There is no test for this certification, you need only to submit proof of your graduation from an accredited undergraduate social work program and pay the fee to the State. 

When a student completes the MSW, they can then take a test for their LSW—

the License in Social Work. Any student at the MSW level should apply for their 

LSW. If you want to specialize in clinical social work and receive 3rd party reimbursement for your services (from Medicare, Medicaid, HMO’s etc), then you have 

to take an additional test and work (with your LSW) under the supervision of another social worker who has the License in Clinical Social Work (LCSW) for approximately 2,000 hours to qualify for the LCSW license. 

Those social workers who desire the Ph.D. or DSW (Doctorate in Social Work) 

usually pursue doctoral work in order to enter the academic world. It is increasingly 

a requirement at Colleges and Universities for tenure-line faculty to hold a Ph.D. 

in their discipline in order to teach and to be conferred with tenure. 

Strengths of a BSW degree: 

1. BSW graduates have generalist skills and knowledge, which allow them to 

work in many facets of social work. 

2. These skills are portable—they are not tied to a specific job or function, but 

can be taken wherever the graduate goes and are applicable to a number of fields 

of practice. 

3. BSW graduates are idealistic and enthusiastic—they definitely want to ‘‘change 

the world.’’ This idealism often helps social service agencies because social work interns allow agencies and their staff to remember their own idealism and many times 

can help agencies see their situations in a new light and can bring about needed 

change and renewed enthusiasm. 

4. BSW graduates are at an advantage in a workplace, because they are taught 

systems theory, and learn to see ‘‘the whole picture.’’ They work well with professionals from other disciplines because they can see everyone’s role, see how all roles 

fit together, and with their interpersonal skills can help to mediate difficult situations. 

Challenges for undergraduate social work education: 

1. Recruitment is the biggest challenge facing undergraduate social work programs. Many people (especially parents) are under the impression that social workers only help the poor and take children away from families. They also have the 

impression that social workers do not make livable salaries. All academic social 

work programs work hard to negate these impressions, but until society at large begins to change their opinion, this will be difficult. Public education on what social 

work is, and what we do as professionals is essential. 

2. Ensuring cultural awareness and sensitivity can also be a challenge, depending 

on where the BSW program is located and who the students are. We need more biand tri-lingual social workers. And we need students to develop cultural awareness 

for all the clients and agencies that they might come into contact with. 

3. Ensuring that social work as a program stays vibrant and is respected at the 

College or University level can also be a challenge to programs. This is an applied, 

working discipline that does not often garner large research grants, or large donations, and there are times when its usefulness to the larger University can be questioned. 

14

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Thank you. 

Mr. Bird. 

STATEMENT OF MICHAEL BIRD, MSW, MPH, PUBLIC HEALTH 

CONSULTANT 

Mr. BIRD. Chairman McCarthy and members of the subcommittee, I am pleased to be here with you today. As was mentioned, my name is Michael Bird. I have over 25 years in social 

work in a variety of areas. Most notably, I was the first American 

Indian and the first social worker to serve as President of the 

American Public Health Association. 

I have been fortunate in many respects. Most notably, I also have 

a Master’s in public health, and I have found that the combination 

of the MSW and the MPH has served me well, served both my associations, and provides a unique perspective that I think has been 

relevant to the issues we are addressing today. 

Most importantly, we have mentioned some of the things and I 

have mentioned some of the things I have accomplished, but I 

think more importantly to me is the fact I am from Santo Domingo 

and San Juan Pueblo. I am a Pueblo Indian. My people have a documented history of being in the Southwest from anywhere from 30 

to 40,000 years, with a unique culture and unique tradition and 

unique language. That has shaped and forced and focused my 

whole personality and my experience. 

But I am here today to talk about the importance and the role 

of diversity in social work. There really is a need to begin to really 

look at increasing the workforce and increasing a workforce that 

better serves the diverse population, the diversity of this country, 

but also increasing that workforce so that it better serves all of us. 

The social worker strives to ensure access to needed information, 

services, and resources, equality of opportunity and meaningful 

participation and decision making for all people. The profession is 

unique in that social workers are expected to understand different 

cultures and the function that culture plays in everyday life. They 

believe that strengths can be found in every culture and that building upon those strengths is the best way to help clients reach their 

full potential. 

The profession of social work values an understanding of different political, religious, and ideological beliefs, and social workers 

are expected to respect the dignity and worth of each individual 

that they work with. 

Social workers are not only expected to understand the role that 

social diversity plays on the society, but actively to work to end all 

forms of discrimination. The clients that social workers work with 

often are vulnerable and face prejudice and discrimination. 

Professional social workers support and advocate for recruitment, 

admissions, hiring, and retention efforts in social work programs 

and agencies to ensure diversity within the profession. They also 

seek to provide an advocate for the profession and information referrals and services in the language appropriate to the client. 

My career as a social worker and my background in public health 

have led me to a deep understanding of diversity issues in this 

country. Having worked to address health disparities with American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities, as 

15

well as all ethnic minority communities for over 25 years has been 

a major area of my personal and professional body of work. This 

is a moral and spiritual issue and cries out to be addressed. It is 

also wasting our most important natural resource, our human capital and the Nation’s potential. 

As early as the U.S. census report in 1970, it chronicled there are 

major differences in social, economic, political and health conditions 

in the U.S. population. A Federal court also identifies the Latino 

and African American populations as having the lowest per capita 

income in the United States. And an argument can be made that 

Native Americans on reservations have lower per capita incomes 

but not included in the Federal studies. 

These statistics are unacceptable and social workers are the professionals equipped with the tools and understanding to make a 

real difference in the lives of their clients. 

Although the profession of social work has a rich history of respecting and appreciating social diversity, it also has a historical 

tendency to attract Caucasian women to the field. While women 

have done an exceptional job building a strong foundation of social 

service and strengthening individual families and communities, we 

must look to the future, and that involves reevaluating our recruitment and retention techniques with a commitment to diversity. 

Another concern is that of the aging. Not only does social work 

serve the aging Baby Boomers, but there will be a significant need 

to recruit new social workers once the professionals begin to retire. 

When I reflect upon my career in social work and public health, 

I believe that what attracted me to this area was a simple desire 

to help others who might be confronted by something larger than 

themselves. As a child I felt I had no control over my situation at 

home in growing up with an alcoholic father. This experience instilled in me a desire to help people gain some control in their 

lives. I also wanted to give them hope and a sense of direction. 

I also thought that only Indians had these kinds of problems. As 

I grew wiser I came to understand that we all have problems, just 

different kinds of problems, and that we all need help now and 

again. Social workers made a critical difference in my life, as they 

do in the lives of people every day. 

Thank you very much for this opportunity today. 

[The statement of Mr. Bird follows:]

Prepared Statement of Michael Bird, MSW, MPH, Public Health Consultant 

Chairwoman McCarthy, Ranking member Platts, and honorable members of the 

Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities, I am honored to be here 

today to discuss the state of the profession of social work. My name is Michael Bird 

and I feel fortunate to have worked in this profession for over 25 years in many 

capacities including medical social work, substance abuse prevention, health promotion, disease prevention, and health care administration. In addition to my professional training as a social worker, I also have a master’s degree in public health 

and have found this combination of careers and professional experience to be extremely valuable in my practice. I was the first American Indian and the first social 

worker to serve as President of the American Public Health Association and have 

been an active member of APHA for over 18 years. I’ve also served as president of 

the New Mexico Public Health Association and was a fellow in the U.S. Public 

Health Service Primary Care Fellowship Program. 

Background 

I’m here today to not only discuss the important role that social work plays in 

our society but also the unique value placed on diversity in the social work profesVerDate 0ct 09 2002 15:18 Sep 24, 2008 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 G:\DOCS\110TH\HFC\110-105\44395.TXT HBUD1 PsN: DICK
16

sion. Social workers provide critical services to clients across the nation everyday. 

They work with a broad spectrum of clients including the homeless, the elderly, students at risk of dropping out of school, and the incarcerated from all racial, ethnic, 

and linguistic backgrounds. Social workers have an ethical responsibility to pursue 

social change, particularly with and on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed individuals and group of people. They also seek to promote sensitivity to and knowledge 

about oppression and cultural and ethnic diversity. Social workers strive to ensure 

access to needed information, services, and resources; equality of opportunity; and 

meaningful participation in decision making for all people. 

The profession is unique in that social workers are expected to understand different cultures and the functions that those varying cultures play in everyday life 

situations. They believe that strengths can be found in every culture, and that 

building on those strengths is the best way to help clients reach their full potential. 

Specialized knowledge and understanding about the history, traditions, values, family systems, and artistic expressions of major client groups is a key component to 

the practice of social work as well as the use of appropriate methodological approaches, skills, and techniques that reflect the workers’ understanding of the role 

of culture in the helping process. Through education, experience, and training, social 

workers strive to understand the nature of social diversity and oppression. The profession of social work values an understanding of differing political, religious, and 

ideological beliefs and social workers are expected to respect the dignity and worth 

of each individual they work with. 

Social workers are not only expected to understand the role that social diversity 

plays on society but to also actively work to end any form of discrimination. Again, 

the clients that social workers work with are often vulnerable and oppressed and 

face prejudice and discrimination. In order to promote the welfare of each client, social workers recognize the importance that the environment plays in each situation. 

The profession utilizes a ‘‘person in environment’’ approaches that acknowledges the 

role that all social influences play on a person’s biopsychosocial needs. 

Professional social workers support and advocate for recruitment, admissions and 

hiring, and retention efforts in social work programs and agencies to ensure diversity within the profession. They also seek to provide or advocate for the provision 

of information, referrals, and services in the language appropriate to the client. 

My career as a social worker and my background in public health has led me to 

have a deep understanding of the diversity issues in this country. Having worked 

to address health disparities with American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Communities as well as all ethnic minority communities for over twenty five 

years has been a major area of my personal and professional body of work. This is 

a moral and spiritual issue and cries out to be addressed. It is also a wasting our 

most important natural resource, our human capital and nation’s potential. 

As early as the first U.S. Census in 1790, federal reports chronicled major differences in socioeconomic, political, and health conditions in the population. (U.S. 

Bureau of the Census, 1975). Today we feel the effects of these disparities. For instance, in 2001 Native Americans were the group most likely to be uninsured (35% 

lacked health insurance) (Census Bureau/National Center for Health Statistics, 

2001). This has far reaching effects, particularly for the children of Native Americans. In fact, the Indian Health Service spends $1,914.00 per person for medical 

care which is lower than Medicare at $5,915.00 and less than the United States 

spends on federal prisoners at $3,803.00 (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Report 

titled ‘‘A Quiet Crisis’’ Federal Funding and Unmet Needs in Indian Country. July 

2003). 

Federal reports also identify Latino and African American populations as having 

the lowest per capita income in the United States (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007). However, Taylor and Kalt (2005) argue that Native Americans on reservations have 

lower per capita incomes but are not included in many federal income studies. 

These statistics are realistic, yet unacceptable and social workers are the professionals equipped with the tools and understanding to make a real difference in the 

lives of their clients. 

Challenges 

Although the profession of social work has a rich history of respecting and appreciating social diversity, it also has a historical tendency to attract Caucasian women 

to the field. According to one study by the National Association of Social Workers 

Center for Workforce Studies, ‘‘social work, like most health care professions, is less 

ethnically diverse than the U.S. population.’’ Licensed social workers who responded 

to the survey were overwhelmingly White, non-Hispanic (86%) and are disproportionately likely to be women (81%). While white women have long led the profession 

of social work, the clients social workers serve often belong to a non-White minority 

17

group (51% or more). According to this study of licensed social workers, ten percent 

of social workers have caseloads that are predominantly Black/African American, 

and five percent handle caseloads that are predominantly Hispanic/Latino. Additionally, only 14 percent of social workers work in settings in which their caseloads are 

75 percent or more female. Efforts have begun to recruit more men into the profession to ensure that the needs of all our clients are successfully being met. 

Another concern is the aging of the profession. Not only do social workers serve 

the aging baby boomers, but there will be a significant need to recruit new social 

workers once experienced professionals begin to retire. Licensed social workers are 

significantly more likely to be in older age groups than the U.S. civilian labor force. 

A higher percentage of social workers are ages 45 to 54 (33% compared with 23%), 

ages 55 to 64 (24% compared with 11%) and 65 and older (5% compared with 3%). 

While women have done an exceptional job of forming the important tenets of the 

profession, building a strong foundation of social service, and strengthening individuals, families, and communities, we must look to the future and that involves reevaluating our recruitment and retention techniques. While a deep understanding 

of culture is intrinsic to every social worker, there is great value in reflecting the 

populations we serve. When every voice is present at the table, more informed decisions can be made and the community can be more fully served. Not only does everyone deserve the right to service, but they also deserve the right to be served by 

a social worker that makes them comfortable and can best understand and work to 

address their various social needs. More social workers of color must be recruited 

into the profession to ensure that clients can continue to have exceptional, culturally 

competent service. 

Conclusion 

When I reflect upon my career in social work and public health I believe that 

what attracted me to this area was the simple desire to help others who might be 

confronted by something bigger than themselves. As a child, I felt that I had no control over my situation at home in growing up with an alcoholic father. This experience instilled in me a desire to help people gain some control in their lives. I also 

wanted to give them hope and a sense of direction. I also thought that only Indians 

had these types of problems. As I grew wiser, I came to understand that we all have 

problems, just different kinds of problems, and that we all need help now and again. 

Social workers made a critical difference in my life as they do in the lives of people 

every day. 

Social work and public health have always been guided by values of equity, diversity and social justice and these values should be guiding values for us all. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Thank you. 

Ms. Bergeron. 

STATEMENT OF L. RENE BERGERON, PH.D., ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF SOCIAL WORK, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE 

Ms. BERGERON. I would like to thank Chairwoman McCarthy and 

the members of this subcommittee for allowing me to testify today. 

I have a Bachelor’s from the University of New Hampshire, a Master’s from the University of Connecticut, and a doctorate from Boston College all in social work. Social work is truly the profession 

I love, and I am so pleased to be able to talk to you about it today. 

My testimony is based on my 30 years plus of practice as a medical social worker and as an outreach worker to elderly people in 

the community. Included in those years is also 24 years of teaching 

at a university level and 10 years of conducting research. I would 

also like to add that social work has been personally very important in my life, as I have a child with Fragile X disease and so social work entered into our family’s life at the date of his birth, and 

continued to be a part of our life as my father died of a brain tumor 

at home and as my mother developed severe Parkinson’s and had 

to be placed in assisted living, and now with myself as I struggle 

with my battle with cancer. So social work is extremely important 

and just in my own family very varied in what it does. 

18

My testimony is going to focus primarily on research. To simplify, I am going to organize this into three categories: Who is responsible for research; what are the fields of practice that research 

needs to be conducted in; and where social work needs to go in the 

future with research. 

Social work education, as you heard, is primarily divided into 

three levels, baccalaureate level, Master’s level and the doctorate 

level. The expectation is that the commitment of the baccalaureate 

worker is minimal. However, the work that they do opens our research base in order to see what is effective and useful in practice. 

The master level, while preparing primarily for practice, supervisory and management position, does have the expectation to do 

research. However, high caseloads often inhibit them from doing so. 

At the doctorate level the expectation is that in addition to administration and teaching they certainly will conduct research. 

Thus, this level of education is what drives research and places an 

obligation on doctors of social work to link with the baccalaureate 

workers, the Master’s workers, agencies and clients themselves to 

produce a practice-based research that will enrich the field and 

identify effective interventions, as well as discourage interventions 

that are not very effective. 

The field of practice of social work, as you have heard, is very 

global, and this in fact can make research difficult. An overview is: 

Family interventions; that includes family violence. Child services, 

medical services; that include mental health issues, as well as catastrophic issues. Aging and gerontology; that includes elder abuse, 

neglect and financial exploitation. Anti-poverty programs; that include homelessness, job training, income assistance. Transitional 

programs, immigrant, refugee services, as well as veterans services. Clinical issues and discrimination issues. 

These practice fields suggest that creative approaches in research 

may include coordination of efforts among educational institutions, 

the various levels of practitioner education, practice agencies and 

organizations and of course the clients themselves. 

Research is basically divided into two types, qualitative research, 

which is exploratory and develops hypotheses for future studies. It 

also incorporates ethnographic types of studies. And then we have 

quantitative, which is just survey data based types of work, and it 

can include meta-analysis of large data banks like the U.S. Census. 

The future agenda of social work is multi-faceted and really is 

going to involve four main areas: Health care, general family 

issues, underserved communities, which is going to include substance and violence issues, and community needs such as disaster 

preparation. 

Research has an obligation to analyze creative approaches and 

meeting both national and international needs of clients. That involves faith-based services, volunteerism, and education. The need 

to know what changes in behavior and social factors could contribute to the effective functioning of clients and the efficiency of 

programs is important, both from a human factor and a cost factor. 

We cannot afford in this country not to support social work because those areas that go unsupported will have a great impact on 

all of the citizens who live here. 

Thank you very much. 

19

[The statement of Ms. Bergeron follows:]

Prepared Statement of L. Rene Bergeron, Ph.D., Associate Professor of 

Social Work, University of New Hampshire 

Organizing the needed research and developing standards of research matching 

other bodies of knowledge, such as medicine, sociology, and psychology began in the 

schools of social work and later translated into the complex fields of practice. What 

quickly became apparent is that the diversity of practice would dictate that no one 

theory could guide social work practice, but there would need to be several theories. 

Social work practitioners would need to be taught how to assess and choose the necessary theory for the particular client situation, evaluating its effectiveness and 

changing the intervention as dictated by its effectiveness. It also became clear that 

more than one theory may drive a case (a ‘‘case’’ being defined as a single client, 

family, or group). In 1949 the Social Work Research Group was established to help 

bring special focus to these challenges. Such challenges continue today. 

Social work education is primarily divided into three levels, the Baccalaureate 

(BSW) level, the Master (MSW) level, and the Doctorate (DSW or PhD) level. The 

expectation is that the commitment of the BSW practitioner is minimal in adding 

to the research base. What is expected is that BSWs have knowledge of theory and 

research, how to read and interpret it, and how to use it in practice. Their practice 

outcomes add to the field of research. 

The MSW level, while preparing primarily for practice, supervisory, and management positions, does have an expectation that these practitioners will contribute to 

the field of research by examining cases and conducting studies that show the effectiveness of their practice. However, the reality is that these practitioners, with high 

caseloads, do not have the time to conduct research. 

At the DSW/PhD level, the expectation is that, in addition to administration and 

teaching, research will be of paramount importance. Thus, this level of education 

is what drives research and places an obligation on Doctors of Social Work to link 

with the BSW, and in particular, the MSW practitioners to produce practice-based 

research that will enrich the field and identify effective interventions or discourage 

approaches that do not achieve the desired results. 

Research Needs 

Because social work focuses on the intra- and the interpersonal aspects of clients’ 

lives research must consider these aspects as well as the various settings of the client. The broad range of practice settings and roles makes it difficult to succinctly 

explain the various areas of that social work research that are needed because practice modalities and client needs continue to change. 

Fields of Practice Affecting the Research Agenda 

The following is an overview of the various fields of practice; while not a final list 

it is meant to identify the complexity of and need for social work research today. 

In social work interventions it is understood that assessment is necessary in determining what the issues are facing the client or client system and the need for case 

management (the organization and assistance in implementing a case plan) is necessary. Additionally, The National Institutes of Health clearly states that critical behavioral and social factors affect the health and wellbeing of people and are important areas for research regarding treatment and, very importantly, prevention. (See 

Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, NIH Plan 

for Social Work Research). 

The need to know what changes in behavior and social factors could contribute 

to the effective functioning of clients and the efficiency of programs is important 

both from a human factor and a cost factor perspective: 

Family Interventions 

• Employment issues 

• Family therapy 

• Crisis intervention 

• Housing 

• Adult education 

• Incarceration and integration back to communities and families 

• Family violence 

• Family planning 

Child Services 

• Safety/child welfare/foster care/prevention abuse and neglect 

• School social work 

20

• National and international adoption 

Medical Services 

• Mental and physical illness • Substance use and abuse • Catastrophic • Congenital and accidental disability • Developmental/learning disability • Hospice/end of life counseling 

Aging and Gerontology 

• Community services • Residential care • Caregiver issues • Medicare • Housing • Elder abuse, neglect, emotional abuse, financial exploitation 

Anti-poverty Programs 

• Job training/placement • Income assistance • Food bank • Homelessness 

Transitional Programs 

• Immigrant and refugee services • Veteran services 

Administration 

• Program development and implementation • Clinical supervision and consultation • Ethical issues • Board and task force involvement 

Clinical Issues 

• Counseling/psychotherapy/psychoanalysis/group therapy 

Discrimination Issues 

• Racism, ageism, sexism • Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and gender supports 

Research Agenda 

Examination of the above practice fields and issues suggest that creative approaches in the area research may include coordination of efforts among educational 

institutions, the various levels of practitioners’ education, practice agencies and organizations, and of course the clients themselves. Two types of research approaches 

dominate the research field: qualitative research (exploratory research and the development of hypotheses for future research; ethnographic study; and single case designs); and quantitative research (survey data gathering and analysis; may include 

meta-analysis of completed survey date, e.g. U. S. Census, large study data banks). 

In addition, social work is very concerned with outcome studies to determine if practice approaches are as efficient and effective as they should or could be to assist clients and maintain agency and organization implementation of services. 

Social work research must be practice based; practice must inform research and 

research similarly informs practice. Educational institutions are well positioned to 

interface with the practice community in order to ensure the focus of research 

meshes with the real world needs, and also critical is the need to coordinate on a 

multidisciplinary level with allied professions and organizations. 

The future agenda of social work research is multifaceted and involves four main 

areas. One area, health care, includes discharge planning and care management, 

prevention of illness, effectiveness of health promotion, teen pregnancy prevention, 

mental health services including returning veterans and survivors of domestic violence. A second area needing continued attention is general family issues of child 

care, aging, family supports, family-centered practice, and family preservation. An 

added area are the underserved communities including persons substance abuse 

issues, refugee and immigrant groups, minority rights, welfare reform, housing and 

community development, economic depreciation and the accessing of services. This 

also encompasses community needs such as disaster preparation and response services, homeless service needs, the delivery of human services, public housing, schools 

in communities, and welfare to work programs. And last, creative approaches in 

21

meeting both national and international needs of clients that involve faith-based 

services, volunteerism, educational externship and internship programs, forming 

linkages among various disciplinary teams for more effective and efficient delivery 

of services. 

Conclusion 

Social work is a dynamic field of practice driven by sound educational programs 

and research methodologies that build on that of other disciplines, as well as research that stands on social work practice exclusively. Social work research also has 

assisted, and will continue to do so, in the development of programs that affect the 

daily lives of the citizens of the United States from all social classes with an array 

of social issues that if left unattended will affect the quality of life for all or our 

citizens. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Reverend Wells. 

STATEMENT OF REV. SARAH WELLS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, 

GOOD SAMARITAN MINISTRIES 

Rev. WELLS. Thank you very much. I appreciate you so much allowing me to come today and to share with you. I share with you 

the generalist view of social work. And social workers throughout 

America today are facing tragic situations, and we hear this every 

single day as someone will come and sit before us and break and 

begin to cry. But I would like to tell you a story of a young lady 

that I know of very well. 

This young lady had gotten married when she was only 14 years 

old, which was very normal in the life of Tennesseeans, and she 

quit school and at 28 years old she found herself being divorced 

and left alone. So she didn’t know any way at all to take care of 

herself. As she went off she took what money she had and she traveled all the way to Florida, where she had never been before. And 

there she set up a tent and began her family. 

She would tell her children that they were on vacation and everything was fine, that it was an enjoyable time. But at night when 

they would go to sleep she would hold them very tight and she 

would cry herself to sleep. She admits that this is the most frightening part of her whole life and she didn’t know what to do and 

didn’t know who to turn to. But her faith kept her strong, even 

though depression and thoughts of suicide plagued her every single 

day. 

In case you have not heard or that you have not guessed at this 

time, I am that woman and those are my children. 

I am very pleased to be able to tell you about a gentleman that 

came into my life. He was a social worker. It was the first time I 

had ever heard the words. They seemed very strange and frightening at first, but very important to me. He was a generalist, 

which meant that he looked at the whole picture. He was able to 

dissect my problems, break them down, and help me to be able to 

face them and confront them head on. We were able to make decisions together. He gave me all the facts that I would need. 

While I was going through this time being homeless nine times 

in 10 years I was also electrocuted, and I was told by one doctor 

I was very, very blessed to be able to be alive. And for that I admit 

today I am. At the time I did not feel that way. The pain was much 

greater than the pleasure of being alive. 

22

But through that time I did learn all about social work from all 

the way through the Master’s and the LCSW and those who would 

walk by my side to help me become whole and healthy again. So 

I look at this and I know that the plan for me—I am a generalist 

social worker. That is very much important to me. I like being able 

to see the whole picture, to be able to find the resources, to give 

those people the life skills that they have need of. So walking together is very important. 

Today I am much happier, much healthier, and much stronger 

all because there was a social worker along the way in my life, and 

I am so very thankful for that. 

Today I see the greater needs at the time of homelessness for 

those that I am serving than even when I had. During that time 

I had people who at least could help me find part-time jobs, and 

now finding a part-time job is very hard. Waiting lists for housing 

is so hard. Recently I had a woman and 5 children, I couldn’t even 

put her in a shelter because her two older children were boys and 

they were ages 12 and 14. 

So we are facing so many different barriers that are stopping us 

from getting the care that they do need. Struggles are not new for 

social workers; however, for some of their very own, working for a 

ministry is very difficult. I have a lower income than most would 

ever expect. I work many more hours, I am paid very little, but 

also I have insurance. I do not have a retirement to look forward 

to, but what I have every day is the joy of being able to be with 

others that are hurting and to be able to lead them through that 

journey. 

I believe with all my heart social workers are helping angels. 

They are there to walk by the sides of those in pain each day. They 

work to bring positive change in this world, as you have already 

heard. Solutions are not simple; however, by working together well 

we will receive answers. 

Thank you very much. 

[The statement of Rev. Wells follows:]

Prepared Statement of Rev. Sarah C. Wells, BSW, CSWM, Good Samaritan 

Ministries 

‘‘While the social service needs are dramatically rising, the ability to meet those 

needs is getting tighter.’’

Good Afternoon, my name is Sarah Wells, I hold a BSW from East Tennessee 

State University, I am Certified Social Work Manager, a minister with the United 

Methodist Church, and I work for Good Samaritan Ministries in Johnson City Tennessee. 

Last Monday I arrived to work to find that we had three consecutive families coming in with medical emergencies. All three had a parent with cancer, were facing 

death, and had to accept they were becoming homeless. The most urgent was a father, mother, and three children that were behind in rent and their utilities were 

in danger of being cut-off. The father had been diagnosed with stage four cancer, 

the wife had lost her job while missing work caring for her husband, and they had 

received an eviction notice. The children were very quiet and seemed to cling to 

their parents during the interview. Soon I had heard that they were three months 

behind in rent totaling $1,200.00. The power bill was another $289.00, there was 

very little food for the family, and medical bills were piling up. It was hard to believe that this family’s income last year was $60,000.00 and now they had lost everything. Due to a recent acquired homeless prevention grant, I was able to pay the 

rent, utilities, and give them food. Then I began my task of helping the family find 

the community and government resources needed in the future days to come. 

23

Social Workers throughout America face these tragic stories each and every day. 

They are trained to look at the ‘‘whole picture’’ and to assist individuals and families 

to form positive action plans. While the social service needs are dramatically rising, 

the ability to meet those needs is getting tighter. Many times finding the needed 

resources becomes difficult at its best, to an almost impossible task. By working for 

a ministry I normally would not have had the financial resources to help this family 

to the tune of $1,489.00, but due to the new grant opportunity that better allows 

our ministry to aid our community’s homeless prevention assistance, they were assisted in-house. However, this just began the wide array of services that still had 

to be located to under-gird the needs. It is absolutely necessary to have excellent 

knowledge of, and communication with all community and government agencies. It 

is the role of the social worker to pull all of these resources together to be able to 

offer the means to solutions. In the aforementioned case, this particular family was 

rescued from homelessness and having to move at such a delicate time, but many 

others are forced to leave the security of their sanctuary and all that is familiar to 

them. America’s schools are now overwhelmed with the special needs of homeless 

and at-risk children. The elderly are now facing homelessness at a greater rate than 

ever before. 

I would now like to tell you about another family: a mother that quit school at 

fourteen to marry and had to face divorce at age 28. She, like so many, had no idea 

how to support herself, or her two children. She got into her car with her children 

and drove from Tennessee until she ran out of money for gas in Florida. She had 

a tent for the family to stay in until she could find work and housing. She reminded 

her children that they were on ‘‘vacation’’ and that camping was fun. Each night 

after the children went to sleep she cried and held them tight. The mother admits 

to having more fear during that time than ever in her life. She was blessed with 

two part time jobs and a small apartment in which to live. Unfortunately, there was 

never enough money to pay the bills and each month the family faced eviction and 

termination of the utilities. They found themselves homeless nine times in ten 

years, and during one period they lived with no power for six weeks, without water 

for four, and knew no one to help. The mother had never asked for help in her life 

and was raised to be strong. Depression and thoughts of suicide were with her everyday, but because of her children, she had to go on. One day she walked into a 

social service ministry and met a wonderful gentleman. This was the first time she 

had ever heard the title ‘‘social worker.’’ He listened as she cried and watched as 

she dumped all of her bills and receipts on his desk. After reviewing the items, he 

pulled out a checkbook. She cried out that she had not come to beg, but to be taught 

to budget. He said, ‘‘No money, no budget.’’ He paid all her current bills and then 

set a budget. As the visits continued over the next few weeks, he helped her to see 

areas that she could receive help. Finally, he helped her enroll in school and she 

began her road to a new future. 

If you have not guessed by now, I am that mother and those are my children. 

I am your homeless * * * the hopeless, but now one that knows success and hope 

for a lifetime. I was privileged to have a social worker that was educated, that 

cared, and listened to me. He did not feed me for a day, but taught me to fish. I 

completed my education with lots of help and I too, became a social worker and now 

even a minister. I now give back by helping others as they overcome their journeys 

of pain. My past has made me more sensitive to the struggles of others, to have 

deeper wisdom, and to firmly believe in accountability. I have helped start 8 agencies that assist the poor, and I serve as the pastor of a United Methodist Church. 

Being able to work each day to lighten one person’s load makes my past struggles 

worth it all. 

Today, I see much greater needs than those in my time of homelessness. It is 

harder to find and to keep jobs these days not to mention the lack of safe, affordable 

housing. Utility and rent deposits are astronomical. Most of the low-income people 

cannot meet the needed payments to obtain housing. Waiting lists for affordable 

housing are as long as two years. If a person with no income gets into public housing, they are required to still pay a minimum of $25.00. There is not enough transitional housing or shelters, with lengthy housing waiting lists. Many of the shelters 

do not allow mothers with boys over the age of twelve, nor single fathers with children to stay at all. Disability requests now take from 2-4 years for a decision and 

there is very little help for those waiting. The list goes on for obstacles to service 

and we face services being cut each day. 

Struggles are not new to social workers; however many have some of their own. 

Working for a ministry is financially difficult. Most are paid very little, are provided 

no benefits, insurance, nor retirement. Fulfillment and dedication keep them serving 

and doing work for others. The role of the social worker is evolving to become even 

more intricate, however it remains the stronghold and bridge for those in need. 

24

Lives are guided by the ‘‘helping angels’’ serving in ministries, agencies, and government settings each day as they work to bring positive changes to our world. Solutions are not simple; however by working well together we will receive answers. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Thank you. 

Ms. Fuller. 

STATEMENT OF ADINA FULLER, MSW, LICENSED GRADUATE 

SOCIAL WORKER, DEPARTMENT OF YOUTH REHABILITATION SERVICES 

Ms. FULLER. Good afternoon, Madam Chair, committee members. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Could you bring the mike a little closer? 

Ms. FULLER. My name is Adina Fuller. I am a licensed social 

worker with the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services in 

Washington, D.C.’s juvenile justice system. As a social worker with 

DYRS, I am responsible for the management and care of 27 youth 

on my caseload who have been committed to our agency by D.C. 

Family Court for acts of delinquency. 

D.C. case management protocols require that I meet with youth 

twice a month, speak with them over the phone weekly, also make 

collateral contacts with parents, teachers, anyone else who is involved with the child. 

Most of the young people committed to DYRS come from the 

most vulnerable communities in D.C. I often have to provide supporting guidance not only to the child but also the families. And 

my job takes me into their schools, their neighborhoods and their 

homes. 

The goal of our agency is to ensure that young people are provided with an enriching and educational experience that will enable them to become productive citizens in their communities. 

Over the past 4 years, DYRS has taken on the task of reforming 

the juvenile system with the idea of improving community safety, 

as well as achieving better outcomes for young people. We have 

adopted the principle of positive youth development, which draws 

upon the strengths and the needs of the families, as well as helping 

them to find the resources and the support that they need to meet 

their own needs, but also we don’t like to focus on the deficits, because we know that people struggle. So we definitely look for the 

strengths in the youth in the family. 

We have added a host of services to young people to include inhome family counseling, service-learning projects, new educational 

experiences, employment training and job placement assistance. 

A day in the life of a social worker is often varied by the crisis 

that a family is in. It also requires counseling support, information, 

and referrals. I spend countless hours researching information over 

the Internet, reading newspapers, and also speaking with fellow social workers who obviously are doing the same thing I am doing 

in terms of finding those community-based programs that are available to youth and families. 

Part of my job entails that I help them to develop viable transitional plans so that they can successfully return home. Throughout 

the process of engagement an assessment is important for youth 

and families to identify their strengths and their needs. It is my 

25

job to identify the resources, the services and support that would 

enable them to achieve their goals with the help of them becoming 

self-sufficient and accepting personal responsibility. Those meaningful experiences is what enables youth and families to improve 

the quality of their own lives. 

Today I have a young person who is placed in a therapeutic 

group home, and right now his relationship with his mother has 

significantly improved, because he is in our care, but also because 

the youth and the family understand that they must now work together so that there is less conflict and more cohesion within the 

family system. This young man attends an after-school program 

with Sasha Bruce Youthworks, and it is our collective responsibility 

to help the family improve their functioning. 

We have monthly team meetings to discuss our next steps, plans 

and goals. And when given an opportunity most families learn that 

they can effectively communicate with each other. And this particular young man will be returning home within the next 30 days. 

He will continue to receive special education services, intensive 

third-party monitoring, family therapy, and participate in those 

after-school programs so that he doesn’t have a lot of idle time in 

the community. 

I have another youth who invited me to attend his high school 

graduation, and this was a young man who came into the system 

for committing an obvious offense, but with individual therapy he 

learned how to manage conflict, as well as to peacefully resolve his 

differences. We met biweekly to discuss what he had learned in 

anger management and to explore after-school employment opportunities. So as a social worker I assisted him with completing online job applications, but after some careful thought he decided that 

he wanted to play in the high school band and serve meals to the 

homeless. 

Although he made a poor decision, he did not allow that to ruin 

his opportunity to become a productive young person. He participated in a group interview at Trinity College where he was selected 

as a candidate to receive one the scholarships available through 

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and he will be attending Johnson and Wales university in Providence, Rhode Island this coming 

fall. So for him this was a meaningful experience and it is something that he desired to do. 

So I am glad that I have those experiences and those successes, 

and that is what makes me enjoy social work as well. 

[The statement of Ms. Fuller follows:]

Prepared Statement of Adina Fuller, MSW, Licensed Graduate Social 

Worker, Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services 

Good morning Mr. Chairman, committee members, and other distinguished participants. My name is Adina Fuller and I am a licensed social worker at the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services—Washington DC’s juvenile justice system. 

Prior to coming to DYRS, I was a social worker in DC’s child welfare system. 

As a social worker at DYRS, I am responsible for managing the care and supervision for 27 youth on my case load. These are all youth who have been committed 

to the department by the DC Family Court for acts of delinquency. 

DYRS case management protocols mandate that I see all the youth on my case 

load twice a month, talk to them once per week, regularly update their case files 

in our data management system, and connect my youth with appropriate services, 

programs, supports, and opportunities. 

26

Most of the youth committed to DYRS come from the most vulnerable communities in Washington. I often have to provide support and guidance not only to my 

client, but also to their families. My job takes me into the schools, neighborhoods, 

and homes of all the youth I serve. 

The goal of our agency to ensure that youth are provided with opportunities that 

will provide an enriching and educational experience that will enable them to become productive citizens in their communities. 

Over the past four years, DYRS has been engaged in a huge reform effort. In 

order to improve public safety and achieve better outcomes for youth DYRS has 

been making a number of changes in the system. 

DYRS has adopted the principle of Positive Youth Development as its overarching 

reform agenda—to build on young people’s strengths and assets instead of solely 

dwelling on their deficits. 

DYRS has added a host of new services and supports for the youth and the family 

we serve, including: in home family counseling, service leaning, employment training and job placement, new educational experiences, and other Evidence Based 

Practices. 

To give a snap shot of a day in the life of a DYRS social worker, I will briefly 

review the case of one of my youth: 

Case Review 

A day in the life of Social Worker is often varied by the circumstance of the youth 

and family whether is it a crisis, counseling support, and/or information and referrals that will enable a youth and family to address their needs and concerns. I 

spend countless hours beyond my tour of duty counseling youth and families on developing a viable transition plans out of the juvenile justice system. Throughout the 

process of engagement and assessment, it is important for youth and families to 

identify their strengths and needs. It is my job to identify the resources, services, 

and supports that would enable to them achieve their goals that would enable them 

to become self sufficient and to accept personal responsibility for their lives. Those 

experiences must be meaningful, which improves the likelihood that the youth and 

family will be vested in improving the quality of their lives. 

Some parents seem to rely upon me as a co-parent, particularly, if they are unable 

to effectively reason with their adolescent. I have a young person who will completing his stay in one of our therapeutic group homes whose relationship with his 

mother has significantly improved during this out of home place. While in placement, the youth and family were connected to the Department of Mental Health 

Services to receive individual therapy (youth), family therapy, and medication management. The family meets with the Psychologist on a biweekly basis in their home 

while the young person participates in individual and group therapy with a Psychologist in the therapeutic group home. He also attends an after school program at 

Sasha Bruce Youthworks. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that the young 

and family have improved their capacity to function as a unit. We have regular 

team meetings on a monthly basis to discuss our next steps and goals that will ensure the young person will successfully transition home. I have to maintain regular 

contact with parents who have provided insight of how they intend to supervise, reward and encourage her child to continue making responsible choices. When given 

an opportunity whereby parents and children can learn to effectively communicate 

with each other, it is amazing how they come to appreciate each other’s differences 

when placed in an setting that is non threatening and non judgmental. I also work 

closely with teachers who often contact me to set schedule parent/teacher conferences and to schedule individual education plans (IEP) meetings to ensure that 

the young person is receiving educational supports and services. I have to maintain 

contact with the group home staff and therapists to discuss the young person’s adjustments in a structured settings and encouraging youth to sustain their compliant 

attitudes and behavior during weekend visits at home. This young person will be 

returning home within the next 30 days with an identified transition plan. He will 

continue to receive special education services with District of Columbia Public 

Schools, third party intensive monitoring, continued in-home family therapy with 

Universal Healthcare, a core service agency with the Department of Mental Health, 

and continue to participate in the afterschool program with Sasha Bruce, which will 

continue to provide him with the opportunity to participate in constructive activities 

I have a youth who invited me to attend his graduation from a DC Public School. 

While under my supervision, the youth and family were referred to individual where 

he learned how to manage conflict and peacefully resolve differences by asking for 

the support of other adults in the school setting. We met on a biweekly basis to discuss what he learned in anger management and to explore after school employment 

opportunities. He was assisted with completing online job applications with CVS 

27

Pharmacy, Harris and Teeter, and Home Depot. After some careful thought and consideration, he decided that he would pay in his high school band and volunteered 

at So Others May Eat, serving meals for the homeless, because it was important 

for him to demonstrate that he had varied interests, talents, and his way of giving 

back to those who were less fortunate. Although he erred in his judgment, he demonstrated that it was a regrettable offense, but he did not allow it ruin his chances 

of becoming a productive young adult. He recommended by his teachers to participate in group interviews that were held at Trinity College asked to vie for an opportunity to receive a scholarship from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He 

seemed so posed when he answered questions whose themes centered about race/

ethnicity, team building, and diversity. I am happy to report that he will be attending Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island in August 2008. He 

plans to major in Business Administration and Culinary Arts because he intends 

to own his own restaurant in the Washington, DC. He was awarded a scholarship 

after completing the rigors of their program. He plans to major in Business Administration and Culinary Arts because he intends to own his own restaurant in the 

Washington, DC. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Thank you. With that, I will start the 

questioning. 

Listening to your testimony and having read the testimony the 

other night, one of the things that I want to ask is obviously we 

have talked about diversity, and I represent a fairly large underserved area and to me sometimes its overwhelming with some of 

the constituents that come to us when they don’t know where to 

go. I had mentioned earlier that I have a social worker on my staff, 

but even with that, trying to pull together the services for some of 

these constituents that have multiple issues that need to be worked 

out, and each agency is a separate entity to start with, I find it 

mind boggling, I truly do. So I have gone through, unfortunately, 

serious injuries in my family. So I know what the social worker did 

for me. I spent my life as a nurse, by the way, up to that point 

and so I thought I knew everything until I couldn’t handle anything and that is what it came down to. 

With that being said, we are talking about diversity and, Dr. 

Mama and Mr. Bird, I think that you bring that subject up. How 

do we get the diversities to be able to see their way on becoming 

social workers to become part of the community, to heal their community, to help their community? What is being done to try to recruit? 

Obviously, you know when we look at our Nation today, it is a 

very large diversity. And those communities and all communities 

at one time or another are probably going to need the help of a social worker. Is there anything that you see or any of you see on 

how we could bring that diversity into encouraging young people, 

anybody, second jobs actually, not even a second job, second careers 

that we can fill those needs? 

And I will open that up. 

Dr. MAMA. That is a very good question, and I think in terms of 

schools and social work programs we try to be as available in the 

community as possible. One of the things that helps when we try 

to recruit students—in fact, we take this from a student perspective—is that we try to reach students in high schools, in community colleges. We try our own students in their social work activities, try also to go into various communities surrounding the college, all of which are diverse at Monmouth, and to do service 

projects, learning projects, research projects, help with the commuVerDate 0ct 09 2002 15:18 Sep 24, 2008 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 G:\DOCS\110TH\HFC\110-105\44395.TXT HBUD1 PsN: DICK
28

nity. So they are almost like ambassadors into those communities 

in helping them to see some of the value of social work. 

But the university itself tries to make available themselves to 

students from diverse communities to try and pull them into the 

university. And some of that has to come through recruitment and 

marketing and those usual pieces. But some of it also needs to 

come in the form of financial assistance for students in diverse 

communities to be able to come to college and making loans available to families and opportunities available in terms of financial assistance. 

I think it also requires that programs themselves be open to opportunities. Right now Monmouth has an increasing number of 

men and women, but mostly women from an orthodox Jewish community south of the university coming into our program, into the 

Master’s program, for the reasons that you mentioned. They want 

to now go back into their own community to help their community. 

And the only reason I think that we are seeing increasing numbers 

come to Monmouth is because we have been very open in terms of 

how we structure our classes, allowing them to miss classes for religious observance and not penalizing them in their education and 

being respectful of their needs as a religious community. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Mr. Bird. 

Mr. BIRD. Yes. As I understood your question, you were talking 

about—my response would be that in terms of I think we have to 

begin to view diversity as a strength, not as a weakness or a 

threat. In many cases, at least in my experience both in social work 

school, graduate school and as well as in the public health arena, 

there were times because I was different, because I was different 

than dominant society, I think there were times that people felt 

like embarrassed to engage me in discussions about what the reality for Indian people in this country is today. And because of that 

we wouldn’t go there and we wouldn’t have a fruitful discussion or 

a dialogue that really would benefit everyone. This goes beyond the 

Indian community obviously. I think all of us have so much to 

learn from each other, and I am reminded of a quote by Will Rogers, Cherokee humorist, and that quote is, we are all ignorant, just 

about different things. And I think until we come to the table recognizing that we are all ignorant and that we all have something 

to learn from each other and find some common ground in terms 

of—like the lady who spoke of her homelessness, that condition in 

that situation, that is, you know—I mean, I respect that, appreciate that, but that sort of experience transcends her community or 

her State. There are native people throughout this country, they 

are in rural and urban areas, who experience very similar sort of 

circumstances. 

So rather than sort of look at what makes us different, I think 

we need to move towards the common experience, what can we 

learn from that experience and how can we really build a community that is inclusive, that recognizes that we all are part of a larger community. And until I think we have that sort of honest bringing people to the table, I think we will continue to face many of 

the challenges that we face. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. I hope you are right, because I have 

been waiting a long time to see that happen in this country. 

29

With that, Mr. Davis. 

Mr. DAVIS. Thank you. It looks like we are all the health care 

providers today. You are a nurse, I am a respiratory therapist and 

a lot of social workers. We could just about start a clinic today. 

Ms. Wells, thank you again for sharing your very personal testimony. I know sometimes that is not easy to do and I do appreciate 

you doing that for us. Could you talk a little bit about how your 

background and your education came together, and how you used 

those together to provide services in our community and a little bit 

about your personal philosophy of how you actually help families. 

Rev. WELLS. At age 14 years old when I quit school, and that 

was the norm for growing up in my family. Most the women were 

married by the age of 15 years old. But I still had this desire to 

go back to school, even though my mother told me I didn’t need it, 

I was just going to be a wife anyway. So at 18 years old after I 

had been married for 4 years, I went and I took my GED. I had 

to slip off in order to do that and to hide. And when I went in they 

told me that I would not be able to take it that day because I had 

not gone back to school in order to take the GED. But I talked the 

young lady into letting me going in and taking it. And I walked out 

with my paper stated that I had indeed graduated that day. 

I was very proud of that, and that helped me in seeing the needs 

of those that I work with on a daily basis. I work with so many 

that quit school as they are very, very young, and there is no hope 

for them to go back to school. Of course working with our Families 

First in the State of Tennessee, we at Good Samaritan Ministries 

are a site for those coming in. And when they can’t get a job, they 

come in to us for job training and placement. 

So the exciting part is to be able to share my story with them 

on each and every day basis and letting them know that I know 

where they have worked, what journey they are going down and 

that I too can be there as a help for them. But it is an encouragement to know you can escape poverty, which is definitely a killer 

of dreams. 

The young man that worked with me taught me something very 

special. He sat down and he said, barring the fact that you have 

no money and you don’t know anybody, you don’t know where you 

are going in life, if you were to dream today, what is it that you 

would tell me that you would like to do? So that is where we began 

because I also wanted the help field more than anything. And after 

meeting him I wanted to be a social worker. I wanted to be able 

to share with others and hold them and to help them, but also 

bring that wisdom that it is also in our minds and in our hearts 

whether we want to go forward. 

As I told you, it was very difficult for me because every day I 

wanted to escape and I wanted to be able to take my own life even 

at those points. And it is for me that he gave me that hope to allow 

me to dream. So now when you come to my office the very first 

thing is we have a dreaming session. We go back to the very first 

thing that you ever knew that you wanted to be. And then we look 

to see what would it take today for you to be there and what is 

it you would like to do today. 

So I believe in having those dreams and to getting up and going 

on and being strong. That helps me so much in working with those 

30

that are actually the street homeless also. This past year we had 

six that came and had been with us for several years. We lost all 

six of those to death. And on one of those, one of our homeless ladies did something I didn’t know to do. She went to the library and 

typed in and she found his family. She came in and told me their 

phone numbers. So we had a gathering that night and had a funeral. And we had cell phones all over the room and the family was 

able to have closure by being there and hearing how their loved 

one lived and how they grew and were healthy in the end. So there 

was closure for their family. 

That is in my heart, it helps me to know that without a doubt 

that that is very important. I have closure in my life, too. It doesn’t 

bother me at all to talk about my past, not anymore, there is no 

pain and there is no sorrow, because I have been allowed to know 

success, and I just want to share that success with others. 

Mr. DAVIS. Thank you. One of my favorite quotes comes from 

Henry Ford. He said if you think you can or if you think you can’t, 

you are right. That is the type of people we deal with as Members 

of Congress; that is the type of people you deal with in your profession. And I thank each and every one of you for doing that. And 

if you let people know if they have a dream, they can do anything 

they want to in America. 

Just real quickly, Ms. Wells, you talk about you provide an all 

encompassing type of social work. How do you pool the resources 

together to be able to provide these other services, homeless, food, 

education? Just real quickly. 

Rev. WELLS. At Good Samaritan Ministries we have an on-site 

food pantry, we have off-site feeding called the Melting Pot in 

Johnson City, Tennessee. So we are able to come up with a list that 

we can give them about food, and we can help them with food. That 

is never a problem. Our community does very well at feeding its 

poor. 

When we get into the complicated cases such as those like mine, 

it is pulling together our resources. For me it was vocational rehabilitation, it was going back to school. Even though I was told by 

the college and so was my social worker that with my disabilities, 

because I was legally blind for 3 years and was disabled, and they 

felt that my disabilities were much too great in order for me to go. 

So even above those disabilities it was looking at the programs that 

were community and government-based that would be able to work 

hand in hand. 

Our office on a daily basis are gleaning out all of the resources, 

checking to see what the situation is, what do you have to do in 

order to be able to apply for their services. We keep all of their applications there in our office, so they are helped to fill out their applications. We also make their appointments, and if they need an 

advocate that is what we are, we go with them, especially getting 

into housing. 

Like I told you, the woman who really frustrated me the other 

afternoon, this is one of the first times I have felt this frustration 

for us in our community. She was from Nigeria, she spoke very little English. She had five children ages from 4 to 17. Two of the 

boys were ages 4 and 17, so they couldn’t go into the shelter with 

the mother. I called every shelter in the tricities area and they all 

31

told me the very same thing. Then I began what would be the normal thing for the night, I can’t let her sleep on the streets. So I 

called a motel and they refused to allow me to bring her in to the 

motel due to the fact that for her—you are not allowed more than 

three people in a motel. 

So we are still facing a lot of barriers and resources that are 

needed. Family shelters is the one that I realized for our community that we are needing. So now we just work together in finding 

those resources on a daily basis. 

Mr. YARMUTH. Thank you, Madam Chairman. 

I want to thank all the witnesses also for their testimony. 

One of the things that has been very striking to me, as I have 

traveled around my district in Louisville, Kentucky, and visited 

many varying social service agencies and different programs, is 

that you can analyze the value of social work in a variety of ways. 

Certainly we have talked a lot about the compassionate side. Social 

workers do provide comfort and aid to a lot of people in distress, 

as we have heard. 

But I also want to focus for a minute—I am going to sound like 

a Republican here—I want focus a little bit on the economic side. 

Ms. Fuller, you talked about one young man that you helped take 

from a very at-risk, vulnerable position and turned him into a person with a promising future. We have done a lot of work here on 

the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, and we hope that the Senate will get its act together and pass it on their side, as we did. 

One of the things that I found in my hometown, we had a young 

man named Rusty Booker, who testified before this full committee 

some time ago, who was someone who had been in five different 

foster homes, had been homeless and was destined statistically for 

a dependency status. He was going to be a drain on society, there 

is no question about it. 

A similar thing happened to him through the programs that the 

Runaway and Homeless Youth Act funds. Case managers, social 

workers got him the services, the guidance he needed. He is going 

to go off to college this fall as well. 

So my question to you is over the course of a year, how many 

young people do you think that you help move from a position in 

which they are going to be a drain on society and which they are 

likely to be a positive contributor to society? 

Ms. FULLER. I think every youth I serve, they don’t intend—I 

mean, they didn’t grow up wanting to become criminals. I mean, 

sometimes just the circumstances, the impoverished states of the 

family just puts you in a position where it is about survival. But 

most do want to do something different. 

So it is my responsibility to, in any way I can, to find that service 

that meets their needs, because it is a host of programs that we 

can refer them to. But if it is not a good match, if they don’t feel 

comfortable, if they don’t feel like someone is connected to them, 

then they won’t complete. 

So it is about relationships, and it is about engagements. Those 

youth do go on to complete the programs, and most end up in just 

entry-level jobs, but that is a good thing, because we are helping 

them to establish their character, their work ethic, their integrity. 

32

Mr. YARMUTH. I am just trying to get a sense of a cost-benefit 

analysis. If you pay a social worker—I don’t know what the average social worker makes, I know it is not very much. Certainly it 

is probably lower than the average income in the country, I would 

say, not much more—you are smiling. But I am talking about how 

many people during the course of the year, in the same situation 

as that young man you talked about, would you help turn their 

lives around? 

Ms. FULLER. Every one of them if given the opportunity. 

Mr. YARMUTH. Because I think what——

Ms. FULLER. This is about vocational training, because some students are somewhat behind, so by the time they get to 16 and 17, 

there is a lot of catching up to do. So my focus becomes skill-based; 

what is it that you are good at, what can you do, what do you want 

to do, and then taking that skill base and helping them to sort of 

foresee whatever it is that they want to do. 

So for me it is about connecting them to employment assistance 

training programs, job-training programs. In part of that you do 

get that educational piece in terms of their GED, but 16, 17 is 

about being able to have a skill so that you can become employable. 

Mr. YARMUTH. Thank you. 

I want to ask Dr. Bergeron, because you do research, has there 

been any research done on the cost-benefit analysis of money spent 

on social work? 

Ms. BERGERON. Yes, and I certainly could send you some. There 

has not been enough. What we do know is that the earlier we begin 

intervention, the less costly it is, and the more successful we are. 

It is so broad-based. I mean, I am just thinking of your story, and, 

you know, right away I was thinking, research, research. 

You know, whoever decided that in adult education, for somebody 

to get their GED, that they had to return back to school, is that 

a good policy? That is a great research question. We decided not 

to let boys ages 14 and up into shelters. Originally that was decided because of violence issues. But is that a good policy? We need 

research to begin to decide, you know, if we are going to attract 

women to shelters. They are not going to give up their boys any 

more than they are going to give up their little girls. 

So there is a cost benefit. The question really is if you don’t intervene, what is the cost? The cost is huge. Had my son not received services, and had I not had the professional background I 

had, I can tell you right now he probably would not have his driver’s license. He would not be employed. He would not be able to 

communicate very well to people. The cost benefits to society would 

be huge. 

So let me see what I can get to you, because it is an excellent 

question. 

Mr. BAILEY. May I also respond briefly, if that is within the protocol? 

There are some studies, Michael Barth out of a Hartford study 

in 2001, that really looks at the cost-benefit analysis of the role of 

intervention—of prevention versus intervention, which I think is 

part of the question; that clearly it costs more on the back end to 

provide the service than it does to try to remediate the service on 

the front end and prevent the care, long-term care. 

33

We also know, through the National Association of Social Workers, Center for Workforce Studies, as we begin to evaluate the 

value added of social work to the United States, that, indeed, having social workers present reduces more costly episodes in children’s lives. And we can also think about this in terms of the elder 

parent who is at home who, if they can get the geriatric wraparound services, won’t require a nursing home immediately, won’t 

break a hip. So that we know that prevention is always, always the 

way to go rather than waiting for intervention. Intervention is always more costly. 

Yes, social workers are not compensated at that time rate—the average social worker salary is about $26,000 across the United 

States. That does well in some places and not well in most. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. We actually are going to have a second 

round, I just asked some of my colleagues, because I think a lot of 

us have a lot more questions. 

Is anybody on the panel in a time restraint? Great. 

Mr. Davis. 

Mr. DAVIS. Thank you. I am just going to have some very generic 

questions for anybody on the panel that would like to answer. 

The first, how do you protect privacy of your clients, anyone? 

Mr. BAILEY. Part of our code of ethics of the profession is protecting the confidentiality of your client, with the exception of 

suicidality and homicidal threats or tendencies, so that confidentiality is of paramount importance in the field of social work that 

we are—it is part of what is trained into you from the very beginning, that you respect the confidentiality of your clients, with those 

exceptions, if that is the question. 

Mr. DAVIS. Yes. 

Mr. BAILEY. We also are looking at the moves around electronic 

records and particularly around medical records, and are going to 

be looking at and coming up with recommendations from the national association around standards dealing with electronic—with 

electronic records. That is of concern. 

Mr. DAVIS. Anyone else like to answer that? 

Rev. WELLS. I know as far as for our office, when they come in, 

we do it by the HIPAA rules, and we are very, very cautious. If 

someone calls to talk with someone on the telephone, I do not even 

allow anyone in my office to identify that they are present there. 

We will take the name of the person and go and seek, and let 

them know if they are present, they will give them a call back. So 

we will not even make mention that they are in our office for any 

reason. So we go the extra mile to protect their privacy. 

Mr. DAVIS. Thank you. 

Next general question for anybody on the panel. Can you talk to 

me about faith-based initiatives and faith-based programs; are they 

working, not working? Would you like to see them continue? Anyone. 

Rev. WELLS. I think the White House just came out with a new 

research, according to the faith-based funds that have been released and how effective they were, and we were very excited to see 

that the faith-based programs are much more effective due to the 

fact that we are used to already operating on a shoestring. So we 

make those dollars go even tighter and longer than most of the 

34

other agencies can do. It is also because we pay less, and our operations are much lower. 

The faith-based programs themselves are working. The major 

thing for me was this young man, when I came into the program, 

he was working for a ministry, and the fact was he asked me what 

my preferences were, if I had any leaning, you know, towards the 

fact that—and, seeing that I was suicidal in particular, wanting to 

make sure, is there a way for faith-based programs to intervene. 

So he offered; he did not demand. That is one of the greatest 

things for us, coming into my office. It is not a practice that anyone 

has to participate in to receive services, nor to even hear about, but 

the major thing is they are there for the offering. 

But in particular programs such as Celebrate Recovery, in those 

it gives them that faith and be able to go through the recovery at 

the same time. I feel it is one of the greatest programs that ever 

was, that we have been able to have. 

Having to have—you know, being able to give the privilege of 

faith-based programs is greater than just giving them one side, and 

that is very important in our office. 

Mr. DAVIS. Anyone else? 

Mr. BAILEY. Social work comes out of the faith-based community, 

and it is at its genesis. What we know is that especially within the 

Catholic, Protestant, Jewish faith, there has been a tradition 

around social justice, social action, and that there are many years 

of history of faith-based organizations. 

Many of these agencies utilize social workers and are very active 

in their communities. I would like to share with you one group, 

which is Coalition against Religious Discrimination, which is comprised of many long-standing faith-based groups who really are 

looking at ways of working together and including a variety of 

ways of thinking. 

When we talk about diversity, faith is one area, one of the key 

areas, of diversity and the ways in which people can be engaged 

in doing social work, professional social work, but also be connected 

to faith-based organizations, Lutheran Services, Catholic Charities, 

et cetera, wonderful examples of organizations that have done 

amazing work over the years. 

Mr. BIRD. I would just like to just say, since the beginning of 

time, American Indian people have offered prayers for this land 

and for all things and the blessings we have. So this mind, body, 

spirit sort of recognition by everyone is welcome, and it is an important, critical aspect to all of us that we acknowledge the role of 

spirituality and people’s religious sort of traditions, because, in 

fact, there is health and well-being in that. 

Mr. DAVIS. Thank you. 

One last question: High energy costs, what it is doing to your clients? Anybody? High energy costs, high cost of gasoline, high cost 

of heating in the winter, if somebody could just talk to that, and 

that will be my last question. 

Ms. BERGERON. I am sorry, I missed the first part of your question. I didn’t get it all. 

Mr. DAVIS. I think I am out of time. I will come back around if 

the Chairman will give me that opportunity. I will hold my question for now. 

35

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Ms. Shea-Porter. 

Ms. SHEA-PORTER. Thank you. I have had to hold myself back, 

want to jump on that side of the table and talk about this myself. 

Thank you so much for being here. 

First of all, I wanted to say that so often we get a phone call, 

and it will be, well, somebody has to do something about this, and 

social workers are the somebodies that do something about it. So 

I am very proud to identify myself with all of you, and thank you. 

You know, social workers find that little spark of faith and that 

little spark of hope in somebody when other people write them off, 

and it is our job. I will say that, miserably paid, I can remember 

getting a job that required a master’s degree, which I have, and yet 

in a different department within this organization, high-school 

graduates were earning more. So obviously something else motivates people to work like that. It is a love of other people. 

Often, very often, it is also inspired by faith. I have been privileged to work in organizations that didn’t have—they were government organizations, and also I started up a private nonprofit that 

was faith-based, and it was interfaith. And we only set one set of 

rules there, which was that you did not try to convert anybody, and 

you did not discuss that at all; that everybody who came came out 

of need, and we didn’t try to, you know, position ourselves so that 

one had an advantage or tried to proselytize. 

So I think it works very well because we are driven by something, all of us, and whatever the reason is, when we come to the 

table to help each other, that can be a great motivator. Then, 

again, for some it is not. So I think you have to be very careful and 

respectful about that. 

What I wanted to ask all of you was if you had one item on your 

wish list that you wish people knew, or you wished that they would 

give, or they would know, what would it be, because each one of 

us has that one thing that we wish people would know. I would tell 

you what mine is; that if Americans really understood and policymakers really understood that if you provided housing, even if it 

were just a simple room somewhere, you could stabilize people so 

that they could get on with the rest of their business, but that need 

for housing is so essential in order to provide the stability to work 

on everything else. So I give you mine, showed my hand. Would 

you all like to take a stab at it? 

Mr. BAILEY. Mine would be one part with a semicolon, divided 

into two pieces, if I may. 

Ms. SHEA-PORTER. That is a politician for you. 

Mr. BAILEY. I have been called that. 

The first part would be that people have a sense of belonging to 

community, a place of belonging, that that place of connectedness, 

either to one other person or multiple other people, however they 

define that sense of connectedness, helps us to have a wholeness 

and a functionability. 

In that I would also like to have recognized and understand at 

the level of government, both Federal, State and local, the role that 

professional social work plays in helping to maintain healthy communities, that, indeed, people need support and help to be able to 

achieve health and wholeness, and that the social work profession 

is that. 

36

Ms. SHEA-PORTER. Thank you. 

Dr. MAMA. I think my one wish would be education, but education and social work from a very early age. The schools that we 

place students in for social work internships, those that have a 

school-based youth program that includes school social workers as 

well as the usual case study team, have a better program in their 

schools for students, and you find that students make better 

progress when you have got social workers right in the school system, from elementary all the way up through high school. And so 

that will be mine. 

Ms. SHEA-PORTER. Thank you. 

Mr. BIRD. Mine comes from the Southwest in that when you live 

in a region that is dependent, I mean, high desert, and you grow 

your own crops, and oftentimes one very important crop historically 

has been corn, or any other sort of vegetable or something that you 

rely on, well, one of the elements you have to have, metaphorically 

speaking in today’s discussion, is rain. Without rain, you can’t grow 

anything. So we need to be aware of the fact that in order to provide the kind of resources we are discussing today, you have got 

to have a little rain. Without a little rain, nothing grows. 

Ms. SHEA-PORTER. I think I got that, thanks. 

Ms. BERGERON. I think mine would be very creative approaches 

to health care. Right now in New Hampshire, we cannot get dental 

care for children on Medicaid because of the payment system and 

the fact that dentists can’t afford to give dental care to Medicaid 

patients. 

So I think, while we have probably the best medical services in 

the world, we do not have universal access on any level. I mean, 

right now we have Helen’s van in Portsmouth. That is a wonderful 

thing. It is very creative. It drives around to both the towns and 

the cities and the rural areas to try to encourage people to do preventive as well as treatment health care. 

Ms. SHEA-PORTER. Thank you. I think that is a good point. 

Madam Chairman, do you want me to finish the last two? 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Sure. 

Ms. SHEA-PORTER. Reverend Wells. 

Rev. WELLS. I think I would like for all of us to have unconditional respect for one another and to see the value of human life, 

and that helping them is much greater than just helping. 

Ms. SHEA-PORTER. Thank you. 

Ms. Fuller. 

Ms. FULLER. I would like to see everyone with a liveable wage, 

where you didn’t feel the struggle every day. So that is what I 

would like to see. 

Ms. SHEA-PORTER. Thank you. Thank you for the extra time. I 

told you they are great people. Thanks. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Thank you. 

Mr. Bailey, and certainly Ms. Fuller, and to my colleague Mr. 

Yarmuth, maybe because I am a nurse, we always try to look at 

things holistically. When you were talking about cost analysis on 

how many young people you have helped, and how to put a cost 

analysis on your—basically saying we don’t have enough research, 

I will tell that you when my son was seriously hurt and about 4 

months into his rehabilitation, which is only really the beginning 

37

of that, because, of course, it lasted for years, the insurance companies basically turned around and said he wasn’t going to get any 

better, and that they did not feel that it was worth spending the 

extra money so that he could learn how to feed himself. 

Now, I have taken care of a lot of stroke patients in my life, and 

I know that it was a lot of patience and perseverance on the patient and certainly the nurse on just trying to get that patient to 

feed himself if that was the only thing they could do. It changed 

their life tremendously. 

So I don’t know how you could put a cost analysis on something, 

and I mean this with all my heart and soul, because I have tried 

to go to CBO and say, give me a cost analysis if we do prevention. 

They say, we can’t give you a cost analysis because we don’t know. 

But people know, because you see the results. 

I know that we have to do that, because we are the Federal Government, and we need to certainly watch the taxpayers’ money, 

and I believe in that. But I also know that when you are dealing 

with human life, and you are dealing with the family, which all of 

you are doing, you say, I am sorry, you just don’t quite fit into the 

criteria, and we can’t give you any more help. 

When do you cut that off? I haven’t found that spot yet and believe I am very conservative and very thrifty, but there are certain 

things that I think are worth putting a dollar towards to prevent. 

And going back earlier on early education, from the day I first 

got here, if we spent the money that we need to spend on early 

education, preeducation, we wouldn’t have half the problems we 

see in society. What I never understood is even though those young 

children that we help, for some reason, we stop giving those services in junior high. Now, I am old enough to realize what junior 

high was like even back then. Let me tell you, a lot of people got 

into a lot of trouble. Of course, I didn’t, I was very good. 

But with that being said, I mean, how much information do we 

need? 

But I guess the one thing I will say to you for many years as a 

nurse, our pay was really, really bad. And the only difference is 

most of us worked in a nursing home or hospital, so they would set 

salaries. I know that all social workers that I deal with in my different communities, they are getting paid nothing, and I live on 

Long Island. They live on Long Island, and I don’t know how to 

raise your pay, and I think especially with those that are nonprofit, 

they don’t have the money. They are always scrambling for money. 

They will always scramble for money. There is not enough money 

that we could give them to take care of the problems they have. 

The only thing I am thinking, and I wish I had this hearing a 

long time ago, from my nurses and teachers, we actually are giving 

student loan forgiveness, mainly to help them this way: If they stay 

in the profession for 5 years, their loans would be forgiven. So, 

hopefully, that is something that we can look into help for those 

that are going into social work. 

Maybe it is not even too late, although I hear higher education 

is coming on Thursday. I don’t know, I will work on it. With that, 

I just need to say that, because people don’t understand what is 

going on until you have been affected by it. 

38

Unfortunately, the one thing I did want to say, because we are 

dealing with this in Financial Services, Reverend Wells, my committee came up to me and they said, well, we have a problem with 

the housing problem. We have this much money, even though it 

has been bumped up a little bit. We have two different groups that 

take care of people, terrific groups. One takes care of the most desperate, homeless people out there that don’t have a house or anything over their roof. Then we have our families that might be living in a car, or they might be living with a second family, just so 

they get through it. They can’t go to a shelter for exactly the same 

reason you said, because they have two teenage boys. The mother 

is not going to allow the two teen age boys go into the shelter without her being here. 

Here is the dilemma. Each group is trying to open up the wording. Those that are taking care of the homeless don’t want the 

wording to be changed because that will take away their pot of 

funds. Obviously those with families, they want to open up the 

wording, because they want to take care of those families that they 

are taking care of. 

I feel like I am splitting the baby here. That, unfortunately, is 

what we deal with constantly here. I am hoping that through these 

hearings, people actually understand we are just trying to take 

care of each other. 

Mr. Davis. 

Mr. DAVIS. One last question, and I started down this road before. 

One of the biggest issues facing the American family right now 

is the high cost of fuel, gasoline. This winter we are going to go 

into a problem with not having enough supply, and energy costs 

are going to be high. Home-heating costs are going to be high. Tell 

me some stories if it is affecting the people that you care for and 

work with on a day-to-day basis. I open it up to anyone on the 

panel or everyone on the panel. 

Rev. WELLS. Briefly I had a case that came to me, and it was 

two elderly ladies living together. They had been without power for 

5 weeks. By that time it was $689 for me to get their power restored. Because our—there is—another vision of this is the deposits 

in order to have utilities. Our utility deposit is now $200. If their 

power is disconnected, then you have another deposit. And each 

time that it is disconnected, there is another deposit that is added 

on to that. 

So one of the things that I have to come up with is—to be able 

to pay for the utilities is including paying for their new deposits 

in order to get it turned back on; of course, then bringing in services that would help them—especially with these being elderly people, we were able to get several agencies that would come in and 

help undergird their situation so that they could stay in their 

home. 

But we are seeing utility bills, in particular right now, where 

most of the people can’t even come in for gas in order to get food. 

We are actually having to go and deliver the food to the elderly. 

Our elderly are calling our offices on a daily basis and crying because they—just because they get Social Security, they get $10 

worth of food stamps. You and I both know you can’t buy much for 

39

$10. But they are wanting milk and eggs and bread, margarine, the 

simple things of life we look at and take for granted. This is what 

they call asking us. Then we have to take it to them, because there 

is no way for them to be able to have their gas to come in. 

We are also seeing the fact that our young men and women who 

are on Families First program and the struggle they are having 

with gas, with fuel, to be able to get to work. They are already 

working at minimum wage. So when we added these high costs 

now, they are not even able to afford to go to work. If they miss 

work, then they lose their jobs, so we are back to square one. 

You are going to be seeing much greater of this, and you are 

going to be hearing more stories like this, I truly believe this, over 

the next few months to come. 

Mr. BAILEY. You are also going to see the impact and continue 

to see in food banks and other programs the increased cost of food 

that is given out to people who do not have enough food, that that 

cost is also being spread. In Boston, where I live, where we have 

a very, very successful food pantry, food bank program, they already are talking about the increased cost of having food. Also we 

are seeing a reduction in people giving food because they are needing to hold onto it for themselves. 

So we are going to face both challenges in terms of the cost, donations, as well as the rise in energy costs, enormous concerns now 

coming from Boston, which is heavily dependent in terms of old 

housing stock on oil heat. So the cost of oil for many older people, 

many families, will be for them the difference between eating, getting their oil. I just talked to someone the other day who says that 

she is trying to manage to keep a quarter of a tank if she can hold 

onto that and not go below that, but that is all she can afford to 

do. She is afraid because she knows the cost is going to go up even 

to just keep that quarter of a tank and how is she going to get 

through the winter. 

Mr. BIRD. Also I think the case—I think it is very much the case 

for rural and reservation communities where people have to travel 

large distances to buy gas, to buy groceries and to just conduct 

their business. They are not—they can’t rely on public—any sort of 

public transportation systems that urban areas have, so I think it 

is sort of a unique issue. 

Ms. BERGERON. Yes. I would agree with everything that has been 

said. And, in addition, you know, States like New Hampshire, we 

have such poor structure, public transportation, that you are not 

only talking about the cost of gas, they are talking about the cost 

of a vehicle, if you really wish to employ people and have them 

working in areas that may earn them money. 

Mr. BAILEY. I would also add one other comment that very often 

people think about when they are thinking about older people, and 

they are saying, well, we are going to raise the bus fare, but you 

seniors get a discount. If you have ever worked with older adults 

who talk about what that difference of a dime or when something 

goes up a quarter when they are on fixed income, and the anxiety 

that that creates when it speaks to reducing their activities of daily 

living, that what for some of us seems minimal for other people is 

catastrophic. 

40

We really have to look at the context in the which these activities 

and changes occur. For some people something that appears very 

negligible, for someone else is a life-and-death catastrophic issue 

and has a catastrophic impact. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Mr. Yarmuth. 

Mr. YARMUTH. Thank you, Madam Chairman. 

I want to follow up on something that you began, and this is the 

question of education and early childhood development. David 

Brooks had a fascinating column this morning in the New York 

Times, I hope everybody reads it, that talked about the real challenge to American revival as an economic power. 

He talked about—he made the statement in the column that 

boosting educational attainment at the bottom is more promising 

than trying to reorganize the global economy. His point was that 

what we have seen over the last 30-something years in this country 

is actually a decline in educational attainment, largely attributable 

to the fact that we have so many at-risk families where children, 

in their very early years, before they are 5 years old, are not developing the social skills, the confidence levels, the nurturing that 

many others do. Actually, because of this, this contributes to dropout rates and so forth. We know we have a horrible problem with 

drop-out rates throughout the country. 

My question, after that long introduction, is what role do social 

workers have to play in trying to correct or—and I know, Reverend 

Wells, this sounds like something that was your personal situation—in trying to balance, if you will, the early childhood development of at-risk families? As a corollary question, is there anyone 

else who can do that? 

Rev. WELLS. I think in particular for my situation and in growing up is that I was never encouraged to go to school because it 

was already cut out that—you know, that I was going to be a wife 

and a mother and nothing else. That was to be my role. That was 

something to be very proud of. That was—not to put that down, 

that was an important role for us to play. 

But I think the schoolteachers—and they are another one who 

steps in—the schoolteachers I had encouraged me and kept me 

going. At that time there was no such thing as social work in the 

field of education, but my schoolteachers kept me going and dreaming and desiring and believing in myself that there was something 

else that I could do. 

Now, being able to have social workers that specialize in the testing and development and being able to work with the children at 

risk are very important. Also the agencies that work with children, 

as we have at home, Coalition for Kids and Boys to Men, these are 

mentoring programs to keep the children going forward instead of 

stopping and giving up. 

We have such a hopelessness among our at-risk families because 

it is multigenerational, as we all know. You are fighting—I have 

them coming into my office, well, we filed for Social Security today. 

This is a thrill, this is an excitement, you know, we finally got to 

the point where we can file for Social Security on our own and be 

able to be supported by the government. They are not looking to 

see what can I do for my government in order to help support others. 

41

So it is the mentality all the way around, and that is why the 

social worker is so important, I believe, this day and time, is to be 

able to help them to keep dreaming and go forward. 

Ms. BERGERON. I think social work also will come up with some 

innovative programs. At the University of New Hampshire, social 

work, along with the other disciplines in the College of Health and 

Human Services, has started an early intervention assessment program that includes physical therapy, occupational therapy, psychosocial assessment, speech therapy, and developmental profiling. 

This is made free to anyone who, you know, can get there. 

We are still trying to fine-tune it, we are trying to broaden the 

scope of it. We partnered with Dartmouth College. It has been a 

wonderful program that has helped the schools. We provide consultation to schools in order to help them learn how to deal with 

the multitude of diagnoses that they are getting. 

Let me just insert here, we tend to talk about the needs of developmental disabled children, but we also need to think about—and 

I think social work is just beginning to get into this area—the gifted child that gets lost in the educational system, and we can’t afford to lose those children. 

Mr. BIRD. I would just like to mention that, you know, we have 

programs that have clearly demonstrated their effectiveness 

through research, and Head Start is clearly one of them. So we 

have models already in place. 

I think that we also, in the research, have a knowledge and understanding of what goes into creating or recognizing the resilience 

of children coming out of dire circumstances. We know what it 

takes to intervene. 

One of the critical pieces that has been mentioned today is the 

ability to create a positive relationship with someone or people over 

time, whether it be a grandparent, a teacher or other sort of people 

that are there for that child when they are in crisis or to provide 

support. 

The other thing I wanted to mention was that, getting back to 

your question, I think there has been some research about incarceration, and that there has been some research, and I am sure we 

can find that data or the study, that, as I recall, given what we are 

paying to incarcerate people per capita, that we could almost send 

them all to Ivy League schools. 

One of the realities and—personally speaking, one of the realities 

when I was growing up was the low expectation that people—some 

teachers, not everyone—and some people placed upon Indian students and expecting that they would not achieve, could not achieve, 

and were not capable of higher education, were not capable of having a dream, and that reality is still out there for many in this 

country, that there is a low expectation. They don’t expect many of 

us to achieve. They don’t expect us to be productive. They don’t expect us to be president of the American Public Health Association. 

They don’t expect those sorts of things. Consequently, that is what 

they get. They don’t—and those children are marked, and their 

dreams end and are dashed, and we all lose out on a very valuable 

resource to this Nation. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. I want to thank everybody for the testimony that you have put forth, and certainly with your answers. 

42

Mr. Bird, it wasn’t that many years ago that they said the same 

thing about Irish, the Polish, the German. So a lot of people kind 

of forget their ancestry. 

I know when I first came on this committee and started visiting 

schools on Mondays, and people will say our children can’t learn. 

Our children can learn if we give them the opportunity, and that 

is proven. We already have the statistics on that. 

But with that being said, again, I thank you all for your information, anything that you feel that this committee should have, and 

the only thing I would ask you to think about, you know, is what 

can we in Congress do. Obviously, because you are so diversified, 

the pay scale is going to be totally different. Those for nonprofits 

are going to be there because that is where they want to be, and 

the pay, unfortunately, is going to be low. Those who are in Civil 

Service and other areas will have better pay. Those that are teaching, you know, you will be where salaries are going to be different. 

So you are all over the place, and I don’t even know how to address 

that, to be very honest with you. 

I will try to do what I can do on student loan forgiveness. That 

is someplace where you can go. This way we can hopefully educate 

our young people to go into a field that they can actually help an 

awful lot of people. 

With that, I am not going to read my closing statement. I think 

we are all on the same page on what we want to do. 

As previously ordered, Members will have 14 days to submit additional materials to the hearing. Any Member who wishes to submit follow-up questions in writing to the witnesses should coordinate with the Majority staff within the requested time. 

[The statement of Mr. Altmire follows:]

Prepared Statement of Hon. Jason Altmire, a Representative in Congress 

From the State of Pennsylvania 

Thank you, Chairwoman McCarthy, for holding this important hearing on the 

state of social work in America. 

I look forward to learning more about the social work profession today from our 

esteemed panel of witnesses. Social work is one career that the Bureau of Labor 

Statistics estimates will grow faster than average. Some fields of social work are 

anticipated to grow by as much as 30 percent by 2016. Social workers perform a 

great service in our communities, providing our children, families and seniors with 

guidance and education. 

Social workers often face difficult and challenging work, and I appreciate all that 

they do to help members of our communities. I look forward to today’s testimony 

and I would like to thank the witnesses for lending us their time today. 

Thank you again, Chairwoman McCarthy, for holding this hearing. I yield back 

the balance of my time. 

[Additional submissions for the record by Mrs. McCarthy follow:]

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SOCIAL WORKERS, 

Washington, DC, August 14, 2008. 

Hon. CAROLYN MCCARTHY, Chairwoman, 

Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities, U.S. House of Representatives, 

Washington, DC. 

DEAR CHAIRWOMAN MCCARTHY: On behalf of the National Association of Social 

Workers (NASW), I would like to thank you for the important role you played in 

the Subcommittee hearing on July 29, ‘‘Caring for the Vulnerable: The State of Social Work in America.’’ Congressman Yarmuth had several questions regarding the 

cost effectiveness of social work interventions, and I would like to clarify a few 

points and provide some additional materials. 

43

Research has proven that social work is necessary to solve the seemingly intractable societal problems we are facing. For instance, professional social workers are 

more likely to find permanent homes for children who were in foster care for two 

or more years. Yet, fewer than 40 percent of child welfare workers are professional 

social workers. Professional social workers not only have a positive impact on the 

over 500,000 children in the U.S. foster care system but provide significant cost saving services. Child welfare agencies that hire social work staff also have lower turnover than those that do not. Likewise, the Child Welfare League of America determined that targeted case management ‘‘enhances the child’s condition and/or reduces the likelihood that more intensive, more expensive Medicaid covered services 

will be needed in the future.’’ Social workers play an important role in social services and psychosocial care that leads to increased successful outcomes in a variety 

of fields. 

Studies of the cost effectiveness of social work are still a burgeoning area of research, yet Rizzo and Rowe note that, ‘‘it provides convincing empirical evidence 

that social work services can have a positive and significant impact on quality of 

life and health care costs and use for aging individuals.’’ Research has been done 

on the cost effectiveness and efficacy of social work practice with various populations, including caregivers of the elderly, elders receiving geriatric evaluation and 

management, those in poverty with individual development accounts, substance 

abusers, stroke patients, and aging individuals receiving social work services. Research on Social Work Practice published a full issue in 2006 dedicated to these 

issues, which we will deliver to you as soon as possible. 

Again, thank you for the important role you played in the July 29 hearing and 

we look forward to working together to strengthen our families and communities. 

Sincerely, 

ELIZABETH J. CLARK, PH.D., ACSW, MPH, 

Executive Director. 

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[Additional submissions for the record by Ms. Shea-Porter follow:]

CLINICAL SOCIAL WORK ASSOCIATION, 

Seattle, WA, July 28, 2008. 

Hon. CAROLYN MCCARTHY, Chairwoman, 

Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities, U.S. House of Representatives, 

Washington, DC. 

DEAR CHAIRWOMAN MCCARTHY: Thank you so much for the opportunity to provide 

information to the Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities on the current state of social work in America. The Clinical Social Work Association is pleased 

to offer the clinical social work perspective on this important topic. Clinical social 

work, an important subspecialty of social work, is one of the major providers of mental health treatment for families, especially in assisting families with the care of 

children and the elderly. Licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs), called licensed 


tose-12.eps
80

independent clinical social workers (LICSWs) in some states, are the largest group 

of mental health professionals, providing services for mental health and chemical 

dependency disorders to all strata of society. 

There are approximately 175,000-200,000 licensed clinical social workers across 

the country (ASWB, 2007), by far the single largest group of mental health clinicians (SAMHSA, 2001). Licensed clinical social workers have at least a Master’s degree plus 2-3 years of supervised post-graduate training or roughly the same clinical 

training and experience as psychologists. The concept of biopsychosocial assessment, 

so crucial to understanding and treating mental health and chemical dependency 

disorders, was also an outgrowth of basic clinical social work concepts (Simpson, G., 

Segall, A., and Williams, J., ‘‘Social Work Education and Clinical Learning,’’ Clinical 

Social Work Journal, March, 2007.) The clinical social worker’s scope of practice includes diagnosis of mental health and chemical dependency disorders and provision 

of clinical treatment for these disorders, popularly known as ‘‘psychotherapy’’, ‘‘talk 

therapy’’, or ‘‘counseling’’. In addition, clinical social workers assist with problems 

in social functioning within a ‘‘person in environment’’. (Karls, J. and Wandrei, 

K.,1994, Person-in-Environment System: The PIE Classification System for Social 

Functioning Problems, NASW Publishing.) 

According to a Consumer Reports survey of over 3000 participants who received 

help with emotional and chemical dependency disorders, ‘‘Talk therapy rivaled drug 

therapy in effectiveness. Respondents who said their therapy was ‘mostly talk’ and 

lasted at least 13 sessions had better outcomes than those whose therapy was ‘mostly medication.’ Therapy delivered by psychologists and clinical social workers was 

perceived as effective as that given by psychiatrists.’’ (Consumer Reports, ‘‘Drugs vs. 

Talk Therapy,’’ October, 2004.) 

The CSWA membership can attest that LCSWs are providing talk therapy that 

works in a variety of modalities, i.e., to individuals, couples, families, in several different settings, i.e., offices, schools, hospitals, and skilled nursing facilities, among 

others. The capability and skills of clinical social workers to provide a wide array 

of services in a variety of settings is partly due to the training that all social workers receive in understanding internal and external systems. In rural areas, clinical 

social workers are often the only mental health providers available. Fortunately, 

most insurers, including Medicare and TriCare, accept LCSWs as reimbursable providers for mental health treatment. 

The most difficult areas of social work practice are those where abuse is reported, 

which often include the vulnerable populations of children, the elderly, and/or the 

disabled. Domestic violence and addictions also generally contain multi-faceted difficulties. These situations, which include harm to self or others, are the most complex and most challenging to resolve, both in terms of impaired social functioning 

and mental health disorders. Licensed clinical social workers could be a valuable resource in the biopsychosocial assessment and treatment of these situations, but 

often this work is being conducted by caseworkers who have little or no social work 

education and experience, even though they are frequently called social workers. 

Cases where abuse may be present should receive services from the most experienced well-trained licensed clinical social workers, in manageable caseloads, with a 

funding that is commensurate with the difficulty of this work, in the opinion of 

CSWA. Improving the standards of education and supervision for those who work 

with the abused and their families in public and private agencies, and specifically 

including clinical social workers in these jobs, would save lives, reduce harm, and 

cut down on anti-social behavior which can cause people to spiral into the corrections system. 

In addition to cases which include abuse, there are three areas of practice which 

require more biopsychosocial assessment and psychotherapy. These areas are working with the elderly, children, and active military personnel/veterans. The services 

clinical social workers can provide in these areas are as follows: 

• Working with the elderly involves understanding family dynamics and the impact of the aging process on individuals, their families, and their communities. Clinical social workers are trained to intervene effectively these areas. 

• CSWA has a strong concern about the kinds of services being offered to children 

and adolescents with emotional disturbance. There is an increasing emphasis on 

medication alone, not talk therapy, to control behavioral problems in children. Children and adolescents who learn to identify their feelings and put them into words, 

as well as to engage others to help them function more effectively, are more likely 

to become adults who are able to avoid behavior that is hurtful or harmful to themselves or others. LCSWs are the trained professionals who, in many cases, help children who have not been able to manage their feelings find better ways to manage 

them. 

81

• The problems faced by veterans themselves, including traumatic brain injuries, 

are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to addressing the myriad problems caused 

by the impact of deployment on the spouses, children, and other family members 

of those who have served their country in the military. The levels of domestic violence, emotional disturbance, and addiction disorders involving spouses, children 

and extended family of current or discharged members of the military are far above 

the national average (Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Overview for Practitioners, 2008, http://www.centerforthestudyoftraumaticstress.org/downloads/

CSTS%20Helping%20Service%20Members%20for%20Providers.pdf). Licensed clinical 

social workers are qualified to provide the crucial services to treat these serious 

problems. As H.R. 5447 states, the need for clinical social workers to provide services in these critical areas is increasing, and there is an anticipated shortage of clinical social workers to serve these populations. 

In addition to these crucial areas, there hundreds of thousands of clinical social 

workers providing effective psychotherapy and improved social functioning to our 

citizens at all economic levels and in a variety of settings, a major part of our mental health and social service delivery system. 

CSWA is proud to help clarify the role of clinical social workers as the mental 

health professionals who treat problems in emotional and social functioning. We appreciate the efforts of the Subcommittee to understand the many ways that social 

workers contribute to our country’s well-being and CSWA would be happy to assist 

your sub-committee further. 

Sincerely, 

KEVIN HOST, President, 

Clinical Social Work Association. 

The NASW Code of Ethics and State Licensing Laws

By SHERRI MORGAN, JD, MSW, NASW (c) June 2007

Development of the NASW Code of Ethics and Legal Regulations 

The first formal code of ethics adopted by social workers was published in 1947 

by the American Association of Social Workers (Reamer, 2006). Almost fifteen years 

later, in 1960, the National Association of Social Workers published its first Code 

of Ethics. It has evolved and been revised several times since then, in 1979, 1996 

and 1999. 

During the 1960s only seven states had passed some form of credentialing statutes for social workers (Biggerstaff, 1995). This number doubled in the 1970s, increased in the 1980s, and by the early 1990s some form of licensing, registration 

or certification for social workers was required in all states and the District of Columbia (Biggerstaff, 1995). 

As the profession of social work evolved and gained statutory recognition among 

the states, the NASW Code of Ethics was used as a primary source for national ethics standards. In states where there was no regulation, the NASW Code of Ethics 

set the standard for ethical social work practice. Thus, until the last decade of the 

20th century, state licensing did not cover all of the states, and the NASW Code 

of Ethics filled a critical role, unmet by other forms of professional governance. 

As states developed rules of conduct for the discipline of social work licensees, 

they often relied on the standards of the NASW Code of Ethics as a guideline for 

acceptable professional behavior. NASW also promoted the creation of state social 

work licensing and regulation, publishing a model licensing law in 1970 (Models for 

licensing, registration, 1970). The relationship between professional association 

standards and the development of state-by-state regulation has necessarily been, 

and continues to be, an interactive one. 

As the federal government has increasingly played a role in standardizing the privacy and security of client treatment records, the Department of Health and Human 

Services (HHS) has acknowledged the unique role of professional ethics standards. 

In its preamble to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) 

privacy standards, HHS stated, ‘‘We expect and encourage covered entities to exercise their judgment and professional ethics in using and disclosing health information, and to continue any current practices that provide privacy protections greater 

than those mandated in this regulation.’’ (Standards for Privacy of Individually 

Identifiable Health Information, 2000). Although the current HIPAA privacy standards defer to more stringent state laws regarding disclosure of confidential client information, the need for uniform national standards is emerging as a critical and 

controversial issue in the development of electronic medical information systems. 

Traditional standards for the protection of client information that are common to 

82

both the NASW Code of Ethics and social work licensing boards’ codes of misconduct 

may be vulnerable to erosion from new data transfer standards. 

Rationale for Incorporating the NASW Code of Ethics into State Law 

Current legal research indicates that almost half the states are relying on the 

NASW Code of Ethics for some portion of the state’s regulation of the social work 

profession. The use of the NASW Code in state social work licensing laws or regulations serves a number of purposes. Reference to a national standard for professional 

conduct in state law or regulation provides a touchstone to enhance local and regional recognition of social work as a profession. Since social workers in a particular 

state may come from many locations and out-of-state schools, incorporation of the 

NASW Code serves to reinforce the common underpinnings of professional social 

work values, education, and training, regardless of social workers’ geographic backgrounds. 

The NASW Code of Ethics is the longest-standing and most consistently developed 

set of standards that have been part of the social work professional culture for 

longer than any state law. Inclusion of the NASW Code of Ethics creates a uniform 

standard for all social workers subject to the state standard. Thus, NASW members 

and social worker non-members are all on notice that they need to understand and 

comply with national standards and to consider how to integrate the high standards 

of the NASW Code with other state and workplace requirements. 

The NASW Code was developed by social workers for the social work profession 

with the interests of the public in mind. For states with composite or ‘‘multi-disciplinary’’ licensing boards, inclusion of the NASW Code of Ethics assists licensing board 

members to clarify the unique standards applied to social work licensees. Inclusion 

of the NASW Code in specific practice areas also assists in the recognition of social 

workers’ unique role among other professionals, such as in the school setting, hospice or specialty clinics. 

Social Work Licensing Boards’ Treatment of the NASW Code of Ethics 

Twenty-two states explicitly incorporate the NASW Code of Ethics into some portion of state law. In most of these states the NASW Code is referenced, incorporated 

or adopted as part of the state social work disciplinary standards. However, there 

are other applications as well. Interestingly, South Dakota makes the greatest number of multiple uses of the NASW Code of Ethics among all the states. South Dakota 

includes the NASW Code in both statute and regulation and relies on two separate 

versions of the Code, uses it in the definition of practice, as a rule of conduct, and 

requires a statement of adherence to the Code’s principles for licensees and supervisors. 

The NASW Code of Ethics in state social work law is used in several ways, including: • As part of the definition of social work practice • As a rule of conduct 

• As a curriculum requirement for social work students 

• As part of the continuing education requirement. 

Clinical Social Work Definition 

Rhode Island includes adherence to ‘‘the principles and values contained in the 

NASW Code of Ethics,’’ as part of its definition of clinical social work practice, rather than as an explicit standard of misconduct. Thus, in that state only ethical practice falls within the scope of practice. Code R.I. R. § 15 050 001. South Dakota has 

a similar provision, S.D. Codified Laws Ann. § 36-26-45; however, it also includes 

the NASW Code of Ethics as a standard for evaluating misconduct, § 36-26-32. Minnesota includes the NASW Code of Ethics standards in its definition of ‘‘professional 

social work knowledge, skills, and values.’’ Minn.Stat.Ann. § 148D.010. 

School Social Work Only 

California and Washington limit their application of the NASW Code of Ethics to 

school social workers. In California, the knowledge requirements for the specialization in School Social Work, include knowledge of the NASW Code of Ethics, and of 

the NASW Standards for Social Work Practice in the schools, and the joint policy 

statement of NASW and the National Education Association. It also includes the 

skill of applying the NASW Code of Ethics to school-site situations. Cal. Admin. 

Code tit. 5 § 80632.3. 

The state of Washington requires school social work candidates to complete 

courses and/or receive experience where they will gain knowledge in relevant field 

of study including the NASW Code of Ethics and school social work guidelines for 

practice. Thus, the NASW Code of Ethics is used as a curriculum requirement, rather than as a standard for determining misconduct. Wash. Admin. Code 180-78A-270. 

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Hospital and Hospice Social Work Only 

The Connecticut Public Health Code, applicable to hospitals and hospice, requires 

a written social work service plan with policies that incorporate ‘‘the current standards, guidelines, and code of ethics determined by the National Association of Social 

Workers.’’ This provision helps to protect hospital and hospice social workers from 

ethical conflicts, as it provides leverage for social workers in those settings to advocate for ethical practice as a legal requirement. Public Health Code 2000, 19-13-D4b. 

Composite Licensing Boards 

The Wyoming board includes several mental health professions and adopted by 

reference the ethics and professional standards of several different professional organizations. For three levels of social work licensees the NASW Code of Ethics is 

incorporated into the rules as an appendix as ‘‘additional guidelines to ethical standards.’’ Mental Health Profession Board, Rules, Ch. 11 (Professional Responsibility). 

Mississippi has incorporated the standards of both the NASW Code of Ethics and 

the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, and does not distinguish between the professions as to whether to adhere to both sets of standards and 

only the one applicable to the specific profession. C. Miss. R. § 50 032 001. 

The New Hampshire board licenses five mental health professions and requires 

licensees to adhere only to that set of ethical principles adopted by their professional 

association. The specific associations are listed. N.H. Code Admin. R. Psy. 501.02 

(1993). 

Ohio subscribes to both the code of ethics promulgated by NASW as well as the 

American Counseling Association, and does not distinguish that these shall apply 

to the professions separately, although a common sense interpretation would suggest that they should. Ohio Rev. Code § 4757-5-01 (1997). 

Separate Code of Conduct Established and Inclusion of the NASW Code 

Tennessee requires licensed social workers to conform to ‘‘professional standards 

promulgated by the board under its current statutes and rules and regulations,’’ and 

adopts in its entirety the NASW Code of Ethics as well. Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 

365-1-.13 (Unethical Conduct). Ohio and Oklahoma are similar. Ohio specifies that 

if there is a conflict between the board’s rules and that of the professional association, the board’s rules shall prevail. 

Judicial Application of the NASW Code of Ethics 

At least 30 reported cases in state and federal courts across the country refer to 

the NASW Code of Ethics. Some of these represent groundbreaking precedents, such 

as the creation of a federal psychotherapist-patient privilege by the U.S. Supreme 

Court in Jaffee v. Redmond, while others illustrate the common usage of the NASW 

Code in a variety of matters. These tend to fall within four broad categories: 

• appeals of social work board licensure or disciplinary decisions, 

• malpractice or personal injury complaints filed by former clients against the social worker, supervisor, or agency, 

• employment cases involving social workers, and 

• cases involving social work clients where the social worker is called as a witness 

or records custodian. 

Practicing social workers and social work educators should be aware of how the 

NASW Code has been interpreted and applied by the courts in the state where they 

are practicing. The summary of cases provided as an Appendix provides a resource 

for social workers seeking such information. 

Conclusions and Implications for the Future 

The NASW Code of Ethics relies on principles and values as a basis for relationships between social workers and their clients and other professionals. It is broader, 

more universally accepted, and more well understood that the various social worker 

conduct codes among the fifty states. Almost half the states have relied on its provisions in some form for regulating social worker conduct. These uses of the NASW 

Code include definitions of social work practice, continuing education requirements, 

curriculum requirements, disciplinary standards, and affirmative statements of adherence to the Code as requirements for licensure. 

State and federal courts have relied on the standards of the NASW Code of Ethics 

regardless of whether they are sitting in a jurisdiction that has incorporated the 

NASW Code into state law. The extent to which courts find the NASW Code of Ethics to be a controlling authority varies. The collected opinions referencing the NASW 

Code of Ethics indicate that courts are sensitive to the contours of professional social work ethics, and generally display the ability to review the NASW Code of Ethics in an effective manner and apply it to a wide variety of cases. 

84

The incorporation of the NASW Code of Ethics as a disciplinary standard by state 

licensing boards raises important questions as to how the Code should be interpreted and by whom. The NASW Professional Review Process affords the opportunity for volunteer NASW leaders to interpret and apply the NASW Code of Ethics. 

As the organization that created the NASW Code, this is most appropriate. When 

used for Professional Review purposes, the NASW Code functions as a self-policing 

set of principles and standards for the profession, to avoid harm to the public, and 

to provide social workers the opportunity to improve their practice and professional 

relationships. 

In states that have adopted the standards of the NASW Code of Ethics into state 

disciplinary laws, a finding by NASW of a violation of the NASW Code of Ethics, 

if reported to the state social work board, should trigger a review of the social worker’s conduct by the state authority. More information as to the degree of concurrence 

by state boards with NASW Professional Review findings would be useful for future 

analysis. 

In other situations, state social work boards are in the position of interpreting and 

applying the NASW Code of Ethics without the benefit of a prior finding by NASW. 

In some instances, social work boards may have little guidance as to the accepted 

contours of the NASW Code, especially for non-social worker members of a board. 

The broad principles stated in the Code may seem too vague for a concise application to the matter at hand or conflicts between provisions of the Code may create 

a confusing array of alternatives. Some state boards address this by requiring expert social worker testimony as to the ethical standard of care. 

As Congress and the Executive agencies continue to carve out health privacy as 

the province of the federal government, rather than the states, conflicts with the 

NASW Code of Ethics are likely to increase. State boards can anticipate that state 

and federal legislatures and agencies will be involved in efforts to streamline the 

flow of health information and that these efforts may involve changes in traditional 

arenas of state regulatory power, in areas such as confidentiality and privilege for 

mental health records. 

In many ways, future applications of the NASW Code of Ethics could be guided 

by forces and authorities external to NASW. It is important to identify ways in 

which the principles of the NASW Code of Ethics will continue to influence those 

external processes in order to retain the core values of the profession. 

REFERENCES

Biggerstaff, Marilyn A. (1995). Licensing, regulation, and certification. In R.L. Edwards (Ed.-in-Chief), Encyclopedia of social work (19th ed., Vol. 2, p.1618). 

Washington, DC: NASW Press. 

Models for licensing, registration (May 1970). NASW NEWS (Vol. 14, No. 4). National Association of Social Workers. 

Reamer, Frederic G. (2006). Ethical standards in social work 2. Washington, DC: 

NASW Press. 

Standards for privacy of individually identifiable health information (2000). 65 

Fed.Reg. 82462, *82680, 2000 WL 1875566 (to be codified at 45 CFR § 160 and 

164). 

Appendix: Court Decisions Referencing the NASW Code of Ethics 

Readers should note that decisions listed as ‘‘Not Reported’’ do not have precedent-setting value in other cases. They are presented for purposes of illustration 

only. 

Malpractice or Personal Injury Complaints 

Carroll v. Casey Family Services, 32 Conn. L. Rptr. 297 (2002) (unpublished opinion) (Connecticut). 

Cosgrove v. Lawrence, 214 N.J.Super. 670, 520 A.2d 844 (1986), affirmed, 215 

N.J.Super. 561 (1987) (New Jersey). 

Doe v. Samaritan Counseling Center, 791 P.2d 344 (1990) (Alaska). 

Eckhardt v. Charter Hosp. of Albuquerque, Inc., 124 N.M. 549, 953 P.2d 722 (1997) 

(New Mexico). 

Homer v. Long, 599 A.2d (1992) (Maryland). 

Horak v. Biris, 474 N.E.2d 13 (1985) (Illinois). 

Kara B. v. Dane County, Mikela R. v. Dane County, 542 N.W.2d 777 (1995) (Wisconsin). 

Martino v. Family Service Agency of Adams County, 445 N.E.2d 6 (1983) (Illinois). 

Roe v. Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, 588 N.E.2d 354 

(1992) (Illinois). 

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Social Worker as a Witness or Custodian of Records 

In re: Grand Jury Subpoena, 748 A.2d 821 (2000) (Rhode Island). 

Jaffee v. Redmond, 518 U.S. 1 (1996) (Illinois). 

Kinsella v. Kinsella, 150 N.J. 276, 696 A.2d 556 (1997) (New Jersey). 

People v. R.R., 12 Misc.3d 161 (2005) (New York). 

Social Work Licensure Board Cases 

Andrews v. Board of Social Worker Licensure, Not Reported in A.2d, 2005 WL 

3338880 (2005) (Maine). 

Connolly v. State, Not Reported in A.2d, 2003 WL 21387189 (2003) (Maine). 

Heinmiller v. Dep’t of Health, 903 P.2d 433 (1996) (Washington). 

Prinz v. State Counselor and Social Worker Bd., 2000 WL 43707, Ohio App. 1 Dist. 

(2000) (Ohio). 

Penny v. Wyoming Mental Health Professions Licensing Board, 120 P.3d 152 (2005) 

(Wyoming). 

Zegel v. Board of Social Worker Licensure, 843 A.2d 18 (2004) (Maine). 

Employment Law Cases 

Birthisel v. Tri-Cities Health Services Corp., 424 S.E.2d 606 (1992) (West Virginia). 

Enright v. Special Adoption Family Services, Inc., 52 Mass.App.Ct. 1102, 750 N.E.2d 

34 (Table) Mass.App.Ct. (2001) (unpublished opinion) (Massachusetts). 

Greenberg v. Kmetko, 922 F.2d 382 (1991) (Illinois). 

Harnett v. Ulett, 466 F.2d 113 (1972) (Missouri). 

Kelly v. City of Meriden, 120 F.Supp2d 191 (2000) (Connecticut). 

Lown v. Salvation Army, Inc., 393 F.Supp.2d 223 (2005) (New York). 

NASW’s Professional Review Process 

Quinones v. NASW, Not Reported in F.Supp.2d, 2000 WL 744146 (2000) (New 

York). 

Probate of a Will 

Heinrich v. Silvernail, 500 N.E.2d 835 (1987) (Massachusetts).

DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this document is provided as a service to members and the social work community for educational and information purposes only and does 

not constitute legal advice. We provide timely information, but we make no claims, promises 

or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained in 

this message or linked to the NASW Web site and its associated sites. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship 

between NASW, LDF, or the author(s) and you. NASW members and online readers should not 

act based solely on the information provided by the LDF. Laws and court interpretations change 

frequently. Legal advice must be tailored to the specific facts and circumstances of a particular 

case. Nothing reported herein should be used as a substitute for the advice of competent counsel. 


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Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Without objection, this hearing is adjourned. 

With that, I would like to say thank you to Mr. Davis for being 

here with us. We appreciate his inputs. I thank you again, each 

and every one of you. 

We are adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 4:40 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]

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