Crisitello was an elementary school art teacher who was terminated by her employer, a Catholic elementary school, after she became pregnant while unmarried.

The school argued that despite Cristello’s actual job duties as an art teacher, the “ministerial exception” to workplace civil rights laws under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination applied.

Cristello did not teach religion or religious texts or counsel her students in prayer or other religious activities. In the amicus brief, NASW argued the Catholic school’s application of the ministerial exception was overbroad and would provide a roadmap for the more than 600 New Jersey schools with religious affiliations to evade workplace civil rights laws.

The New Jersey Supreme Court on August 14, 2023 issued a decision agreeing with the Catholic school and upholding the religious tenets exception to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. This expansion of the ministerial exception risks threatening the civil rights of thousands of New Jersey employees.

NASW advocates for effective enforcement of anti-discrimination laws and regulations that prohibit discrimination in the workplace.

Women, people of color, older workers, workers with disabilities, LGBTQ workers, immigrant workers, and those with multiple and intertwining identities, continue to face employment discrimination at alarming rates, despite decades of civil rights protections.

Any curtailing of these protections severely harms these communities. It was our hope that the court would understand that these groups would be at risk for further discrimination in the workplace through this unwarranted expansion of the ministerial exception. 

The purpose of this bill is to repeal and do away with licensure for social workers and many other professions in South Carolina. We fought so hard for licensure in this state and will not allow it to be taken away.

Licensed social workers, like other mental health and health care providers, are regulated professionals who require a vigorous education, ongoing professional training, and adherence to a strict NASW Code of Ethics.

Social workers offer specifically guided health care and community support services that require expertise, professional competencies, and constant ethical vigilance.

Repealing our licensure would allow anyone to call themselves a social worker. This impacts our ability to be fairly compensated for our services and endangers clients who might seek help from unqualified and untrained individuals.

This bill is dangerous to our profession and to the people who count on us. H3515 is now in the House Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee.

Our job now is to take action! Call your representative today and demand they Vote NO on H3515. To find your representative go to the South Carolina Legislature website.

We cannot and will not rest until this bill is stopped! If you are interested in other way to combat this bill, contact the South Carolina chapter office.

In the October 2022 issue of the journal Social Work, co-published by NASW and Oxford University Press, an article titled “Social Work Licensure Portability: A Necessity in a Post-COVID-19 World”. This article, the first written on licensure portability in the social work scholarly literature, examines existing licensure portability models and supports the establishment of a social work interstate compact to overcome barriers to social work mobility and access to client care.

The author writes:

The pandemic created a new practice landscape characterized by telehealth and geographically dispersed clients. The social work profession must be able to operate efficiently and effectively in this environment. Change in social work regulation was already needed, and business as usual is no longer acceptable. Proceeding forward on the licensure portability continuum toward mutual recognition is no longer an option but a necessity for social work practice in a post–COVID-19 world.

Article author

Dawn Apgar, PhD, LSW, ACSW, assistant professor, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, Social Work, and Criminal Justice, Seton Hall University.

The journal Social Work is a benefit of NASW membership. It is available online or, at a member’s request, in print. Children & Schools, Health & Social Work and Social Work Research are available by subscription at a discounted rate for NASW members, either online or in print.

Find out more about the journals and subscriptions at NASW Press.

The ballot initiative, which is very similar to Proposition 22 in California, sought to significantly narrow who is an “employee” under Massachusetts law, thereby excluding hundreds of thousands of workers from the employment rights and protections provided by state law. The initiative would eliminate all Massachusetts employment law protections for the companies’ drivers, including but not limited to wage and hour, anti-discrimination protections, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, access to employer-sponsored health insurance, paid family and medical leave, and paid sick leave. The initiative would also preclude tort claims against the companies by third parties, e.g., from a traffic accident where the app-based driver was at fault.

The underlying lawsuit claimed that the petition violates the state constitution’s requirements that petition summaries do not confuse or mislead voters and that the issues within a petition be closely related. The amicus brief supported these claims and highlighted the harms that app-based gig workers — and women workers in particular — would experience should the proposals go into effect, and the number of rights that hung in the balance.  The brief supported the challenge to the Massachusetts ballot initiative and defended Massachusetts’s protective employment laws.

 Outcome

On June 14, 2022, the Massachusetts  Supreme Judicial Court released its decision, stating unequivocally that the petitions failed to meet the requirements of the Massachusetts constitution, and could not be placed on the ballot.

In blocking the petitions, the Court found that the petitions contained unrelated subjects, obscured by the language of the petitions. As such, the court did not reach the question of whether the Attorney General had provided a fair summary, but did note that, “the failure to even discuss the provisions narrowing third parties’ tort recovery here would have rendered the summaries unfair.”

Read the El Koussa v Massachusetts amicus brief.

COVID-19 has disproportionally affected people living in poverty; new immigrants; and those living in healthcare settings (hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes), shelters, detention centers, and prisons. The pandemic has also significantly impacted social workers who face hidden mental health consequences. The resultant feelings and behaviors are similar to disaster-induced trauma, including excessive rumination, hypervigilance, exhaustion, and excessive crying as a result of the adrenaline-driven fight-or-flight response.

A recent article in the journal Social Work, co-published by NASW and Oxford University Press, highlights this issue. The article aims to provide information for social workers to protect their own mental health while caring for their clients and raise awareness about social workers’ needs in frontline duties. It summarizes five challenges for first responder social workers:

1. COVID-19 impacts on resource constraints,
2. employment insecurity,
3. disenfranchised guilt,
4. physical distancing and caution fatigue, and
5. managing self-care.

The article offers recommendations to ameliorate distress and promote advocacy efforts for readjustment.

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, social workers who provide essential care in the field need self-assessment to better understand the impacts these challenges have on them as helpers. The article ends with recommendations to encourage social workers to apply the strengths-based approach to exemplify their professional values in times of pandemic distress.

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Authors:

Holly Davies, MBA, MSW, doctoral candidate, Graduate College of Social Work, University of Houston, Houston, TX

Monit Cheung, PhD, LCSW, is the Mary R. Lewis Endowed Professor in Children & Youth, Graduate College of Social Work, University of Houston, Houston, TX

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The journal Social Work is a benefit of NASW membership. It is available online or, at a member’s request, in print. Children & Schools, Health & Social Work and Social Work Research are available by subscription at a discounted rate for NASW members, either online or in print. You can find out more about the journals and subscriptions at this link.

The Great Resignation and Social Work

Laetitia Clayton, Editor

The COVID-19 pandemic spurred employees in many professions to leave their jobs in record numbers, resulting in what’s being called The Great Resignation. Social workers are leaving jobs, too, but it seems most are staying within the profession. And the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that social work will continue to grow “faster than average” for all occupations. Read more about this topic in our April-May cover story.

One area of social work that is expected to continue growing is health care, with the BLS reporting that health care and substance abuse social work is projected at 15% growth. You can learn more about the innovative roles social workers play in improving health care in our second feature article in this issue.

In the Association News section, we tell you about NASW’s Social Work Talks podcast, now in its third year and gaining in popularity. You can also read about five Social Work Pioneers who have been recognized for blazing trails, how NASW is addressing the federal “No Surprises Act,” and much more.

We hope you enjoy this issue of Social Work Advocates.

You can find the full April-May issue of Social Work Advocates at https://www.socialworkers.org/News/Social-Work-Advocates, and we encourage you to write to us with feedback about the magazine at: swadvocates@socialworkers.org.

Laetitia

The April–May issue of Social Work Advocates also includes:

• From the President: Commitment to Profession’s Values Will Distinguish You as a Social Worker
• From the CEO: Humility in Leadership Helps Elevate, Empower Others
• Backstory: Retired Social Worker Says Beekeeping Hobby Takes Time and Patience
• Viewpoints: Syringe Access Bill Would Help Save Lives

April 1, 2022

The federal government is soliciting proposals to fund various programs that prevent and address elder abuse. As noted in a recent NASW Practice Perspective, social workers are currently involved in similar grant-funded programs and play critical roles in elder justice. Details regarding each program and a brief resource list follow.

Enhanced Training and Services to End Abuse in Later Life

• Funding source: Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), U.S. Department of Justice
• Purpose: support a comprehensive approach to addressing abuse in later life, including domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, neglect, and exploitation toward people who are at least 50 years old
• Eligible entities: states; units of local government; tribal governments or tribal organizations; population specific organizations with demonstrated experience in assisting individuals over 50 years of age; victim service providers with demonstrated experience in addressing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking; and state, tribal, or territorial domestic violence or sexual assault coalitions
• Applications due: April 21 or 26, depending on the platform used

Elder Justice Innovation Grants – Improving Results for APS Clients FY2022

• Funding source: Administration for Community Living (ACL)
• Purpose: Assess and understand community services that produce better outcomes for people transitioning from short-term Adult Protective Services interventions to broader community-based programs that remediate and prevent recurrence of abuse over the longer term
• Eligible entities: state, local, and tribal governments; community-based and faith-based organizations; hospitals; and institutions of higher education
• Applications due: May 6

Elder Justice Innovation Grants – Enhancing APS Approaches to Cases Involving Opioids and Substance Use Disorders FY2022

• Funding source: ACL
• Purpose: Identify effective strategies and solutions that are expected to maximize the impact of direct home- and community-based social, health, and mental–behavioral health services for APS clients impacted by the opioid epidemic and by other substance use disorders
• Eligible entities: state, local, and tribal governments; community-based and faith-based organizations; hospitals; and institutions of higher education
• Applications due: May 3

Legal Assistance Enhancement Program

• Funding source: ACL
• Purpose: increase the effectiveness of legal assistance provided to older adults by breaking down barriers to accessing legal assistance, increasing the availability of legal assistance (especially for historically underrepresented populations of older adults), and enhancing the efficacy of legal assistance to meet the evolving needs of older adults.
• Eligible entities: state, local, and tribal governments; community-based and faith-based organizations; hospitals; and institutions of higher education
• Applications due: May 3

Additional Resources

Background related to current funding announcements:

• Abuse in Later Life Program: Late Life Domestic Violence (ACL); OVW Abuse in Later Life Grant Program (National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life)
• Elder Justice Innovation Grants (ACL)
• Legal Assistance Enhancement Program (ACL)

NASW Practice Perspectives:

• Federal Funding for and Administration of Elder Justice Programs
• Elder Abuse & COVID-19
• Elder Justice & Racial Justice
• Strengthening Communities for Elder Justice

Other elder justice resources:

• Protecting Rights and Ending Abuse (ACL program area)
• National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA)
• World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (ACL–NCEA–USC Center for Elder Justice)

Written by: Chris Herman, MSW, LICSW, NASW Senior Practice Associate, Aging

[Note: Below is an excerpt from an article in the most recent issue of the journal Health & Social Work, co-published by NASW and Oxford University Press. The article was written by Ethan J. Evans, PhD, MSW, assistant professor; Nassrine Noureddine, EdD, MSN, associate professor; Susanna R. Curry, PhD, MSW, assistant professor; and Kisun Nam, PhD, MSSW, associate professor, Division of Social Work, California State University, Sacramento. This article is free to be read on the Oxford University Press website.]

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Social workers and nurses are experiencing acute levels of stress during the pandemic. This stress is due to the difficulty of providing services to clients who are in states of crisis, while simultaneously experiencing COVID-19-related trauma in their own lives. As current professionals report burnout and exhaustion, students training for these professions are also experiencing adverse impacts. For professions already seeing worker shortages before the pandemic, this complicates the path toward filling unmet needs in the workforce (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2020; Spurlock, 2020). Moreover, it could compromise progress toward the so-called triple aim in health care—enhancing patient experience, improving population health, and reducing costs—(Berwick, Nolan, & Whittington, 2008). Care team well-being is a prerequisite for the triple aim, thus calls for an expanded version—the quadruple aim—which would include provider well-being and prevention of burnout (Bachynsky, 2020; Batcheller, Zimmermann, Pappas, & Adams, 2017; Bodenheimer & Sinsky, 2014). In this column, we present recent research on the stress being felt among social workers and nurses on the existing workforce shortages and discuss the pressure experienced by students who hope to join these fields. We conclude with a preview of measures presented by the Biden–Harris administration to support colleges and universities and particular efforts to replenish the health care workforce as disruption caused by the pandemic evolves.

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To read the whole article, please follow this link.

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The journal Social Work is a benefit of NASW membership. It is available online or, at a member’s request, in print. Children & Schools, Health & Social Work and Social Work Research are available by subscription at a discounted rate for NASW members, either online or in print. You can find out more about the journals and subscriptions at this link.

 Community Initiative.

“The Telligen Workforce grant has enabled the Illinois Chapter to research workforce issues that confirm many perceptions of the social work workforce challenges in the state,” according to Rubin. He said the main purposes of the study were to:

• understand Illinois social work workforce challenges and barriers;
• identify specific geographic and areas where shortages of social workers existed; and,
• identify a strategy for improving the current and future social work workforce in the state of Illinois.

“The report,” he said, “calls on the state to help Illinois support its most vulnerable citizens in need of services by making the following recommendations:”

• Promote the social work profession as a key component of the state’s mental health workforce.
• Expand the pipeline of qualified and diverse individuals to enter the social work profession through higher education tuition support.
• Work with employers and state agencies to promote a diverse human service, health, and mental health workforce by hiring social workers as organizational leaders who reflect the consumers of human services.
• Support employers to provide incentives to reflect the important role that social work can play in strengthening services in rural Illinois.

“The report’s specific recommendations for the state of Illinois, as well as the significant research achieved, will lay the groundwork for even more efforts towards strengthening our profession’s workforce throughout the state and the country,” according to Rubin.

To read the full report and executive summary, please follow these links:

• Full Report: An Evaluation of the Illinois Social Work Workforce: Challenges and Opportunities. Funded by the Telligen Community Initiative.
• Executive Summary: An Evaluation of the Illinois Social Work Workforce: Challenges and Opportunities. Funded by the Telligen Community Initiative.

The project was funded by the Telligen Community Initiative to initiate and support, through research and programs, innovative and farsighted health-related projects aimed at improving the health, social well-being and educational attainment of society, where such needs are expressed.

To learn more about Joel Rubin and the NASW-IL Chapter, please follow this link to a special NASW Foundation profile >>

You might also be interested in a Telligen Workforce Study published by the NASW-Iowa Chapter in collaboration with the University of Iowa School of Social Work and the NASW Foundation in 2018-2019. Please follow this link to read more >>

This week the U.S. Supreme Court made an historic decision that federal anti-discrimination laws protect gay and transgender workers. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) wholeheartedly supported this decision and was involved in the case. Here is how:

In July 2019, NASW and several other organizations participated in an amicus brief led by Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) that was submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court regarding three consolidated cases that involved Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars employment discrimination based on race, religion, national origin and sex.

However, under Title VII, which was passed over 50 years ago, members of the LGBTQ community were not explicitly protected from discrimination. The amicus brief focused on the fact that the LGBTQ population disproportionately experience sex-based discrimination in the workplace and presented social science research to support arguments about discrimination and poverty to show that, without Title VII’s protections, members of the LGBTQ community would face even higher levels of unemployment, which in turn would lead to higher levels of poverty, economic insecurity, and other associated harms.

The three lower court cases that were addressed by the Supreme Court were:

• Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia –  Gerald Bostock was fired from his job as a county child welfare services coordinator in Georgia when his employer learned he was gay after he joined a gay softball league. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals denied his appeal and held that Title VII does not prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation

• Altitude Express, Inc. v. Zarda – Donald Zarda was fired from his job as a skydiving instructor in New York because of his sexual orientation.  His employer learned he was gay when Zarda told a female client not to worry about being strapped to him during a tandem jump because he was gay.  The Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating against workers based on their sexual orientation.

• R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC and Aimee Stephens – Aimee Stephens worked as a funeral director for six years at R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes in Michigan. She was fired shortly after she told her employer that she would begin presenting as a woman at work and would abide by the employer’s dress code for women. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the employer violated Title VII when they fired her for being transgender and that discrimination on the basis of transgender and transitioning status is discrimination on the basis of sex.

In all three cases, the employers admitted terminating the employees because of their sexual orientation. They argued, however, that sexual orientation and identity were not covered under Title VII, therefore, the terminations were legal and not in violation of the law. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the employer, upholding the Georgia ruling. However, the Second and Sixth Circuit courts, which heard the other 2 cases respectively, ruled against the employers. The decisions of the courts in these and similar cases revealed a split in the federal courts. The 2nd , 6th and 7th Circuits have found legal protection for such workers under federal law but the 5th and 11th Circuits have not.

On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the split in federal court on the issue of whether Title VII federal discrimination laws protect gay and transgender workers. The Supreme Court ruled that sexual orientation and transgender status are protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and LGBTQ workers are protected from job discrimination, delivering a major victory in the fight for civil rights for members of the LGBTQ community. Unfortunately, the plaintiffs Donald Zarda and Aimee Stephens passed away before their cases reached the Supreme Court but their cases were continued by their estates. And watch this video to learn more about NASW’s long-standing support for the rights of people who are LGBTQ.

The amicus brief and the Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia decision can be found in NASW’s Legal Defense Fund amicus brief database.