300 attend Annual Meeting; Keynoter Megan McLaughlin urges social workers to expand definition of practice environment
(June/July 1993)

"Improve the environment for social work practice" served as a declaration of solidarity as three hundred New York City NASW members gathered for the Chapter's Annual Meeting on May 6 at the NYU Medical Center.

Dr. Megan McLaughlin, Executive Vice President of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, Inc. and Chair of the Mayor's Commission on Foster Care, delivered the evening's keynote address on the quality of worklife and service delivery. Dr. Michael Phillips, Professor at the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service was presented with the Chapter's Service Award.

The evening also featured a roundtable discussion led by Dr. Carol Meyer, Professor at the Columbia University School of Social Work. Roundtable participants, who addressed some of the recommendations put forth in the Chapter's position paper, "Improving the Environment for Social Work Practice: Quality of Service Reflects Quality of Work Life," included Dr. Rosa Gil, Senior Vice President of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Services, NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation; Stanley Hill, Executive Director of the Municipal Employees Union, District Council 37; Larry Mandell, Executive Vice President, United Way of NYC; Richard Murphy, Commissioner, Department of Youth Services; and Harvey Newman, Executive Director for Public Policy, UJA, and former chair of the Chapter's Task Force on Recruitment and Retention.

Dr. McLaughlin addressed such topics as job design, recognition, and salaries. She urged her audience to expand the definition of "environment" to go beyond the agencies in which social work practice takes place.

"The agency environment is critically important, but if we limit our definition, we would be taking a very narrow view and our analysis and subsequent remedies would exclude powerful institutions and forces that impinge upon--in fact--shape the organizations in which we practice," Dr. McLaughlin noted.

"Caseloads increase when the economy is depressed. Reduced allocations and resources result in increased case ratios, immigration brings us new and different cultures to deal with and racism continues to influence every area of life and is increasing in these times of diminishing resources," she added.

Dr. McLaughlin made a plea for social workers to keep up with current knowledge base and skills, and for respect for cultural diversity: "The social worker is part of the environment. She is there as the helping person and she knows when her lack of knowledge and skills negatively affects her effectiveness and the quality of service...at present there is a gap in our knowledge of various cultures which increases the level of discomfort felt by social workers...job satisfaction is reduced when workers do not feel competent to handle the tasks before them."

On the issue of adequate compensation for the jobs social workers do, Dr. McLaughlin stated: "It is appropriate for NASW to take a strong position on the issue of salaries and benefits. We must deplore the poor salaries and working conditions of human service workers and we should not apologize for sounding this theme over and over again, because the problem is urgent...Salary is not an esoteric issue...If we want to recruit bright, committed people who can move our profession forward and meet the `real' needs of people, then we have to address the salary issue in a very aggressive way."

She concluded by exhorting NASW and schools of social work to "...take on the responsibility of educating the public about the importance of social work..." and for professional social workers to work together to move the Chapter's agenda on recruitment and retention forward.

In accepting the 1993 Chapter Service Award, which was presented by President Elaine Walsh and former presidents Charles King, Gerald Beallor, Joan Ohlson, Nita Henick, and Dr. Louis Levitt, Dr. Phillips protested that he "...could not understand why one would be given an award for supporting what you believe in..." and noted that he believed that the strength of the profession "...is in the integration of many diverse ideas...We need to celebrate this diversity and recognize that underneath the diversity are a common set of skills and a common commitment, no matter at what level of practice we work, to enabling all our clients to achieve social justice and fulfill their potential."

The roundtable discussion raised issues around strategies for resolution of conflict and standards for organizational leaders to pursue in tuning into the human dimensions of their relationship with staff. The roundtable also prompted some heated discussions^__with audience participation^__ most notably on salaries for social workers.

Dr. Walsh and Executive Director Dr. Robert Schachter both delivered annual reports, and both addressed the current challenges to the profession.

"As professionals, we must take responsibility to speak about the conditions and to work to insure that services to the poor are of the best available. Not an easy challenge, but one that, if not attempted, raises the question of the role of professional social workers," noted Dr. Walsh.

Dr. Schachter spoke about the necessity of recognizing that "...social policy and social work practice are not discrete areas of activity. Social work practice is a social policy concern," he pointed out.

To emphasize the importance of this connection, the Chapter plans to hold a City Council hearing on the recruitment and retention of social workers in both the public and private sectors. Social workers who would be interested in testifying at such a hearing, which would be scheduled for late fall, are asked to fill in the accompanying tear-out.