The Dow is up and inflation is down– but only the 5% of the population, those in the top income bracket, is doing well.

Social work, like all other fields, is being directed by and reflects the market economy: a few professionals at the top are making money, while the rest are being left behind and downskilled.

New York City will continue its trend away from being a predominately white European city. In the year 2000, up to 65% of New York City residents will be non-white. Do models of social work service focus on these groups?

Paperwork is engulfing workers. An unnecessary demand for accountability trivializes what social workers do and limits relationship building with clients.

There is more work to do and less time in which to do it. Agency contracts reduce costs but increase demand. Services are being patched together because of varied sources and funding streams.

The profession is losing workers in the 45-65 age bracket. Many are disaffiliating themselves.

Social workers have inadequate marketing intelligence, and agency directorships are going to MBAs, not MSWs.

These were some of the trends presented to NYC Chapter Board members, committee chairs, candidates for Chapter offices and staff at a Think Tank on Major Trends Affecting Social Work Employment, Their Significance for the Profession, and Future Direction for NYC-NASW on March 19 at the Chapter office.

The purpose of the Think Tank, which grew out of a Chapter leadership retreat earlier in the year, was to aid the Chapter in being proactive with programming around future trends; anticipating changes that will be affecting social work, social services, and clients; and insuring the best services for the people with whom we work

Dr. Joel Blau, Director of the Stony Brook School of Social Welfare Doctoral Program, spoke on "Economic Underpinnings of Health and Social Services and Implications for the Profession." Joseph Solvo, Director of Population Division of the New York Department of City Planning, presented "The Changing Demographics of New York City: Whom Will We Serve?"

Hunter College School of Social Work Professor Dr. Steve Burghardt spoke on "The Rise of Assemblyline Processes in Social Work," while fellow Hunter Professor Dr. Michael Fabricant conveyed information on "The Reconfiguration of Agency Contracts and Their Effects on Social Services."

The last speaker of the day was Dr. Margaret Gibelman, Director of the Wurzweiler School of Social Work Doctoral Program. She shared some "Thoughts on the Four Presentations Through the Lens of Who Social Workers Are and What They Do." This was followed by a leadership discussion on the significance of these trends on the profession.

Economic Underpinnings of Health and Human Services

Economic factors like the Dow being up and inflation being down creates the impression that people are doing well, says Dr. Blau. In reality, there are two economies right now: The top 5% of the population is doing well, while everyone else is financially stagnant, he adds.

"Any Conservative will tell us that our economic system preserves income inequality," he warns.

The public sector is being downsized, wages are being contained, and corporate taxes are being cut.

This will impact on social work in a number of ways, says Dr. Blau: Social work values/ethics will conflict with a push for quick profit and short-term counseling directives. While job projections for social work remain high, the field has a few professionals at the top making the money, while other workers are being left behind.

The challenge for NASW is to address the fragmentation between the few social workers at the top and their lesser paid colleagues and to unify the profession, Chapter leaders agreed.

The Changing Demographics of New York City

In 1970, 60% of New York City’s population was white, made up of mostly European descent. Of the 19% non-Hispanic blacks, 90% were native-born; the 16% figure for Hispanics was broken down into 75% Puerto Rican, with a small percentage of Cubans and others; the 2% figure for Asians represented mostly Chinese.

In the year 2000, by contrast, only 34% of the City’s population will be non-Hispanic white with recent immigration trends dictating higher representations of Russians, Irish, and Poles. Of the 26% non-Hispanic blacks, 30–35% will be foreign-born West Indian, Jamaican, Guyanese, and African. Hispanics will be 16–29% of the population, made up of 40% Puerto Rican, 25% Dominican, with growing Mexican and some Ecuadorian and Colombian factions. Of the Asian population, 2–10% will be made up of Chinese and Bangladeshi.

Joseph Solvo presented some other significant facts to the group as well: 79% of all immigrants from Uzbekistan (part of the former Soviet Union) who emigrate to the United States settle in Queens. Twenty percent of all Chinese immigrants to the U.S. come to New York City. Guyana and Nigeria are on the immigrant group "Top 20" list at present.

There is an influx of 140,000 immigrants a year to the City, 115,000 who are legal and 20–30,000 who are undocumented.

These trends will greatly impact the practice of social work and raise the question as to whether our models of service adequately focus on the groups who need the services. There will also be a greater demand for social workers who speak the languages of their clients.

The Rise of Assemblyline Processes in Social Work

Professor Burghardt pointed out that the expansion of need and the diminishment of resources has led to cost containment policies in agencies, and characterizes this as a class struggle. Social work is reduced to a pattern of expansion of paperwork, diminishment of direct service, and therefore a diminishment of skill and lower wages.

The trend over the last 20 years has been to hire people with bachelors and associates degrees instead of MSWs. As a result, the profession is becoming deskilled. But, while all social service agencies are suffering under the same conditions, some are better places to work because of forward-thinking leadership.

To respond to these trends, Dr. Burghardt pointed out that corporations spend more on staff training than the U.S. spends on Higher Education. Meanwhile, Social Services spends less than 5% of its budget on training. He suggests that social work invest in more staff training. He also advises us to not give up the fight regarding managed care, paperwork and community work; and agencies with strong leadership and community oriented strategies will be the ones to survive.

Suggestions from Chapter leadership included building organizational coalitions and reframing the values and skills that social work requires to affect lives in a positive way.

The Reconfiguration of Agency Contracts and their Effect on Social Services

In social work, as in other fields, social contracts are being rewritten, said Dr. Fabricant. This results in a reduction of services, decreased infrastructure supports (e.g., fewer supplies and support staff); more to do and less time in which to do it; and cheaper labor being used to fill the gaps.

Efforts that once constituted social work services are being peeled away, for example, outreach and relationship building. Workers feel isolated; there is a greater demand being placed on them to do more with fewer resources.

Dr. Fabricant urged that we re-teach people how to engage each other and mobilize a political response to our lack of community.

Thoughts on the Four Presentations Through the Lens of Who Social Workers Are and What They Do

Dr. Gibelman, who is a national expert on what social workers do and who they are, pointed out that NASW is not reflecting the diversity of the profession; that we are losing social workers in the 45–65 year age group; that there is a leadership void in the profession; that social workers need to learn Spanish so they can communicate with various Hispanic groups, and that, although change is constant, it doesn’t have to be bad.

During the discussion, it was noted that many social work students do not want to work with poor people or with diverse groups. The question was also raised as to whether clinical students were being taught and told that some courses in administration, economics and policy would help them secure the clinical services that they want to deliver.

Leadership Discussion: Significance of Trends on the Profession and What Should NASW Do?

That we need to shape the chapter’s program around these issues was the consensus of the group attending the Think Tank. Other suggestions included: