What every social worker needs
This column was adapted from Dr. Schachter's report at the Chapter's Annual Meeting on April
14, 1997.
(June/July 1997)
When I joined NASW in 1979, I was excited to receive my copy of the journal, Social Work. I wanted to read what some of the foremost thinkers had to say about practice and social problems.To my mind, the most noted contributor was its editor, Dr. Carol Meyer. I read her editorials first.
It wasn't long after, that as a member of NASW's Educational and Legislative Action Network, I called Carol to ask her to speak on the relationship between clinical practice and the need for social workers to register their clients to vote. When I had this revered educator and thinker on the phone, she confronted me for not being clear enough about the topic. She was obviously irritated when she asked: "YOU THINK THAT IT'S EASY TO DO THIS?" But she agreed to speak.
My point in remembering Carol, who died last December, is to make some observations about us, as social work practitioners, and about NASW. But to do this I want to share with you what was said about Carol at Columbia's recent memorial service.
A doctoral candidate, who is now known for her work with the homeless, asked Carol whether she had read all of the books on her book shelves. She wanted to know what all of those books had to do with working with people on the street.
Carol told her that to be effective as a social worker, you need to be analytical.
The point for me is this: We need to work at being smart in the spirit of Carol Meyer to be social workers today. We cannot take for granted the thinking that is required to do our work. The work that we do is incredibly hard, and unless we are very thoughtful about what we do, it is likely that we will fail.
At NASW, we live much closer to failure than we tend to admit. Our accomplishments can only be appreciated in this context. Over the years I have recognized two key views of our professional association. One view, which is more visible and concrete, has NASW as an entity, something that exists in a particular office with staff and leadership with programs that are either successful or not. The other view is of NASW as the unification of the profession. In this view, NASW is the total of social workers coming together to express themselves as one solid group. Both views make up what NASW is, but the second is of special importance. It reflects that NASW is not simply some organization that exists out there, or downtown.
It reflects that every single social worker in this City is either contributing to foster the unity of the profession, or they are not. For in unity, there is not only strength:
Right now, we need to bring some of the problems associated with this to the surface and overcome them. Given the risks associated with the rise of conservative politics, welfare reform and the other enormous social pressures that we face, it is about time, and we have little time to lose (see article, Attacked from the right).
We have 9,500 members in NASW; one year ago we had 200 more than this. We don't know yet whether we are in the beginning of a downward trend because of the pressures social workers are experiencing in their work, or whether it's a temporary aberration. Regardless, we know that there are 13,000 certified social workers in New York City, and that we have a long way to go to say that most of them belong to NASW. And, with students in the schools of social work being the most likely group to join, 1200 are members. That may sound like a lot, but there are a few thousand students that we have not succeeded in recruiting.
Until now, the Chapter has basically split its attention and resources, with some of it going to bringing more people in, while investing heavily to address the political and public policy issues threatening both our clients and the profession. But something different needs to be done.
Despite the involvement of a dedicated number of chapter leaders, and a few hundred members actively participating in our committees, we are coming up short in too many areas. And we need to be honest about that or we will fail to do what might be done.
We are not mobilizing enough members around given issues. And we do not have enough active members to address the wide array of concerns to the profession.
The problem we face in NASW is that if our membership, and the dues that it represents, do not grow faster than the speed of inflation, our ability to maintain the level of programming that we now have will diminish. Just as we must be doing more, not less, our essence, professional social workers in New York City are not joining together in sufficient numbers to assure that we will prevail in the days ahead.
What can we do? In response, remember what Carol Meyer asked me when I called her years ago to speak: "YOU THINK THAT IT'S EASY TO DO THIS?"
The fact is that we are going to prevail by being very thoughtful about what needs to be done. The Board of Directors, other Chapter leaders and staff have been looking squarely at these issues, and we are in the process of shifting gears and going into overdrive to meet these challenges.
What we are starting with is a primary focus: our member at the center, seen in a very specific way: as a social work practitioner directly or indirectly serving clients who are facing an entire array of problems. Everything we do must begin with this focus. And our primary task is to reflect what our members do. In fact, we will be starting a project to enhance the image of social work by reflecting the achievements of social workers despite great odds.
Second: we have a vision of NASW becoming an organization that is so compelling, every social worker will want to belong - and remain a member - once in.
The question is: How do we develop the organization from here on out to work toward this vision?
The answer is not very clear: we actually do not know well enough. We need to find out. We have assumed, correctly or incorrectly, that we know what social workers need. We are going to our members, and not just the ones who are active. And we are going to go to social workers who have not joined, or who have dropped out, and we are going to ask them what they need.
Of course, some of the greatest problems are not going to be ameliorated easily: poor working conditions, low salary, job insecurity, social policy pressures. But the more clearly we understand what social workers believe they need help with, the more accurate and relevant our programs will be. Social workers seem to care deeply that NASW wants to hear from them as the organization prepares for the future. And as we learn more accurately what social workers need, we have to also expect more from social workers.
We are already doing a great deal for enhancing the unity of the profession in New York City. We should, make no mistake about it. Recently, one of the candidates for elected Chapter office wrote in her platform statement: "Imagine society without social workers." Imagine now: the profession without NASW. If NASW did not exist, we would have to invent it.
We need to feel the imperative: that every social worker belong, so that we can carry on our work for the profession, and for consumers of our services. We can no longer afford our colleagues taking a free ride.
You will see in the year ahead activities that reflects this imperative. And we will be calling upon you to help us, for example, to identify and recruit social workers who have felt that they do not need to belong to this organization.
If Carol Meyer reminds us of anything, it should be that we become even more thoughtful about what we do. If we want to be assured of the best representation for the profession, and achieving the greatest unification so that we will be stronger, I ask that you think about how you can join the effort in bringing your colleagues along.
Carol Meyer asked: "YOU THINK THAT IT IS EASY TO DO THIS?" It's not. But we do have the know-how, the creativity, and the ability.