Message From the President

Four Days In August

There are other places to pass four days in August, but 13 members of your chapter spent them in the confines of a hotel in Washington, DC representing the New York City Chapter at NASW’s 2005 Delegate Assembly.  Established in 1955, this triennial assembly brings together elected representatives from all 56 chapters, their executive directors and the National NASW Board, in order to plan the agenda of the Association with the Nat-ional Executive Director for the following three years.  In this sense, it is a “political” event with the awesome goals of (a) setting the social and professional policy agenda for the 150,500 member Association, (b) determining the Association’s priorities, and (c) providing a system of checks and balances to the 21 member national Board of Directors.

Our Delegation

During the four days, the 200 assembled delegates set program policy goals, approved bylaw amendments, revised existing social policy statements, and approved new public and professional policy positions, including a controversial one on “Commercial Sex Workers and Social Work Practice”. Our delegates performed with great distinction, often providing the leadership that led to unity and consensus, and promoted program creativity and policy innovation.  We can all be extraordinarily proud of our delegation’s pivotal contributions.

Impressive Achievements

It was also wonderful to see our able new national President, Dr. Elvira Craig de Silva, at the podium, and to hear the sophisticated stewardship report of our NASW Executive Director, Dr. Elizabeth (Betsy) Clark.  Since the last triennial Delegate Assembly in 2002, the Association’s membership has grown from 145,000 to over 150,000!  Among the additional highlights she noted were:       

•         Development of nine specialty sections—from Mental Health  and Child Welfare to Social

           and   Economic Justice + Peace, School  Social Work, and Private Practice;

•        Establishment of a Center for  Workforce Studies which is exploring the needs of the

         social work labor force;

•      Rapid growth of the size and the influence of NASW’s political  action committee known as

       P.A.C.E.;

•       Publication of the 13th edition of the Register of Clinical Social Workers–on line, on

        compact disk and in hard copy;

•      Receipt of more than $3 million  in external funding;

•      Launching of an impressive  National Social Work Public  Education Campaign; and,

•       Establishment of a NASW Job Link, Help Pro, Web Ed and Advocacy Listserv.

Proud of Our Chapter

The planning process took place on internet web sites, producing the first virtually paperless Delegate Assembly.

At the Assembly itself, voting on public policy positions and bylaw amendments was entirely electronic, meaning that 200 votes could be counted in 15 seconds.  It was an impressive, 21st Century experience.

Finally, I  would like to thank the distinguished members of our New York City delegation.

Their seminal contributions were widely recognized, and I was proud to be a quiet participant in the process.  Here are the heroes who joined me in our delegation:  Barbara Brenner, Carmen Collado, S.J. Dodd, Christine Fewell, Mary Harrington, Ella Harris, Robert Schachter, Rose Starr, Penny Schwartz, Martha Sullivan, Lionel Thompson and Darrell Wheeler.   On behalf of the Chapter, to each of them I say, "Salut"!

We would like to hear from you personally. Email us at naswnyc@naswnyc.org