• Membership Benefits
  • 
  • Membership Benefits
  • Membership Brochure
  • NASW Membership Application (pdf)
  • NASW Member Types & Dues
  • Renew Online
  • Update Member Information
  • Membership Video
  • Professional Development
  • Professional and Personal Protection
  • Advancing the Profession
  • NASW Chapters
  • Insurance Protection
  • NASW Credentials
  • NASW Publications
  • Social Work Career Center
  • Legislative Advocacy and PACE
  • NASW Center for Workforce Studies
  • NASW Foundation
  • Help Starts Here

Professional Development

With constant changes in government regulations, breakthrough treatments, and innovative resources, professional development for social workers is essential and commonly required for licensure. Staying well-informed about social work issues and trends also makes social workers more competitive in the job market. NASW membership helps social workers with their professional development needs, whether they be continuing education programs, online courses, publications, credentialing, information about social work specialty areas, networking, or employment opportunities. Below is more information about the professional development opportunities NASW affords its members:

NASW Professional Education & Training Center
Earn continuing education credits through the new NASW Professional Education and Training Center 24 hours a day.  All courses offered are NASW accredited and members receive discounted prices. The Center offers NASW courses in a variety of formats—webinars, webcasts, podcasts, presentations, etc. Courses will continue to be added to the Center’s initial offerings to cover numerous practice areas.

Click here to view the start-up NASW Professional Education and Training Center course catalog to see our initial offerings with more coming soon.

NASW’s Continuing Education Portal
NASW’s Continuing Education Portal connects you with state and national CE programs that give you the information, skills, training, continuing education contact hours, and networking opportunities you need for professional and personal development.

• WebED – Offers FREE online courses and continuing education units (CEs)
• NASW’s Lunchtime Series Webinars  – Offers monthly webinars on the latest social work issues. Members may also earn CEs upon successful completion of an online test following each teleconference.

NASW’s Professional Credentials
NASW professional credentials show you have met the highest national standards of experience, advanced skill, ongoing professional development, and leadership. NASW provides credentials for multiple degrees and in many practice areas.

• Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW)
• Diplomate in Clinical Social Work (DCSW)
• Qualified Clinical Social Worker (QCSW)
• NASW Credentialing Center Frequently Asked Questions
• NEW! Advanced Certified Hospice and Palliative Social Worker (ACHP-SW)
• Clinical Social Worker in Gerontology (CSW-G)  
• Advanced Social Worker in Gerontology (ASW-G)
• Certified Advanced Children, Youth, and Family Social Worker (C-ACYFSW)
• Certified Social Worker in Health Care (C-SWHC)
• Certified Clinical Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs Social Worker (C-CATODSW)
• Certified Advanced Social Work Case Manager (C-ASWCM)
• Certified School Social Work Specialist (C-SSWS)
• NEW! Certified Hospice and Palliative Care Social Worker (CHP-SW)
• Social Worker in Gerontology (SW-G)  
• Certified Children, Youth, and Family Social Worker (C-CYFSW)
• Certified Social Work Case Manager (C-SWCM)

The Social Work Career Center
The Social Work Career Center offers a broad range of career development and management services, including an extensive database of job postings, résumé examples, interviewing tips, career articles, and helpful resources for career advancement.

NASW’s Specialty Practice Sections
NASW Specialty Practice Sections link you to customized information, news, resources, expertise, and the free CEs you need to stay at the forefront of your practice specialty.

NASW currently offers the following specialty practice sections: Aging; Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs (ATOD); Child Welfare; Children, Adolescents & Young Adults (CAYA); Health; Mental Health; Private Practice; School Social Work; and Social and Economic Justice & Peace. COMING SOON! Social Worker and the Court and Adminstration and Supervision.

Section membership is available at a nominal fee of $35 in addition to your membership dues.

NASW’s Award Winning Publications
Stay connected to best practices in social work with the award-winning NASW NEWS and premier journal Social Work. NASW is committed to environmental stewardship and now delivers these publications electronically to all members. Regular active members receive 10 issues of the NASW NEWS print edition each year. Members also have exclusive access to a wide variety of scholarly books and reference materials, including the online Encyclopedia of Social Work, 20th Edition—the profession's cornerstone reference work—for less than $60 per year.

Networking Events and Social Networking Sites

NASW helps build relationships among its members through Chapter events and conferences and through NASW’s social networking sites.

	Friend NASW on Facebook Social Work Students—Official NASW Group Official NASW Facebook Group Official NASW Fan Page
	Tweet on Our Twitter Feed
	Tune in to Social Work Happenings on NASW’s YouTube Channel
	Expand Your List of Professional Contacts
	Tell Others Why You Became a Social Worker
	Chat on Social Work Topics
	Find Out What’s Stirring Opinion and Commentary in Social Work