National Association of Social Workers

From the President

Diversity Effort Moves Forward

By Elvira Craig de Silva, DSW, ACSW

NASW held its Annual Leadership Meeting (ALM) in April. It takes courage to be a leader, and it takes energy to follow through on complex initiatives, so it's important to refuel periodically. Connecting in person with our colleagues helps accomplish large goals. ALM has that effect for the NASW chapter and board leadership and provides a forum in which we are reinvigorated every year.

Annual Leadership Meetings are also often catalyst to exciting activities within the organization. Following the August 2006 ALM — "Weaving the Fabrics of Diversity" — many of us continued the discussion on addressing diversity in our home states. As a result, a lot has happened with my presidential initiative since that time. As you may know, my initiative focuses on racism, poverty and immigration issues. Immediately following ALM, a national Diversity Task Force formed two subcommittees — one addressing institutional racism and the other, immigration issues.

Subcommittee on Institutional Racism. Members of the Subcommittee on Institutional Racism are Vivian Jackson, Vickie Oldman, Robert Schachter, Janlee Wong and Luisa Lopez. The document they developed, "Institutional Racism and The Social Work Profession: A Call to Action," provides definitions and an analysis of how racism manifests in our institutions, lists characteristics within the social work profession and provides action steps, including a special section for NASW chapters. References and resources are included. This tool was disseminated at the April 2007 ALM and is now available online.

The document ends with this text: "More than 25 years ago, NASW embarked upon an initiative to challenge racism at the individual, organizational and societal levels, 'Color in a White Society.' The voices of social workers of color were lifted up, and the association became more invested in the issues of people and communities of color."

Our Diversity Task Force concluded, however, that 25 years later, it is clear that issues of that day continue into this day. Although there have been significant changes in our society, racism in its many forms still persists. The work of the association is still incomplete.

I am pleased that NASW is providing this resource to guide us all in challenging the structures and practices of racism in our own work. I hope you will join me in answering this important call to action and helping NASW continue its critical work fighting injustice.

Subcommittee on Immigration Issues. Members of the Subcommittee on Immigration Issues are Janlee Wong, Elaine Congress, Sonia Palacio-Grottola and Luisa Lopez. They developed an Immigration Policy Toolkit to provide NASW chapters, members and other entities with information and tools to fight discrimination against immigrants and to take action in support of the human rights of immigrants. This tool was also distributed at the most recent ALM and can be found on the national Web site.

Our position is rooted in the Code of Ethics and in NASW's social policy statement on Immigration and Refugees, which appears in Social Work Speaks. In addition to the policy statement, the toolkit includes facts about immigration, an analysis of some of the legislative developments on immigration bills at the federal level, a sample letter to the editor and more.

Again, the approach is to provide tools to help members take action on this extremely important issue. How the United States handles and supports immigrants has been an ongoing challenge in this country. Human rights and civil rights are values that social workers know must not be compromised. Social work understanding, skills and values are needed in this important debate.

I want to thank the members of the National Diversity Task Force for offering direction and guidance through these two important works and for providing us with tools that can be used to improve social work practice and advocacy efforts. With these resources and our subsequent actions, we demonstrate an effective response to society's greatest challenges. We also show new value to our communities and the nation, making people want our profession to continue.

This leads me to a brief mention of the Social Work Reinvestment Initiative. The results of the 2004 national social work labor force study showed that there will be a greater need for social workers in the years to come, particularly in the areas of aging and children. This study also showed that we need to retain as well as recruit social work professionals.

To ensure longevity of the profession, we need to look at how to best influence critical institutions and players at the macro level. In doing so we can make certain that there is a ready pool of social workers to serve the needs of society and maintain high quality services — all while making sure that professional social workers have a range of incentives to stay in the profession.

Social Work Reinvestment does not take place in a vacuum. The public advocacy and association development activities of the past three to four years, including the Social Work Congress, the National Public Education Campaign and the Center for Workforce Studies, have led us to this point. We are now at a point where we can make the strongest case possible for the profession and its dedicated members to get additional support and recognition for the contributions social workers make every day.

As I approach the last year of my presidency, I feel particularly motivated by the sense of partnership between the chapters and the national office. The fact that we listen to each other and join forces to advance the profession, produce relevant tools, and share information to better serve our members is essential to our role as an effective professional organization.

I look forward to the dissemination of the tools that the Diversity Task Force has produced and to receiving your feedback on how to improve these resources. I am also energized by the opportunity to help implement strategies that retain our most experienced professionals while attracting the next generation to social work — a generation that best represents all the fabrics of society in which we are fortunate to live.

To comment to Elvira Craig de Silva: president@naswdc.org

From June 2007 NASW News. © 2007 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved. NASW News articles may be copied for personal use, but proper notice of copyright and credit to the NASW News must appear on all copies made. This permission does not apply to reproduction for advertising, promotion, resale, or other commercial purposes.