You can help make macro matter. The Commission to Advance Macro Social Work Practice has delivered the 20 by 2020 proposal to the CSWE.
The CSWE (Council on Social Work Education) is a regulatory body charged with accrediting all BSW and MSW programs in North America. They set the standard for social work curricula and field placements.
Since it’s inception, the Commission has worked to advocate and strengthen macro social work practice. For the past couple of years they have worked on creating the 20 by 2020 proposal.
The proposal calls for:
The Special Commission proposes that CSWE actively supports steps to increase MSW student enrollment in macro practice concentrations nationally to 20 percent of MSW students declaring a concentration by the year 2020. (This is a national figure, not a school-by-school objective.) (Source)
The CSWE will review the proposal at its June 15th Board meeting. #MacroSW has written an endorsement letter. On behalf of the Commission we are asking social workers and organizations (schools of social work and associations serving macro practice professionals) to do the same.
Below you will find links to a sample letter and the proposal. The endorsement letter must be in PDF format. Please email your letter to Michael Reisch by June 14th.
You can read the full proposal here. If you need assistance writing your letter you can refer to ACOSA’s endorsement letter here. Please do not copy and paste from the letter. Use your own words to express why your in support of the 20 by 2020 proposal. Your support is much appreciated.
During Social Work Month as we honor, teach about and praise our profession and those who have made an indelible impact, the #MacroSW partners want your input and participation as we plan for the rest of 2017 and 2018.
Join us on Thursday, March 23 at 9 pm EST to tell us what topics you would like to see discussed on future chats and learn about how to become a #MacroSW chat contributor or partner to effectively promote macro social work practice. We will explore in this open chat:
Which topics you would like to discuss on future #MacroSW chats.
Your interest in becoming a chat contributor to co-host a chat on your suggested topic.
If you would consider becoming a #MacroSW chat partner to grow this community.
If you are not interested in becoming a partner or contributor, who would you recommend to join our work?
Taking a leadership role with #MacroSW chat is a resume builder and could give you the opportunity to shape our discussions.
Thank you for your energy and enthusiasm in our weekly online conversations which have become a vibrant community. We are inspired by your engagement to come together to thoughtfully tackle some of the greatest challenges we face. We look forward to your feedback and ongoing support.
#MacroSW is a collaboration of social workers, organizations, social work schools, and individuals working to promote macro social work practice. Macro social work practice focuses on changing larger systems, such as communities and organizations. It encompasses a broad spectrum of actions and ideas, ranging from community organizing and education to legislative advocacy and policy analysis. The chats are held weekly on Twitter every Thursday at 9 p.m. EST (6 p.m. PST). Click here for a list of chat partners. For information about how to participate in the #MacroSW chat, view our FAQs. For chat schedule and chat archives check out: http://macrosw.com
The Special Commission to Advance Macro Practice in Social Work is calling on the CSWE and other social work organizations to make a commitment to macro practice. Current data shows only 9-10% of social work students plan to pursue macro practice. The commission wants to raise that number to 20% by 2020.
As Michael Reisch pointed out in his eloquent essay, macro is an important component of social work practice.
It pushes the boundaries of the profession by fostering a “big picture” perspective that enables social workers and society as a whole to analyze people’s issues “outside the box” and focus on the prevention of problems, not merely their amelioration. Macro practice explicitly embodies social work’s commitment to social justice and social change by promoting structural solutions to systemic inequalities and various forms of oppression that go beyond individual adaptation and resilience.
The Rothman report brought to light serious concerns that if not dealt with endanger the future of macro practice.
On Thursday November 5th #MacroSW Twitter Chats will discuss the work of The Special Commission to Advance Macro Practice in Social Work and the 20% by 2020 initiative. The chat starts at 9:00 PM EST. I will host the chat from @acosaorg account.
It was evident on the April 23 #MacroSW Twitter chat with guest expert, The American Clinical Social Work Association (ACSWA), there is an interconnectedness between micro and macro practice. Many people in the profession expressed the necessity for bridging the gap between these two practices and, as we all know, there are endless possibilities for joint work under the umbrella of our core social work values.
Given the energized conversation around this topic, ACSWA will again be featured on the #MacroSW Twitter chat, Building Micro and Macro Common Ground: A Continued Conversation, held on Thursday,October 22 at 9 pm EDT (6 pm Pacific). Join us on Twitter for a robust discussion with Michael Brooks, MSW, BCD (Emeritus), the Director, Policy and Business Development for the Center for Clinical Social Work.
For this chat, we’ll further brainstorm about how to facilitate the collaboration between these practices while social workers still focus on the type of work they love. We’ll also dig into the obstacles that prevent joint macro and clinical practice work and share examples of how social workers and other healthcare disciplines have partnered successfully across specialties.
Here are questions to be explored:
Does policy or clinical practice drive change?
Share examples about how clinicians have engaged in macro practice. What were the tipping points?
Share examples of macro focused practitioners who have engaged clinicians in developing policies.
What obstacles have you encountered integrating micro and/or macro practice into your work life?
How can micro and macro practitioners engage associations, SW schools and workplaces to take an integrated view?
Why Macro Matters, Michael Reisch, University of Maryland, commissioned by the Special Commission to Advance Macro Practice in Social Work initiated by the Association of Community Organization and Social Administration (ACOSA) in 2013.
Join us for a chat with guest expert Michael Brooks as we discuss building common ground between micro and macro social work practice. Our chat partner will be Michael Brooks, MSW, BCD, the Director, Policy and Business Development for the Center for Clinical Social Work. The Center is the parent organization for the American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work, which issues the Board Certified Diplomate Credential in Clinical Social Work (ABE), and the American Clinical Social Work Association (ACSWA), the first online, social media-based association for clinical social work. He also maintains a small private psychotherapy, EAP and consulting practice in the city of Sonoma, CA. He served on the Board of Directors for the Employee Assistance Society of North America (EASNA), from 2005-2011, is currently on the Board of Directors for ACMHA: The College for Behavioral Health Leadership, is a member of the California Social Work Education Council (CalSWEC) Mental Health Committee, is one of the authors/collaborators of the SBIRT Training manual for EAPs, and is the clinical consultant for the Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance (pro-bono). He is currently also on the Steering Committee of the NORC Training Program for Adolescent Substance Abuse Screening, Brief Intervention and Treatment (SBIRT) in Schools of Social Work and Nursing.
CHAT QUESTIONS:
True or false – splitting social work practice into micro and macro practice is a good idea.
How can macro practice social workers inform clinical social workers about the importance of being involved with policy and how it can directly affect their practice?
How can macro practice social workers help clinicians become more involved in advocacy? Why this is important?
How can clinical social workers best participate in policy actions (i.e. ACA, Medicare rates, Medicaid funding, rate reimbursement) to enable better clinical work to happen in communities?
How can CSWs inform macro practice SWs about the effects of policy on day-to-day practice
How can clinicians and macro focused social workers help primary care and mental health treatment integration happen more effectively?
How can macro and micro social work practice be integrated more effectively, both in practice and academia?
#MacroSW is a collaboration of social workers, organizations, social work schools, and individuals working to promote macro social work practice. Macro social work practice focuses on changing larger systems, such as communities and organizations. It encompasses a broad spectrum of actions and ideas, ranging from community organizing and education to legislative advocacy and policy analysis. The chats are held bimonthly on Twitter on the second and fourth Thursday of each month at 9 p.m. EST (6 p.m. PST). For more information, chat schedule, and chat archives check out: https://macrosw.wordpress.com
image: Collaborative for Communication Access via Captioning
Advocacy is the heart of social work.
The NASW Code of Ethics addresses this in the Preamble:
“Social workers promote social justice and social change with and on behalf of clients. Fundamental to social work is attention to the environmental forces that create, contribute to, and address problems in living…[we] strive to end discrimination, oppression, poverty, and other forms of social injustice. These activities may be in the form of direct practice, community organizing, supervision, consultation administration, advocacy, social and political action, policy development and implementation, education, and research and evaluation. Social workers seek to enhance the capacity of people to address their own needs. Social workers also seek to promote the responsiveness of organizations, communities, and other social institutions to individuals’ needs and social problems.”
All six ethical principles – service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity and competence – can be applied to advocacy in macro, mezzo and micro areas of social work practice.
Here are some questions for our discussion:
How do you define advocacy?
What have been your own experiences of advocacy?
What skills are needed to be an effective advocate?
If you are a SW educator or student: what is taught about advocacy in your school?
How can we measure outcomes of advocacy?
What are current issues for bettering the SW profession?
We hope you will join us this Thursday at 9pm ET / 8 PM CT / 6 PM PT !
Payne, M. (Ed.) (2014) Modern Social Work Theory 4th Ed. London: Palgrave Macmillan OR New York: St. Martin’s Press. See Chapter 11 Empowerment and Advocacy
How to Participate
To participate in the #MacroSW Twitter chat, go to the search box and enter the hashtag #MacroSW and then click on “all.” To join in the discussion include #MacroSW in all your tweets, including replies.
#MacroSW chats takes place on Twitter on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month. The chat is a collaboration between the Association for Community Organization and Social Administration (ACOSA) @acosaorg, The Network for Social Work Management (NSWM) @TheNSWM, USC School of Social Work @MSWatUSC, the University at Buffalo School of Social Work @UBSSW, Karen Zgoda @karenzgoda, and Sunya Folayan @SunyaFolayan.
