Our entire Board of Directors, and those who help identify and encourage social workers to serve on the Board and in other leadership positions within the organization (the Chapter Committee on Nominations and Leadership, or CCNLI), is elected by the Chapter’s membership - YOU.

Login to our website to vote TODAY and have a voice in the direction of our Chapter! Voting is open until close of business TODAY, May 1, 2020.

If you don't remember your login information or member ID, just send us an email to [email protected] and we will be happy to help!

Due to many schools going remote for the remainder of the semester, we will be mailing graduation cords to students.  If you would like to receive a graduation cord, please email  Noël Schutz  and include the following:

Graduation cords are available to current, new, and rejoining NASW-MA members, as well as school of social work faculty members.

In order to participate, you must  be a member of NASW-MA . Please note, graduation cords must be requested at least 14 business days prior to your graduation date. If you have already requested a graduation cord, please send  Noël Schutz   an email with your current mailing address.

Want to be featured on our social media?   Upload a picture of yourself on Twitter or Instagram wearing your NASW-MA graduation cord. Tag NASW-MA (@naswma on Twitter or @masocialworkers on Instagram) and use the hashtag #NASWMAStrong . Feel free to wear your school colors, apparel, or graduation cap and gown. We can’t wait to share your photo and celebrate you!

The NASW-MA Committee on Ethics is a group of social workers committed to ensuring and promoting ethical social work practice in Massachusetts. While in the past these responsibilities were divided between NASW-MA’s Ethics Education Committee, Ethics Hotline, and Committee on Ethics and Professional Review, these roles are now unified under the NASW-MA Committee on Ethics.

This group aims to promote ethical social work practice by offering continuing education opportunities, consultation, and, in general, addressing concerns both reactively and proactively as needed. Currently this committee is accepting new member applications, especially with some ethics background and/or experience. The group will meet virtually or in person at a frequency to be determined by its constituency.

Any interested individuals can contact either Seth Kleinman at  [email protected] or [email protected] .

All Symposium participants a lready received notice, but we wanted to remind you that we made the decision to POSTPONE Symposium 2020 due to the current COVID-19 crisis. If you already registered, all of your registration items, including workshop and intensive selections, will automatically transfer to 2021, at the current cost to attend.

The tentative dates for our postponed conference, which will include our keynote speaker Dr. Joy DeGruy and all 90+ workshops and intensives, is April 15-16, 2021. Please mark your calendars.

Symposium 2020 registrants will soon receive notice about bonus continuing education opportunities this year. Stay tuned!

Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] for more information about opportunities to earn CEUs or with any questions you may have. We look forward to seeing you at Symposium in 2021!

Earlier this week (April 29th), we would have been celebrating the achievements of these incredible social workers and allies at NASW-MA’s 47th Annual Awards Celebrations. Though our in-person event has been postponed to the end of this calendar year, NASW-MA wants to thank and recognize the amazing work of these social workers and allied leaders in our community.

New date and details coming soon!

Each spring, NASW-MA sends text-based continuing education courses to our members. The goal is to provide members with low cost and convenient CE opportunities that can be completed anytime, anywhere.

This year’s booklet, which you will receive later this month, will include the opportunity to earn up to 6 CEUs with courses on Latinx Social Work Over the Lifespan, Racial and Cultural Considerations in Leadership, and The Ins and Outs of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) for Social Work Practice.

Social distancing during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic is affecting the delivery of psychotherapy and the ways therapists might adapt their approaches to balance the increase in need, the acuity of our clients, and the limitations of our practices. Content will include addressing the necessity of remote crisis assessment and intervention, the challenges and opportunities of telehealth, and strategies for reducing the strain and isolation of providing care for others while being impacted ourselves.

with  Jenn Brandel, LICSW

Social Work Students: Join us for an hour of peer-to-peer connection and discussion, co-led by NASW-MA's MSW Student Board Representative Ryan Zenevitch and Anna Maria College Student Ambassador Moncia Frew . Topics will include resource sharing, self-care, and more! Please join us on May 6 at 6:00 pm using the following virtual meeting details (note: this event was originally scheduled for May 7 at 5:00 pm):

Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.

https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/210774157

You can also dial in using your phone.

United States: +1 (408) 650-3123

Access Code: 210-774-157

We'll be live from our Facebook page on Friday, May 15, 2020, starting at 10:00 am to share updates on our response to COVID-19 and answer your questions. Hear directly from NASW-MA Executive Director Rebekah Gewirtz during our second virtual Town Hall.

No registration required - just head to our Facebook page on 5/15 at 10:00 am: facebook.com/naswma/videos

Check out our first Town Hall here !

Join us online for the first ever Therapy Matcher Virtual Open House

Sunday, May 17th, 3:00 - 4:30 pm . The Open House is an annual event for current and prospective Therapy Matcher members. We will continue the tradition, in an online format!

This will be a chance to learn more about the workings of Therapy Matcher, and connect with colleagues in our online meeting room. Please email Barbara Burka at  [email protected]  to RSVP. 

This year’s conference on June 11 , will focus on leveraging and maximizing social worker expertise in residential settings with a particular focus on crisis management in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We will learn from experts about the many ways the unique skills of social workers can be applied to improving the quality of care and quality of life of older adults living in these settings now.

There will be opportunities to learn successful strategies to support and treat older adults with issues such as severe social isolation, trauma, dementia, and substance use disorder in ordinary times and in the context of the current COVID-19 crisis.

* NEW* Special Welcome: State Senator Patricia Jehlen, Chairwoman, Joint Committee on Elder Affairs

Keynote Speaker: Lisa Sobhian , Maximizing Social Work Expertise in Residential Care in Ordinary and Extraordinary Times

Other Workshops:

Hundreds of web-based continuing education offerings are available to social workers for free or low-cost on NASW's Online CE Institute

On April 20, Governor Baker signed the Eviction and Foreclosure Moratorium Bill into law. The bill, that NASW-MA was supportive of, enacts the following temporary protections:

The moratorium is in effect until August 18, 2020, or until 45 days after the Governor lifts the state of emergency, whichever happens first. The Governor is able to extend the end date of the moratorium so that it does not end before the end of the state of emergency, if he choses.

For more information on the bill, click here .

The current COVID-19 crisis has made it incredibly difficult for many Massachusetts Medicare recipients to get the mental health services that they need. While video telehealth is currently being covered, telephonic services are not . This has an especially large impact on the most vulnerable members of our community - older adults and those with disabilities. With anxieties heightened during this uncertain time, Medicare recipients need access to telephonic services in order to access crucial mental health treatment.

Click the green Take Action button below to send a letter directly to your US Senators and Congressperson.

The disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the poorest families and individuals in our state especially hard. Families who were already struggling to meet their basic needs are now facing higher utility bills and grocery costs. That’s why NASW-MA supports HD4951 An Act to provide short-term relief for families in deep poverty , which would provide immediate one-time supplemental cash assistance to Massachusetts’ to our state's most vulnerable residents.

Click the green Take Action button below to send a letter in support of this bill directly to your State Senator and Representative.

As we all work to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, we are particularly concerned about preventing outbreaks where close confinement and unsanitary conditions are widespread and unavoidable for residents: in our jails and prisons.  Contact your legislators   and ask them to pass An Act regarding Decarceration and COVID-19  (HB4652), sponsored by Rep. Sabadosa . 

HB4652   would put processes in place to decarcerate non-violent offenders, those who pose no threat to our communities, and vulnerable populations during the ongoing public health crisis. It would also require public health protections for people who are currently incarcerated.

Click the green Take Action button below to send a letter in support of this bill directly to your State Senator and Representative.

In Massachusetts, there are families with no emergency paid sick time at all and that needs to change. An Act relative to emergency paid sick time   (HD5039/SD2918), sponsored by Rep. Donato and Sen. Lewis   would guarantee all workers at least ten additional paid workdays (80 hours) of job-protected paid sick time for immediate use during the COVID-19 outbreak or future public health emergencies. This emergency paid sick time would be in addition to any paid or unpaid time off already available to the worker.

When workers have been exposed to COVID-19, are sick, or have an ill family member, they must have the ability to miss work to care for themselves or their family, without losing the pay they need to make ends meet. 

Click the green Take Action button below to send a letter in support of this bill directly to your State Senator and Representative.

The CARES Act, a recovery act that Congress recently passed, provides much-needed stimulus checks for most American taxpayers. However, the CARES Act excludes taxpayers who file with an ITIN rather than a Social Security Number. These are usually immigrant families who have paid the same share of income taxes as those with social security numbers and deserve the same assistance. 

An Act to Provide Equal Stimulus Checks to Immigrant Taxpayers   (SB2916), sponsored by Sen. Eldridge and Reps. Balser and Miranda , would direct the Massachusetts Department of Revenue to provide a stimulus check to ITIN taxpayers that is equal to the stimulus checks provided under the CARES Act. It would also provide $10 million to immigrant aid organizations to provide direct financial assistance to immigrants and immigrant families.

Click the green Take Action button below to send a letter in support of this bill directly to your State Senator and Representative.

Our staff are hard at work each day making sure we convey the most up-to-date information to you on the ever-evolving rules and regulations around tele-mental health in response to COVID-19. We  update this page  routinely (almost daily!) as the insurance and health care landscape adapts and changes.  Bookmark this page and check back frequently  to learn about telehealth and its impacts on your practice during this time.

Let Therapy Matcher expertly match new clients to your practice. We provide pre-screened, personalized referrals make growing your private practice easy.

 

Join now! Start receiving personalized referrals to your practice right away. NASW-MA membership not required, but there is a significant discount to join for members.

 

More information at  https://www.naswma.org/page/TMprovider or contact us at  [email protected].  

LogMeIn is providing GoToMeeting and several other helpful solutions for up to 3 months at no charge to all NASW members. To get set up, simply call 1-800-514-1317 to speak with one of their consultants. Learn more here .

The Private Practice Google Group is an exclusive member benefit powered by social work colleagues from across the state and NASW-MA. By signing up you'll receive timely updates from your colleagues about ethics, billing and insurance, and other critical private practice issues. You can also pose your own questions to the group to crowd source answers from colleagues. NASW-MA also uses this platform to send important clinical alerts to members.

Sign up to join the group by sending an email to [email protected] with "Join Google Group" in the subject line.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts COVID-19 Command Center (Command Center) is working with COVID-19 Long-term Care Facilities (LTC) to recruit and hire health and human services professionals to care for COVID-19 patients.

To streamline this process the Command Center created a Facility Staffing Portal for healthcare professionals to apply for job opportunities at LTC/ post-acute sites across the state. The Staffing Portal can be accessed here: https://covid19ltc.umassmed.edu/

There is an urgent need for: Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical and Vocational Nurses, Certified Nursing Assistants and Patient Care Technicians, Physical Therapists and Assistants, Occupational Therapists and Assistants, Social Workers , and Activity Coordinators.

The Massachusetts  Office of the Child Advocate​  in partnership with UMass Medical is launching a public information campaign designed to make Massachusetts families aware of state resources that are available to them and encourage struggling families to reach out for help.

A series of graphics are available to be be printed, emailed, and/or shared on social media here: https://www.mass.gov/lists/we-all-need-help-sometimes

If you'd like to be notified when new languages are available, or have any questions about this project, please email:  [email protected] .

Are you a social worker working in a community-based setting? Take advantage of this partial loan repayment program (up to $30K available to LCSWs and LICSWs!). Applications are now due May 5 (originally March 24!). Learn more about this program and apply here .

Social workers have a long track record of success doing voter registration at rates higher than even traditional voter registration groups. The institution of The Human Service Employees Voter Registration and Education Campaign (Human SERVE) and the successful National Social Work Voter Mobilization Campaign ( Voting is Social Work ) demonstrate that the social work profession has always known that voter registration and voting support a robust democracy, a just society, and an equitable health care system. At VotER, we know that for decades social work has been out in front doing the hard work of voter registration in all settings and our free healthy democracy kit makes it easier for social workers across the country to do just that. Learn more here .

SWAN is a free, confidential colleague assistance program sponsored by the Massachusetts Chapter of NASW. SWAN assists social workers with consultation regarding personal and professional issues, which may be having an impact on their ability to practice in an optimal manner. Now, more than ever, social workers are under a lot of stress and we urge you to reach out if you need help. Learn more about this service and member benefit here .

NASW-MA hosts Licensing Test Prep courses each month in various parts of the state. Upcoming courses include:

Be in touch with Michael LaBerge for more information at [email protected].

As "essential" professionals, social workers are on the front lines of providing vital services to individuals and communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, in numerous settings including hospitals and nursing homes. Due to the lack of access to optimal personal protective equipment (PPE) and other factors, the health and safety of social workers is at risk.

Congressional lawmakers are developing legislation in the  House  and  Senate  to provide hazard pay to essential workers. NASW is working to make sure social workers are eligible for this compensation.

Email your lawmakers today and ask them to ensure that social workers are included in hazard/pandemic premium pay proposals to reward, retain, and recruit essential personnel.

NASW, with the Council on Social Work Education and ASWB, wants to hear how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting you as a social work professional. Please complete this brief survey (5 minutes) about your experience.