Thank you for your membership with NASW. Thanks to all who attended the Social Work Month Celebration in March! If you missed it, please click here to watch the recording. Take a look at our upcoming Chapter events for April 2025, policy and practice updates, and more.

Jeremy Arp, MSW, ACSW

Executive Director, NASW-WA

(he/him)

Call for Nominations: Respond by May 2, 2025!

Our members help the Chapter's work in so many ways! The NASW-WA Chapter seeks members to serve on our Chapter

Board for the following positions:

Eastern WA Regional Representative

Western WA Regional Representative

MSW Student Representative

BSW Student Representative

VP of Budget & Finance

We're also looking for NASW-WA members to serve on the following committees:

Membership Engagement Committee

Chapter Ethics Committee

Legislative Action Committee

Political Action for Candidate Election Committee

and more!

If you are interested in serving the Chapter as a volunteer leader, please respond by May 2, 2025!, Click here for more information on Board and Committee Nominations and to apply.

Legislative Updates

Washington Updates

The Chapter's Legislative Action Committee (LAC) continues to be active this year. Our Chapter worked to pass legislation, including HB 1234, concerning the mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, and social workers advisory committee. The bill provides for a change in the Licensed MH Counselors, MFT, and SW Advisory Committee in the WA Department of Health.

Currently, there is a vacancy for the Licensed Advanced SW (LASW) post; the LASW seat's vacancy is likely due to the small universe of potential LASWs in Washington. Our hope is that both social work seats can be filled to provide this important advisory role, therefore, we would like to see the LICSW optional for the second social work seat on the Committee. Allowing an LASW or LICSW to serve allows for fuller participation of licensed social workers in future deliberations and advice on items that are important to the professions. NASW Washington Chapter supports this change, which allows for a full representation of the social work profession, which becomes more important as the DOH Secretary will likely consult the Committee regarding continuing education requirements for the professions licensed in 18.225. Many thanks to Rep. Tarra Simmons and Rep. Alicia Rule for sponsoring the bill this year!

Governor Ferguson signed the bill on April 7th (see photo above. Pictured are Darcy Huffman, S & H Government Relations; Nichelle Curtis McQueen, LAC Chair, family members of Bob Ferguson, Evergreen Public Affairs, Governor Ferguson; and staff from Reps. Simmons and Rule's office).

National Updates

Social Work Compact Updates

Last April, Kansas became the seventh state to pass Social Work Interstate Licensing Compact Legislation. That was a threshold that had to be met for states to create a Compact Commission that would govern the compact and ensure coordination between the participating states. 

In all, 24 states have passed the compact legislation. They are Missouri on July 7, 2023, followed by South Dakota on February 4, 2024;  Utah; Washington state, and Kentucky in in March, 2024; Virginia, Nebraska, 

Vermont, and Maine in April 2024; Georgia, Iowa, Alabama, Ohio, Louisiana, Tennessee and Minnesota* in May, 2024, Colorado, Louisiana, Arizona and Rhode Island in June, 2024; New Hampshire in July, 2024; Mississippi in March 2025; and Maryland in April 2025.

The legislation has been introduced in about a dozen other states. Additional states can join the Compact Commission after they pass the legislation. (Read more)

National Advocacy Efforts

NASW has worked this year to advocate against cuts at the national level, as well as push for legislation to help social workers and communities. NASW signs on to letters with coalition partners to demonstrate unity on an issue and to push for change. Click here to see a list of letters and actions. NASW also continues to push for telehealth extensions and flexibility, as well as advocacy for voting rights, oversight regarding AI, and the protection of federally funded programs.

Thank you for joining us to honor the NASW-WA 2024 Social Work Award Winners!

Thanks to all who joined us on March 28, 2025, for our virtual Social Work Month Celebration! This year, we hosted a virtual awards recognition to honor the accomplishments of social workers and community members. Our Executive Committee selected award winners to honor during this year's event -- read more about our award winners by clicking here. Thanks to social workers across Washington for your inspiring and meaningful work to make Washington a better place for all!

In case you missed it, you can watch the recording of the event by clicking here.

April is Alcohol Awareness Month!

During Alcohol Awareness Month, social workers can dispel common myths about drinking, including the belief that there is a safe time, amount, or amount of alcohol to drink while pregnant.  (Read more)

ZOOM FORMAT: An Hour with Private Practice: Questions & Answers

NASW Members Only...FREE

When: Third Friday of the Month 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. ET

An Hour with Private Practice (HOPP): Questions & Answers is a free members-only question-and-answer session that provides members with important clinical social work updates affecting the delivery of mental health services in a private solo or group practice. Join us in 2025 to take part in the discussion, ask questions, and comment on private practice topics.

Hour with Private Practice

HOPP: Top Tax Reductions for Clinical Social Workers in Private Practice

April 18, 2025, from 12 pm - 1 pm ET

Presenter: Forrest Perry, former CPA; Heard Foundation

Register here.

For Information Purposes Only.

No CEs will be issued.

New Extension of Telehealth Flexibilities Through September 30, 2025

What This Means for Clinical Social Workers

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has received numerous member inquiries about the status of Medicare waivers for telehealth services. There has been some confusion centered around the status of telehealth flexibilities. Most telehealth flexibilities were scheduled to end on December 31, 2024; however, Congress implemented telehealth waivers in January 2025 and extended the waivers until March 31, 2025. On March 14, 2025, Congress approved a six-month continuing resolution to maintain government funding and extend the telehealth waivers until September 30, 2025. (Read More)

Spread the Word - SKC Clinic Volunteer Registration Now Open

Please help spread the word about this impactful opportunity so we can fill all 5,000+ shifts during Clinic week, as well as the eyeglasses dispensing event in late May. Here are some quick links to remember:



• Volunteer Registration: Find flyers, social media graphics, assignment descriptions, and more here.

Upcoming Student Series Events

So You Want to Go Into Private Practice After Graduation

April 17, 2025 | 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. ET

Register

Once registered, you will receive the Zoom event information.

View Past Events for Social Work Students here.

Call for Presenters

Are you interested in presenting a workshop for NASW-WA? We have an open call for presenters for our ongoing continuing education series held throughout the year (live, virtual, or recorded).

Click here for more information about what we're looking for!

Chapter Classifieds

NASW-WA offers a space on our website for text-only classified ads. Click here for details.

Stay up to date on the newest NASW-WA Continuing Education courses!

NASW Washington Chapter | Website