📰 Show-Me Social Work

June 2025

📅 This Month at a Glance – June 2025

🧭 Rule Amendment in Progress: CE Requirements & DEI Executive Order

The Missouri State Committee for Social Workers is currently reviewing rule amendments in response to Governor Mike Kehoe’s recent Executive Order restricting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts in state agencies. This order may impact continuing education (CE) requirements related to DEI, anti-oppressive practice, and cultural competence for licensed social workers in Missouri.

NASW-MO is actively monitoring this development and remains committed to supporting education that reflects the values and ethics of the social work profession. We are in ongoing communication with the Committee and are encouraging members to stay engaged as the rule amendment process unfolds.

⚠️ ASWB Exam Format Changes Raise Concerns About Transparency and Equity

Recent reporting has uncovered that the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) made significant changes to its licensing exam format without adequately informing examinees or the broader social work community. According to Psychotherapy Notes, ASWB updated its handbook two weeks after the changes were already implemented, raising serious concerns about transparency and adherence to professional testing standards.

Additionally, NASW leaders have raised concerns about ASWB’s apparent efforts to influence state legislation, potentially cementing exam requirements in law without community consensus or evidence of fairness.

📚 Read the article: ASWB misinformed examinees about social work exam changes

NASW-Missouri stands with other chapters in urging for greater transparency, accountability, and inclusion in any decisions that impact the licensure and future of our profession.

🎉 NASW Turns 70: Celebrating Our Legacy, Launching Our Future

This October marks 70 years of NASW leading change, lifting voices, and shaping the profession. To celebrate, we’re unveiling a bold new brand—complete with a refreshed logo, updated visuals, and a powerful video that highlights the heart of social work.

🎥 Watch the video: Social Workers: Agents of Change and Hope

Together, we honor the past and invest in a future where social workers continue to lead with integrity, compassion, and courage.

🌐 Explore the new Stronger Together Action Center:

Get tools, resources, and opportunities to act on NASW’s national priorities—from reproductive justice to economic equity.

Visit the Resource and Action Center →

We’re proud of our history—and even more energized by what’s next.

Missouri Mobilizes

Your front-row seat to social work advocacy in action.

🔗 Missouri Meets Washington: Legislative Battles and NASW’s Bold National Agenda

Curious about what happened in Jefferson City—and how it connects to NASW’s federal priorities?

Read our full update on Missouri's 2025 session, key ballot challenges, and how national policy is shaping the future of social work.

https://naswmo.socialworkers.org/News/Missouri-Mobilizes

Power in Practice

Elevation Professional Development, Innovation and Connection in Missouri

We’re launching powerful new ways to learn, connect, and grow:

💻 Sept. 2025 Virtual Conference – Ethics, DEI & Suicide Prevention

🚀 Three New CE Series – Disruptors, Power Moves & Ethics Unplugged

🌊 March 2026 Annual Conference – Camden on the Lake, reimagined

https://naswmo.socialworkers.org/News/-Power-in-Practice

📝 Field Notes

Shares real stories and reflections from Missouri social workers making an impact in their communities every day.

“The idea that you have to hide your emotions to survive—it’s killing people.”

— Lilly White, LMSW, Shelby County, MO

In Shelby County, where rural life is often romanticized, Lilly White is sounding the alarm on something far less idyllic: the county's alarmingly high rate of suicide by firearm, particularly among generational farm families. Through a partnership with the University of Missouri, Lilly is leading a research and intervention effort to understand the stigma around mental health and the unique stressors faced by rural residents.

📍 This is social work in action: research, community engagement, and systems change.

Share your work and appear in the next field note! Fill out our form

https://naswmo.socialworkers.org/News/Field-Notes

Kathie Miller, MSW, LCSW

📍 Malden, Missouri

With over 26 years as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in child protective services, medical, and psychiatric settings, Kathie Miller transitioned from frontline practice to leadership—first as the executive director of The Center for Family Resources in Malden, then into academia. Since 2007, she's been shaping future professionals at Southeast Missouri State University, using her lived experience to guide ethical, trauma-informed training and advocate for justice-driven practice.

Her journey exemplifies how seasoned clinicians can uplift the next generation, ensuring Missouri’s social workers are equipped to meet increasing needs with compassion, competence, and integrity.

📣 Know someone we should spotlight next? Nominate them here →

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Results of Special Elections

We’re thrilled to announce that Ambur Banner has been elected President-Elect of NASW-MO for 2025–26!

Her vision for strengthening the profession—through workforce development pipelines, government partnerships, and supportive work environments—captures the ethos of social work in action.

A heartfelt thank you to all who ran. Your dedication and passion reflect the vitality and diversity of our membership. We’re excited to welcome Ambur into her new role starting July 1!

🧭 Board Retreat Scheduled – July 12, 2025

Our NASW-MO Board of Directors will gather for a mid-year Board Retreat on Saturday, July 12, from 9:00 AM to 2:15 PM (via Zoom). This retreat will focus on strategic planning, committee updates, and member engagement initiatives for the upcoming year.

📌 All board members are encouraged to attend and come prepared to help shape our shared direction.

NASW-MO 2025 CE Series

NASW CE Institute

Raise Your Hand- Get Active

Highlights current opportunities for members to get involved, lead, and shape the future of social work in Missouri.

Ready to lead, speak, or support? Here’s where you’re needed.

Call for Committee Members

Help shape our work in policy, DEI, CE planning & more.

https://forms.office.com/r/k1UYhVMxVz

Speaker Call: Share Your Expertise

We're looking for dynamic presenters for Ethics, DEI, and Suicide Prevention.

https://forms.office.com/r/YKSD7LYj63

💬 Final Word: The Weight and Worth of Social Work

Social work is not just a job—it is a calling rooted in dignity, justice, and humanity. It means showing up in systems that are broken, in moments that are chaotic, and in lives that are often overlooked.

Social workers stand in the tension holding space for healing while pushing for change.

Every day, across Missouri, social workers help individuals navigate unimaginable hardship. They offer care without condition, advocacy without recognition, and solutions where few exist. And in doing so, they remind communities that compassion is not weakness—it is strength in motion.

The work is complex. The stakes are high. But the impact is undeniable.

This moment calls for courage, connection, and continued action. The profession needs steady voices, strong hearts, and raised hands. Because when social workers lead, communities heal.

Purpose in Practice

From- Team NASW-MO

At NASW-MO, our mission is more than procedural, it’s personal. As we reimagine how we serve members, our commitment is to ensure that every initiative we pursue, whether it’s a CE offering, a conference session, or a policy agenda is rooted in our Code of Ethics and fueled by real connection.

Purpose in Practice is about aligning action with values. It’s where we pause to ask:

Are we upholding dignity?

Are we promoting justice?

Are we innovating with intention and care?

From launching bold new CE series to expanding access to advocacy spaces, this work is about building a chapter that reflects the complexity, courage, and clarity of the profession. Together, we are creating a culture where social workers feel seen, supported, and inspired to lead—with purpose.