Ethnicity & Race Practice Tools

NASW is developing a task force for the revision of the 2013 Guidelines for Social Work Safety in the Workplace. The guidelines were created to establish safety measures and protocols for social workers within the workplace. Social workers utilize these guidelines as a resource to help create, develop, and assist communities, private and public agencies, local, state, and federal policymakers to create a safe working environment in areas where social workers are employed.

NASW acknowledges that our profession has not always lived up to its mission of pursuing social justice for all. We apologize for supporting policies and activities that harm people of color and we will strengthen our efforts to end racism in the social work profession and in society.

The impact of colonisation on Indigenous peoples has been similar in a number of countries, including Australia, Canada, America and New Zealand. In her book "Trauma Trails: Recreating Songlines," Professor Judy Atkinson describes how the control of Indigenous peoples by the coloniser was facilitated by three main types of power abuse or violence – overt physical violence, covert structural violence, and psychosocial domination.

In the United States, there has been a continued population demographic shift, with an increase of people of color from diverse cultures and ethnic identities. Many of these families who seek social services are poor, immigrants, or survivors of generations of racism and discrimination. For many social workers, this change in demographics can mean increased exposure to the complexities and richness of diverse experiences and needs which are reflected in caseloads, communities, and work places.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health (HHS, OMH) released improved National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health Care (CLAS Standards).

The 2013 CLAS Standards are an all-inclusive appraisal of the 2000 CLAS Standards, include a comprehensive review by federal and nonfederal expert partners, and provide a framework to advance health equity. The standards reflect the 13-year evolution in cultural and linguistic competency, the demographic shift of the U.S. population, and address race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and language factors in support of effective health care (HHS, OMH, 2013b).

In 2001, NASW published the NASW Standards for Cultural Competence in Social Work Practice, a widely used resource by practicing social workers in their work with increasingly diverse ethnic and racial client populations.

In 2007, NASW published Indicators for the Achievement of the NASW Standards for Cultural Competence in Social Work Practice. This document provides additional guidance and interpretation for the sustainability, advancement, and implementation of culturally competent social work practice in organizations, agencies, and the communities.