News
The Medicare annual enrollment period ends on December 7. During this time, Medicare beneficiaries can review, compare, and change their coverage options for the upcoming year. As a social worker, you can help clients understand Medicare coverage and navigate annual enrollment. Read this four-part NASW Tips & Tools for Social Workers series for information on the following topics: (1) Medicare annual enrollment basics and the social work role in helping beneficiaries prepare for 2026; (2) strategies and tools to navigate Medicare enrollment for 2026; (3) out-of-pocket health costs and financial assistance for Medicare beneficiaries in 2026; and (4) other changes to Medicare coverage in 2026. The series includes information about the impact of the recent federal government shutdown on Medicare annual enrollment. The series also addresses the impact of recent changes within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the enactment of the July 2025 budget reconciliation law (P.L. 119-21, also known as H.R. 1) on Medicare coverage for 2026.
The budget reconciliation act passed
by Congressional Republicans on July 3 and signed into law by President Trump
on July 4 (infamously known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”) will harm all
of us as we age. This edition of NASW’s
Tips & Tools for Social Workers provides
a brief overview of the federal budgeting process and outlines how the law
decreases older adults’ access to Medicaid, the Health Insurance Marketplace,
Medicare, long-term services and supports (LTSS), and the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—disproportionately affecting older
immigrants and refugees—while weakening Social Security and other public
programs.
SPS Webinars
Thursday, February 26, 2026 (1 -2 pm ET)
Presenter: Stephanie N. Perry, DSW, LSW
CEs:1 Social Work contact hour
In this one-hour virtual session, social work professionals will explore how civility strengthens psychological safety in high-stress environments. Through practical strategies and interactive reflection, participants will learn to foster respectful, trauma-informed workplaces that support ethical leadership and team resilience.
Objectives:
- Define psychological safety and workplace civility within the context of social services, and explain their role in fostering ethical, trauma-informed environments.
- Identify common barriers to respectful communication and team cohesion in high-stress human service settings, and explore strategies to address them.
- Apply civility-centered leadership practices to enhance trust, accountability, and resilience among colleagues and clients.
Cost: SPS Members: Free / Non-SPS NASW Members: $25 / Non-NASW Member: $35
Wednesday, March 4, 2026 (Noon – 3 pm ET)
Presenter: Frederic G. Reamer, Ph.D
CEs: 3 Ethics contact hours
VIP Early Registration for SPS Members: Registration opens first to SPS members for this webinar for the LIVE webinar only. This VIP early registration is available through February 10,, 2026.SPS members are encouraged to register during the VIP early for registration to help ensure their seats. After February 11, registration will open to non-SPS NASW members and non-NASW members for a fee.
Social workers frequently encounter complex ethical challenges involving boundaries and dual relationships. Examples include navigating relationships with clients when practitioners live and work in small or rural communities; managing practitioner self-disclosure; managing friendships and social contact with current and former clients; managing favors, gifts, and invitations; hiring of former clients; and managing online and social networking relationships and communications, among others. Using extensive case material, Dr. Frederic Reamer will acquaint participants with a typology of boundary issues and dual relationships. Participants will learn how to identify and respond constructively to complex boundary issues, protect clients, prevent professional malpractice, and avoid licensing board complaints. Key topics will include the nature of boundary issues, types of dual relationships, and practical risk-management strategies. Dr. Reamer will review and apply key social work ethics standards, statutes, and regulations.
Objectives:
- Identify ethics and risk management issues related to professional boundaries and dual relationships in social work.
- Apply relevant ethics standards to manage boundary issues and dual relationships that arise in social work.
- Use protocols designed to protect clients and help prevent litigation and ethics complaints.
SPS Members: Free / Members: $60 / Non NASW Members: $ 80
Tuesday, March 17, 2026 (1 – 2:30 pm ET)
Presenter: Paige Hector, LMSW
CEs: 1.5 Social Work Contact hours
Sometimes people do or say things that can be difficult for us to understand and tolerate.In a healthcare setting, this might look like “refusing” care or reactions that are often labeled as “behaviors.” Even with increased recognition of trauma-informed care, the power dynamics in our work environments can make it difficult to respond to clients in a way that does not compromise care. Moreover, even our well-intentioned approaches may perpetuate the ageism that pervades our society, and to which healthcare settings are not immune. In this session, we will explore Nonviolent Communication (NVC), a communication process designed to radically shift the way we think and use language in everyday situations to enhance the quality of our relationships. Social workers will learn how NVC principles and skills can stimulate a paradigm shift for a more collaborative way of providing care and creating a therapeutic environment in healthcare settings. While this session focuses on older adults, the material applies across age groups and settings and supports social work values of advocacy, an individual’s dignity, and our collective humanity.
Objectives:
- Expand the social worker’s awareness of the impact of judgments like “refusing” care and labeling “behaviors” on the client, social workers, and other healthcare professionals.
- Recognize ageist assumptions when an older adult acts in a way that contributes to challenging care situations.
- Use Nonviolent Communication principles and skills to identify observations and underlying needs that the individual is attempting to meet with behaviors that contribute to challenging care situations.
- Identify one strategy to initiate in the work setting to transform communication and uphold social work values of empowerment, dignity, and advocacy.
Cost: SPS Members: Free / Non-SPS NASW Members: $25 / Non-NASW Member: $40
Thursday, April 16, 2026 (1 – 3 pm ET)
Presenters: Tracy Jalaba, OTD, OTD/L, LRC; Tina Paddock, DPPD, LCSW, MSW; Debra Waters-Roman, Ed.D, LCP, LCSW, MSW and June Wiley, Ph.D., MSW
CEs: 2 Social Work contact hours
Social workers are serving more individuals on the Autism Spectrum and expanding their practices to include neurodiversity-affirming techniques that acknowledge individuals' strengths (Wagland et al., 2025). During this workshop, participants will learn about neurodiversity-affirming techniques used to support individuals on the Autism Spectrum and their families and practice applying them to case scenarios. The goal of this workshop is for participants to leave with a toolbox of neurodiversity-affirming techniques they can use in their own practices to support individuals on the Autism Spectrum and their families.
Objectives:
- Participants will learn current research and criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) across racial, ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic groups. Participants will be able translate this knowledge into an understanding of the characteristics, strengths, and challenges for neurodiverse individuals and their families.
- Participants will learn about the history of neurodiversity-affirming practice and learn specific techniques that social workers can use to support individuals on the Autism Spectrum and their families. Participants will leave with a toolbox of neurodiversity-affirming strategies to use in their own practices.
- Participants will practice applying neurodiversity-affirming practices through case scenarios. Participants will leave understanding the strengths and opportunities for using neurodiversity-affirming techniques as social workers.
Cost: SPS Members: Free / Non-SPS NASW Members: $25 / Non-NASW Member: $40
Panel Discussions
Panel Discussion on Artificial Intelligence in Private Practice
Friday, February 20, 2026 (2-3 pm ET)
Sponsored by the Private Practice Committee.
As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes how professionals deliver care, social workers in private practice stand at the intersection of technology and human connection. This panel brings together social workers in private practice to explore how AI can enhance or hinder care. This panel will discuss the pros and cons, benefits, and challenges of using AI as a tool. We hope that attendees will leave with practical insights and best practices for using AI effectively.
Open to all Specialty Practice Section Members. For Information Purposes Only. No CEs will be issued.
Register in advance for this meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/-W8XpjswTZ-g82K71px9Bg
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
For information purpose only, No CEs will be issued. Panel discussion will be recorded and made available.
Panel Discussion Replays
Replay: Panel Discussion on Crossroads in Social Work Practice
Original date: January 15, 2026 (60 minutes)
Sponsored by the Administration/Supervision Committee. For Specialty Practice Section Members only.
View the full recording.
Replay: Panel Discussion on How to Have Positive Discourse During Challenging Times
Original date: Tuesday, December 16 (60 minutes)
Sponsored by the NASW Social and Economic Justice & Peace Committee and open to all NASW members.
View the full recording>>
Replay: Panel Discussion on Artificial Intelligence and Child Welfare: Possible Use and Misuse
Original date: November 7, 2025 (60 minutes)
Sponsored by the NASW Child Welfare Section Committee
Open to all Specialty Practice Section Members
View the Full Recording>>
Resources:
- One of my favorite organizations for AI policy updates is the Center for Humane Technology: https://www.humanetech.com/
- Frederic Reamer, USC CAIS Seminar, October 16, 2024-artificial intelligence in the behavioral health professions: emerging ethical and risk management challenges
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhEAHNn5X0I
- All tech is human - https://alltechishuman.org/
- Listen.Up.People: AI & Wisdom Work. USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work
- We have been the most intelligent species by far for tens of thousands of years. Now we created something that could compete with us in the very near future. John Oberg, DSW ’22 and CEO of Precina Health, and Josiah Bryan, Chief Technology Officer for Precina Health, use aAI to improve health and well-being, yet are deeply concerned about the role of AI in the workplace and how it may impact our daily lives.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HawNEizlJmQ&t=7s
Replay: Panel Discussion on the Ethics of Involuntarily Commitment
Original Date: July 23, 2025 (60 Minutes)
Sponsored by the NASW Social Work and Courts Section Committee.
Open to all Specialty Practice Section members
View the full recording>>
Meet Social Workers like you with MyNASW
If you are an SPS member, you are already a member of at least one of these MyNASW online communities and can participate now:
Children, Youth and Schools
For members of the Child Welfare; Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults; and School Social Work Specialty Practice Sections
Clinical Social Work, Aging, and Gealth
For members of the Aging; Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs; Health; Mental Health; and Private Practice Specialty Practice Sections
Social Justice, Administration, and Courts
For members of the Administration/Supervision; Social and Economic Justice & Peace; and Social Work and the Courts Specialty Practice Sections