Social Work Safety: NASW Resources

These guidelines are important to the retention and recruitment of a professional social work force. They may be a helpful resource to communities; private and public agencies; and policymakers invested in creating a safer work environment for social workers.

These standards were developed to broadly define the scope of services that child welfare social workers shall provide; that administrators should support; and that children, youths, and families should expect. The standards are designed to enhance awareness of the skills, knowledge, values, methods, and sensitivities social workers need to work effectively within the child welfare system.

This report can serve as a resource to administrators seeking to identify information and resources for improving supervisory practices and staff retention; to trainers and technical advisors who are working to improve child welfare agency performance and child and family outcomes; to social work educators who are teaching child welfare practice, administration, policy and research or management and supervision; to researchers studying child welfare organizational and workforce issues or supervisory functions; to policy-makers who are seeking to better understand the workforce issues that affect service delivery and outcomes; and to current child welfare workers and supervisors wanting to better understand roles and functions, and to students who are planning to pursue a child welfare career.

Social workers often receive training in managing safety issues while in the community. But they should also be aware and prepared to ensure their safety as much as possible when they are in an office setting.

NASW partnered with the Center for Health Workforce Studies, University at Albany, to conduct a benchmark national study of 10,000 licensed social workers.