The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is the largest membership organization of professional social workers in the world, with 132,000 members. NASW works to enhance the professional growth and development of its members, to create and maintain professional standards, and to advance sound social policies.
The Society for Social Work and Research was founded in 1994 as a free-standing organization dedicated to the advancement of social work research. SSWR works collaboratively with a number of other organizations that are committed to improving support for research among social workers. Our members include faculty in schools of social work and other professional schools, research staff in public and private agencies, and masters/doctoral students.
Helpful Resources for Finding Information on Policies
These web resources have overviews, analyses, and current developments of important policies.
Social Work Policy Institute: Focuses on issues related to social workers. Can be a nice resource to get familiar with important policies within the field of social work.
Children's Bureau: Provides guidance to states, tribes, child welfare agencies, and more on the complex and varied federal laws as they relate to child welfare.
Policy Archive: A digital archive of global, non-partisan public policy research. Allows users to search for summaries and full text materials of think tank, university, government, and foundation-funded policy research.
Procon.org: A nonprofit, nonpartisan public charity whose purpose is to provide resources for critical thinking and provide information without bias on particular policies.
Municode: Allows users to search by state or multiple states and to gain access to municipal codes, some of which may be related to social work.
State Child Welfare Database: A current source for state child welfare laws, policies, services and much more. Covers all 50 states. A product of Child Trends.
