Article published jointly by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB), and the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) on 4.3.20.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, social workers have been designated “essential workers” by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Notably:

• HHS Secretary Alex Azar on March 24 asked governors to extend the capacity of the health care workforce to address the pandemic and provided guidance recommending a lifting of restrictions on licensure, scope of practice, certification, and recertification/relicensure for health care workers.
• The DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency on March 28 published an advisory list of essential, critical infrastructure workers. The list is inclusive of health care/public health services and non-health care settings including community- and government-based operations and residential/shelter facilities and services. Within these sectors, the full scope of social work practice is embraced, including clinical, policy, education, and regulation.

With this guidance, the federal government is 1) recognizing that the services social workers provide in hospitals, child protective services, nursing homes, and other community-based settings have been ongoing and must continue throughout this pandemic and 2) recommending that states do all they can to temporarily reduce/eliminate barriers to allow the workforce to be deployed expeditiously.

Although the federal government is making recommendations to help states during this time of crisis, the states ultimately maintain the authority to protect the public. Whether these temporary measures continue after the crisis will be determined.

When calling for the temporary reduction of barriers to expand services to those in need, and defining “essential workers,” the federal government has an obligation to provide needed resources and support to states.

• States have an obligation to their constituents to ensure that much-needed services are made available and are provided safely
• Employers are responsible to ensure staff safety (among other things)
• Educational institutions have an obligation to ensure a safe environment for students and educators
• Social workers are responsible for acting safely and ethically in service provision.

Regulatory boards are now encouraged to make needed adjustments to their laws and regulations if they are able. As regulatory changes and emergency orders are issued, organizations must explore the impact on their social work workforce and adjust their policies to meet community needs.

In order to safeguard the health and well-being of students and educators, social work educational programs are, at their discretion, reducing the field hours required for social work degree requirements. Earning real-world experience is essential for students to have a well-rounded education. The rigors of social work education have not changed, but rather programs are empowered to work with students and teachers to find creative ways to prepare students for practice within the full scope of their license, education, and experience upon graduation.

ASWB is publishing policy actions from regulatory boards to help social workers quickly access information about: waiving of in-state licensing requirements for out-of-state social workers licensed in another jurisdiction; lifting of restrictions on the provision of telehealth services; modifications to license requirements for current licensees, including CE requirements for license renewal and requirements for obtaining clinical supervised experience; and extension of exam approval dates. ASWB is updating this information regularly as we become aware of changes.

CSWE continues to support efforts from federal agencies, including HHS, that enable social workers, students, and educators to positively impact their communities. It also fully expects that being designated an “essential workforce” raises the value of the knowledge, values and skills integrated into the current EPAS competencies, and heightens the need to ensure that the next iteration, EPAS 2022, addresses the competencies necessary for this workforce.

NASW works to ensure that social workers are aware of the recent flexibilities in telehealth at the federal and state level, and how they can effectively deploy technologies such as smartphones in addition to video conferencing to provide services during this public health emergency. NASW is also offering a variety of opportunities for social workers to learn about and discuss the policy, ethical, legal and other issues that are arising in the context of practice during the pandemic. In addition, NASW is advocating that social workers—who are on the front lines of providing care in hospitals and other settings—are provided with personal protective equipment.