Social Work Census to inform a vital and growing profession

Given the current mental health crisis in the United States and Canada — along with homelessness, the opioid epidemic, and other related societal challenges — there is a growing need for professionals who can provide appropriate services and support. And social workers comprise the largest portion of this mental health workforce, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The latest projections by the Health Resources and Services Administration show that demands for child, family, and school social workers; health care social workers; and mental health and substance abuse social workers are projected to grow by 56%, 82%, and 66%, respectively, between 2021 and 2036. These rates are far greater than for other types of workers, including the overall health care workforce with an 11% expected demand growth.

As the profession responds to these increasing demands, the Association of Social Work Boards is expanding its work of monitoring and supporting social workers in the United States and Canada along the entirety of their career paths. To gain a more complete picture of the profession, ASWB, along with the Social Work Workforce Coalition, is conducting the Social Work Census from March through May. The Census is the most comprehensive profession-wide study to date, generating an inclusive picture of who today’s social workers are and what they are doing in their practice.

“To meet the demands of today’s complex world, we want to better understand the people out there serving our communities. We want more data on the factors that help social workers and social service workers thrive andwhat may deter people from entering or staying in the profession,” says Lavina Harless, MSW, LCSW, senior director of examination services at ASWB.

More data from more social workers

Building on the practice analysis that ASWB regularly conducts, the expanded online Census survey also functions as a workforce study. The first section asks participants to share their demographic characteristics — including geography, gender, race, ethnicity, and language use — and to provide information on their educational and licensure backgrounds, their employment, compensation and wages, and practice characteristics. The second section invites them to give input on the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of today’s social workers. To gather and analyze this data, ASWB convened the Social Work Workforce Coalition, a cross-sectional group of leading U.S. and Canadian social work organizations. ASWB is also working closely with researchers at the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO) and the Rutgers School of Social Work.

The Social Work Census is designed to reach a broader section of today’s social work workforce than ever before. It surveys current and retired licensed social workers, social work educators, social work students, and others who work in the social work field.

“In seeking input from as many people as possible — and by amplifying diverse voices — the Census embodies the value that we social workers place on the dignity and worth of all people,” says Harless.

Uncovering the unknown

The Census is collecting data on factors such as student debt, annual salary, and access to employment benefits, where there can be wide variation across profession. Joy Kim, Ph.D., MSW, associate professor at Rutgers School of Social Work, notes that most of what is known about the workforce — such as where social workers are employed and how much they earn — is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That data, however, is collected from self-identified social workers, including those without social work credentials.

“This has limited the profession from understanding the values of social work education, training, and licensure credentials, as well as which parts of the country may experience unmet demands for professional social work services,” says Kim.

The online survey is also designed to collect detailed information on the education, licensure, employment, fields of practice, and geographic locations of the workforce. The Social Work Workforce Coalition also hopes to gain greater clarity on the question of clinical supervision, which can be a requirement for social work licensure. Some people entering the field must pay to complete hours of supervised practice, while others get paid to work those hours. The Social Work Census will provide a fuller picture of this licensure requirement, which will inform future efforts to optimize and standardize supervision across the profession.

“As a result,” Kim says, “the collected data will be able to provide answers to some of the most pressing questions for the profession.”

The Social Work Workforce Coalition is encouraging wide participation in the Social Work Census, according to Coalition member Halaevalu Vakalahi, Ph.D., MSW, president and CEO of the Council on Social Work Education.

“In order to increase inclusion and diversity in our field — so that it better reflects the people and communities we serve — we need to first understand who is currently in the field,” says Vakalahi. “We need to find out what are their experiences and what factors can contribute to or influence favorable outcomes in licensure and other professional endeavors, given the validity of the social work degree.”

A comprehensive approach

The Social Work Census is just one of several research-based initiatives ASWB has undertaken to inform the future of social work licensure. The organization also worked with HumRRO, with support from The CODE Group, to conduct a series of Community Conversations. With input from Coalition members, the initiative was designed to gain insights from social workers about the licensure process and the licensing examinations. ASWB is using the findings to inform the continued development of fair, reliable, and valid competence assessments.

ASWB is also funding research on social work licensure and regulation. The Association’s Regulatory Research Committee selected three research groups — reflecting diverse national leadership and expertise — to receive a total of nearly $400,000. The funded projects focus on understanding exam pass rates and their implications, regulatory rules that affect the earnings of social workers, and long-term impacts of licensure changes on the workforce.

The details

The online Social Work Census is open through May 31, 2024, at SWCensus.org. During that time, social workers and social service workers may fill out the full survey in English, French, or Spanish.

To encourage participation, ASWB and other Coalition members are offering incentives for social workers and social service workers to take the survey. ASWB has pledged to donate up to $100,000 to nonprofit organizations that uphold social work values. Each person completing the Census may select from a list of 13 charitable causes to receive a dollar. Some member organizations are also holding drawings for free membership dues. In addition, all Census participants receive two hours of continuing education credit from ASWB upon their completion of the survey.

Once the Census closes, researchers will analyze and compile the workforce data to add to the profession’s understanding of its scope and scale.

“The Census is designed by social workers to gather information about social workers,” Harless says. “By sharing the results of the workforce study with our own community, the Social Work Workforce Coalition hopes to ensure that our profession is ready to meet the opportunities and challenges of the future.”

Learn more at SWCensus.org