March - National Social Work Month

February 26, 2020

Social Work Month 2020: This year’s theme is “Social Workers: Generations Strong”  

Mansfield, OH— Richland County Children Services (RCCS) is helping celebrate Social Work Month and the beginning of a new decade this March with the theme “Social Workers: Generations Strong.”

The Social Work Month campaign will inform the public, policymakers and legislators about the way the nation’s more than 700,000 social workers help people every day to live to their fullest potential. It will also look at the way social workers from every generation – from the Silent Generation to Generation Z – are shaping our society for the better.

For example, there are younger social workers who are making tremendous strides in the field of child welfare. They include author and activist Erin Merryn, 34, who has been pushing states to pass laws to educate children on how to avoid sexual abuse.

Then there are social workers who have worked for decades for the betterment of society and, in some cases, are still going strong. One is Ruth A. Brandwein, who received an NASW Lifetime Achievement Award for her work advocating for children, the homeless, women and people of color.

Social workers have been doing their heroic work for generations. For example, social workers such as social reformer Jane Addams, former Labor Secretary Frances Perkins, and civil rights leaders Dorothy Height and Whitney Young have helped Americans secure voting rights, Social Security, unemployment insurance, and other programs.

Social work is one of the fastest growing professions in the United States, with the number of people employed in social work expected to grow by 11 percent over the next decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Social work is a profession with expansive borders. You will find social workers everywhere in our society. They work in schools, in centers for veterans, in mental health and health care facilities, in corporations and in our local, state and federal government to name a few. In fact, many people do not know social workers account for the largest group of mental health care providers in the United States or that the Veterans Administration is the largest employer of social workers with master’s degrees.

Still, the profession faces challenges. There is a critical shortage of social workers in our nation’s child welfare agencies and schools, where the profession is needed to help young people deal with complex issues such as trauma, poverty and the impact of our nation’s opioid addiction crisis.

During Social Work Month, we urge you to learn more about the social work profession and how you can help members of this great vocation continue to make this nation better.

If you’re considering a career in child welfare and want to make a positive impact in the lives of children and families in Richland County please contact Richland County Children Services at 419-774-4100.

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