Understanding the impact of state licensing on social work practice remains a critical concern for social work academics and professionals alike. Given the complex social problems of our times, social workers need to be prepared to intervene with the individual, in various structural dimensions, and to engage in policy debates at the core of human injustice and suffering. Currently, there is insufficient research on the impact of state licensing on the profession and on accredited social work education. The purpose of this article is to begin to address this by providing an overview of the current state of social work licensing across the United States and to analyze the implications of social work regulations as they relate to the future of macro social work practice and education.

Increased attention is being given to university–community partnerships. Among such partnerships is service learning, a pedagogical model that integrates experiential community service activities and academic learning. Traditional service learning models often diverge from social work methods that embrace strengths, empowerment, antioppressive principles, and citizen-driven approaches. This article presents the integration of a progressive service learning model into a graduate-level social work macro practice course. The model gives explicit attention to respecting the dignity and worth of the individual by sharing power and developing collaborative relationships between students and community residents where both are serving and learning together.

Purpose: For over a century, the social work profession has been concerned with describing the unique and specific characteristics that define its core functions in society; however, the profession has yet to agree to a single definition of social work. In the absence of a unifying definition, 51 different statutory definitions of social work have been created by each state and the District of Columbia. Methods: Using qualitative methods, each statutory definition of social work was analyzed to gain an understanding of how social work is defined and understood across the United States. Results: Findings indicate that 57% of the statutory language blend the full range of micro to macro social work practice skills into their definition. However, even within these and those remaining, there are vast differences in definitions. Discussion: Implications for state licensing laws, are considered, along with how this impacts education, the work force, and professional identity.

Trends in clinical licensing and a renewed energy to strengthen macro practice are raising questions about the appropriateness of licensure for macro social work practice. This article presents findings from an online survey of macro social work educators and macro social work practitioners exploring their attitudes toward an advanced-level macro social work license. Faculty and practitioner responders agreed that there is a role for advanced-licensing of macro social work practice; however, the lack of a collectively strong response reflects a current state of ambivalence toward advanced-level licensing for macro practice. Implications from these findings on contemporary social work are discussed.

The natural and man-made disasters in the first decade of the 21st century have raised issues of race, poverty, and inequality in federal, state, and local emergency response and recovery systems. In various studies, reports, and media accounts of these events, little is mentioned about people who were homeless at the time of the disaster, showing a further marginalization of some populations of people who are poor during such times. For this study, researchers interviewed 151 people who were homeless during the Washington, DC, sniper shootings of 2002 to ascertain how they behaved and coped during the shootings, and how long it took them to return to how they were before the shootings. Implications of the findings are drawn for social work research, education, and practice.

(2017). Compassion in social work practice at multiple systems levels. Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work: Social Thought: Vol. 36, No. 4, pp. 391-391.