June 2022 Following a recent update from the Center for Medicare, and Medicaid Services (CMS), NASW has received multiple inquiries regarding telehealth place of service codes (POS) for Medicare, Medicaid, and private health insurance companies. The purpose of this blog is to clarify what POS codes clinical social workers should use when providing telehealth services. POS codes are used on ... Read More »

June 2022 NASW recognizes June as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Month. PTSD impacts millions of people in the United States. “According to the National Center for PTSD, a program of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, about seven or eight of every 100 people will experience PTSD in their lifetime.”1  Although PTSD has commonly been associated with the military and ... Read More »

Parents of trans and gender-diverse (TGD) youth can experience challenges navigating gender-affirming (GA) care such as stigma, transphobia, and lack of support. There is little information available about stressors, worries, and positive feelings of parents as they try to support their youth accessing GA care. An article in a recent issue of the journal Health & Social Work presents baseline ... Read More »

Restorative justice (RJ) is both a philosophy and a set of practices meant to repair harm and maintain connection in the face of wrongdoing. While RJ is becoming increasingly popular among K–12 educators and in schools, emphasis is typically on its social justice applications, including its use as an alternative to zero-tolerance discipline policies and its role in dismantling the ... Read More »

As America faces a mental health crisis, the need for suicide prevention services is more imperative than ever. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, suicide is ranked as the second primary cause of death in young people among the ages of 10 to 34 and the tenth most frequent cause of death in the United States. Since 1999, ... Read More »

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) wishes to bring attention to the importance of mental health as it affects millions of people in the United States. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), each year 1 in 5 adults and 1 in 6 youths ages 6-17 deal with mental illness[1]. ... Read More »

COVID-19 has disproportionally affected people living in poverty; new immigrants; and those living in healthcare settings (hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes), shelters, detention centers, and prisons. The pandemic has also significantly impacted social workers who face hidden mental health consequences. The resultant feelings and behaviors are similar to disaster-induced trauma, including excessive rumination, hypervigilance, exhaustion, and excessive crying as a ... Read More »

April 18, 2022 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released clarifying information about Part 2 of the No Surprise Act, Good Faith Estimates (GFEs). The frequently asked questions (FAQs) answer many of the questions that social workers asked when the No Surprise Act was implemented in January 2022. Part 2 focuses on services provided to the uninsured ... Read More »

The Great Resignation and Social Work Laetitia Clayton, Editor The COVID-19 pandemic spurred employees in many professions to leave their jobs in record numbers, resulting in what’s being called The Great Resignation. Social workers are leaving jobs, too, but it seems most are staying within the profession. And the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that social work will continue to ... Read More »

Family reunification following migration-related separations is often challenging for immigrant youth as they adjust to their new environment and reacquaint with their caregiver. Scant research has explored the experiences of family reunification specifically for unaccompanied immigrant youth. A recent issue of the journal Social Work Research, co-published by NASW and Oxford University Press, showcases a study of family reunification experiences. ... Read More »