First National Data Reporting Nursing Home Social Services Directors’ Training Interests and Needs

A national sample of 924 social services directors reported training needs in three ways. First, their level of interest in 14 topics, second by how much preparation time needed to provide one-on-one training to a colleague about 27 difference issues/tasks (no time needed, up to 2 hours, up to 10 hours, not able to do), and third, by indicating their top training priority. At least 2/3s reported interest in each of the 14 topics with 86% interested in common mental health and psychosocial challenges, and 86% in the psychosocial needs of persons with dementia. Education, social work licensure, and characteristics of the nursing home explained some of the variation, e.g. respondents with a social work degree reported higher interest in more training in trauma-informed care and culturally competent care. Dementia was by far the highest training priority, followed by better understanding of regulations, behavioral health issues, and trauma-informed care.

Degree or examination: What is the foundation of the social work workforce in China?

The current Chinese social work licensure program does not mandatorily require formal social work education. This compromised policy is contradictory to the mission of formal social work education and the trajectory of professionalization in other Western countries. This study examined whether social work graduates differ from those who do not have formal social work education in terms of competency, commitment, and turnover intention. Results described the struggles of social work graduates in their experiences in the field. The diminishing role of formal social education may affect the professional identity of social workers in social work development in China.

Undergraduate Student Perceptions of Social Work Licensure: An Exploratory Study

Professional regulation, namely licensing, has been a dynamic source of debate for the social work profession. Amid this debate, schools of social work are increasingly considering licensing factors as a mechanism to gauge programmatic outcomes. However, nominal literature exists on social work curricula and licensing. Further, few published articles explore social work licensing from the perspective of those most affected: social work students. This exploratory study used a scaled questionnaire, with supplemental open- ended questions, to examine undergraduate students' (N=207) perceptions about social work licensing. Data from this study suggest that although undergraduate students are confident in their ability to pass the exam, they are ambiguous about the process for taking the exam and need additional preparation. After a review of the literature, this article explicates key findings from the study, discusses implications for undergraduate social work education, and identifies relevant areas for future research.

Case Management and Social Role Theory as Partners in Service Delivery

This article proposes a reorganized model of case management for persons with a serious psychiatric illness, including a substance abuse disorder. The model was designed as a response to the changing demands of federal law, public funding sources, and social work licensure requirements in some states. It partners case management with social role theory and uses the person-in-situation paradigm and social functioning as organizing concepts.This model may be helpful for those adult mental health agencies serving this population who are faced with making adjustments to changing demands of federal law, public funding sources, and the requirements of social work licensure in some states, all of which place restrictions on service delivery. An important feature of the model is partnering case management with social role theory in a way that enhances the delivery of case management services. It is being implemented at Touchstone innovaré, a mental health agency serving adults who have a serious psychiatric condition or a co-occurring disorder.

Baccalaureate Social Work Licensure: Its Effects on Salary and Use of Job Titles

Texas' social work licensure statute limits the use of social work titles to licensed social workers. Yet the statute provides a loophole that allows human service agencies to employ unlicensed social workers, provided that those individuals do not use licensed titles. This study, which explored the relationship between social work licensure, job titles, and employment salary in an accredited undergraduate program, found that only half of the 1991 and 1996 graduates were licensed. Additionally, survey respondents (whether licensed or not) received comparable salaries, and the majority were assigned generic job titles including caseworker, casemanager, and other nonlicensed titles. Licensure exemptions at the baccalaureate level in Texas and elsewhere may pose a threat to the future viability of baccalaureate social work education.