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What do we hope to achieve with the national campaign?The goals of the public education campaign are to (a) increase awareness and respect for the social work profession; (b) educate the public on the depth and breadth of social work practice; (c) expand perceptions of who can benefit from social work services; (d) attract young people to the profession; and (e) improve employment opportunities for professional social workers. To gain greater support for the social work profession, we must offer greater value to more of the general public. We need to build a widespread campaign that will resonate among American citizens, the media, policymakers, employers and social workers. Changing perceptions and behaviors is a complex process, and it will take time and significant funding to build awareness of our cause. What does the public currently think of social workers?From January-April 2004, NASW worked with Crosby Marketing Communications to complete Phase I of campaign development-public opinion research. We conducted several focus groups of social workers and average citizens in three cities: Anaheim CA , Atlanta GA and Baltimore MD. During these sessions, we found that the general public holds social workers in higher esteem than we initially thought. They recognize the intense pressures social workers face in their difficult work and agree that most are underpaid. In general, social workers are viewed as valuable to society. But what most people in the focus groups didn't understand was how diverse the social work field is and that social workers are highly trained to do this complex work. Furthermore, few middle-class Americans believe that they, or their families, will ever need the assistance of a social worker. They think most social workers are employed in child welfare departments and other government agencies that only assist disadvantaged families. The general perception is that social work services are limited to those in dire circumstances-and few people want to think about being in these situations. How can we change perceptions about social work?A key purpose of conducting focus groups across the country was to test concepts (words and graphics) that could represent the social work profession in a multi-media campaign. Both social workers and members of the public related best to creative concepts that positioned social workers as committed professionals who connect people in need with important resources-in multiple settings. Given the public's basic understanding of social work as a "helping profession," and our desire to increase awareness about where, how, and to whom, social workers provide services, we have concluded that we want to own and build upon the "helping" position. Based on what the public already believes, we want to further promote that: "Social workers have the right education, experience, and dedication to help people help themselves whenever and wherever they need it." During the campaign, we plan to showcase the many ways Americans of all walks of life come in contact with social work services. We want to tell compelling stories about the diverse people who benefit from these services-and the professionals who are dedicated to the work. We will do this in magazine and newspaper ads, in materials sent to journalists across the country, through myriad partner organizations, on a dynamic new public Web site, and on radio and TV programs. More Americans need to know that social workers are valuable resources for anyone who needs help navigating complex support systems such as patient education, end-of-life planning, substance abuse treatment, crisis intervention, mental health counseling and employee assistance, among other services. Social workers are everywhere in every community-and they're helping all types of people every day. As we get the campaign started, we will focus on individuals between the ages of 35-54 who we believe will be most interested in learning how social workers can help their families. Many of these people, especially women, in the "Sandwich Generation" are working to raise their own children while also taking care of elderly parents and other aging relatives. They are looking for advice, tools and hope on a range of issues. Social workers can and do provide all these things. How are we going to fund this campaign?
The NASW Foundation must obtain donations from NASW members and other social workers, schools of social work, partner organizations, corporations, foundations, and many others in order to consistently get our stories into the national media-in front of millions of Americans and decision makers. You can help us tell the social work story by making a tax-deductible donation today in celebration of NASW's 50th anniversary. Donors of $50 or more will receive a commemorative gold-plated Professional Social Work pin; donors of $25 - $49 will receive a silver-plated Professional Social Work pin. Wear it all year to show your pride in the profession. Where can you get more information about the campaign?Please contact staff in the NASW Communications Department:
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