We are delighted to bring you this edition of Impact, News from the National Social Work Public Education Campaign. This year, our colleagues at NASW have been preparing for the 2008 Delegate Assembly, during which the elected leaders of the profession establish NASW’s program priorities and develop a collective stance on public and professional issues that will help social workers better meet the needs of society.

One of the program priority goals before the Assembly is to continue support for the NASW Public Education Campaign. Other goals include:

• Addressing the shortage of social workers in the U.S.
• Increasing training and research opportunities for social work
• Becoming a leader in training, education and public information, and the impact and importance of understanding diversity
• Emphasizing NASW’s role in shaping public policy, to ensure that issues of social work clients are addressed

To be effective in all of these important areas, we must ensure that the public and key opinion leaders understand what social workers do and how they serve people from all walks of life, in every community. From our perspectives as Campaign Chairs, we see the critical impact that the National Social Work Public Education Campaign can have on the potential effectiveness of all of these proposed goals. We have made phenomenal inroads with the work of educating the public about the breadth and depth of our profession—locally, nationally, and internationally—and we are eager to continue our efforts.

We have benefitted greatly from the support of so many of you— individual social workers and friends, schools of social work, and allied organizations. And we continue to need all of your help through your involvement and participation in this important campaign. Thank you for joining us.