Workforce study falls short.

Reisch, Michael

A recent report, Assuring the Sufficiency of a Frontline Workforce: A National Study of Licensed Social Workers (2006), a project of NASW's Center for Workforce Studies and the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the State University of New York, University at Albany, identifies three major challenges facing the profession to ensure the future adequacy of social work personnel: (1) replacing the large number ready to retire; (2) recruiting new social workers, especially people of color and men; and (3) retaining the current workforce in an increasingly stressful environment. The report, based on a random sample of 10,000 licensed social workers from every state except Delaware and Hawaii, concludes,

 Clearly, the social work profession is at a crossroads.
 If there are to be adequate numbers of
 social workers to respond to the needs of clients
 in this decade and beyond, the sufficiency
 of this frontline workforce must not only be
 ensured, it must be prioritized. (p. 35)

Although the report makes several valuable suggestions to meet the demands of the workforce, most are neither new nor particularly creative. This lack of vision diminishes the report's utility as a guide to strategic decision making. These problems stem from the design of the study itself and the authors' reluctance to challenge some of the profession's sacred cows and ask certain pointed, perhaps painful questions. Furthermore, the problems with the report are compounded by the failure to link the data to major policy decisions--inside and outside the profession--during the past several decades.

The report asserts that "social worker" is defined so broadly that it is difficult to obtain reliable data on the current or future state of social services workforce needs. It bases its sweeping conclusions, however, on a survey of licensed social workers, who represent only 38 percent of the approximately 310,000 self-identified social workers in the United States (Center for Workforce Studies, 2006, p. 9). The report acknowledges that dramatic changes have occurred in the social services landscape, including demographic shifts, new service models, increased emphasis on accountability, and greater reliance on evidence-based practice. These findings have significant implications for the educational preparation of personnel. Yet, although there is widespread agreement that "new paradigms are necessary, [coupled with concern] that for-profit models could ultimately put profit ahead of serving the poor" ("Raising Money to Treat the World's Sickest People," 2006), the authors fail to recognize some of the implications of their data.

As the report comments, there are clear divisions today in the distribution of primary responsibility for social service functions in the United States. Child welfare, criminal justice, and education remain predominantly the responsibility of the public sector. Mental health, health care, and alcohol and substance abuse are increasingly the responsibility of private sector agencies, many of them for-profit organizations that use a managed care model. Although the authors identify many serious changes that have emerged in the organizational environment of social workers, they do not link these problems to such major policy developments as budget cuts, devolution, privatization, managed care, economic globalization, and welfare reform. Social workers are experiencing greater work stress, less job security, declining levels of supervision and training, and decreases in compensation precisely because of these policy developments. The U.S. social welfare system is significantly different from what it was in 1980. The report's recommendations offer few ideas about how to overcome these structural obstacles.

Most of those surveyed provide direct services in health and mental health, child and family welfare, and aging. The preponderance of this work appears to be more oriented toward psychotherapy than casework and is increasingly likely to occur in private practice or behavioral health clinics. Nearly all those surveyed reported seeing at least some clients who experience psychosocial stressors or mental illness. This finding, however, can be interpreted in different ways, including the widespread existence of such stress, funding priorities, the employment choices of social workers, and the psychiatricization of socioeconomic issues.

At the same time, fewer than 20 percent of the sampled social workers spend any time in research or administration; fewer than one-third in policy development, and barely one-third in community organizing. The current distribution of social work personnel may explain, in part, why social workers had little influence on the major policy decisions of the past two decades. Yet, the report makes no suggestions as to how to correct this imbalance.

The report found serious problems in recruiting and retaining younger workers and in finding sufficient numbers to work with elderly people, although social workers are, ironically, significantly older than the general civilian labor force. The study also found that social workers are not as diverse as the increasingly diverse populations they serve and are distributed unevenly geographically. In fact, the geographic distribution of social workers is more skewed than that of most other licensed health care professions. Their greater concentration in metropolitan areas is a particular problem in the provision of social services to the elderly population, in health and behavioral health settings, and in rural areas. The report explains this discrepancy by citing the lack of standardization in licensing across the states. Other factors include salary differentials, the larger market for private practice work in metropolitan areas, the cultural and demographic attractions of urban life, and the increase in managed care facilities in metropolitan areas.

Market explanations alone for these developments are inadequate. There is little doubt that jobs will be available. The Bureau of Labor Statistics's Occupational Outlook Handbook (2006) projects that demand for new social workers will increase 18 percent to 26 percent by 2014 and CareerJournal.com recently put social work on its "best careers" list (Keogh, 2006). Demand will be particularly high to serve the 54 percent growth in older adults projected by 2020 (Center for Health Workforce Studies, 2005). Why then is the profession facing a personnel shortage?

ISSUES AND CHALLENGES

The report indicates that the primary problem is not in the "production" sphere--although it points out the need to recruit more social workers of color and more men--but rather in the retention of staff, especially young workers. Some reasons cited include job stress, low salaries, personal safety, lack of supervision and continuing education, and ethical challenges.

It is not clear how salary variations, which follow traditional patterns, have affected this trend. Salaries are somewhat higher for men, those with more credentials, those in private practice, and those working in certain regions and metropolitan areas. There is also considerable evidence that social work salaries have lagged since the 1970s, especially in the field of aging (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2006). A partial explanation lies in the policy changes referred to earlier. Internal decisions of the profession have also had an impact. These include the decline of social work unions; the influx of BSWs, who can be hired at significantly lower wages; and changes in social work education.

Although the report reflects some improvement in the profession's diversity, greater efforts need to be made to attract more social workers of color, particularly men. Licensed social workers are 86 percent white and 81 percent female, and the proportion of women is higher among white, black, and Asian/Pacific Islander workers. As pending retirements occur, the proportion of men in social work will decline further unless recruitment efforts are enhanced.

The study reported growth in the number of social work graduates but commented: "There is no certainty that this educational pipeline is sufficient to fully meet future demands" (p. 33). Although more MSWs than BSWs are granted annually, the gap is narrowing, such that the number of BSWs and MSWs graduating annually is now nearly equal. The effect of this trend on social work salaries needs to be investigated. This is particularly important because fewer BSW graduates are going on to complete the MSW, despite the growing number of MSW programs, the ease of admission, and the possibility of advanced standing. Economic factors may be most significant in this regard.

A recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education found that 37 percent of starting social workers who graduated from public universities and more than half of those who graduated from private institutions "would face unmanageable student-loan payments if they become ... social worker[s]" (Rainey, 2006, p. 1). The article suggests four federal policy changes to ease this burden. These include increasing need-based grant aid, making repayment terms on student loans fair and affordable, promoting consumer protections for borrowers who turn to private loans, and establishing incentives for colleges to control tuition costs.

The profession should be equally concerned about the quality of these graduates and carefully examine the current content and structure of social work education. The report indicates social workers were least satisfied with their abilities in the policy and community arenas. This dissatisfaction mirrors the diminished influence of the profession in policymaking circles and the macro arena as a whole. Graduates from other disciplines, such as public policy, business, law, and public health, are increasingly favored for such jobs over their social work counterparts. It is time to carefully assess the effects of prescriptive accreditation practices, policies such as advanced standing, and the level at which curriculum content is taught. We must ask how social work education can become more rigorous to prepare graduates for the rigorous challenges that lie ahead.

REFERENCES

Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2006). Occupational outlook handbook. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Center for Workforce Studies. (2006). Assuring the sufficiency of a frontline workforce: A national study of licensed social workers. Washington, DC: National Association of Social Workers & Center for Health Workforce Studies, School of Public Health, State University of New York, University at Albany.

Center for Health Workforce Studies. (2005). The impact of the aging population on the health workforce in the U.S. Rensselaer, NY: Center for Health Workforce Studies, School of Public Health, State University of New York, University at Albany.

Keogh, B. (2006, July 11). This social-work manager feels she makes a difference. Career Journal.com. Retrieved July 12, 2006, from http://wwvc.careerjournal.com/ reports/bestcareers/20060711-keogh.html?cjpos= home_whatsnew_major

Rainey, A. (2006, April 6). Student-loan debt may deter college graduates from public service careers, report says. Chronicle of Higher Education, pp. 1-2.

Raising money to treat the world's sickest people isn't the problem: Spending it is. (2006, April 5). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business. Retrieved April 10, 2006, from http:// knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/index.cfm?fa= viewfeature&id=1438

Michael Reisch, PhD, LMSW, is professor, School of Social Work, University of Michigan, 1080 South University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106; e-mail: mreisch@ umich.edu. The views presented in this editorial reflect only those of the author and not those of NASW or NASW Press.