Strengthening the Social Work Voice: The NASW Social Work Policy Institute Presentation to Idaho Social Workers April 8, 2011 J oan Levy Zlotnik, PhD, ACSW Director, Social Work Policy Institute NASW

Why Develop a Social Work Think Tank? Code of Ethics Social Work Congress Imperatives Social Work Reinvestment Initiative Influence Social Justice Social Work Perspective ©2010 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved.

Why Develop a Social Work Think Tank? Social Work Reinvestment Initiative Goal: Secure federal and state investments in professional social work to enhance societal well- being.

Practice Relevant Research Evidence- Informed Care Dissemina- tion of Findings Advocating for Policy Why Develop a Social Work Think Tank?

Social Work Policy Institute Division of the NASW Foundation Established October,

Social Work Policy Institute Mission To strengthen social work’s voice in public policy deliberations To collect and disseminate information on social work effectiveness To create a forum to examine current and future issues in health care and social services delivery

SWPI Mechanisms Position papers and briefs Symposia Listening sessions Briefings Web-based resources and tools (e.g., social work effectiveness) Collaborations with key stakeholders

Year One: SWPI Priorities Solidifying Research/Practice/Policy Connections –Organize Information on Social Work Effectiveness Promote Social Work Role in Psychosocial Interventions –Social Work & Comparative Effectiveness Research –Social Work Role in Hospice –Addressing Health Disparities –The Social Work Role in Long Term Care Enhance Social Work Voice in Improving Child Welfare Service Delivery

Highlight of Activities Hosted Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) Symposium and developed report and brief Hosted Symposium on Hospice Social Work: Linking Practice, Policy & Research and developed report and brief Created Research to Practice Brief on impact of caseloads on worker turnover and service delivery Participate in CDC Knowledge to Action Think Tank Advisor for National Child Welfare Workforce Institute Analyze British SW taskforce report relevance for U.S. Planning for Supervision: The Safety Net for Front-Line Child Welfare Practice ©2009 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved.

Convening Power of SWPI Practitioners Government ACTION STEPS RELATIONSHIPS POLICY CHANGE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Providers Foundations National Organizations ©2010 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved.

SWPI Initiative 1: Comparative Effectiveness Research Growing attention to what works for whom under what conditions $1.1 billion in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act CER supports research assessing the comparative effectiveness of health care treatments Conduct and synthesize research Develop registries Generate and obtain outcomes data

CER: How Does Social Work Fit? Review available information Convene stakeholders –Federal staff –Social work researchers –Providers –Funders Identify opportunities and challenges for social work Develop and disseminate action steps

Recommendations for Action CER Recommendations are Targeted to: National Organizations Academic Settings Practice-Research Linkages Engagement with Government Agencies Enhancement of Research Methodology ©2009 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved.

Recommendations for Action ©2009 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved. National Organizations Convene a large-scale social work-led summit on CER. Enhance relationships with NIH, AHRQ, and other research entities. Educate practitioners on CER through continuing education strategies. Increase efforts to strengthen the link between social work research and practice. For example: Explore establishing awards and events that link practitioners to researchers. Explore establishing field-of-practice specific clearinghouses. Encourage replication of effective interventions and translation of research to practice by endorsing practices evaluated through CER. Academic Settings Regarding research excellence: Train faculty to expand their research capacity to include CER methodologies. Add CER methodologies to the social work curriculum. Train researchers and practitioners to include economic evaluation in intervention research. Regarding practice excellence: Reinforce the importance of remaining up to date on research outcomes in BSW and MSW curricula materials. Encourage collaboration between health and human service agencies and university-based researchers. Regarding academic publications: Encourage researchers to seek interdisciplinary publication opportunities. Present practice relevance of the research in journal articles.

Recommendations for Action ©2009 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved. Collaboration with Federal Agencies Encourage NIH and AHRQ to: Enhance social work research Recognize the value of social workers on interdisciplinary research teams. Engage more social workers on scientific review committees. Promote economic evaluation as part of the research study design. Ensure inclusion of existing databases of social work research in the CER “horizon scanning” efforts. Increase dissemination of already available systematic reviews of social work interventions. CER Methods Continue to build the research base of “effective social work” interventions. Promote community-based participatory research (CBPR) methods. Enhance methodologies for researchers to: Compare interventions to make determinations of effectiveness. Address both short and long- term effectiveness outcomes. Consider effectiveness across multiple study sites. Consider new techniques for data collection. Include economic evaluation and considerations of dosage, duration, and rigor in effectiveness research. Practice-Research Linkages Further develop researcher-practitioner- consumer linkages. Train practitioners to use research to inform practice. Foster research collaborations in real world settings. Encourage organizations to support practitioners’ production of research. Encourage practitioners to publish results of evaluations and outcomes of practice.

Hospice Social Work: Linking Policy, Practice and Research SYMPOSIUM GOALS To promote high quality psychosocial care in hospice To explore social work’s contribution to building comprehensive End of Life (EOL) care To identify research on social workers’ roles and intervention practices To understand hospice regulations and the regulatory development process To engage key stakeholders in dialogue and action planning ©2009 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved.

Hospice Social Work: Action Agenda Highlights To Enhance Social Work’s Contribution to Quality Hospice Care Value and promote hospice social work credentials, competitive salaries, social work supervision and peer support and professional development opportunities. Promote social work role on interdisciplinary team (IDT), including enhanced IDT research and training. Engage patients and family members in care planning. ©2009 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved.

Hospice Social Work: Action Agenda Highlights Cont’d. To Enhance Social Work’s Contribution to Quality Hospice Care Enhance relationships and information exchange between the social work community and CMS. Promote culturally-competent care and outreach to diverse populations. Ensure social work input into quality improvement and assessment strategies. Strengthen attention to EOL and palliative care in the social work curriculum. Enhance linkages between hospice social workers and other health care social workers. ©2009 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved.

Hospice Social Work: Action Agenda Highlights Cont’d To Strengthen Research-Policy-Practice Bridges Enhance social work research on EOL care supported by NIH and AHRQ Build visible practice- and policy-relevant dissemination tools of research findings. Ensure practice relevant and practitioner and consumer/family -engaged research. Enhance involvement of social workers in interdisciplinary EOL research. Pursue systematic reviews of hospice psychosocial research. Advocate for increased funding for EOL research. Promote partnerships among national and local social work and hospice entities. ©2009 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved.

ENHANCING EXCELLENCE IN HOSPICE CARE Advance the Role of Hospice Social Work and Address Practice Issues Enhance Diversity in Hospice Services Promote Interdisciplinary Team Functioning Promote Research- Practice Linkages Promote Research on Hospice Social Work Promote Collaborations with Federal Agencies Hospice Patients and Family Members National Hospice and Social Work Organizations Hospice Social Workers Interdisciplinary Team Members Hospice Researchers Federal Agencies and Other Funders Hospice Agencies

NASW Activities: End-of-life and Palliative Care Develop Comments and Letters to Influence Policy –Submitted comments to CMS advocating inclusion of advance care planning in Medicare annual wellness visit (2010) –Submitted comments advocating for inclusion of end-of-life and palliative care as a topic area in Healthy People 2020 (2009) –Congressional letter & member action alert to oppose hospice rate cuts (2008–09) –Submitted comments to CMS opposing downgrading of social work qualifications in revised Medicare Conditions of Participation (2008) ©2009 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved.

NASW Activities: End-of-life and Palliative Care NASW 2010 Annual Practice Conference Social Work’s Critical Role in End of Life Care NASW Standards for Palliative and End of Life Care dards/standards0504New.pdf ©2009 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved.

NASW Activities: End-of-life and Palliative Care Joint Commission: Participate in PTAC for Home Care (includes hospice) Hospice Foundation of America (HFA): Support live teleconference Mayday Fund: Endorsed chronic pain report (2009) Aging with Dignity: Promoted translations of Five Wishes (2007) ©2009 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved.

NASW Activities: End-of-life and Palliative Care National Healthcare Decisions Day: Alzheimer’s Association Dementia Care Practice Recommendations: Supported development of two sets of recommendations –Phase 3, EOL care in assisted living & nursing home settings (2007) –Phase 4, home care (2009)—included extensive information on EOL care ©2009 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved.

NASW WebEd ©2009 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved. Free web-ed courses for social workers and other social service professionals. Membership in NASW is not required. Courses take approximately 90 minutes to complete; Learners can earn one CE for completing the test at the end of the course.

NASW WebEd ©2009 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved. Understanding Cancer: The Social Worker's Role Understanding End of Life Care: The Social Worker's Role Understanding Aging: The Social Worker's Role Understanding Cancer Caregiving: The Social Worker’s Role Achieving Cultural Competence to Reduce Health Disparities in End of Life Care Promoting Adherence to Cancer Oral Medications: The Social Worker’s Role

Discussion Ensuring social work’s place at the policy table –Strengthening research and policy connections –Identifying and reporting on social work effectiveness –Addressing critical policy issues for social work action Supporting the Social Work Reinvestment Initiative –Optimizing the role of social workers in practice –Assessing challenges and opportunities to quality training and education

SWPI Reports Comparative Effectiveness and Research and Social Work: Strengthening the Connection (full report, 2 page brief and executive summary and-comparative-effectiveness-research-cer-a-research- symposium-to-strengthen-the-connection.html and-comparative-effectiveness-research-cer-a-research- symposium-to-strengthen-the-connection.html Coming soon to SocialWorkPolicy.org – Hospice Social Work: Linking Policy Practice and Research – Report and 2 page brief ©2009 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved.

For More Information Social Work Policy Institute Work Policy Institute Social Work Reinvestment Initiative NASW Center for Workforce Studies / / ©2009 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved.

For More Information Contact: Joan Levy Zlotnik, PhD, ACSW Director, Social Work Policy Institute, NASW Stacy Collins, MSW Senior Practice Associate – Health Chris Herman, MSW Senior Practice Associate – Aging ©2009 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved.