Geriatric Social Work Workforce Information

Background Data on Geriatric Social Work (Word)

Why Prepare Social Work Students? (Word)
Dramatic demographic global changes are transforming every aspect of our society and creating unparalleled policy and practice challenges.

NASW Gerontological Credentials for Social Workers (External Web site)
NASW offers three specialty credentials for social workers in the aging practice area. These aging credentials include:

• Certified Social Worker in Gerontology (CSWG) at the BSW level
• Certified Advanced Social Worker in Gerontology (CASWG) at the MSW level
• Certified Advanced Clinical Social Worker in Gerontology (CACSWG) at the advanced clinical level.

NASW National Study of Licensed Social Workers
This benchmark 2006 study, conducted by the National Association of Social Workers, in partnership with the Center for Health Workforce Studies, School of Public Health, University at Albany, found that the number of new social workers providing services to older adults is decreasing.

Web Sites Related to Social Work Labor Force

National Association of Social Workers
http://www.socialworkers.org
Provides overview of Social Work Profession. Their PRN (Practice Research Network) newsletter provides statistics and data on employment characteristics of its members.

Administration on Aging
http://www.aoa.gov/prof/Statistics/statistics.asp
This site provides access to range of sources for comprehensive data on trends in aging, impact of aging on health and social services.

National Association of Home Care
http://www.nahc.org/NAHC/Research/research.html
http://www.nahc.org/NAHC/NewsInfo/factstats.html
This Web site provides links to data on the Home Care Industry, trends in utilization, and data on employment of different types of providers.

US Bureau of Labor Statistics
http://www.bls.gov/bls/occupation.htm
This Web site contains links to: Occupational Outlook Handbook, Occupational Employment Statistics, Employment Projections, Labor Force Statistics.

White House Conference on Aging

As part of the 2005 White House Conference on Aging, the following recommendations were drafted at the 2005 Mini-Conference on Geriatric Health Care Workforce Issues. To read the full report and recommendations on Geriatric Workforce Issues, please click here.

Dr. JoAnn Damron-Rodriguez presented on Geriatric Workforce Issues and Social Work at the 2005 Mini-White House Conference on Aging. Click here for her presentation, "Reality Check: Social Work."