Advocacy and Social Work: We Can’t Have One Without the Other 

By Katie Tremel, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C 

Advocacy takes on many forms within the social work practice. The micro, mezzo and macro levels of advocacy are used all the time.  We’ve advocated for ourselves in the profession and advocated for our patients within the workplace at some point in our careers. We might advocate for our patient multiple times a day. This would make sense as we never stop helping the patients we serve. However, how often does our advocacy work broaden to the mezzo level? In our home states’ legislative bodies, what are elected officials doing to promote equity and equality in healthcare services, specifically within the cancer community? In Congress, is legislation being advanced that directly affects our patients, caregivers and our profession? Being informed helps us provide better care to our patients and the AOSW Advocacy Committee is a great place to learn more. AOSW signs on to letters that directly impact the cancer community we serve. Further, groups like American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) can help keep us updated on our home state’s current (and future) healthcare legislative initiates.  

Recently, AOSW Advocacy Committee reviewed and provided comments on the initial draft of The Social Work Compact. The Council of State Governments (CSG), along with several other social work organizations, such as the NASW and ASWB are working together to create a pathway to facilitate multistate practice among licensed social workers. If passed and the state we live in is a “member state,” we can provide social work services to patients in other "member states.”  

Why is advocating for the Social Work Compact important?  

• We can provide supportive services to more patients! For folks that live near state borders or receive a clinical trial across the country, we could potentially provide counseling, resources and referrals without living in the state in which our patient accesses care. This could reduce stress and burden if patients have more access to oncology social workers.  

• We could practice in other ‘member states’ without liability fears. Knowing our license is safeguarded provides reassurance as we provide support to more cancer patients, family members and communities in the country.   

As mentioned in the title, Advocacy and Social Work, we can’t have one without the other. Advocacy is an essential component of the social work profession and the NASW Code of Ethics states as much: ”…social workers should advocate for changes in policy and legislation to improve social conditions in order to meet basic human needs and promote social justice.” By engaging in legislative advocacy, we help our patients through the entirety of survivorship, from day of diagnosis to end of life. We take on an important role within the cancer community and our voices should always be heard. 

References 

Workers, N. A. (2008). NASW Code of Ethics (Guide to the Everyday Professional Conduct of Social Workers). Washington, DC: NASW. 

American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. (2022). American Cancer Society. Retrieved October 25, 2022 from https://www.fightcancer.org/.  

The Social Work Compact. (2022). National Center for Interstate Compacts |The Council of State Governments. Retrieved October 25, 2022 from https://compacts.csg.org/compact-updates/social-work/.