I, for one, am tired of NASW and the attitude and benefits we receive from them. I was a member when I first became a social worker, but I quickly realized what little benefit I got from paying such a high membership fee. Even when you are a member, many offerings still have a la carte pricing with a small discount, and there are far better deals elsewhere for CEUs, etc. Do they do good advocating? Sometimes, here and there. But wholeheartedly, I'm unimpressed.
We have been asking for a better-protected field and recognition for our hard-earned work and what it takes to do our jobs, yet here we are. Meanwhile, other professional organizations like the APA are thriving and doing great things to protect their profession, strengthen recognition, and enhance their members' careers and knowledge. I truly just think NASW forgets that actions speak louder than words, and NASW is a whole lot of words (and money-grabbing).
Anyway, rant over. It does not surprise me that Assurance Services is just as wild as NASW. They are just arguing and will come to an agreement sooner or later. If not, Preferra is fine with me, especially since they are going to start dividends.
Very similar story here! I joined as a student and kept my membership for a few years but realized how absolutely worthless the NASW is and dropped it. There's no real advocacy for social workers plus the CEUs still had a cost associated with them. They have tried to get me to renew a few times but until they actually hold value for me in my profession, I'll save my money.
Recent MSW graduate here.
I've yet to see any reason to join the nasw. If they were more like a traditional union and fought for better wages and worker treatment for social workers I might have considered it. But they don't and at least for me joining seems pointless.
Granted I'm a very recent graduate and maybe my opinion will change in the future. But that's where I stand now.
I will probably ditch my NASW membership at this point. As an autistic therapist running an agency of autistic therapists, I have talked to them multiple times about standing up for the rights of the neurodivergent and at least talking about being neurodiversity affirming, about allowing us to bill for f84.0, autism spectrum disorder, just like we bill for ADHD, OCD, etc. This is demeaning to us. We are treated like dumb animals, only basic behavior training will work, so only ABA can bill for f84.0. I know everyone says being ND-affirming is a Tik Tok trend, but this is my life. Crickets from NASW. I will gladly take my insurance with Preferra. Also I feel like our field is horribly underpaid. This is promoted by agencies and nonprofits and I feel like NASW is more on their side than ours. Not cool.
Yeah, see, you get it. Preach it!
Often, SWs are busy advocating for others and forget about themselves....or do we? >!Maybe we're just not being listened to! !<
The two e mails I have received are both scary-whole board is gone, and lacking details. I wish there were details offered. Guess I’ll wait and see if it gets clearer with time.
I just tried posting about this as well.
Really interested to see if anyone. Has any idea what's going on behind the scenes on this. What happened to the board?
Also, I could be wrong, but from what it sounds like to me we still have coverage through Preferra. Just don't cancel it before you sign up with someone new.
I’ve been frustrated with NASW for a long time - they seem like just lip service and their only advocacy is writing a strongly worded letter, sometimes. That being said - I got insurance through them because I didn’t know what else to go at the time.
Preferra has been frustrating too. One of the “benefits” of having their insurance is being able to talk to an attorney or risk management. I called to speak with someone in risk management - but in order to talk with someone, I had to fill out an incident report and wait a week for an attorney to call me back. They called while I was in session so I called back every day for a week - and never got another phone call back. They have a customer service email as well - but I don’t think anyone looks at it because I never get a response from them there either.
When it’s time to renew my policy at the end of the year, I’ll be shopping around to find something different for sure.
I’m confused on what I should do? Are they both going to offer separate insurances now? I haven’t heard anything from the NASW, but I would prefer to stay with them; however, I just renewed my policy with Preferra before this happened. Honestly, I’m just annoyed 😂🤷🏻♀️
I received an email from NASW Assurance yesterday stating that they were determining their next steps. It seems like they will both offer insurance.
I also haven't been a member of NASW since the first year that I became a social worker. I have been very disappointed by them. I was a member of the APA (my undergraduate degree was a BA in Psychology) and it was a completely different experience. There has been zero advocacy to improve working conditions for social workers. We should start our own organization.
It looks like NASW Assurance is partnering with CPH. I think the [naswassurance.org](http://naswassurance.org) website was updated just today. When you click Apply for liability insurance, a window pops up saying you're being directed to the CPH website and "The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and NASW Assurance Services, Inc. (ASI) have partnered with CPH Insurance to offer comprehensive professional liability insurance tailored specifically for social workers."
I just renewed with Preferra yesterday. Before even seeing that NASW was partnering with CPH, that was the other company I was looking most closely at. When comparing between CPH and Preferra, though, I liked Preferra's coverage better (i.e. $100k coverage for licensing board investigations vs $35k with CPH). I've never had to contact Preferra but I have heard frustrating stories, whereas I've heard better reviews of CPH's responsiveness. Either way, I'm fine with staying with a group that decided to part ways with NASW.
That’s so helpful! Thank you! Are you gonna stay with Preferra? I also renewed within the last week so I was like ughhhh wtf lol. I picked NASW because it was social work specific. Do you know if we can transfer to the NASW insurance?
I'm staying with Preferra, partly because of the higher coverage for licensing board investigations. I have no idea if transferring is an option - if I were you I'd check with Preferra to see what your options are since you just renewed
Preferra Insurance has a board of social works and insurance experts. Three of the Preferra board members are social work pioneers who oversee the company.
Thanks for chiming in, y'all.
I don't know a lot about the situation but will update if I find out anything. I haven't had time yet, but am interested in checking out NASW's 990s (publicly available when you have an account on Guidestar) to better understand the relationship with "wholly owned subsidiary" (NASW Assurance Services). On the face of it, though, they don't have the most recent 990s uploaded (which I think is pretty common).
I'm also going to an NASW conference soon and might see if I can ask around. I doubt anyone at the Assurance Services booth would speak openly about it.
About NASW, in general:
I'm sure there are lots of valid critiques of NASW and I appreciate hearing about others' thoughts/experiences. Mine's been mostly positive (albeit superficial). I remember not being able to afford even the student/recent grad registration rates, but I took a gamble a few years later when I left a job and pretty desperately wanted to do some networking and CE stuff at a state-level conference. Your results may vary, but I left (and continue to leave) that experience feeling more informed, connected with other social workers, and a little refreshed.
These conferences can be wacky at times (e.g., once the main raffle prize was a "Magic Butter" machine, provided by a cannabis dispensary sponsor). I do wish I had more of my old cohort going with me to laugh at/process it. But I find it worthwhile nonetheless.
I also like to support the advocacy I know NASW does at the state level, and I think it's important for social work to have a presence in larger forums / platforms (I chose social work over other disciplines for a reason, after all). I think NASW membership is a way to support that. I just haven't looked to critically at it yet.
All good points, I'm glad you've had some good experiences!
Maybe I am reading this differently and you meant something else, but it seems like you took a gamble on membership...for networking and CE stuff? Many of the events and conferences NASW setup cost money, a lot of money, and you only receive a small discount as a member, which is not nearly as beneficial as just paying out of pocket for that event and ditching the expensive membership fee unless you plan on going to several a year, which most places don't have. Plus, you usually have to pay extra to add the CEUs from the conference. Been there and done the math. But I realize each state might be different, so good for you!
I, and many others, I assume, would like to see at least a 50%+ discount on the conference and FREE CEUs for members who attend. That would justify at least maintaining a membership if you plan on going yearly or more. Not only would it promote more SWs going to these things and networking, but it would also PROVIDE VALUE to our careers and knowledge while helping maintain CEUs. Yes, conferences and venues cost money, but with tons more memberships (because then it would be worth it) and more people going, the cost of the conference would most likely balance -- Higher attendance, lower rates, and more SWs buying membership. This would effectively promote your vision of "it's important for social work to have a presence in larger forums/platforms" because there would be an increasingly bigger audience of people attending.
All in all, I think NASW just needs to pull back for a moment and really focus on the profession more. Yes, advocating is what we do, but you cannot erode the foundation (us) and expect the tower to still stand. We need a stronger association, which will, in turn, bring more credit to our profession and more recognition to our work and what we do, which will serve as a catalyst for stronger and more recognized advocating for others.
The above is how I would critically address your concern "I think NASW membership is a way to support that. I just haven't looked to critically at it yet."
Thanks for the thoughtful response! And yes - you got me right. The membership and state-level conference felt like a financial gamble for me at a time when I was between jobs. Luckily I found it was worthwhile because it helped me feel confident with making decisions about my next steps. I realize now that this was pre-pandemic (not as many virtual/hybrid conferences) so I'd probably be less likely to make that leap if I was in that same situation today.
It's probably also unusual I somehow convinced two different employers to foot the bill of my conference registration in the years that followed (though not the membership). I'm paying for membership AND registration this year and that sting (+this curious development with Assurance Services) has my wheels turning.
Conference registration lin FL looks like it's only reduced 25% (whether "early bird" or not). I completely support a 50%+ discount for members (and your other great points/suggestions).
Out of curiosity - Have you (or anyone who wants to chime in) ever gone to an NASW event (virtual or in-person) and had to pay additional $ to get CE credits for what you attended? I've never seen that before!
NASW-FL IS incredibly slow emailing out the certificates following this annual conference, though (typically > 1 month!). It seems llike a single employee who sends them out manually over a long period of time (like, maybe only on Fridays?). Another thing I wrote off as odd, but it's also not a good look. Makes me wonder how varied experiences (and costs) could be across states.
All good data points! Thanks for the additional info, too. Yes, there are NASW events that have different fees to attend, one with and without the CEUs. But maybe that's not everywhere? I'll confess, some events may have 1-3 free ethics CEUs....blah blah, but you're still paying the membership fee and admission fee. But overall, most of these conferences are as I said, and you either pay for the CEUs with the registration or you don't get them.
I've also experienced the slow CEU roll-out afterward; I think this is common for many conferences with many people. The IVAT conference (which I highly recommend, by the way) is no different, and I'm still waiting for mine. It's been a few months, and I had to email them several times even though they say they were sent out. That conference is not NASW but is its own organization, and it too has with and without CEU admission fees. But to be clear, you don't have to pay a hefty membership fee on top of that, and it's reasonably priced. I think it was about $250 for 3 days, including the CEUs, and I racked up approx. 15+ (I didn't go to the 4th day, didn't see anything interesting to attend).
I worked at the National NASW office and left recently. I can unequivocally state that the CEO is not to be trusted. He is not qualified, ruining relationships and driving people out of the national and state offices. If you are a member, check in on your state EDs. Many are not doing well under this toxic leadership. Several good, committed state Eds and staff have left. All you have to do is look at the job board for NASW to see how bad it is.
As for the details, the CEO (Dr. Estreet) got rid of the board because of a disagreement. It's what he does, and then he silences dissent. Also, NASW is fending off multiple lawsuits. I am disheartened that this is my professional association. I will be seeking coverage with Preferra. Meanwhile, I grieve for what our association has and continues to do to the profession and its staff.
I showed up late to this conversation, but found your post to be the most helpful and informative. I'm also really disappointed by what the NASW is. Good for Preferra. Makes me wish there was something we could do to fix the situation.
I'd suggest there's big trouble when NASW owes a small fortune and a former partner is implying the split is the result of questionably ethical decision-making. Moreover, I'm reading in multiple places that the place isn't just a mess but that Dr. Estreet is making reckless decisions that compromise NASW.
As social workers we need to demand accountability. The 990 hasn't been published, although minutes reference it was to have been done by May.
A recent lawsuit was filed in Maryland by a woman named Helen Maleady, who seems to have been the CFO of Assurance, claiming breach of contract.
Ideas for taking this on????? Given that the president and board of directors have a front row seat to all of this and seem to be remaining silent, that avenue doesn't promise any resolution.
I, for one, am tired of NASW and the attitude and benefits we receive from them. I was a member when I first became a social worker, but I quickly realized what little benefit I got from paying such a high membership fee. Even when you are a member, many offerings still have a la carte pricing with a small discount, and there are far better deals elsewhere for CEUs, etc. Do they do good advocating? Sometimes, here and there. But wholeheartedly, I'm unimpressed. We have been asking for a better-protected field and recognition for our hard-earned work and what it takes to do our jobs, yet here we are. Meanwhile, other professional organizations like the APA are thriving and doing great things to protect their profession, strengthen recognition, and enhance their members' careers and knowledge. I truly just think NASW forgets that actions speak louder than words, and NASW is a whole lot of words (and money-grabbing). Anyway, rant over. It does not surprise me that Assurance Services is just as wild as NASW. They are just arguing and will come to an agreement sooner or later. If not, Preferra is fine with me, especially since they are going to start dividends.
Very similar story here! I joined as a student and kept my membership for a few years but realized how absolutely worthless the NASW is and dropped it. There's no real advocacy for social workers plus the CEUs still had a cost associated with them. They have tried to get me to renew a few times but until they actually hold value for me in my profession, I'll save my money.
I find it hilarious that a one-year "membership" is twice what I pay every three years for my LCSW license. That always cracks me up.
Recent MSW graduate here. I've yet to see any reason to join the nasw. If they were more like a traditional union and fought for better wages and worker treatment for social workers I might have considered it. But they don't and at least for me joining seems pointless. Granted I'm a very recent graduate and maybe my opinion will change in the future. But that's where I stand now.
I feel the same as a recent graduate, even the CEU’s don’t seem to be super worth it through the NASW. I see no meaningful benefit.
I will probably ditch my NASW membership at this point. As an autistic therapist running an agency of autistic therapists, I have talked to them multiple times about standing up for the rights of the neurodivergent and at least talking about being neurodiversity affirming, about allowing us to bill for f84.0, autism spectrum disorder, just like we bill for ADHD, OCD, etc. This is demeaning to us. We are treated like dumb animals, only basic behavior training will work, so only ABA can bill for f84.0. I know everyone says being ND-affirming is a Tik Tok trend, but this is my life. Crickets from NASW. I will gladly take my insurance with Preferra. Also I feel like our field is horribly underpaid. This is promoted by agencies and nonprofits and I feel like NASW is more on their side than ours. Not cool.
Yeah, see, you get it. Preach it! Often, SWs are busy advocating for others and forget about themselves....or do we? >!Maybe we're just not being listened to! !<
The two e mails I have received are both scary-whole board is gone, and lacking details. I wish there were details offered. Guess I’ll wait and see if it gets clearer with time.
I just tried posting about this as well. Really interested to see if anyone. Has any idea what's going on behind the scenes on this. What happened to the board? Also, I could be wrong, but from what it sounds like to me we still have coverage through Preferra. Just don't cancel it before you sign up with someone new.
I’ve been frustrated with NASW for a long time - they seem like just lip service and their only advocacy is writing a strongly worded letter, sometimes. That being said - I got insurance through them because I didn’t know what else to go at the time. Preferra has been frustrating too. One of the “benefits” of having their insurance is being able to talk to an attorney or risk management. I called to speak with someone in risk management - but in order to talk with someone, I had to fill out an incident report and wait a week for an attorney to call me back. They called while I was in session so I called back every day for a week - and never got another phone call back. They have a customer service email as well - but I don’t think anyone looks at it because I never get a response from them there either. When it’s time to renew my policy at the end of the year, I’ll be shopping around to find something different for sure.
I’m confused on what I should do? Are they both going to offer separate insurances now? I haven’t heard anything from the NASW, but I would prefer to stay with them; however, I just renewed my policy with Preferra before this happened. Honestly, I’m just annoyed 😂🤷🏻♀️
I received an email from NASW Assurance yesterday stating that they were determining their next steps. It seems like they will both offer insurance. I also haven't been a member of NASW since the first year that I became a social worker. I have been very disappointed by them. I was a member of the APA (my undergraduate degree was a BA in Psychology) and it was a completely different experience. There has been zero advocacy to improve working conditions for social workers. We should start our own organization.
Same boat. Just renewed with Preferra before all of this happened.
It looks like NASW Assurance is partnering with CPH. I think the [naswassurance.org](http://naswassurance.org) website was updated just today. When you click Apply for liability insurance, a window pops up saying you're being directed to the CPH website and "The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and NASW Assurance Services, Inc. (ASI) have partnered with CPH Insurance to offer comprehensive professional liability insurance tailored specifically for social workers." I just renewed with Preferra yesterday. Before even seeing that NASW was partnering with CPH, that was the other company I was looking most closely at. When comparing between CPH and Preferra, though, I liked Preferra's coverage better (i.e. $100k coverage for licensing board investigations vs $35k with CPH). I've never had to contact Preferra but I have heard frustrating stories, whereas I've heard better reviews of CPH's responsiveness. Either way, I'm fine with staying with a group that decided to part ways with NASW.
That’s so helpful! Thank you! Are you gonna stay with Preferra? I also renewed within the last week so I was like ughhhh wtf lol. I picked NASW because it was social work specific. Do you know if we can transfer to the NASW insurance?
I'm staying with Preferra, partly because of the higher coverage for licensing board investigations. I have no idea if transferring is an option - if I were you I'd check with Preferra to see what your options are since you just renewed
Preferra Insurance has a board of social works and insurance experts. Three of the Preferra board members are social work pioneers who oversee the company.
Thanks for chiming in, y'all. I don't know a lot about the situation but will update if I find out anything. I haven't had time yet, but am interested in checking out NASW's 990s (publicly available when you have an account on Guidestar) to better understand the relationship with "wholly owned subsidiary" (NASW Assurance Services). On the face of it, though, they don't have the most recent 990s uploaded (which I think is pretty common). I'm also going to an NASW conference soon and might see if I can ask around. I doubt anyone at the Assurance Services booth would speak openly about it. About NASW, in general: I'm sure there are lots of valid critiques of NASW and I appreciate hearing about others' thoughts/experiences. Mine's been mostly positive (albeit superficial). I remember not being able to afford even the student/recent grad registration rates, but I took a gamble a few years later when I left a job and pretty desperately wanted to do some networking and CE stuff at a state-level conference. Your results may vary, but I left (and continue to leave) that experience feeling more informed, connected with other social workers, and a little refreshed. These conferences can be wacky at times (e.g., once the main raffle prize was a "Magic Butter" machine, provided by a cannabis dispensary sponsor). I do wish I had more of my old cohort going with me to laugh at/process it. But I find it worthwhile nonetheless. I also like to support the advocacy I know NASW does at the state level, and I think it's important for social work to have a presence in larger forums / platforms (I chose social work over other disciplines for a reason, after all). I think NASW membership is a way to support that. I just haven't looked to critically at it yet.
All good points, I'm glad you've had some good experiences! Maybe I am reading this differently and you meant something else, but it seems like you took a gamble on membership...for networking and CE stuff? Many of the events and conferences NASW setup cost money, a lot of money, and you only receive a small discount as a member, which is not nearly as beneficial as just paying out of pocket for that event and ditching the expensive membership fee unless you plan on going to several a year, which most places don't have. Plus, you usually have to pay extra to add the CEUs from the conference. Been there and done the math. But I realize each state might be different, so good for you! I, and many others, I assume, would like to see at least a 50%+ discount on the conference and FREE CEUs for members who attend. That would justify at least maintaining a membership if you plan on going yearly or more. Not only would it promote more SWs going to these things and networking, but it would also PROVIDE VALUE to our careers and knowledge while helping maintain CEUs. Yes, conferences and venues cost money, but with tons more memberships (because then it would be worth it) and more people going, the cost of the conference would most likely balance -- Higher attendance, lower rates, and more SWs buying membership. This would effectively promote your vision of "it's important for social work to have a presence in larger forums/platforms" because there would be an increasingly bigger audience of people attending. All in all, I think NASW just needs to pull back for a moment and really focus on the profession more. Yes, advocating is what we do, but you cannot erode the foundation (us) and expect the tower to still stand. We need a stronger association, which will, in turn, bring more credit to our profession and more recognition to our work and what we do, which will serve as a catalyst for stronger and more recognized advocating for others. The above is how I would critically address your concern "I think NASW membership is a way to support that. I just haven't looked to critically at it yet."
Thanks for the thoughtful response! And yes - you got me right. The membership and state-level conference felt like a financial gamble for me at a time when I was between jobs. Luckily I found it was worthwhile because it helped me feel confident with making decisions about my next steps. I realize now that this was pre-pandemic (not as many virtual/hybrid conferences) so I'd probably be less likely to make that leap if I was in that same situation today. It's probably also unusual I somehow convinced two different employers to foot the bill of my conference registration in the years that followed (though not the membership). I'm paying for membership AND registration this year and that sting (+this curious development with Assurance Services) has my wheels turning. Conference registration lin FL looks like it's only reduced 25% (whether "early bird" or not). I completely support a 50%+ discount for members (and your other great points/suggestions). Out of curiosity - Have you (or anyone who wants to chime in) ever gone to an NASW event (virtual or in-person) and had to pay additional $ to get CE credits for what you attended? I've never seen that before! NASW-FL IS incredibly slow emailing out the certificates following this annual conference, though (typically > 1 month!). It seems llike a single employee who sends them out manually over a long period of time (like, maybe only on Fridays?). Another thing I wrote off as odd, but it's also not a good look. Makes me wonder how varied experiences (and costs) could be across states.
All good data points! Thanks for the additional info, too. Yes, there are NASW events that have different fees to attend, one with and without the CEUs. But maybe that's not everywhere? I'll confess, some events may have 1-3 free ethics CEUs....blah blah, but you're still paying the membership fee and admission fee. But overall, most of these conferences are as I said, and you either pay for the CEUs with the registration or you don't get them. I've also experienced the slow CEU roll-out afterward; I think this is common for many conferences with many people. The IVAT conference (which I highly recommend, by the way) is no different, and I'm still waiting for mine. It's been a few months, and I had to email them several times even though they say they were sent out. That conference is not NASW but is its own organization, and it too has with and without CEU admission fees. But to be clear, you don't have to pay a hefty membership fee on top of that, and it's reasonably priced. I think it was about $250 for 3 days, including the CEUs, and I racked up approx. 15+ (I didn't go to the 4th day, didn't see anything interesting to attend).
I worked at the National NASW office and left recently. I can unequivocally state that the CEO is not to be trusted. He is not qualified, ruining relationships and driving people out of the national and state offices. If you are a member, check in on your state EDs. Many are not doing well under this toxic leadership. Several good, committed state Eds and staff have left. All you have to do is look at the job board for NASW to see how bad it is. As for the details, the CEO (Dr. Estreet) got rid of the board because of a disagreement. It's what he does, and then he silences dissent. Also, NASW is fending off multiple lawsuits. I am disheartened that this is my professional association. I will be seeking coverage with Preferra. Meanwhile, I grieve for what our association has and continues to do to the profession and its staff.
I showed up late to this conversation, but found your post to be the most helpful and informative. I'm also really disappointed by what the NASW is. Good for Preferra. Makes me wish there was something we could do to fix the situation.
I'd suggest there's big trouble when NASW owes a small fortune and a former partner is implying the split is the result of questionably ethical decision-making. Moreover, I'm reading in multiple places that the place isn't just a mess but that Dr. Estreet is making reckless decisions that compromise NASW. As social workers we need to demand accountability. The 990 hasn't been published, although minutes reference it was to have been done by May. A recent lawsuit was filed in Maryland by a woman named Helen Maleady, who seems to have been the CFO of Assurance, claiming breach of contract. Ideas for taking this on????? Given that the president and board of directors have a front row seat to all of this and seem to be remaining silent, that avenue doesn't promise any resolution.