1. Moving the Ohio
Chapter Forward
Restoring Ohio as a Mega Chapter

2. We have the potential…
Membership Status of All Licensed Social Workers
in Ohio
Non-
Members
Members

4. What’s the problem?
Seven Year Comparison of Membership Dues
265,000.00
260,000.00
255,000.00
250,000.00
245,000.00
240,000.00
235,000.00
6/30/2005 6/30/2006 6/30/2007 6/30/2008 6/30/2009 6/3o/2010 * 6/30/2011

5. Problems with Membership
• Transitional Members- We
have a hard time retaining
members after their first
year
• Regular Members- We have
a hard time recruiting full
paying members

6. NASW Ohio needs YOU
NASW members
You should join
NASW! This is why have to recruit other
I’m a member…
social workers to
join or we will not
reach our goal
BECOME A NASW
AMBASSADOR

7. Reach out to…
• Your colleagues
• Individual social workers
• Your interns
• Groups
• Employers/Agencies
• Individual professors
• Classes
• Universities
• Associates

8. Potential Members
?
want to know…
?
What’s in it for me?
? ?

9. Key Message- NASW is here for you!
• There are many issues affecting the profession. NASW is
actively working to protect the profession of social work.
NASW is here for you.
• Workplace Safety
• Educational Debt
• Low salaries
• High caseload ratios
• Professional social workers are members of their professional
association
• NASW has a complete inventory of resources to help make
your work easier so you can better serve your clients, advance
professionally, and stay protected from liability in your daily
practice … NASW has the tools to help you succeed.

10. NASW has Solutions
Challenges Solutions
Record Economic Crisis Legislative Advocacy to support
responsible actions by officials.
Loss of jobs all across the profession National Employment Network
Decreases in funding and programs for Social Work Reinvestment Act
higher education
Loss of record amount of services Partner in coalitions to fight for services
threatening our safety net
Increased Demand for services Continuing Education
Risk associated with practicing social Liability Insurance
work

11. NASW has Solutions
Challenges Solutions
Limited understanding of the Community outreach and public
profession education campaign
Lack of title protection Continue to fight for title protection
through reinvestment
Continued need for up to date Provide comprehensive trainings in
education and training needed areas
Lack of perceived power Education and training for productive
advocacy
Licensure Worked to ensure there was state
licensure to protect profession

12. Support and Protection
• Ethics Consultation Line
• Licensure
• We helped to create licensure and we are here to protect it
• Insurance
• Discounted malpractice, disability, and other types
NASW is the advocate for social
workers. NASW is the only
advocate for the profession as a
whole.

13. Advocacy
• NASW is the voice for social workers and those that we serve
at the state and federal levels
• The Ohio Chapter is a member of 18 coalitions to address
client needs
• The top priorities of the Ohio Chapter are social worker
safety, educational debt, and salaries.
With 4,000 members NASW Ohio
Chapter is a strong advocate.
Imagine our voice at 5,000+

14. CEUs- Free and Discounted
• WebEd
• Lunchtime Series
• NASW Ohio Chapter Online CEUs
• Regular calendar of workshops
• Regional offerings
Members can get most of their
30 CEUs for free or at a steep
discount.

15. Specialty Sections
• These professional communities focus on a single practice
area, keeping you up-to-date on research, professional
development, and other practice-specific news and
information that you can apply to your work or studies.
You can get information and
CEUs that are specific to your
area of practice when you join a
specialty section.

16. Communications
• National Communications
• NASW News at both the State
• Website
and Federal level
• Research journals
• Leadership Ladders
have improved
• Practice Perspectives in the past two
• State years. NASW
• Ohio Update, printed newsletter membership
• Monthly e-Newsletter keeps you
• Weekly updates updated and
• Website
informed.

17. Social Media
• National
• Socialworkersspeak.org
The Ohio
• Beasocialworker.org
Chapter has
• State
a “Job of the
• Facebook
Day” on
• Twitter
Facebook
• LinkedIn
and Twitter

18. Career Services
• National
• Social Work Career Center- Ability to post your resume and have
employers find you
• State
• CareerConnection- Has networking opportunities, licensure
information, continuing education opportunities and more!
As a member of NASW you get
access to job listings at a state
and federal level. The Ohio
Chapter’s CareerConnection
usually has anywhere from 40-
80 jobs listed!

19. Other
• Recognition by regional, state, and national awards
• Scholarships for students
• Discounts
• NASW Wireless Center
• Pennywise Office Supplies
• Hotel Discounts
• Car Rental Discounts

20. The Details
• Members can join for the FIRST time online at
www.socialworkers.org, by calling 1-800-742-4089, or by filling
our a paper application
• If a member has been expired for more than 3 months they
can only call the phone number or submit a paper application
• Credit cards can be taken by collecting the information on the
paper application

21. Cost of Membership
• Regular Full Member
• MSW & DSW & PhD Full Membership Dues Annually: $190
• BSW Full Membership Dues Annually: $125
• Student Member (Must be from a CSWE school)
• BSW & MSW Student Membership Dues Annually: $48
• Doctoral Student (in a Social Work/Social Welfare Program)
Membership Dues Annually: $143
• TRANSITIONAL RATES
• Associate Member
• Associate Membership Dues Annually: $190
• Open to any person who has a professional interest in, or is
supportive of, the issues addressed by, or the client populations
served by, the social work profession. Associate members may not
hold national or chapter elective office. After five years of
continuous membership, associate members are granted the right to
vote in national or chapter elections.

22. COMMUNICATING THESE BENEFITS TO
RECRUIT AND RETAIN MEMBERS

23. Creating “Seven Exposures” to NASW
1. Regular presentations to schools and agencies on
membership
2. Asking supervisors or faculty/staff to talk to their
supervisees or students about the importance of
membership (Mentor to mentee asks)
3. Peer to peer dialogue and asks
4. Regular media coverage of NASW
5. Strong social media presence
6. Newsletter campaigns to potential/lapsed members- use
the newsletter as our top marketing item
7. Posters in schools and agencies

24. Identify Yourself
• Identify yourself as a social
worker, NASW member and
PROUD
leader
SOCIAL
WORKER & NASW
• Add it to your signature line MEMBER
• We can make business cards
for you
• Add it to your resume

25. The best thing you can do is
just tell those around you
about the benefits
Peer to Peer Recruitment

26. Ways to Encourage others to
Join
• Send an application to a colleague
• Encourage others to join online- add
the link to join to your e-mail
signature
• Share your positive experiences
• Mention NASW services
• Send them a copy of the newsletter
• Write an article for your
organization’s/ university’s
newsletter about joining NASW
• Don’t forget to follow-up

27. Doing Presentations
• Contact employers, professors, or
schools to setup presentations
• Use PowerPoints on disc
• Provide handouts
• Talk about your own experience
and why membership is
important to you

28. Asking Others to Ask Others
• Expand the network of ambassadors- ask your colleagues to
ask other social workers or associates to join
• Provide them with a toolkit

29. Making the ASK
• Ask if the person is a member of NASW
• Tell them why you are a member
• Respond to their excuses
• Provide a mechanism to join (referral to website, paper
application)
• Follow up
Join
NASW
today!

30. Common Excuses
It Costs too much!
• Focus on the cost per month (no more than $15.83)
• It all comes down to priorities. What is their priority for their money?
Protecting their career or a lunch at a restaurant?
• NASW is the same or cheaper than other professional
associations. You also get 2 memberships for one-
national and state membership
• American Counseling Association (No State office)- $175
• American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy- $250
• Association of Behavioral Health Management (No state office)-
$200
• American Case Management Association (No state office)- $135
• American Nurses Association- $548

31. Common Excuses
I’m Retired why should I join/reinstate?
Response- Retired social workers are critical
to forming a strong, collective voice for
social workers.

32. Common Excuses
I’m unemployed why should I
join/reinstate?
Response- NASW membership
demonstrates your commitment to the
profession and many employers are looking
for membership on your resume. NASW
also provides you with many career
resources like job listings.

33. Common Excuses
I’m a student why should I
join/reinstate?
Response- NASW membership for students
is only $48 per year. Part of being a
professional social worker is being a part of
your professional association. You should
join now to take advantage of the reduced
rate and start building your career as a
social worker!

34. Common Excuses
NASW isn’t doing anything for me in
my area of practice
Response: NASW is engaged in
advocacy and provides resources for
nearly all areas of practice within social
work.

35. Let’s Practice
• Ask someone to join
• 30 second “elevator” speech on NASW

36. Topic Triggers
Licensure
• We were instrumental in passing mandatory licensure
legislation in Ohio in 1986.
• We monitor rule changes to ensure that our ability to practice
across our scope is not diminished.
• We are advocating elimination of the civil service exemptions
which allows non-social workers to have the title social
worker.

37. Topic Triggers
Schools / Education
• We have lobbied educational reform in Ohio to include
licensed social workers.
• We advocated against educational funding cuts in the state
budget
• We are lobbying for educational debt relief for social workers
in Ohio in the form of loan forgiveness, grants, or scholarships.
• Nationally, we introduced “Dorothy I Height, Whitney M
Young Jr. Reinvestment Act” – seeks to provide loan
forgiveness for graduates who practice in high need areas.

38. Topic Triggers
Professional Continuing Education
• We offer CE series both locally and through teleconferences
on a national level.
• We provide specialty practice sections to further education for
specific social work fields.
• We successfully advocated for the reduction of CEU’s required
to help offset the 2008 increase in licensure fees for social
workers.
• We keep social workers educated and up to date on HIPAA
Guidelines through website resources.

39. Topic Triggers
Children / Safety
• We participate in coalitions that seek to protect children and
families
• We conduct political advocacy for legislation that would
increase services and safety for children.
• Nationally, we have a new online tool kit for suicide
prevention in teenage girls called NASW SHIFT Project: Suicide
Prevention for Adolescent Girls; Shifting Behavior Shifting
Outcomes.

40. Topic Triggers
Health Care
• We support Health Care for Americans Now (HCAN).
• We support President Obama’s effort to enact health care
reform which includes protecting families’ financial
health, making health care coverage affordable, working
towards universality, providing portability of
coverage, guaranteeing choices, investing in health and
wellness, improving quality of care and maintaining
sustainability.
• We are a strong supporter of mental health parity.

41. Topic Triggers
Economy / Poverty / Unemployment
• 27.8% of young children in Ohio lived below or near poverty
(2005) therefore we actively oppose budget cuts that
contribute to the increase in poverty, homelessness and loss
of services for all of OH’s citizens.
• We provide job listings for social workers on a national and
state level.
• NASW/Assurance Services refunded 15% of some insurance
premiums to assist in times of economic hardships.

42. Topic Triggers
Strengthening the Profession
• At the state level, we are addressing issues of workplace safety, educational
debt, and low salaries.
• “Dorothy I Height, Whitney M Young Reinvestment Act” – federal legislation to
elevate the profession of social work through investment in education, safety
and research.
• Social Work Month Activities including recognition for outstanding peers and
educating the public about the importance and breadth of the field of social
work.
• “The Foundation” run by national is committed to enriching the social work
profession and encouraging social workers to be leaders in social policy and
practice through education, research and local projects.
• National Social Work Public Education Campaign informs the public on a variety
of ways that social workers help families, communities and individuals and it is
totally funded by donations, not by member dues.
• The NASW Pioneers Program that honors distinguished social workers who have
made a difference and it informs the public on the contributions they have
made.
• Helpstartshere.org serves as a consumer website that helps the community learn
about how a social worker can help them and how to access a social worker.

43. Topic Triggers
Community Advocacy
• We offer training to teach social workers and the general
public how to easily and effectively conduct advocacy
surrounding public policy.
• We assist social workers in advocacy activities by providing
programs and list serves to identify topics that need support
and allowing them to easily conduct those advocacy activities
through letters and phone calls.

44. Topic Triggers
Elections / Officials
• National and State level PACE committee’s investigate and
research persons running for office to determine if they
support social work values
• NASW PACE provides endorsements and community support
for those who represent our values.

45. Topic Triggers
Legal Support
• Legal Defense Fund provides financial legal assistance and
support for legal cases and issues of concern to NASW
members and the social work profession.
• LDF also supports educational projects and programs to
improve the legal status and knowledge of the social work
profession.
• We file Amicus Briefs expressing the social work perspective of
social justice in multiple cases. Some recent examples were in
support of gay parent’s rights to maintain relationships with
the children they had raised and maintaining employment
after initiating a sexual harassment investigation.
• We keep social workers educated and up to date on HIPAA
Guidelines through website resources.

46. Topic Triggers
Equality
• The Ohio Chapter is a member of the Equality Ohio coalition
that is currently seeking the passage of a bill that would
prohibit housing and employment discrimination on the basis
of sexual orientation
• We were a major supporter for the Fair Pay Act that was
signed by President Obama continuing the fight for women’s
equal rights.

47. Topic Triggers
Insurance (Provided through Assurance Services)
• Offers professional liability / malpractice insurance, student
liability and agency liability.
• Offers group life, disability and accident insurance.
• Refunded 15% of life and disability premiums to help in hard
economic times.
• Provides guidance on understanding and avoiding malpractice.
• Launched a new “Health Choices Program” which can help
members locate affordable health insurance if they qualify.