Cheers to CBS Miami viewer Gene Albelo for sticking up for social workers.

Albelo asked the station to check whether a state workers involved in a child welfare case are in fact educated and licensed social worker before identifying them as social workers in news reports.

Here is what he wrote:

“For years I’ve listed to the media refer to case workers, assistant social workers, etc., as social workers. When I look deeper into the piece in questions, I usually find that the individual who who was responsible for handling a case poorly was not an actual social worker, but someone who did some work that might be considered social work. To be a social worker one must have either an advance degree such as a masters, or a terminal degree such as a doctorate in social work (PhD or DSW). So, please ascertain that the person who is being accused of poor social work practice actually is a social worker before saying so on your program.”

Who can use the social worker title varies by state. Social workers across the country are working to improve title protection.

If you see a news article or television news segment that identifies a person as a social worker who may not be an educated and licensed social worker please contact the news outlet to have them verify the person’s position. You can also alert SocialWorkersSpeak.org and we will check.