Betsy Clark

National Association of Social Workers Executive Director Betsy Clark talked about the valuable services social workers offer society during an interview on the Anita Estell Radio Show (To hear the full interview click here).

Social workers help people in all walks of society, including children, the elderly and veterans, Clark told Estell, who is an attorney, lobbyist, and columnist. They are especially needed in these troubled economic times and to serve soldiers returning from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Clark said.

Clark, PhD, ACSW, MPH, also stressed the importance of Congress passing the Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act. That bill among other things would create a commission to develop a long-term strategy to maximize services social workers provide clients.

Anita Estell

“I really believe social work is the profession of hope,” Clark said at the end of the interview. “And I think what social workers do is to help people reframe their hopes when they are facing broken hopes.”

To learn more about the Social Work Reinvestment Act, click here. And to find out more about the services social workers provide you can visit the Web site for NASW’s “Help Starts Here” consumer Web site by clicking here.