NASW North Carolina Chapter Executive Director Valerie Arendt (left) and NASW Arizona Chapter Executive Director Brandie Reiner protest at the U.S. Supreme Court after Roe v. Wade reversal was announced.

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) reached a potential news audience of about 500 million readers in June, thanks in large part to coverage of the association’s warning of the mental health impact of the U.S. Supreme Court decision to reverse Roe v. Wade.

 Here are our Top 10 News Hits for June 2022.

1. Somerset County, PA announced caseworkers would be able to earn up to $24,000 in tuition reimbursement, according to an articles in Yahoo and the Tribune-Democrat. The article cited NASW data that indicates the average social work graduate has $30,000 in student loan debt. The articles reached a potential readership of 66 million readers.
2. NASW, the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association were covered in Yahoo, The Hill, the Associated Press and dozens of other news outlets for warning that the reversal of Roe v. Wade would jeopardize the mental health of millions of Americans who would lose reproductive rights. The articles reached a combined potential readership of more than 115 million readers.
3. Yahoo Finance reported Stacey Hardy-Chandler, Ph.D., J.D., LCSW, has been named CEO of the Association of Social Work Boards. The article, which reached a potential 46 million readers, mentioned Hardy-Chandler is a former NASW Nevada Chapter Social Worker of the Year.
4. The Skokie, IL Patch reported that the NASW Illinois Chapter had endorsed Democrat Kevin Olickal, who is challenging incumbent State Rep. Denyse Wang Stoneback. The article reached a potential 13 million readers. The Patch later reported that Olickal appeared to win the election, leading by 560 votes out of a total of more than 9,400 votes cast.
5. Kathy Weaver, President of the NASW Michigan Chapter said in a press released reported by the Detroit Michigan Patch that the chapter supported legislation to create the Student Mental Health Apprenticeship Retention and Training (SMART) grant program. The program would pay social work graduate students and others $25 an hour for up to 20 hours a week for fieldwork in public school settings. The article reached a potential 13 million readers.
6. Psychology Today posted a blog about the first American Psychiatric Association in-person annual meeting since the pandemic began in New Orleans in late May. During the conference, the issue of how psychiatrists have interacted with minority and marginalized communities were addressed. The blog cited NASW’s 2007 report: Institutional Racism and the Social Work Profession: A Call to Action. The article reached a potential 12 million readers.
7. The Jerusalem Post interviewed social workers Jennifer Heckendorn and Samantha Carducci, who were attending the NASW 2022 National Conference in Washington, D.C. but went to the U.S. Supreme Court to protest after hearing the U.S. Supreme Court had reversed Roe v. Wade. “It’s a huge issue for social workers. We’re the ones that provide services to women that have been sexually assaulted, that deal with unintended pregnancies and that need help to navigate,” Carducci said. The article reached a potential 5 million readers.
8. NASW Pennsylvania Chapter Social Worker of the Year Chad Dion Lassiter wrote a column for the Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription only) that said the promise of Juneteenth had not been fulfilled as Black Americans continue to lag economically and in other measures of societal success. The article reached a potential 4 million readers.
9. The financial news service Benzinga ran a press release from ECINS, one of the sponsors of the NASW 2022 National Conference, announcing the company’s participation in the event. ECINS offers software that allows social workers to do greater collaboration with other teams and agencies. The press release reached a potential 4 million readers.
10. Spectrum News 1 reported on a shortage of social workers in North Carolina Schools. The report cited NASW recommendations that schools have at least one social worker per 250 students.