Access Denied: Threats to Social Work Education, Accreditation, and Mental Health Care

Tuesday, March 24, 2026 
3:00 – 4:00 PM ET  
Zoom

Federal regulatory changes laid out in One Big Beautiful Bill Act and Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education threaten to restrict federal student loans and upend accreditation standards in ways that could reshape social work education and practice for years to come. Individuals and communities will likely bear the brunt of these disruptions as access to mental health care becomes further strained.

In our next Critical Conversation, Dr. Tami Gouveia, director of the Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health and Paul Farmer professor of the practice, will break down what these proposed changes mean for social work education, why they set a troubling precedent for federal interference in higher education, and what’s at stake for the social work and mental health workforce.

This isn’t just a briefing. Participants will be invited to share what they’re seeing on the ground and to identify concrete actions we can take individually and collectively to help protect the future of social work and mental health care access.

About the Beyond 2025 Action Hub
The Beyond 2025 Action Hub is a CISWH initiative that tracks federal policy shifts affecting health, higher education, and social services, offering analysis and action-oriented resources to support informed advocacy.