CISWH Team Highlights Trends and Challenges for the Social Work Profession at 2026 NSWM Forward Thinking Summit 

As economic and policy pressures weigh on practitioners in the social work profession, experts from the Center for Innovation in Social Work and Health (CISWH) at BU School of Social Work, including Dr. Tami Gouveia, Debbie Stenoien, and Jadon Demeritte shared compelling research on the value of this important workforce at the 2026 Network for Social Work Management (NSWM) Forward Thinking Summit.

Social Work Workforce Trends: Growing Demand and Stagnant Pay 

Gouveia, CISWH director, joined Stenoien, a CISWH research associate; and Demeritte, a CISWH research fellow, to present “Growing Demand, Stagnant Pay: Workforce Trends and Barriers Across Social Work Practice Areas.”

The team shared recent research from CISWH’s Economic Value of Social Work initiative, which shows how social work compensation has generally not kept pace with inflation and rising living costs. The analysis examined regional and state-level salary trends across social work practice areas, relationships between employment growth and compensation, and how salaries compare with local costs of living. The findings provide a baseline for understanding challenges related to pay equity, workforce retention, and workforce development across the profession.

Charting a Path for Social Work to Reclaim Value and Voice in a Changing Policy Landscape

Gouveia also presented findings from CISWH’s recent Beyond Defense summit in her session, “Charting a Path for Social Work to Reclaim Value and Voice in a Changing Policy Landscape.” She provided an overview of the theory and tools central to participatory system dynamics (PSD) and shared how PSD was used to help summit participants map the challenges facing the profession, including the social work workforce, social work education, professional identity, policy change, and evolving community needs. Together, the presentations highlighted the importance of examining workforce trends alongside the larger systems influencing social work. The findings provide a foundation for continued discussions around compensation, workforce retention, and policies that can strengthen social work research, training, and practice.