  
District Days Alert: Social Work Voice Critical in PA Budget Impasse District Days: Budget Impasse Outreach Dear Colleagues, Pennsylvania’s ongoing budget impasse has reached a crisis point — and it’s putting the very services that hold our communities together at risk. With no final budget in place, funding for critical programs is frozen, contracts are stalled, hiring is on hold, and clients are being turned away. Every day this continues, the ripple effects deepen — pushing families closer to crisis and leaving social workers to fill impossible gaps. This is not an abstract political debate. It’s playing out in real time across the Commonwealth. In Westmoreland County, 125 county employees have already been furloughed, leaving only 911 dispatchers and prison staff exempt. In Armstrong County, eight of ten senior centers have closed. Across Pennsylvania, Pre-K Counts and Head Start programs are seeking emergency loans just to stay afloat. And yet, legislators still aren’t hearing enough from the people who understand these impacts best: you. One social worker who called about a crisis in their district was told, “I haven’t received a single letter or phone call about this.” After rallying their colleagues to write, the tone of the conversation changed. That is the power we hold — but only if we use it. We are asking every social worker in Pennsylvania to act now: - 📞 Call your state representative and senator.
- ✉️ Email them.
- 🏛️ Visit their local office if possible.
Tell them what’s happening — in your agency, in your county, or in the services around you. If your own workplace isn’t directly impacted, share what you’re seeing in your community. Legislators need to hear real stories from the front lines. Form letters are often discarded, but personalized messages get read. If you’re busy or unsure what to say, consider using an AI tool to draft a starting point and then edit it to make it your own. 📍 Find your legislators here:Find Your Legislator And after you act, please email me to let me know what you did and what response you receive. Your feedback helps us track our collective impact and strengthen NASW-PA’s advocacy. Social workers know better than anyone what happens when the safety net unravels. Let’s make sure lawmakers do too. In solidarity, Johanna Byrd, ACSW, IOM, CAE Executive Director On behalf of the NASW-PA |
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Resources to Help You Take Action 📞 Sample Phone Script “Hello, my name is [Your Name], and I’m a social worker in [City/County]. I’m calling because the ongoing state budget impasse is severely impacting services in our community. Programs are losing funding, contracts are stalled, positions remain unfilled, and clients are waiting longer for support — some are being turned away entirely. In my community, [insert one example]. I urge [Representative/Senator Last Name] to work with leadership to pass a responsible state budget immediately and protect funding for critical human services.” ✉️ Talking Points for Emails - Introduce yourself and the work you do: “I am a social worker in [County] serving [population].”
- Describe the impact: “Because state funding is frozen, [our agency has furloughed staff / our waitlist has doubled / we cannot launch new programs].”
- Provide an example (your own or one you know of): “In Armstrong County, senior centers have closed, leaving older adults without vital support.”
- Make the ask: “Please work with leadership to finalize the budget and protect the human services Pennsylvania families rely on.”
🏛️ Talking Points for Visits - Lead with who you are and where you work.
- Share one or two stories that show how the budget impasse affects people directly.
- Use broader examples if needed (e.g., furloughs, closures, delayed services).
- Be specific in your request: “I’m asking you to finalize the budget quickly and ensure human services remain fully funded.”
- Leave behind a one-page summary or story sheet if you can.
📊 General Talking Points on the Budget Impasse & Social Work- The ongoing budget impasse is not a political inconvenience — it is a direct threat to the safety, well-being, and stability of individuals and families across the Commonwealth.
- Human services rely heavily on state funding. When that funding is frozen, programs cannot hire staff, launch services, or fulfill contracts — leaving Pennsylvanians without critical supports.
- Social workers are seeing the real-world consequences every day: families turned away from services, growing waitlists, children without needed protections, seniors without care, and individuals with mental health and substance use needs left without treatment.
- These service gaps force people to turn to more expensive and less effective systems — like emergency rooms, shelters, or the criminal justice system — costing taxpayers more in the long run.
- Delayed funding also disrupts continuity of care and undermines long-term interventions, meaning that when services finally resume, rebuilding trust and re-engaging clients takes even more time and resources.
- Staff shortages and stalled hiring compound these problems: agencies cannot fill essential roles, increasing burnout and turnover among existing staff.
- Social workers know that prevention is far more effective and cost-efficient than crisis intervention. The longer the impasse continues, the more we erode the preventive systems that keep people safe and stable.
- Lawmakers must work together to finalize a budget that protects human services and ensures timely, reliable funding — because every day of delay puts more Pennsylvanians at risk.
📣 A Special Note for Social Work StudentsIf you’re a student and feel unsure about what to say because you don’t yet have direct experience in the field or local knowledge of agency impacts — your voice is still incredibly powerful. Legislators need to hear from the next generation of social workers, too. You can share why you’re entering the profession, what drew you to this work, and what concerns you most about how budget decisions affect the people and communities you hope to serve. You can also speak broadly about what you’re seeing around you — such as funding cuts to schools, food insecurity in your community, or barriers to mental health care. Personal stories from emerging professionals are often some of the most impactful messages legislators receive. You don’t have to have years of experience to make a difference — you just have to speak up. |
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What are We Advocating For?
Click here to view the full Legislative and Policy Agenda Click here to view the Legislative Priorities document Click here to visit our Legislative Action Center and Contact your Elected Officials!
Current top legislative priorities: - HB 554 / SB 583: Passage of the Interstate Social Work Compact
Creates interstate portability for social work licenses by authorizing Pennsylvania's participation in the interstates social work licensure compact. Social workers licensed in Pennsylvania would be able to practice as licensed social workers in every state that has passed the compact. - HB 66: Passage of the Social Worker Educational Enrollment and Training Act (SWEET Act)
Establishes a program for providing funding stipends to MSW students completing their internships to support the funding deficits that are common during that period. - Banning Conversion Therapy for Minors
- HB 1150 / SB 19 Raising the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage
- Funding for Mental Health Services in Pennsylvania
Advocacy Opportunities NASW-PA encourages social workers, social work students, and social work allies to engage with their elected officials to discuss the topics that are important to you, including the bills where NASW-PA is leading the charge. E-mail, letters, and phone calls are all great ways to advocate... but the most effective tool is a visit (in person or virtual) with your legislators and/or their staff.
Resources for meeting with your Representative and/or Senator: Interstate Social Work Compact This is the second legislative session in which NASW-PA has advanced legislation to have Pennsylvania join the social work interstate licensure compact. The compact, which was introduced in 2023 and which reached activation status in 2024, would allow licensed social workers who opt into the compact to practice social work in any state that has joined the compact. This is especially helpful for telehealth, where clients and therapists often live in different states. It is also essential during natural disasters or other crises, when there is a lack of qualified professionals in the area. Learn more about the interstate social work compact here.
HB 554 recently passed the House Professional Licensure Committee, and now moves to the full House of Representatives.
Bill Resources for HB 554 & SB 583:
Stipends for Social Work Interns
Social Work Educational Enrollment and Training (SWEET)
This bill, currently filed in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives as HB 66, would establish the Social Work Educational Enrollment and Training (SWEET) program. The bill seeks to address social work shortages in the state by providing support for MSW students during the internship period of their education, a time during which students often suffer financial hardships because of their placements (including, but not limited to, hardships in transportation, reduced income, and/or loss of health insurance). This bill would allow more students to acquire a graduate social work degree.
Bill Resources for HB 66:
Get Ready to Make an Impact! This is your moment! Whether you’re a seasoned advocate or new to the legislative process, your participation is vital. You’re standing shoulder to shoulder with social workers across the state, each of us working toward the same goal: to strengthen our profession and improve the lives of those we serve.
Sample of Past Advocacy Successes
Conversion Therapy Ban of 2024: Five Pennsylvania State Boards Adopt Policies Making Clear That Conversion Therapy on LGBTQ+ Minors is Harmful and Unprofessional The Shapiro administration announced on May 2nd that the State Boards of Nursing, Medicine, Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Professional Counselors, Psychology, and Osteopathic Medicine have all voted to adopt new Statements of Policy (SOP) to oppose the use of conversion therapy on minors in the state of Pennsylvania. These policies serve to notify licensees under each board that the boards consider the use of conversion therapy to be unprofessional, harmful conduct that may subject any licensee participating in it to administrative discipline. The Statement of Policy relating to social work can be found here.
Despite an August 2022 Executive Order from former Governor Tom Wolf, conversion therapy remained an issue in the Commonwealth, as demonstrated by research from The Trevor Project which found more than 80 practitioners holding Pennsylvania licenses who openly advertised conversion therapy or related terms on their websites. NASW-PA worked closely with The Trevor Project and the Pennsylvania Psychological Association to educate the Shapiro administration and the state boards on the need for further action.
Telemedicine: Act 42 of 2024 Pennsylvania has been one of the last remaining states without any kind of comprehensive bill regulating telemedicine. This became even more problematic during the pandemic, when telemedicine became standard practice rather than the exception. Act 42 provides standards regulating telemedicine and mandates that insurers operating within Pennsylvania's borders cover telehealth. Click here to review Act 42.
Practice Protection: Act 76 of 2018 For a long while within Pennsylvania, The State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors was the only board regulated by the government that did not have some sort of protection for the practice of the individuals that fall under it. Essentially, anyone was able to claim to have the qualifications to provide social work services within the state. Even those who lost their license outside of Pennsylvania had the ability to come into the state to practice without penalty. Additionally, providing a diagnosis was not a protected action of licensed clinical social workers. Pennsylvanian social workers were at a competitive disadvantage in terms of professional privileges by being unable to legally diagnose clients. Insurance companies still recognized diagnostic codes from social workers, but it was not a protected right of the workers. However, with the passing of Act 76 in June 2018, only licensed clinical social workers can provide clinical social work services within the state. Click here to read Act 76 of 2018.
BSW Voluntary Licensure: Act 179 of 2014 Act 179 of 2014 allows for social workers holding a BSW degree from an accredited social work program to choose to pursue LBSW license. NASW-PA had been advocating for bachelor level licensure many years prior to this act. In fact, the NASW-PA Legislative Advocacy Day of 2014 was focused on passing this legislation. A few months later SB 807 was approved by Governor Tom Corbett and became Act 179 of 2014. As stated in the bill's memo, written by the bill's Primary Sponsor Charles McIlhinney, "Social workers with master’s degrees already have a voluntary license in place, but we need to acknowledge that there are thousands of BSWs who have no mechanism for licensure in place. It is time that Pennsylvania join the 36 other states that credential social workers at the bachelor’s level." Click here to read Act 179 of 2014.
Title Protection: Implementing Act 68 of 2008
In 2008, NASW-PA advocated on behalf of the social work profession and was successful in establishing title protection for Pennsylvania's social workers. House Bill 1693 was signed into law on July 10, 2008, becoming Act 68 of 2008. Under this Pennsylvania state law, it is illegal for an individual to hold oneself out as a social worker, use the title "social worker," or use the abbreviation "SW" unless they hold a current license (LSW or LCSW) or have received a bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree from a CSWE accredited school or program of social work. Click here to read Act 68 of 2008.
More information on title protection: |
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