SOCIAL-WORK AND PUBLIC SOCIAL-SERVICES PRACTICE - A STATUS-REPORT

The authors review the current status of the social work labor force w ithin the public sector by means of an analysis of the National Associ ation of Social Workers member data base for 1988 and 1991, with addit ional data drawn from a 1993 member survey. Changes in the proportion and composition of the public social services labor force are document ed, including education, experience, gender, and ethnicity. The decrea sing professional social work labor force within public social service s is discussed within the context of the realities of public social se rvices practice and social work's historic place within this sector. T he authors encourage debate about the implications of these trends, fo cusing on whether social work should influence labor-force trends or b e influenced by them.