From the Pen of the Executive Director: November 2025

Joel L. Rubin, MSW, LSW, ACSW, CAE

NASW-Illinois Chapter Executive Director

NASW-Illinois Chapter Executive Director, Joel L. Rubin, LSW, ACSW, CAE

As NASW celebrates its seventieth anniversary, no one could have predicted that we would be in the midst of the second longest government shutdown in the nation’s history, and that funding for major programs such as SNAP would end on November 1^st. It takes tremendous efforts to continue to practice and serve individuals, families, and communities against this backdrop. We have done this over our 70-year history and will continue our important work for years to come.

We are also entering the last month of the 2023–2025 licensure cycle and all during November, you can get your last-minute CEUs with the NASW-Illinois Chapter. We look forward to many Illinois social workers who will be participating in the 2025 NASW Chapters Virtual Conference taking place November 5 & 6, 2025. Additionally, all Social Work Online CE Institute courses are accepted for CEUs by IDFPR. Complete information can be found on the chapter’s Event page: https://www.naswil.org/events.

Later in November we will be presenting our 2025 NASW-Illinois Chapter Awards to Social Worker of the Year Franshandra Owens, MSW, LCSW, and Lifetime Achievement awardee Darby J. Morhardt, PhD, LCSW. Please take a moment to read about our awardees’ work and their accomplishments: https://www.naswil.org/post/2025-nasw-illinois-chapter-statewide-awards.

Some Additional Notes:

NASW is also celebrating the 65^th anniversary of the NASW Code of Ethics. And as our recent statement regarding ICE actions in Chicago, the application of social work ethics has never been more important.

Many thanks to the Coalition for Social Work and Health (CSWH), a national network of professional organizations; leaders in practice, research, education, and policy; and allies to collectively amplify social work’s impact in transforming healthcare, improving health, and advancing health equity. They put together the document, “Billing Medicare Part B for Social Workers – An Open Access Guide.” As of 2024, clinical social workers can bill Medicare Part B independently for Health Behavior Assessment and Intervention (HBAI) services.

Wishing you all a happy Thanksgiving!