Three principal activities were identified for the Academy to advance fieldwork in response to the COVID-19 crisis, each of which will involve close collaboration with other organizations and entities, both within and outside of the field. These three activities are:
The underlying concept is that these activities should operate in a mutually supportive manner, e.g., a webinar could be employed to develop feedback on a research or policy document, or lectures and documents could be used to develop Academy policy or an advocacy position. Further, whenever possible, the Academy should collaborate with other entities, e.g., national organizations, such as NASW, CSWE, SSWR; universities; and field organizations.
Further detail for each area is provided here:
Webinars and Lectures: Both developmental efforts, e.g., presentations to develop a concept or approach, as well as reporting of research or practice experience, would be included. Sources could include Academy Fellows, universities, or volunteers from the field.
Clearinghouse and Dissemination: A broad array of practice, policy, and research documents would be collected and maintained, with the intent of providing reference materials for persons in the field working on COVID-19 problems. The Academy would not review or conduct other types of assessment of these documents prior to inclusion, but rather serve clearinghouse and dissemination functions.
Advocacy and Policy: The Academy would partner with other field entities, e.g., NASW, CSWE, and SSWR, to engage in advocacy at the national level around justice and welfare issues related to COVID-19. In addition, the Academy would develop and announce its own policies, e.g., the recent policy on the availability of vaccinations and care for all Americans.
Work on this initiative would begin immediately.
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