Payment 4 Placements (U.S.)

“When I was a student of social work, I saw my peers struggle to support themselves while they were a full-time student, completing their internship, and working another job. Years later, as a professor, I see some of my students facing the same struggle. Social workers are vital to Ohio and its workforce. I am proud of the work we are doing to support young professionals, and those in need of all the work social workers do,” said Rep. Whitted. #paidinternships #paidinternship #socialworkispolitical #legisl8for8 #legisl8rwhitted Rachel Baker, PhD, RN, CRN-BC

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If you haven't read Social Work Today's article 'It’s Time to Talk About Money' by Sue Coyle, we suggest you give it a read! Here are a few tidbits to hold you over. 👇🏽 “While social workers don’t enter the profession for the pay, without better compensation, some, if not many, may leave because of the lack of it” (Coyle, 2024, p. 10). 🆆🅷🆈 🅿𝟒🅿 "Payment for Placements is an advocacy group with chapters at colleges and universities throughout the country fighting for paid internships for social work students" (Coyle, 2024, p. 10). "'…we are expected to do a lot of unpaid work—not just students but professionals...'" ~Alejandra Luis Cruz, MSW “We have found that at times, new social work graduates are competing for positions that many agencies choose to fill with an unpaid student instead. These agencies have found that it’s easier to take on an unpaid graduate-level social work student than trying to fill a position that needs a full-time social worker...having social work students complete unpaid field practicums conditions them to accept lower salaries upon graduation.’” ~Elise Colquitt, MSW 🆆🅷🆈 WE ORGANIZE “Allen, a former teacher, reflects on a recent teachers’ strike in her local school district, noting that that type of organizing is unlikely in social work" (Coyle, 2024, p. 10). "'...I wish social workers could do [this] because striking is so effective, but social workers are so separated—all in different agencies, different aspects of the profession. That’s why Payment for Placements, the Advocacy Alliance, and groups like the Social Worker Equity Campaign are crucial...’” ~Amy J. Allen, MSW Candidate 🆆🅷🆈 WE WONT STOP "'If I didn’t have any hope, I wouldn’t even bother doing this interview. I wouldn’t bother being a part of SWEC [Social Worker Equity Campaign 🔈Equity, Unity and Action]. I wouldn’t bother being part of P4P [Payment 4 Placements (U.S.)]. I still have hope,’ Bonilla says. ‘Social work is an amazing profession, and we can do great things...Let’s stop making this taboo. We need to talk about this. And not just talk—act. Let’s do something about it.’” ~✨ Pilar O. B. ⚡️You Can Read the Full Article ䷉ Here⚡️ https://lnkd.in/esSVrqe6

"While it is true that employees in all sectors of the US economy do not believe their earnings are keeping pace with inflation and the cost of living, a study released in February 2023 sheds further light on how true that is for social workers. The Wage Equity Study compared salaries for human services employees in nonprofits to the salaries of employees in other sectors and industries in Seattle and King County, Washington. The study found, among other things, that 'Holding constant worker characteristics such as education level or age, human services workers are paid less than workers in other care industries (education and health care) and at least 30% less than workers in noncare industries. For human services workers in the nonprofit sector, median annual pay is 37% lower than in noncare industries 2'" (Coyle, 2024, paras. 9-10). A few months ago the wonderful Sue Coyle interviewed me along with other amazing individuals such as Rosita Marinez, Elise Colquitt, Alejandra Luis Cruz, MSW, and Amy J. Allen, to name a few, about the state of social work and money. Above is a small insert from Sue Coyle's article, 'It’s Time to Talk About Money', in Social Work Today. Check it out! 👇🏽

The Ministry of Education has written a submission in response to the petition. PPA has been asked to make an oral submission to Parliament, which we will do soon. In short, the report doesn't say a lot. It suggests student loans and allowances are adequate. However, they do acknowledge there is no specific financial support to accommodate additional time/cost requirements of placement. It acknowledges its responsibility for workforce diversity and representation but makes no further comment on this. This is an issue that doesn't neatly sit under any government agency which is why it's easy to pass it round like a political hot potato. Ultimately, the gov can allow workforce shortages and mass exodus to Australia to continue or they can make an executive decision to fix it. Paid training ➡ sustainable workforce development ➡ safe staffing ratios ➡ accessible services ➡ thriving communities. #tiredofthesameoldstory #paidtraining #everyonewins

We are excited to share our collaborative statement with the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), https://lnkd.in/erAKK83S along with an addendum (attached) on our accomplishments. This marks the start of our work together to make social work education more accessible. We recognize the expectation for students to perform unpaid labor creates a systemic barrier to entry into higher education and the social work profession. As explained in the published statement: “While internships provide students with the opportunity for important hands-on learning, they are often unpaid, which exacerbates economic hardships for many students.” Evidence of racial disparities are also highlighted: “The rising cost of some social work programs creates barriers to access education and disproportionately impacts students of color.” As the P4P movement approaches its third year as a grassroots campaign advocating to end unpaid degree-required internships, social work students are increasingly burdened by financial hardships. According to a 2023 report by the CSWE, “…graduates today carry more student debt compared to their counterparts from a decade ago…An average of 34.6% of [MSW] graduates reported having loan debt upon graduation. The average debt was $38,500.00.” For MSW and BSW students, it is more urgent than ever to address financial barriers to programs. We are grateful to Dr. Halaevalu F. Ofahengaue Vakalahi and the CSWE for co-creating this statement and joining us in committing to address accessibility in social work education by advocating to reduce the cost of social work education and for paid internships. We look forward to continued collaboration to make social work education more accessible.

I hope that in the future, paid placements will become the norm for social work education. Not only are social work interns providing real services to folks, but in many cases are filling gaps in care left by understaffed programs and broken systems. Paid internships are also a practical tool for increasing access to social work programs for people coming from marginalized and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. We can talk all day about the benefits of providers that come with “lived experience”, but to achieve a diverse workforce there must be meaningful access to education. #payment4placements #payyourinterns #icantaffordmyeducation

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I once had a graduate assistant who completed a class project comparing unpaid internships to indentured servitude. While I would argue conditions are far better, forcing students into unpaid internships places students in real and significant financial burden. For context, the average undergraduate social worker student must complete 32/hrs per week unpaid while simultaneously paying for that internship credit and other classes. As a a formerly Pell elligible student, if I hadn’t received the Centennial Scholars Program scholarship through JMU I would’ve had to either drop out, or take loans I couldn’t afford. If the field of social work wants to address the looming shortage of social works, start here!

Thank you so much Neha Lall for advocating to break one of the biggest barriers to higher education: degree required unpaid internships. “Social work students, who must complete at least 900 credited internship hours, have begun organizing to protest these norms. According to a 2020 study, social work students in the U.S. cumulatively contribute 123 million hours of unpaid field placement work by the time they graduate, the equivalent of more than $1 billion in labor. The students are getting paid through their learning, or so the theory goes.” https://lnkd.in/ebRKYpub