Hundreds of social work researchers, faculty, and students nationwide are gathering in the nation’s capital this week for the Society of Social Work and Research (SSWR) Annual Conference at Washington, DC’s Marriott Marquis Hotel, with a focus on the theme, “Leading for Transformative Change: Aligning Social Work Science with Policy and Practice.” A highlight of the conference will be a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Grand Challenge for Social Work (GCSW), an initiative that brings the science of social work research to addressing some of the nation’s most intractable social problems.
The GCSW is hosting a Festival of Ideas at Howard University on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, as a lead-in to the conference, which officially kicks off on Thursday. Under the leadership of Board Chair Carrie Pettus and Executive Director Elizabeth Gillette, the event features an impressive lineup of visionary scholars and bold change-makers around the theme, “From Evidence to Action: Mobilizing Community Change.“
March is Social Work Month, and CRISP is gearing up for its annual Social Work Day on the Hill on Wednesday, March 25, and Student Advocacy Day on Thursday, March 26. Both events are scheduled to be held at the Spire Conference Center, located atop the American Psychological Association Building at 750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002, which houses the headquarters of the National Association of Social Workers and is a short walk to Capitol Hill. We will build on last year’s theme, “Our Voices Matter: Your Vote Is Your Voice.”
Social Work Day on the Hill will begin with our Policy and Politics Forum at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, featuring the decades-long effort by the Center for Social Development (CSD) founding director, Michael Sheradden, to expand the use of child development accounts. He and his team have been working on the “Trump Accounts”, newly created savings accounts for minors (born 2025-28), that provide a $1,000 government deposit and tax-deferred growth for education or first-home purchases, as part of the One Big Beautiful Act.
A second event, our annual Young Social Workers Speaks panel, will follow, with members of the 2026 Student Leadership Team addressing the challenges of achieving a functioning multiracial democracy, drawing on my article, “The Politics of Preserving Democracy in a Diverse Society.” Each year, we create this space to hear the ideas and concerns of young social workers whose voices are often not amplified in these arenas.
The day will culminate in a 5:00 p.m. CRISP Awards Reception, where we will recognize outstanding contributions to Congress, the federal government, and society by social workers engaged in legislative affairs. Our featured guest will be Michael E. Collins, who served as Chief of Staff to the late, legendary Congressman John Lewis for more than two decades. Collins earned his MSW degree at Boston College.
These are perilous times for our nation’s democracy, as Trump appears to be embracing the old paradigm of spheres of influence, whereby strongmen would claim absolute sovereignty over swaths of the globe, as did the United States with the Monroe Doctrine, now labeled the “Donroe” doctrine, which will give the United States dominion over the Americas, China dominion over Taiwan and Asia, and Putin and Russia control over as much of Europe as they can grab.
This is something to worry about, as it would require a continuation of an unelected tyrant of the MAGA movement, or some form of the Republican Party, through sham elections that we see now in Russia, Hungary, Venezuela, and other authoritarian regimes. We must be vigilant and engaged as social workers and as individuals in resisting this idea. Could this happen in 2026 when the midterm elections are suspended? I’d like to think not, but it is not beyond the realm of possibility.
Social workers must maintain our full commitment to promoting society’s well-being. We must find the resources to fund the research and science that undergird our policies and practices. CSD must be at the table during discussions on policies that affect our economic well-being, in good times and bad. We must be on the Hill and be engaged in legislative affairs at state and local levels. Those we seek to help deserve no less. How we do it is up for discussion.
As the Grand Challenges promotes, social workers must re-engage with communities more effectively. While that connection has not been broken, it needs to be re-energized. When democracy works only for those with money and networks, it is not a multiracial democracy. Current policymaking often relies on polling, economic indicators, and elite narratives—while ignoring ground truth from affected communities. Social workers can help preserve and strengthen our democracy by bringing it closer to communities.