National Social Work Council, National Social Welfare Assembly, and National Human Services Assembly records

Recognizing their common problems and the need for closer coordination, executives representing twelve leading national social work organizations began regular monthly meetings in 1920. Formally organized in 1923, the National Social Work Council (NSWC) retained the same focus and methods until 1945 when the Council expanded its functions and became the National Social Welfare Assembly. Subsequent reorganizations led to the National Assembly for Social Policy and Development (1967), the National Assembly of National Voluntary Health and Social Welfare Organizations (1973), and the National Human Services Assembly (2005).

The National Social Work Council did not provide social services, but sought, rather, to help existing agencies better fulfill their functions by exchanging information and discussing of common problems. Until 1925, administrative work was done on a volunteer basis by two executives of national organizations, Howard S. Braucher and David H. Holbrook. After 1925, David Holbrook served as full-time secretary to the Council through 1945.

Representatives from government agencies, philanthropies and non-member social agencies were frequently invited to speak at the Council's monthly meetings and discuss social issues. Other meetings revolved around reports from member agencies on programs and projects. Current social work practices and topics were discussed at the Council's "Round-Table Meetings."

Meeting topics and studies reflected the changing attitudes and objectives of in the field of social work organizations and broader societal developments. Early NSWC meetings were largely concerned with bases of financial support, budgets, and endorsement. Subsequent topics of discussion included: attempts to achieve better understanding and closer cooperation between agencies functioning in related areas or the same communities; relationships between national organizations and their local agencies; problems arising from the Great Depression, including the financial pressures in a period of increasing welfare and relief needs; national defense and its social repercussions; and post-war demobilization and the social needs and problems created by massive relocation.

At an all-day meeting January 18, 1945, Council members concluded that some structural and functional alterations were necessary in order to create an organization capable of meeting more effectively the diverse social welfare problems in the post-war community. A Special Committee on Reorganization was appointed and worked through 1945 to design a more functional framework for the Council. The Special Committee's Proposed Constitution was approved by the membership, and at its December 1945 meeting, the National Social Work Council became the National Social Welfare Assembly. The two broad functions of the National Social Welfare Assembly, according to the 1965 edition of the Encyclopedia of Social Work, were to define and study problems of broad social policy affecting the needs of people and to plan action to meet these needs and, also, to serve national organizations and local communities in developing effective programs, operations, and administration in the field of social welfare.

During the 1950s and 1960s, the NSWA helped form the National Committee on Aging and advocated for the formation of the federal Department of Health, Education and Welfare. It also continued its interest in coordinating social services, administration of social work, and personnel recruiting and development. In the 1960s, the NSWA actively advocated federal public welfare programs. The enactment of the Great Society social programs of the mid-1960s, the NSWA increased its work on the issue of relations between the social work profession and government programs and the role of private sector agencies in implementing federal policies. It also worked on related social and policy issues, such as economic opportunity and civil rights. Romanofsky, Peter, ed. "National Assembly of National Voluntary Health and Social Welfare Organizations, Inc., The (NANVHSWO)." The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Institutions: Social Service Organizations. Vol. 2. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1978. 421-427. Print.

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For more information see historical information on the National Human Services Assembly siteand on the Social Work History Project site

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