Laura Groshong, LICSW, CSWA Director of Policy and Practice

COVID Issues

The rise in COVID-19 cases due to the new Delta variant and others is cause for concern.  But in this case, as in much of the pandemic, all concerns are not created equal.  To understand the risk we face on the personal and professional level, it is necessary to get information that is specific to our location.  The CDC has just created a new data base that provides the current level of infection for every county in the country.  The COVID Data Tracker is updated daily and can be found at https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view  CSWA suggests that whether you live in an area that is a hot spot for infection or one with low levels of infection, it is prudent to continue to wear masks and maintain social distance of 6 feet in public indoor areas. 

The topic of whether to return to seeing patients in person is also on the minds of LCSWs.  Please see the two hour webinar I recorded on July 22 to get detailed information on how to make your own decision about what is best for you. You can find it at https://www.clinicalsocialworkassociation.org/CSWA-Webinars#ToBe in the Members Only section.

Medical Necessity

More and more often, LCSWs are receiving letters questioning the “medical necessity” of our treatment.  To address these often baseless conclusions, CSWA has developed the response below which you may use to explain the validity of your treatment decisions. An electronic Word document of this letter can be found at the CSWA website.

CSWA Survey on Returning to the Office

CSWA would like to get an idea of where members stand on the issue of returning to the office and in-person practice.  Please take this brief survey to help us gather this data.  There is also a section on what topics members would like to see CSWA provide in webinars.  Please go to https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScas3RrgHzg1syi5-0aV-Os4PwTx2CzWinKQashpJbZQ-HNCA/viewform to complete the survey. Thank you for your participation.