• Special Features
  • Legal Issue of the Month
  • Contributions to LDF
  • Overview of HIPAA
  • Annual Report
    Fiscal Year July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2010
  • Members' Application for Assistance
  • Guidelines for Grants
  • Law Notes
  • Amicus Brief Database
  • About the Amicus Brief Database
  • NASW WebEd course - “Understanding Malpractice Risk, What Social Workers Can Do"
  • Criminal Justice Social Work in the United States: Adapting To New Challenges (pdf format)

• Legal News
  • Amicus Brief Database
    Supreme Court brief filed in Thompson v. North American Stainless, LP (9/17/2010)
  • FTC Red Flags Rule Enforcement Delayed (11/10/09)
  • HIPAA Breach Notification – September 23, 2009 Effective Date (9/23/09)
  • FTC Deadline Postponed (7/31/09)
  • Annual Report for the NASW Legal Defense Fund
    Fiscal Year July 1, 2007 – June 30, 2008 (pdf - 3/19/09)

Legal Defense Fund

What is NASW's "LDF"?

• NASW Legal Defense Fund (LDF)
• Established by NASW in 1972
• Provides financial legal assistance and support for legal cases and issues of concern to NASW members and the social work profession
• LDF also supports educational projects and programs to improve the legal status and knowledge of the social work profession

To be eligible for financial assistance from LDF, a social worker must:

1. be a member in good standing of NASW (Join NASW),
   
2. have a case that falls within the selection criteria established by the LDF Board of Trustees (Guidelines for Grants), and
   
3. submit a completed application (Members' Application for Assistance).

How does the LDF benefit NASW members and the social work profession?

As a part of its mission, LDF has supported precedent setting lawsuits and makes available legal resources of interest to NASW members and social workers generally. Some notable items produced with LDF support include:

• A series of 12 law notes on legal topics relevant to social workers.
• A friend of the court brief that was noted in the Supreme Court's opinion in the 1996 landmark case, Jaffee v. Redmond, which established a federal psychotherapist-patient privilege for social workers and their clients.
• A friend of the court brief that helped legal counsel establish the right for licensed clinical social workers practicing in Maryland to testify as expert witnesses (see Legal Issue of the Month).
• Workshops and educational materials presented to national and state social work conferences and NASW chapters.

The work of LDF is financed principally by contributions from NASW members through the check-off contained on member dues renewal forms. Consideration of available financial resources is one of the criteria established by the LDF Board as a guideline for decision making on applications for financial assistance.

NASW LDF staff is not able to respond to requests for specific legal advice. Requests for funding assistance for legal issues should be submitted through the grant application process.

NOTICE

The information contained in this Web site is provided as a service to members and the social work community for educational and information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. We provide timely information, but we make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to this Web site and its associated sites. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship between NASW, LDF, or the author(s) and you. NASW members and online readers should not act based on the information provided in the LDF Web site. Laws and court interpretations change frequently. Legal advice must be tailored to the specific facts and circumstances of a particular case. Nothing reported herein should be used as a substitute for the advice of competent counsel.