Every day across the United States, hundreds of thousands of social workers work to support, protect and empower millions of people as they struggle to deal with and solve problems in their day-to-day lives. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, the job outlook for social workers is growing rapidly and “is projected to grow 16% from 2016-2026, which is much faster than the average for all occupations.” Sadly, the important work of social workers is often underappreciated and frequently underpaid. The month of March has been set aside to pay tribute to all the dedicated social workers out there and to acknowledge their important contributions to society. “Elevate” is the theme for this year’s National Social Work Month and this theme was chosen in an effort to call attention to social workers endeavors to elevate people and also to point out the need to elevate the pay of social workers. To find out more about the social work profession, check out the National Association of Social Workers website. And go to the WU Reads Reading Guide for some interesting books on social work and social service.