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The history of the professionalization of social work often begins with the men of Toynbee Hall who inspired the settlement movement in the United Kingdom and the United States. But is it possible that an earlier group inspired them? The research presented here raises the question of whether the work of the noncloistered Sisters of Mercy may have been a prototype of the settlement movement in England. With their secular beginning in Ireland in 1824, the sisters opened Houses of Mercy in Ireland (1827) and England (1839) and eventually throughout the world to provide relief to the poor through charity, job training, education, health care, and counseling. This article presents original documents to illustrate their work and to open the question of the sisters' role in the history of social welfare.

Purpose: There has been increasing interest in the academy to assist social work graduates to become licensed which is likely to grow as the Council of Social Work Education (CSWE) cites licensure pass rates as a post-graduation outcome required for accreditation by newly adopted standards. This study determines the ability of academics to reliably link Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities statements that are the bases of licensure tests with the CSWE competencies in the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS). Methods: Four full-time faculty members at two institutions conducted an interrater reliability analysis on practice tests to determine the extent to which licensure questions could be consistently linked to EPAS competencies. Results: Study findings indicate weak reliability between social work licensure examination questions and CSWE EPAS competencies. Conclusion: Lack of consistency threatens the path to licensure and may explain why graduates of accredited programs lack the requisite knowledge to become licensed.

The purpose of this paper is to recommend non-discriminatory policies and practices regarding transgender individuals in the workplace. This paper will summarize workplace discrimination legal cases involving transgender individuals. Specifically, employers can be held financially responsible if they fire or discriminate against transgender individuals on the basis of gender identity and gender expression and can be required to use affirmed pronouns, revise policies, and provide training to employees regarding non-discrimination. Employers cannot discriminate against transgender individuals for transitioning, cannot prevent transgender individuals from using a particular bathroom or locker room, and cannot require employees to medically transition prior to gender identity recognition. Employers can be required to allow medical services related to transgender care. Finally, transgender individuals are a protected class under Title VII. This paper discusses the historical and current legal cases that prevent employment discrimination and proposes policies and practices. Recommendations for social workers include creating a sufficient non-discrimination policy, consulting with experts, becoming recognized on an equality index, educating others by not shaming them, and following the social work code of ethics.

Challenging binary gender norms and common conceptions of the differences between sexes, transgender individuals are misunderstood, feared, and often subjected to stigma. As a result, transgender individuals are exposed to harassment, violence, and employment discrimination. The negative outcomes of this exposure include poverty, unemployment, trauma, homelessness, arrest, and/or incarceration. Within the correctional system, stigmatization is heightened, leading to grave consequences for transgender inmates. The goal of this article is to highlight these outcomes, as illustrated from legal case histories, and to suggest best practice recommendations for correctional system improvements in ensuring the rights of transgender inmates.