There have been a series of significant, niggling questions placed at the feet of the social work profession that have had much to do with shaping its practice and professional identity in North America. The first was, Is social work a profession?—a question answered by the leading authority on professions at that time, Abraham Flexner, at the National Conference on Charities and Correction, an association of the Charitable Organization Societies and Settlement Houses in 1915. Based on the sociological traits of a profession, Flexner concluded that it was not, but it was an intellectual activity with a mediating function that linked individuals with social functioning problems to helpful resources. This issue triggered a debate about social work’s professional status and identity, the likes of which had not been seen before. This debate is still apparent today, as Research on Social Work Practice published a special edition in 2001, edited by David Austin, that updated Flexner’s concern