Author Archives: gwright

Let’s Take Pride Back to its Basics

By Cassie Brown, MSW, LCSW PRIDE (noun): 1) a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired 2) consciousness of one’s own dignity. June is Pride Month. Throughout the country, there will be rainbow-bedecked parades, parties, and marches. ... Read More »

Alabama Senate passes bill to allow clinical social workers to diagnose within scope of practice

a soldier and his family meet with a clinical social worker

By Dawn Ellis-Murray, NASW Alabama Chapter Executive Director Greetings social workers and social work advocates. It’s done.  HB56, the bill allowing clinical social workers to diagnose within their scope of practice, passed in the Alabama Senate.  It is now ready to be signed into law. Finally, we see momentum and a sense of solidarity in the field of social work ... Read More »

NASW Member Voices: Using Collaborative Poetry to center student voices, create connection and celebrate diversity

By Amber Sutton, PhD, LICSW As part of a BSW diversity course at Auburn University at Montgomery in Alabama, I used a collaborative poetry exercise as a way to center the lived experiences of the students and to showcase how research can be creative and meaningful. By lived experiences, I mean the personal responses they shared in having to think ... Read More »

Remembering Unsung Black Social Work Pioneer Lester Blackwell Granger

NASW Social Work Pioneer Lester Blackwell Granger (third from right) pushed to integrate the U.S. military after World War II. Source: U.S. National Archives. By Deron Snyder The accomplishments of people of color are often overlooked in American history. That is also true of social workers of color. Lester Blackwell Granger is one such historical figure, a social worker few ... Read More »

NASW Member Voices: ADHD and Mindfulness

By Marisa Markowtiz,LMSW, CASAC-T Multi-ethnic group of kids in fitness class together. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that develops in childhood and lasts into adulthood. Approximately nine percent of children get diagnosed with ADHD, according to the latest CDC survey from 2019. Common features of ADHD include problems with executive functioning tasks, including working memory, self-monitoring, planning, prioritizing, ... Read More »

NASW South Carolina strongly opposes legislation to repeal social work licensure

South Carolina State House

The South Carolina State House with the state flag flowerbed in the foreground. The National Association of Social Workers South Carolina Chapter (NASW-SC) is strongly against the proposed House Bill 3515, also known as the “Entrepreneur Freedom Act.” The purpose of this bill is to repeal and do away with licensure for social workers and many other professions in South ... Read More »

Planning for Medicaid Unwinding in 2023

By Carrie Dorn, MPA, LMSW, NASW Senior Practice Associate At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2020, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services first declared a 90-day public health emergency (PHE). The PHE declaration allowed flexibility in health care funding and regulations to respond to the pandemic. Since January 2020, the PHE has ... Read More »