NASW is committed to supporting the health and well-being of our nation’s Service Members, Veterans, and their loved ones.  The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help meet the needs of all people, and this includes the men and women who have served in the Armed Forces, and their families, who have made great sacrifices in order to protect us and advance liberty, freedom, and democracy.

This Memorial Day, we encourage all social workers to learn more about, or reach out to, a Service Member, Veteran, or their loved one. Opportunities to help include:

White House Joining Forces Initiative (http://www.whitehouse.gov/joiningforces): Joining Forces is a comprehensive national initiative to mobilize all sectors of society to give our Service Members and their families the opportunities and support they have earned. Learn about volunteer opportunities and how you can support this important work.  

Give An Hour: (www.giveanhour.org) Give an Hour is a national nonprofit organization providing free counseling and other mental health services to members of the military, Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, and their loved ones. Licensed clinical social workers are encouraged to donate one hour of their time to provide therapy to those in need.

National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization: (www.nhpco.org) NHPCO is the largest nonprofit membership organization representing hospice and palliative care program and professionals in the United States. Individuals in need can utilize their grief and loss information (caringinfo.org/grief) or call the HelpLine at 1-800-658-8898. In addition, NHPCO has a “We Honor Veterans” initiative (www.wehonorveterans.org).

US Department of Veteran Affairs (http://www.va.gov/opa/speceven/memday/): Learn more about the history and meaning of Memorial Day. VA also established a social work department in the VA in 1926 and is currently the largest employer of Master’s level social workers in the nation (http://www.socialwork.va.gov/).

NASW Standards for Social Work Practice with Service Members, Veterans and Their Families: This document provides basic education on the skills and expertise necessary to work with this population. View the Standards today: http://www.socialworkers.org/practice/military/documents/MilitaryStandards2012.pdf

NASW’s free online five-course training module: This webinar series will be available for all social workers to prepare to work with, or enhance their knowledge on the needs of, Service Members, Veterans, and military families. This training module in the next month and can be found at www.naswwebed.org.

NASW’s professional credential: This credential for social workers who primarily work with Service Members, Veterans, and their families and will be offered free for one year to all qualified NASW members. This credential will be available in the coming months.

We’ve also launched a webpage with resources and information for social workers. You can learn more at www.socialworkers.org/military.asp.

A group of MSW students from the University of Southern California School of Social Work visited the NASW national office in March to learn more about the social work profession.

Lileana Duarte, left, and Lener Jimenez listen to a presentation while visiting the NASW national office in March.

The students are enrolled in Child Development and Social Policy at USC, and spent a week in Washington, D.C., as a part of their class curriculum. During their trip, the students learned about policy issues by visiting NASW and other national organizations. NASW Special Assistant to the CEO Elizabeth Hoffler, NASW Chief Engagement Officer Becky Corbett and Director of the NASW Social Work Policy

Institute Joan Levy Zlotnik met with the students and discussed the Social Work Reinvestment Act, child welfare policy, the Congressional Social Work Caucus, the role of SWPI, and the benefits of being an NASW member.

Students were also given suggestions on entering the social work field for the first time, how to network effectively and the best practices for paying down student debt.

“Having the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C., and being able to visit the NASW headquarters enabled my USC colleagues and I to have a chance to ask questions and give comments about our profession,” said USC student Lener Jimenez. “I left with a greater appreciation for the field of social work and committed to promoting this profession of caring and hardworking individuals.”

From the May 2013 NASW News.

Four social workers are among the members of a newly formed Institute of Medicine committee that will examine the state of end-of-life care in the U.S.

The Committee on Transforming End-of-Life Care is charged with developing a consensus study and technical report on the current state of end-of-life care.

The IOM activity report for the committee states that “the time is ripe for a new examination of how individual values and preferences can be aligned while assuring compassionate care focused on the needs of individuals approaching death in an affordable and sustainable manner.”

The committee met for the first time on Feb. 20 and 21 in Washington, D.C., and reviewed the previous IOM reports on end-of-life care, 2003’s “When Children Die: Improving Palliative and End-of-Life Care for Children and their Families”; and 1997’s “Approaching Death: Improving Care at the End of Life.”

During the public portion of the inaugural meeting, Dr. Judith Salerno, executive officer at the IOM, said it is the institute’s belief that end-of-life care is a topic that should not be polarized.

“It’s an issue in which we will all share the experience — as individuals, as caregivers, as clinicians,” she said. “This is a time in our debate about health reform and where we are in the health system where we can make a real difference and transform the experience.”

The four social workers selected to serve on the IOM committee also made public statements at the Feb. 20 meeting, including Fernando Torres-Gil, a professor of Social Welfare and Public Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles, and director of the UCLA Center for Policy Research on Aging.

“It’s good to know we are starting to address a very important topic, pending the aging and actuarial inevitability of 75 million-plus baby boomers,” he said. “This will be an important topic.”

Another social worker serving on the committee, Judith R. Peres, is an expert consultant in the areas of long-term care and palliative end-of-life care at Altarum Institute’s Center for Elder Care and Advanced Illness.

“I have decades of research that I have done in Medicaid and Medicare policy,” Peres said. “As a social worker, I am concerned about the psychosocial aspects of care near the end of life. I have an expertise at the nexus of long-term care and palliative care.”

From the May 2013 NASW News. NASW members can read the full story after logging in here.

The guidelines emphasize the role of the interdisciplinary team in eight domains of palliative care. As such, social work plays an integral role in every domain. At the same time, the guidelines highlight the role of social work and emphasize the importance of professional education and training—specifically, a BSW or MSW.

On June 27, NASW will present a webinar addressing the NCP guidelines. Information is available on the Lunchtime Series page: www.socialworkers.org/ce/online/lunchtime/lCourses/Home.aspx

Resources

National Consensus Project for Quality Palliative Care

NASW Standards for Palliative & End of Life Care

Social Workers in Hospice and Palliative Care—Occupational Profile (NASW, 2010)

NASW Practice Perspective: Challenges and Opportunities for Social Workers in Hospice and Palliative Care (2013)

Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network

Chris Herman, MSW, LICSW
NASW Senior Practice Associate

About 3 million adults in the United States are infected with Hepatitis C, most of which are baby boomers. However, between 65-75% of those infected with Hepatitis C are unaware of their infection, and lack of medical care can result in significant liver damage. Furthermore, between 800,000 and 1.4 million people are living with Hepatitis B in the United States. Like HIV, Hepatitis disproportionately impacts minority communities; African-Americans have significantly higher rates of Hepatitis C than other communities, while Asian and Pacific Islanders account for more than 50% of those living with Hepatitis B.

You can learn more about Hepatitis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) here.

To take the Hepatitis Risk Assessment, click here.

On May 19, 2013, the U.S. will mark the second annual observance of Hepatitis Testing Day in the United States.

North Koreans used solitary confinement as a way to break down U.S. prisoners of war during the Korean War, broadcast journalist Ted Koppel said recently on “Rock Center with Brian Williams.” Koppel’s report highlighted 17-year-old James Stewart, an incarcerated juvenile who committed suicide after being placed in solitary confinement.

From left, Kevin Trout, Katie Cianci and Sandra Sharma prepare to meet their state legislators.

Isolation was used as psychological torture for soldiers and political dissidents, Koppel said, and “here, I’m talking about kids — it is just a national disgrace.” Williams added that solitary confinement can be a terrifying and soul-crushing experience.

It’s an issue that hits home with NASW student member Katie Cianci, whose brother is in jail for a drug offense. Even before reaching 18 years of age, he has been placed in solitary confinement several times, Cianci said, and it’s a practice done to minors in jails across the country.

“He told me it’s the worst thing any human being can go through and he would never wish it on anyone,” said Cianci, an MSW student at California State University School of Social Work. “He would be locked up in a tiny cell with no human contact, no link to the outside world. It’s sheer hell.”

Cianci’s story reached her classmates in her Urban Policy and Advocacy class at CSU, and what started as an advocacy practice presentation assignment turned into a real lobbying effort. Cianci’s fellow MSW classmates Jamie Biggs, Sandra Sharma and Kevin Trout worked as a group to get legislation introduced in the California Senate to stop the practice of juvenile solitary confinement in jails.

The parameters of solitary confinement vary in prisons from state to state, Trout said, but in general it consists of being locked alone in a 9-by-6 cell for up to 23 hours a day. It’s used as a means of protection and punishment for juveniles incarcerated in an adult prison, but he said it is an inhumane method that makes the problem worse.

“Humans are social beings and they need to be connected,” said Trout, an NASW student member.  “Constant isolation has adverse effects on mental health in healthy people. So you take incarcerated minors with pre-existing mental health issues and put them into solitary confinement, then eventually release them into the world … as a juvenile their brains are still developing. This is an issue that was important to us as a group and it’s important to society as a whole.”

The group researched solitary confinement and looked for a California representative who would take up their cause, said NASW member and class professor Jose Paez.

They learned that state Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, had introduced Senate Bill 1363 in 2012, which states that a minor or ward who is detained in, or sentenced to, any juvenile facility, jail or other secure state or local facility shall not be subject to solitary confinement. Although the bill did not pass, the group lobbied Yee’s office to try again.

“They contacted Yee and a couple of other senators, and they made him aware of who they were,” Paez said.

From the May 2013 NASW News. NASW members click here for the full story.

The virtual sessions are scheduled for June 14, June 28, July 17 and July 26, 2013 from 1:00pm – 2:30pm Eastern Time on the following topics:

• HITECH Omnibus Overview of the Rule -  June 14
• Drill down on the new HITECH Privacy Rule – June 28
• Breach and Enforcement under the HITECH Omnibus Rule – July 17
• Business Associates and the HITECH Omnibus Rule  – July 26

Registration is free of charge and available at: http://www.wedi.org/forms/meeting/MeetingFormPublic/view?id=2C09800000249.  WEDI was formed in 1991 by then Secretary of HHS Dr. Louis Sullivan and was named in the original 1996 HIPAA legislation as an advisor to HHS.

After Incarceration: When the Parent Returns Home
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
1:00 PM – 2:30 PM ET
Credit Hours: 1.5 CEU(s)

Presenter:
• Lauren Anzaldo, MSW, LCSW, CAP
Moderator:
• Melvin Wilson, LCSW, MBA

Every year in the U.S., hundreds of thousands of individuals are sentenced to time in prisons and jails. More than 700,000 are released back to their communities annually. Many of the people attempting to reintegrate into society are parents. Social workers participating in this webinar will better understand the difficulties facing families affected by the separation of incarceration. Tips will also be provided for how social workers can support families during the transition period.
Register
Learn More or Join a Section.

NASW student member Walter “Allen” Pittinger-Dunham and his husband, Phillip R. Pittinger-Dunham, participated in a rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court on March 26 to show their support for marriage equality.

They joined an enthusiastic crowd as the high court began hearings in two cases that support marriage equality in the U.S.

From left, William Rinehart, Phillip Pittinger-Dunham and NASW student member Walter “Allen” Pittinger-Dunham attend the marriage equality rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court.

“It was important as a gay man for me to stand with others, both LGBTQ and ally alike, so that our voices would be heard,” said Allen Pittinger-Durham, who is set to graduate this month with an MSW from the Catholic University of America’s National Catholic School of Social Service. He noted he and his husband were married in the nation’s capital in 2010.

“For too long equality has been ‘misappropriated,’ and ‘fringe’ populations have been disenfranchised and denied the rights that are afforded to those of the ‘norm,’” he said. “I was proud to see people from all walks of life and faiths there to show support for what is truly a civil right. Marriage has been defined by the states and judicial system as a civil right, and to have LGBTQ and allies there to ensure that …. was very empowering.”

Other NASW members along with NASW national staff also joined in the Supreme Court demonstrations to show support for marriage equality. Prior to the event, NASW sent an advocacy alert to members.

It noted that the NASW policy positions support local, state, federal and international policies and legislation that ban all forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation, including marriage.

“It is time for our nation’s highest court to ensure that same sex couples are treated fairly under the law — and we need you to help make that happen,” the alert says.

The court heard arguments on March 26 in the case Hollingsworth v. Perry, otherwise known as Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage in California.

The following day, court members heard oral arguments in United States v. Windsor, which challenges the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA. It defines marriage for federal purposes as between a man and a woman.

NASW, through its Legal Defense Fund, filed amicus briefs in both cases.

From the May 2013 NASW News. NASW members click here for the full story.

Social workers and others in direct care settings in Massachusetts will be better protected from violence, thanks to the efforts led by the NASW Massachusetts Chapter and the Boston University School of Social Work.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick signed into law the NASW Massachusetts Social Work Safety in the Workplace bill in February.

Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick, seated, signs into law the NASW Massachusetts Social Work Safety in the Workplace bill in February.

It will require all programs that provide direct services to clients who are licensed, certified or funded by a department of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services to have a workplace violence prevention and crisis response plan.

The new law is a victory in the campaign to protect the state’s social workers, said Carol Trust, executive director of the NASW Massachusetts Chapter.

“This bill raises awareness about the important and sometimes dangerous work that social workers perform in our communities and helps to reinforce the concept that government has a role to play in helping to ensure the safety of social workers and the advancement of the profession,” Trust said.

The legislation resulted from the work of a statewide Social Work Safety Task Force launched in 2008 by the NASW chapter and the Boston University School of Social Work. Its creation was a reaction to the death of Diruhi Mattian, a 53-year-old social worker who was stabbed by one of her clients during a home visit.

The task force included members of Massachusetts’ schools of social work, employers, union representatives and health departments.

“Passing this bill solidified the important work of the task force and will make social workers and other workers in direct care settings safer anywhere they work across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” Trust said.

From the May 2013 NASW News. NASW members click here to read the full story.