Don’t miss this unique professional exchange opportunity for Hospice and Palliative Care Professionals

Consider a once-in-a-lifetime experience: a custom-designed delegation on practice in hospice and palliative care traveling to Durban and Cape Town, South Africa in August 2012. Please click here for more delegation details.

People to People Citizen Ambassador Delegations are unique. For nearly 50 years, we have specialized in providing what no other professional opportunity can—by taking your career out of the office and into the world.

You can experience South Africa firsthand with your professional peers from South Africa through vibrant professional exchanges, valuable networking, and meaningful discussions tailored to your focus and interests.

On a People to People delegation, you can:

• Interact with recognized experts in the field of Hospice and Palliative Care—including your delegation leaders, Dr. Elizabeth Clark, Executive Director, National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and Mr. John Mastrojohn III, Executive Director, National Hospice Foundation (NHF) and Foundation for Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa (FHSSA).
• Deepen your understanding of your profession and enhance your value to your organization.
• Make a global impact by gaining an international perspective.

Don’t miss this extraordinary opportunity. Join the delegation today!

Travel Summary

Women are being confronted with complex challenges including economic disparities, child and elder care responsibilities, and increased demands at work and at home. It is not uncommon that health care needs often takes a back seat to other priorities. On Monday, May 14, NASW encourages our women members to participate in National Women’s Check-up Day (part of National Women’s Health Week) by scheduling a checkup, speaking to a health care provider about what screenings and test might be needed, and/or learning which immunizations are needed and at what age.

For updated information about activities throughout the weeklong celebration follow womenshealth.gov on twitter and search #NWHW.

“Today, the national hotline for domestic violence receives more than 23,000 calls every month. “Imagine the courage it takes to call that number,” said Vice President Biden. “This bill is as relevant today as it was the day it passed.”

(http://www.forbes.com/sites/rahimkanani/2012/04/20/why-do-republicans-oppose-reauthorizing-the-violence-against-women-act/)

In its role as an advocate for social justice issues, the National Association of Social Workers has sent letters to all members of the House of Representatives asking them to reauthorize VAWA in the current form as passed by the Senate, which would include expanded protections to Native Americans, undocumented Immigrants, and the LGBT community.

As it stands now, Rep. Sandy Adams (R-FL) introduced a House version of VAWA (HR4970) with 35 Republican co-sponsors. However, HR 4970 strips out the protections for Native Americans, undocumented immigrants and the LGBT community. On May 8, 2012, the House Judiciary Committee approved HR 4970 on a party-line 17-15 vote. It is expected that HR 4970 will be on the House floor for a vote on or about May 14, 2012.

NASW has long held the position that persons of same gender sexual orientation should be afforded all the same rights as persons of other-gender orientation.  The Association has worked in a variety of capacities to advance marriage equality including several amicus briefs filed by the Legal Defense Fund.  For example, Goodridge v. Department of Public Health in 2002 establishing the right of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts by the highest court in the state, Jackson v. DC Board of Elections and Ethics, in 2010 challenging the proposed referendum to ban same-sex marriage in DC, and Perry v. Brown in 2011 challenging the legality of  Proposition 8 in California.

As noted in NASW’s Same-Sex Marriage Fact Sheet, there are more than 1,000 federal protections and responsibilities denied to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender families because they cannot legally marry in this country.  Without the legal right to marry, for example, members of the LGBT community:

• do not have rights to family health coverage, child custody and medical and bereavement leave,
• cannot file joint tax returns and enjoy income and estate tax benefits,
• cannot assume pension or Social Security benefits in the event of the death of a same-sex partner,
• do not have the automatic ability to make medical decisions for an incapacitated partner,
• cannot petition for their same-sex partner to immigrate,
• are not entitled to leave of absence from work to care for a seriously ill partner or parent of a partner,
• can be questioned or challenged through legal means regarding parenting responsibilities of children brought into LGBT families through birth, adoption, surrogacy or other means,
• do not have the ability to purchase continued health coverage for a same-sex partner after the loss of a job.

NASW President, Dr. Jeane Anastas, states, “President Obama’s courage in allowing his political stance on same-sex marriage to evolve to endorsement of full marriage equality is to be celebrated.  My wife and I are deeply grateful that our commitments to love, care, and mutual responsibility are being recognized as equal to those of any other married couple.  President Obama’s determination to ensure fairness is an inspiration to all of us.”

For more information on NASW’s work on LGBT issues, click here.

May is National Foster Care Month, a time to raise awareness on the plight of children and youth in the foster care system. There are approximately 400,000 children and youth in foster care because their own families are unable to provide for their essential well-being. In addition, approximately 30,000 young people age out of the foster care system each year with limited supports.

The National Association of Social Workers, with Casey Family Programs and other partner organizations, underscore the important work of social workers, and the increasing need for a safe, stable and nurturing environment for children and youth during National Foster Care Month.

National Foster Care Month highlights the need of children and youth who need to be in foster care until they can either safely reunite with their parents or establish other lifelong family relationships.  Social workers play a critical role in working with children, biological parents, foster parents, adoptive parents and kinship care to ensure the proper placement for all children in care.

This year NASW will support National Foster Care Month through a dedicated web section for social workers committed to serving children, youth and families involved with the child welfare system.  This section highlights resources related to the critical issues that children and youth face information to support the child welfare workforce.

• Addressing the Educational Needs of Older Youth
• Engaging Young People in their Transition Planning
• Supporting the Child Welfare Workforce to Reduce Child Maltreatment
• Youth Aging Out of Foster Care: Supporting their Transition into Adulthood
• Meeting the Needs of Immigrant Children and Youth in Child Welfare
• From Poverty to Child Welfare Involvement:  The Critical Role of Housing in Family Stability
• NASW Standards for  Social Work Practice in Child Welfare
• Supervision: The Safety Net for Front-Line Child Welfare Practice
• High Caseloads: How Do they Impact Delivery of Health and Human Services
• Child Welfare Social Worker’s Attitudes Toward Mobile Technology Tools:  Is there a Generation Gap?

NASW calls on all Americans to help make a difference in the life of at least one young child or young person in foster care. Please visit the National Foster Care Month website to find out how you can make a lasting difference in the lives of America’s child welfare involved children and families.

Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C can become chronic, life-long infections which can lead to liver
cancer. Millions of Americans are living with chronic viral hepatitis, and many do not know they are infected.

HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis,  and other sexually transmitted infections have socially and culturally based stigmas, and as a result, barriers persist in preventive education.   Studies have documented disparities in access to care and treatment and diagnosis of HIV/AIDS and/or HCV in underserved and/or marginalized communities.

Learn more about the social work role in promoting awareness and treatment for this emerging
health issue of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis co-infection from the NASW HIV/AIDS Spectrum Project.

Find out if you should be tested by taking a 5 minute online Hepatitis Risk Assessment.

NASW has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the individual health mandate and Medicaid provisions outlined in the Affordable Care Act in two amicus briefs, coordinated by the Legal Defense Fund, so that quality health care is available and affordable for all.

A new NASW Practice Perspective, “State Health Insurance Exchanges: What Social Workers Need to Know,” provides insight into the role social workers can play in shaping their states’ health insurance exchanges and  what to anticipate from health care reform.

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on challenges to the ACA in June. In the meantime, states are required to follow the timetable set by the ACA and have health exchanges operating by Jan. 1, 2014.

A health exchange is a government-regulated marketplace of insurance plans, available at competitive rates to those without employer-sponsored health coverage and to small businesses. States are also required to develop a package of essential benefits that will be offered by health plans operating on the exchanges.

“It’s important to understand how health insurance exchanges will work, because every social worker will be touched by them in some way,” said Stacy Collins, an NASW senior practice associate who wrote the Practice Perspective.

She noted that regardless of what the U.S. Supreme Court rules, many states already see the value in establishing the exchanges. “Some states are going full speed ahead,” Collins said. “This is an opportunity for social workers to get involved.”

Many clinical social workers will be part of provider networks in the exchange plans.

“While states are crafting the specifics of their essential health benefits packages, social workers will want to ensure that mental health and substance-abuse services offer adequate duration, scope and reimbursement levels,” Collins said.

From the May 2012 NASW News. NASW members click here for the full story.

On April 17, 2012, Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) held a hearing on racial profiling The hearing (the first in the Senate since before 9/11) explored how profiling harms law enforcement; the different faces of racial profiling, including state immigration laws in Alabama and Arizona that subject Hispanic Americans to heightened scrutiny; discriminatory law enforcement against African Americans; and anti-terrorism efforts that target American Muslims. The hearings attracted national news coverage and an overflow attendance in the hearing room. NASW submitted testimony for Sen. Durbin’s hearing and in support of passage of the End Racial Profiling Act of 2011 (S-1670. More detailed can be obtained on Sen. Durbin’s webpage (http://durbin.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=a8191909-fc81-4f66-bbb5-285e763f35e8).

This webinar will provide a brief background of the hospice and palliative care macro-level climate in which social workers operate. Learn the significance of credentialing and its relevant terminology for social workers working in hospice and palliative care settings. For more details and to register, click here.

Presenters:
Chris Herman, MSW, LICSW
Center for Workforce Studies and Social Work Practice
National Association of Social Workers
Washington, DC

Bekki Ow-Arhus, LICSW, ACSW, DCSW
Professional Development
National Association of Social Workers
Washington, DC

Webinar will be hosted by The Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC)

Social worker Matt Anderson became a documentary film producer on a whim.

He was working with foster children in Missoula, Mont., when he met Codie, an 18-year-old who had been placed in 17 foster homes in just seven years. Like many former foster children, Codie was struggling to reconnect with family and avoid becoming involved in crime or drug abuse.

“He shared his story and I said his life was important,” said Anderson, who holds an MSW and is director of planning and sustainability at the Children’s Home Society of North Carolina. “He said, ‘Let’s make a movie,’ and from that conversation I decided to do it.”

A scene from “Angels of the Basin,” social worker Leslye Abbey’s 2007 documentary about life on the Louisiana Bayou. Photo courtesy of Leslye Abbey

Anderson teamed up with filmmaker Paige Williams to make “From Place to Place,” a documentary that follows six young adults in Montana who have aged out of the foster care system. An excerpt of the film was shown at a 2010 Senate caucus hearing on foster youth, and Anderson said it helped spur Congress to pass the Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act, which President Obama signed into law in September.

Anderson is not alone. Other social workers are using documentary films to put a spotlight on social issues and advocate for positive change. And there are other filmmakers who are making films that highlight the contributions of social workers or issues that are important to social workers, such as health care and mental illness.

Anderson’s film and two other documentaries — “What is Love: Pathfinders” and “King’s Park” — will be shown at a July 23 film festival during NASW’s national conference “Restoring Hope: The Power of Social Work.”

“What is Love:  Pathfinders,” from documentary filmmaker and producer Ted Bogosian, follows an organization partly founded by social worker and NASW member Tina Staley that provides holistic, compassionate care to people struggling with cancer and other serious illnesses.

From the May 2012 NASW News. NASW members click here for the full story.