Social Work Advocates Magazine

By Paul R. Pace, News staff NASW again participated in the global meeting of the professional social work and social development association – the International Federation of Social Workers, or IFSW. Meetings from June 22-26 were in conjunction with the biennial World Conference on Social Work, Education and Social Development, held in Seoul, South Korea. NASW President Darrell Wheeler, NASW ... Read More »

By Paul R. Pace, News staff A skilled and supported workforce is a critical component to drive better outcomes for children and families across the U.S., says Jenny Wood, chief deputy for the Administration on Children Youth and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Wood was among the speakers at a Capitol Hill briefing in June ... Read More »

By Paul R. Pace, News staff The NASW Foundation has chosen the 2016-17 recipients of its scholarships and fellowships, and will award more than $428,000 to social work students across the country. The Foundation is the largest funder of social work students who can study at any accredited social work program in the U.S. Jennifer O’Brien, a student at the ... Read More »

By Paul R. Pace, News staff Eight countries across sub-Saharan Africa have made significant progress strengthening their social service workforces in the past five years, according to a newly released report by the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance. Social service workers create protective environments for healthy development and well-being among vulnerable populations by alleviating poverty; reducing discrimination; facilitating access to ... Read More »

  By Paul R. Pace, News staff The population of Floridians over age 85 is expected to double by 2020, says Jim Akin, executive director of the NASW Florida Chapter. “Services to older adults continues to be a challenge,” Akin said. “The number of people living here are getting older and people moving here are older.” NASW, with funding from ... Read More »

By Paul R. Pace, News staff Five states are conducting pilot projects that aim to resolve high-conflict disputes among families and older adults through a new dispute-resolution process called eldercaring coordination. The Association for Conflict Resolution Task Force on Eldercaring Coordination, in which NASW staff was involved, developed the process as articulated in the “Guidelines for Eldercaring Coordination,” released in ... Read More »

By Paul R. Pace, News staff Most Medicare beneficiaries go without an emotional support system when there is a change in their health status. A provision in the Improving Access to Mental Health Act (S.2173; H.R.3712) aims to fix that problem by allowing clinical social workers across the nation to bill Medicare Part B for health and behavior assessment and ... Read More »

By Alison Laurio, News contributor “It’s a problem that affects Americans in all parts of the country. It doesn’t discriminate across socio-economic lines, distinguish between urban, suburban and rural, or limit itself to the young or old.” With those words, U.S. Rep Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., addressed his constituents in an email sent May 23. Saying the country is “in the ... Read More »

By Alison Laurio, News contributor The story of Jessica Grubb’s battle with heroin addiction so touched President Obama that when he traveled to Charleston, W.Va., last fall, he invited her parents to attend his public forum on opiate addiction. “Jessica Grubb had tried several programs, and she had been successful,” said Sam Hickman, executive director of the NASW West Virginia ... Read More »

By Paul R. Pace, News staff NASW member Sherry Saturno won Best Documentary Film in NASW’s annual Media Awards this year. “Human Investment” examines what drives physicians, nurses, social workers, educators, and other professionals to invest themselves in helping others. “I wanted to try to understand what motivates professionals to invest themselves in the humanity of care,” Saturno said of ... Read More »