By Alison Laurio, News contributor A year ago Heidi L. Allen’s sister died. “She lived in Idaho, which did not expand Medicaid under the ACA” (Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare), said Allen, an associate professor of social work at Columbia University in New York whose focus is low-income, uninsured adults. “Here I study health insurance, and I have ... Read More »
By Paul R. Pace, News staff NASW chapters remain on alert after focused attempts to eliminate or alter licensing requirements for social workers and other professionals are on the rise. In one of the latest examples, NASW members and social workers turned out in force to voice opposition to a bill proposed by Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, a Republican. It ... Read More »
By Alison Laurio, News contributor The huge auditorium was filled with people from all over the country who had come to hear about one of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare’s grand challenges. They came from varied backgrounds — from social workers to lobbyists, said Melissa D. Grady, associate professor at Catholic University’s National School of Social ... Read More »
By Paul R. Pace, News staff We live in a time of considerable tensions related to differences of all kinds, says Carol Bonner, chairwoman of the NASW National Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity, or NCORED. “It is the responsibility, as social workers, to lead at all organizational and societal levels, and advocate for social justice, human dignity and human ... Read More »
By Alison Laurio, News contributor “Marijuana has lit up conversations and controversy across the country. It’s a hotly contested and complicated issue for states to weed through, and no doubt will remain high on legislative agendas for the foreseeable future,” the National Conference of State Legislatures says on one of its website’s “Deep Dive” issues pages. Voters passed eight marijuana-related ... Read More »
By Alison Laurio, News contributor Dean Wolf has spent his entire working life as a social worker in the field helping others. Now he is asking others to help him, and said it is not an easy thing to do. “As much as I have empathy for people, I need a kidney,” he said it is not an easy thing ... Read More »
By Paul R. Pace, News staff The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) and the National Research Council have approved a proposed consensus study that examines the roles the social work profession and other social needs providers can play in helping improve the nation’s health. NASW has taken a lead role in the group that has been working ... Read More »
By Maren Dale, News contributor Today, social workers are part of the fabric of our nation, leading the march toward social justice, bringing our nation’s social problems to the public’s attention and serving in nearly every sector. Yet it was not long ago that many of the freedoms and rights Americans have today did not exist — and they would ... Read More »
By Maren Dale, News contributor JaNeen Cross, DSW, MSW, MBA, is the 2016 senior policy fellow through the NASW HEALS (Health Care Education and Leadership Scholars) Policy Fellowship. Cross, an assistant clinical professor of social work from Widener University in Pennsylvania, relocated in August from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., to begin her fellowship. The one-year HEALS program allows Cross to ... Read More »
By Alison Laurio, News contributor When Samantha Teixeira was at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work earning her MSW and then her Ph.D., she and a young black man walked up to a high school where the entry door was locked. “He rang the bell, and they wouldn’t let him in,” she said. “He looked at me and ... Read More »
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